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SATELLITE AND SPACE SHUTTLE NEWS
MORE DELAYS FOR NEW U.S. WEATHER OBSERVATORIES - A weather satellite to fill a widening gap between old and new observatory fleets will be delayed several months because of problems with components in an infrared sounder, according to NASA.
Two troublesome instruments have been the cause of the most recent delays in the NPOESS Preparatory Project, a NASA-led research mission that will also be thrust into another role as an operational resource for weather forecasters.
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(Source: Spcae Flight Now)
FIRST CHINESE AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE NOW IN SPACE - -- AMSAT China (CAMSAT) reports that at around 0230 UTC on December 15, China launched its first Amateur Radio satellite -- named XW-1 -- into space. The microsatellite -- a secondary payload aboard the CZ-4C rocket launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center -- was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit with an apogee of approximately 1200 kilometers. XW-1 successfully reached orbit at 0253 UTC. Members of the XW-1 launch team reported they received a beacon from the satellite shortly after the satellite deployed. More
(Source: ARRL)
UNIVERSE MAPPER WITH INFRARED EYES LAUNCHED -
Universe mapper with infrared eyes launched
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: December 14, 2009
With the promise to discover millions of objects never seen before and revolutionize our view of the Universe, NASA has launched its WISE observatory on a scouting expedition that will rewrite the road maps to the cosmos.
"When I was a little kid, I used to wonder how could anybody not be interested in the whole Universe. I think that child-like wonder of what's in the Universe is still there in all of us," said Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project scientist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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(Source: Space Flight Now)
NEW DATE SET FOR FRENCH SPY SATELLITE LAUNCH - A French spy satellite is now scheduled for launch from French Guiana on Thursday after the countdown was stopped hours before a first attempt on December 9 when a technical problem was detected, space officials said.
"Corrective actions on the liquid helium subsystem on Ariane 5's cryogenic main stage are now being completed, enabling Arianespace to set a new date for the launch of the HELIOS 2B satellite," the Arianespace rocket launch company said in a statement.
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(Source: New York Times)
CHINA TO LAUNCH REMOTE-SENSING SATELLITE - The remote-sensing satellite "Yaogan VIII" will be sent into space in the coming days, xinhuanet.com reported.
It will be launched aboard the "Long March IV C" from Taiyuan Satellite Launch center in Shanxi province.
Also on board will be the "Hope I" satellite which will help the country’s teenagers experience the science and technology of space.
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(Source: China Daily)
NASA DELAYS SKY MAPPER LAUNCH TO SATURDAY - NASA has delayed the launch of its new infrared sky mapper by at least a day, with liftoff now scheduled for no earlier than Saturday.
The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is now slated to launch on Dec. 12 between 9:09:33 and 9:23:51 a.m. EST (1409 and 1423 GMT) from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The flight was already threatened by cloudy weather predictions for Friday, and now NASA has decided to push back the launch to allow engineers to troubleshoot a glitch in a booster steering engine on the Delta II rocket slated to carry the observatory to orbit.
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(Source: Space.com)
ENDEAVOUR TARGETING FRIDAY MOVE TO VAB - An approaching storm front has Kennedy Space Center managers looking to move Endeavour to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Friday instead of Saturday.
The planned 1 p.m. move would also preserve weekend family time for spaceport workers before the holidays, a concern for managers ahead of a busy and historic 2010.
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(Source: Florida Today)
FRENCH MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCH RESCHEDULED - The French Guiana-based Arianespace center has finally decided to reschedule the launch time of a military satellite to early next week, Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairman and chief executive officer of the space agency announced late Wednesday.
The lift-off of the Arianne 5 carrier rocket with French military observation satellite Helios 2B atop was originally scheduled at around 17:26 Paris time (1626 GMT).
However, several hours before the launch window, Arianespace, announced that a "pressure problem about the helium container" was found.
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(Source: Xinhua)
ARIANE ROCKET TO LAUNCH FRENCH SPY SATELLITE - France plans to launch a military spy satellite on Wednesday, the defence ministry said, as Paris boosts spending on its independent surveillance from space despite closer military co-operation with the United States.
This will be the first such launch under President Nicolas Sarkozy who brought France back into NATO's military command earlier this year, following a 40-year partial rift with the military alliance.
The satellite, Helios 2B is slated to blast off on a European Ariane rocket at 1:26 p.m. (1626 GMT) on Wednesday from the European Space Agency launch site in French Guiana.
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(Source: Reuters India)
SPACE STATION CREW CREW LANDS IN FRIGID KAZAKHSTAN - Outgoing space station commander Frank De Winne, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk strapped into a Russian Soyuz capsule, undocked from the lab complex and fell back to Earth Tuesday, braving icy weather in Kazakhstan to close out a 188-day stay in space.
Descending under a large orange-and-white parachute, Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft made a rocket-assisted touchdown about 50 miles northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 2:15:34 a.m. EST, about three hours and 20 minutes after undocking from the International Space Station.
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(Source: Space Flight Now)
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