Satellite News

“We were just using up fuel trying to stay still.” — Sea Launch spokeswoman Paula Korn describing the unusual ocean currents that thwarted the launch of Thuraya 3 aboard a Zenit-3SL

After rumours surfaced on the Internet that China had faked a recently published picture of the moon’s surface, supposedly taken by the country’s Chang’e I lunar probe, the Planetary Society’s Emily Lakdawalla has examined the issue and come to the conclusion that the image is real–but it has been tampered with a tiny bit.

All three GLONASS global positioning satellites launched on 26 October have been put into service ahead of schedule, the Central Scientific-Research Institute of Machine-Building reported today.

The launch of an Israeli spy satellite aboard an Indian PSLV is further delayed, officially because of unspecified technical problems. Reports that the launch was cancelled under U.S. pressure were rejected by Indian and Israeli officials.