NEW DELHI — Following the launch of India’s first Mars orbiter on Nov. 5, the Chinese media hopes a space race does not fuel tension in the region.

India successfully launched its first Mars orbiter on Nov. 5

FLOCKing BIRDS: An average of 115 satellites will be launched annually worldwide over the next 10 years (2013-2022), according to a new report from Euroconsult. “Revenues from the manufacture and launch of these 1,150 satellites over the decade will be worth $236 billion, up 26% from those generated by the 810 satellites launched in the past ten years (2003-2012),” Euroconsult says in a statement. Governments will be responsible for two-thirds of the 1,150 satellites to be launched and nearly three-quarters of the expected revenues.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins started a series of on-orbit tests Monday that could lead to large “sparse arrays” of satellites in space maintaining their relative position using electromagnetic fields generated by superconducting coils.

Observations from Japan’s Suzaku X-ray astronomy satellite indicate that iron and other heavy elements that make life possible were spread throughout the universe during a violent period of stellar explosions and super-massive black hole outbursts 10 billion years ago. The findings come from a U.S.-Japanese research team that bases its conclusions on observations of the massive Perseus galaxy cluster.

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.