April 29, 2017

Another North Korean Launch Fizzles (Source: New York Times)
North Korea launched a missile on Saturday, even as the United States and China have been seeking to curb the North’s military ambitions. The missile took off from a location near Pukchang, northeast of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, the South Korean military said in a statement. It did not identify what type of missile was launched but said the test had ended in failure. (4/28)

Russia, US Ready to Give You a Lift to Moon Orbit, ISS (Source: Space Daily)
Russian aerospace company RSC Energia and its US partners have worked out several options of sending tourists into the Moon's orbit and to the International Space Station (ISS), Energia's General Director Vladimir Solntsev told Sputnik.

In August, Solntsev said Energia was preparing a Moon expedition on board an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft, with eight space tourists interested in a trip. Renowned Canadian filmmaker James Cameron and a Japanese family were said to be among the first to express interest in the lunar orbit trip.

In April, Energia's head said at least four were likely space tourists and were ready to pay for the trip. Energia has also been considering the resumption of the ISS tourist program. In February, Solntsev said a contract for nine tours could be signed before 2021. (4/27)

MUOS-5 Navy Satellite Online After Engine Failure (Source: Florida Today)
A Navy communications satellite launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station last June is online after a post-launch engine failure, according to builder Lockheed Martin. The fifth Mobile User Objective System satellite, or MUOS-5, took flight on an Atlas V rocket and was designed to serve as a backup to four other MUOS spacecraft already in orbit.

But the 15,000-pound satellite experienced "a failure of the orbit raising propulsion system" during a June 29 engine burn on its way to geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles over the equator, Lockheed Martin said in a statement. "Navy and Lockheed Martin engineering teams were able to isolate the issue and deliver MUOS to operational orbit using alternative propulsion," the statement reads. (4/28)

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