CIRQUE DU SOLEIL FOUNDER RETURNS FROM SPACE - Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, sporting a foam clown nose, landed back on Earth after a $35 million working vacation at the international space station. The Canadian billionaire arrived in Kazakhstan on Sunday aboard a Russian spacecraft, along with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and American astronaut Michael Barratt, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. More (Source: CNN - Oct 12)
MANAGERS GIVE APPROVAL TO CONTINUE ARES 1-X PREPS - After reviewing the status of preparatory work inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, mission managers gave approval Friday to proceed toward rollout of the slender Ares 1-X test rocket on Oct. 19. During Friday's Launch Readiness Review, officials discussed the results of rocket testing and received updates on preparations to ready the 327-foot-tall booster for its trip to launch pad 39B. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Oct 11)
SPACE STATION CREW SAILS TO SAFE LANDING IN KAZAKHSTAN - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Michael Barratt and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte undocked from the Interrnational Space Station Saturday and plunged to a successful landing in Kazakhstan early Sunday. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Oct 11)
FIRST EUROPEAN COMMANDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - ESA astronaut Frank De Winne became the first European commander of the International Space Station this morning with the departure of Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka who had filled this role since April. De Winne is the first non-American and non-Russian to take on this role. More (Source: ESA - Oct 11)
NASA ADJUSTS SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' LAUNCH PAD MOVE TO OCT. 14 - NASA now is targeting Wednesday, Oct. 14, to move space shuttle Atlantis to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. First motion of Atlantis from Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The move is known as "rollout." The 3.4 mile journey is expected to take approximately six hours. Activities include a 6:30 a.m. photo opportunity of the shuttle's move and an interview availability with Atlantis Flow Director Angie Brewer at 7:45 a.m. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area. More (Source: Space Ref - Oct 10)
WORLDVIEW-2 LAUNCHED VIA DELTA II OUT OF VAFB - DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 satellite has been launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket on Thursday morning. The launch, which took place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA at 11:51 (local) – slightly delayed from the scheduled T-0 due to a battery issue on the vehicle’s second stage. The WorldView-2 spacecraft is an optical imaging satellite, which will be operated by Colorado-based DigitalGlobe. It was constructed by Ball Aerospace, and is based on the BCP-5000 satellite bus. It has a mass of 2,800 kilograms, and an anticipated operational lifespan of seven and a quarter years. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Oct 8)
OBAMA VOICES SUPPORT FOR SPACE FUNDING, LEADERSHIP - President Barack Obama signaled Wednesday that the White House will likely approve increased funding for NASA to carry out a new U.S. manned flight goal beyond Earth orbit, but he gave no hint about which of several options will be pursued. The new manned flight goal will be drawn from options developed by the Human Space Flight Plans Committee headed by Norman Augustine retired head of Lockheed Martin. They are due at the White House by the end of the month. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Oct 8)
ATLANTIS ARRIVES AT VAB - Space Shuttle Atlantis has returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Technicians began moving Atlantis from its hangar in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 to the VAB at about 7 a.m. The move, or the rollover, was competed at 8:25 a.m. when Atlantis arrived in the VAB's transfer aisle. The sling that will transfer Atlantis over to the VAB's High Bay 1 was set to be attached Tuesday afternoon. More (Source: My Fox Orlando - Oct 8)
DIGITALGLOBE ANNOUNCES WORLDVIEW-2 SATELLITE LAUNCH BROADCAST - Third High-Resolution, Remote-Sensing Satellite to Launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base October 8. DigitalGlobe announced the date and time for the streaming of the WorldView-2 launch, the company's third high-resolution, remote-sensing satellite. More (Source: Digital Globe - Oct 7)
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