AMOS-5: Amos-5 manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has devised a workaround for a power anomaly that prevented the operation of some of the satellite’s engines via its power supply 2. IAI says that “alternative activation methods” should allow all eight of the engines to be operated with power supply 2, according to a statement from Amos-5 operator Spacecom. IAI also has determined that the satellite’s original service lifetime of 15 years will not be affected by the problem.

HOUSTON — Three International Space Station astronauts reparked their Soyuz crew transport capsule on Nov. 1, opening a docking port on the orbiting science lab for the anticipated arrival next week of U.S., Russian and Japanese crewmembers. The 21-min. Soyuz TMA-09M maneuver concluded at 4:54 a.m. EDT, as ISS commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, U.S. astronaut Karen Nyberg and the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano redocked at the Russian segment Zvezda module.

NEW DELHI — India’s space agency on Oct. 31 carried out a launch simulation for its first Mars orbiter to validate the mission’s flight readiness before its scheduled liftoff next week, a senior space scientist says. The 8 1/2-hr. simulation, which was conducted at the first launch pad in Sriharikota in south India, included satellite battery checkup, withdrawal of the mobile service tower and testing of electrical systems, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan says.

NASA’s Kepler extrasolar-planet finder has discovered its first Earth-sized planet orbiting a distant star, but don’t crank up the interstellar spacecraft yet. While its composition is rocky like Earth’s, its 8.5-hr. orbit means it is far too warm to lie in the “Goldilocks zone.” That is the name scientists give to the habitable zone around stars, where the temperature is “just right” to sustain water in its liquid state, and perhaps life that would need liquid water to survive.

Hoping to gain entry into a potential U.S. market for non-toxic “green” satellite thrusters, the Swedish National Space Board will permit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to ground test environmentally friendly propulsion technology already flight tested on a European spacecraft.

Problem forced autonomous engineering test article to veer off runway

Ukraine, eager to push the commercialization of its Soviet-heritage space industry, will begin bilateral talks with NASA on possible cooperation in civil space exploration, including lightweight radiation shielding and a possible liquid-fuel upper stage for Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares launch vehicle.

HOUSTON — The Association of Space Explorers (ASE), a nonprofit that represents experienced space travelers from 35 countries, is urging the international community to launch an asteroid deflection demonstration mission through the United Nations within a decade. The group is also recommending steps to deal with the threat posed by small, undetected — but still destructive — near-Earth objects (NEOs).