SPACE STATION'S CLOSE CALL WITH JUNK: MORE TO COME - The near-hit of space junk Thursday was a warning shot fired across the bow of the international space station, experts said. There's likely more to come in the future. With less than an hour's notice, the three astronauts were told they'd have to seek shelter in a Russian capsule parked at the space station in case a speeding piece of space junk hit Thursday. If it hit and they were in the main part of the station, they'd have only 10 minutes of safety, Mission Control told them. A hole in the space station could mean loss of air, loss of pressure and eventual loss of life. More (Source: Associated Press - Mar 13)
STATION CREW TAKES PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES DUE TO SPACE DEBRIS - International Space Station Expedition 18 crew members are taking precautionary measures due to space debris that has been determined to be within the range where a collision is possible. News of the close approach came too late for flight controllers to coordinate an avoidance maneuver. A portion of a spent satellite motor is within the distance of the station's debris avoidance maneuver requirement "box." More (Source: NASA - Mar 12)
NORTH KOREA PLANS APRIL SATELLITE LAUNCH, YONHAP SAYS - North Korea has notified international agencies that it plans to launch a satellite between April 4 and 8, Yonhap News reported, a move that the U.S. and South Korea say would violate a UN resolution. North Korea has informed the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization of the launch, the official Korea Central News Agency said. More (Source: Bloomberg.com - Mar 12)
NASA SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH DELAYED - Nasa has delayed the launch of its Discovery shuttle mission to complete the electricity generation system on the International Space Station (ISS). A fuel leak meant Wednesday's launch would be delayed until Sunday at the earliest, the US space agency said. The orbiter is due to deliver the fourth and final set of solar array wings to the platform and the last segment of its truss, or backbone More (Source: BBC News - Mar 12)
LAUNCH SCRUBBED AFTER SLIGHT GH2 LEAK - NASA officials scrubbed Wednesday’s attempt at 2:37 EDT to launch space shuttle Discovery after a slight leak was detected in a gaseous hydrogen (GH2) vent line. The vent line is at the intertank region of the external tank and is the overboard vent to the pad and the flare stack where the vented hydrogen is burned off. The launch team is resetting to preserve the option of attempting a Thursday night liftoff at 8:54 p.m. EDT depending on what repairs are needed and what managers decide. The Mission Management Team is meeting at 5 p.m. today to discuss the issue. More (Source: NASA - Mar 11)
SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT FLORIDA SPACEPORT - The seven astronauts set to launch into orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery this week arrived at NASA's Florida spaceport Sunday after weeks of delay. Led by shuttle commander Lee Archambault, the astronauts landed their T-38 jets on a runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., where they plan to launch toward the International Space Station Wednesday night at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 March 12 GMT). More (Source: Space.com - Mar 9)
N. KOREA WARNS AGAINST INTERCEPTING 'SATELLITE' LAUNCH - North Korea says it will retaliate if its "satellite" launch from its northeastern coast is intercepted, with the communist nation saying interference would "mean a war." The statement came as the North cut off communications with neighboring South Korea. "Shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean a war," a spokesman for the North Korean army said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). More (Source: CNN - Mar 9)
KEPLER THUNDERS INTO SPACE - The Delta II rocket carrying the Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft lifted off on time at 10:49 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch followed a smooth countdown free of technical issues or weather concerns. The Kepler spacecraft will watch a patch of space for 3.5 years or more for signs of Earth-sized planets moving around stars similar to the sun. The patch that Kepler will watch contains about 100,000 stars like the sun. More (Source: NASA - Mar 7)
NASA SETS SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LAUNCH FOR WEDNESDAY - After several delays, NASA said Friday that space shuttle Discovery is scheduled for launch in five days. Commander Lee Archambault and his six crewmates are now scheduled to lift off to the International Space Station at 9:20 p.m. ET Wednesday. NASA said its managers had completed a readiness review for Discovery, which will be making the 28th shuttle mission to the ISS. More (Source: CNN - Mar 6)
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