SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO BE ROLLED BACK TO VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING - NASA engineers are planning on conducting a tanking test of space shuttle Discovery’s external tank, no-earlier-than Dec. 17. Technicians have been hampered by local weather which has been extremely windy – and cold. Temperatures in the local area have fallen into the twenties. This test will work to ensure that repairs that were made to the large, orange external tank (ET) after several cracks were discovered after the launch attempt on Nov. 5. The cracks were discovered on the intertank region of the ET. These 21-foot-long aluminum brackets are called ‘stringers’ and NASA has been striving to repair the first crack, only to discover a second and third crack. Engineers are stilling trying to figure the cause of the cracks. More (Source: Examiner.com - Dec 16)
ISRO TO LAUNCH GSAT-5P COMMUNICATION SATELLITE ON DEC 20 - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)will launch GSAT-5P, a 2,400 kg communication satellite, on December 20 from the SHAR Range at Sriharikota by a Geo-Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) using Russian Cryogenic engine. ISRO sources told UNI here yesterday that the launch window for the mission will start on December 20 and it would be open for about 90 minutes. "We have fixed the date at December 20:, the sources, said,adding GSAT-5P would be launched by GSLV-F06 mission at around 1600 hours on that day. More (Source: NetIndian - Dec 12)
NASA SOLAR SAIL SATELLITE MAY NOT HAVE EJECTED FROM MOTHERSHIP AFTER ALL - A small NASA satellite carrying a folded-up solar sail may not have ejected from its mothership earlier this week after all, the space agency announced late Friday (Dec. 10). NASA had reported that NanoSail-D, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, successfully ejected from the FASTSAT satellite in low-Earth orbit in the early hours of Dec. 6. But the space agency released a status update today (Dec. 10) saying that now they're not so sure. "At this time, it is not clear that NanoSail-D ejected from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSAT) as originally stated on Monday, Dec. 6," the statement reads. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 12)
SPACEX SPLASHES DOWN TO COMPLETE SUCCESSFUL DEMO FLIGHT - SpaceX's Dragon capsule fell to a soft landing in the Pacific Ocean just after 2 p.m. to complete a hugely successful first demonstration flight. The spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral at 10:43 a.m. EST atop a Falcon 9 rocket and was deployed in orbit a little over nine minutes later. The capsule completed nearly two trips around the planet flying 186 miles high. From a mission control center in southern California, SpaceX teams tested guidance, propulsion and communications systems. More (Source: USA Today - Dec 8)
SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET, CAPSULE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED - SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon test capsule launched successfully from Florida's Kennedy Space Center Wednesday morning. It's the first successful launch for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program and another step for the future of commercial space flight. More (Source: PC Magazine - Dec 8)
SPACEX CRAFT MISSES INITIAL LAUNCH TIME - The launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Florida was delayed Wednesday morning. The first commercial spacecraft slated to orbit Earth and re-enter successfully was originally scheduled to lift off shortly after 9 a.m. No reason was given for the delay. Launch coordinators will try again at 10:43 a.m. Officials hope the demonstration flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule will still make the 9 a.m. to 12:22 p.m. ET launch window. More (Source: CNN - Dec 8)
NASA'S NANOSAIL-D RELEASED INTO THE WINDS OF SPACE - Despite being an idea rattling around inside the head of engineers and space enthusiasts for over 40 years, solar sails have never really gained much traction in the way of actual deployment. Today, NASA has taken an important step towards testing solar sail technology for use in future spacecraft. The Nanosail-D spacecraft was launched Friday, Nov. 19 at 8:25 p.m. EST from Kodiak Island, Alaska, and was piggybacking on another satellite, both aboard a Minotaur IV rocket. It has successfully been ejected from the launch vehicle as of today, and is on its own. Though the sails have yet to deploy, this is already an achievement that bodes well for the future of both solar sail and small satellite technology. More (Source: Discovery News - Dec 8)
SPACEX ON THE VERGE OF UNLEASHING DRAGON IN THE SKY - SpaceX plans to launch a robotic space capsule, fly it around the world two times, then order the craft back home Wednesday in a whirlwind test flight to demonstrate the ship's readiness to NASA. The mission is scheduled to last three-and-a-half hours after originating from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft will occur in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off the west coast of northern Mexico and California. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Dec 8)
RUSSIAN SATELLITE LAUNCH FAILS - Russia's space agency is investigating the failed launch of three navigational satellites, the agency reported Sunday. The satellites were meant to complete the Russian GLONASS satellite navigation system. But they went into a "non-targeted orbit" following their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday afternoon, the Federal Space Agency reported. "A special Board has been established to find out the cause of the contingency and to define next steps," the agency said in a public statement. More (Source: CNN - Dec 6)
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