COUNTDOWN CLOCK ON FOR SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR'S LAUNCH - NASA has begun counting down toward the planned predawn launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on Sunday. Endeavour is poised to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday morning at 4:39 a.m. EST to deliver a brand-new room and observation portal to the International Space Station. The clocks began ticking down toward launch time early this morning. "We're right on schedule, where we're supposed to be," said NASA test director Jeff Spaulding during a Thursday status briefing. More (Source: Fox News - Feb 5)
STATION CREW PREPARES FOR DOCKING - The ISS Progress 36 (P36) unpiloted spacecraft launched at 10:45 p.m. EST Tuesday (9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Baikonur time), loaded with 1,940 pounds of propellant, 106 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 2,683 pounds of spare parts and supplies. On Thursday shortly before 11:30 p.m., P36 will dock automatically to the aft port of the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station using the Kurs docking system. More (Source: Space Fellowship - Feb 4)
SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT THE CAPE FOR LAUNCH - Ready to begin counting down to their blastoff aboard the space shuttle Endeavour this weekend, the six astronauts traveled from the Houston training base to the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday night. The crew flew to the Cape aboard a Gulfstream jet, landing at about 10:09 p.m. EST on the same runway Endeavour will use to conclude the spaceflight. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Feb 3)
LATEST FREIGHTER HEADS FOR INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Before space shuttle Endeavour reaches the International Space Station, the outpost will receive an unmanned cargo-delivery freighter that successfully launched atop a Russian Soyuz rocket Tuesday night. Liftoff of the Progress craft occurred at 10:45 p.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, beginning a nine-minute ascent for the liquid-fueled rocket. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Feb 3)
IRAN LAUNCHES ROCKET CARRYING ANIMALS INTO ORBIT - Iran has launched a rocket into orbit carrying what state-owned Al-Alam televison report as an "experimental capsule". The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket is reportedly carrying a capsule with live animals including a rat, turtles and worms. Footage shown on state television shows the rocket being fired from a launch pad. President Ahmadinejad praised the launch of the satellite and the progress his country was making in its space programme. More (Source: BBC News - Feb 3)
ENDEAVOUR'S MISSION: MEET THE CREW - This next shuttle mission is crucial for the construction of the International Space Station, and Endeavour’s astronauts have been through some extensive training to make sure it’s a success. With only five space shuttle missions remaining, NASA had some tough decisions on naming crewmembers for the final flights. Most of the astronauts on the last missions are veterans of spaceflight. More (Source: Central Florida News 13 - Feb 2)
RASCOMSTAR-QAF TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITE - Rascomstar-Qaf will boost its pan-African connectivity by launching a new satellite in May, two years after launching the Rascomstar-QAF1 that is expected to stop working by the end of this year. Rascomstar-QAF1 was launched in December 2007 but had a helium leak, reducing its lifespan from the projected 15 years to three years. The satellite was launched by French company Ariane Space, which is going to launch the replacement. More (Source: The Industry Standard - Feb 2)
INTELSAT 4 SATELLITE EXPERIENCES ANOMALY - Intelsat S.A. announced today that its Intelsat 4 satellite (IS-4), located at 72° East Longitude, experienced an anomaly on 1 February 2010 at approximately 00:18 GMT. Intelsat is working with affected customers to identify restoration capacity. Intelsat and Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, the manufacturer of the IS-4, are working together to identify the cause of the anomaly. More (Source: SYS-CON Media - Feb 2)
ASTRONAUTS READY FOR SHUTTLE LAUNCH AMID NASA UNCERTAINTY - Six NASA astronauts are ready to rocket into space on the shuttle Endeavour in just over a week as questions swirl over the impact of the space agency’s upcoming budget request. Endeavour commander George Zamka said Friday that he and his crew are completely focused on the planned Feb. 7 launch to the International Space Station. Their mission: to deliver a new room to the $100 billion orbiting lab that will leave it nearly complete. More (Source: Space.com - Jan 30)
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