TWO SATELLITES COLLIDE IN ORBIT - In an unprecedented space collision, a commercial Iridium communications satellite and a presumably defunct Russian Cosmos satellite ran into each other Tuesday above northern Siberia, creating a cloud of wreckage, officials said today. The international space station does not appear to be threatened by the debris, they said, but it's not yet clear whether it poses a risk to any other military or civilian satellites. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Feb 11)
PROGRESS M-66 SPACECRAFT LAUNCHED FROM BAIKONUR COSMODROME - At 08 hours 49 minutes 46 seconds Moscow Time transport cargo vehicle Progress M-66 was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome as per Mission Program and the commitments undertaken by the Russian side under the International Space Station (ISS) Project. The launch objective is to deliver onboard the ISS various cargoes, required to keep the station operating in a manned mode and support crew life-sustaining environment and operating conditions. Reserves of oxygen, air, food products, fuel, consumables, apparatus, equipment, on-board documentation and e.t.c. were launched into orbit from the Earth. More (Source: SpaceRef - Feb 10)
ORBITAL PREPARING FOR LAUNCH OF NSS-9 COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE FOR SES NEW SKIES - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world’s leading space technology companies, announced that it is in final preparations for the launch of the NSS-9 commercial communications satellite for its customer SES NEW SKIES of The Hague, The Netherlands. The spacecraft is currently at the spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, undergoing final preparations for its launch into geosynchronous orbit (GEO) aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket. The launch is currently scheduled for February 12, 2009. More (Source: Orbital - Feb 9)
NEW DATE SET FOR EUROPEAN SCIENCE SATELLITE - The European Space Agency (ESA) on Friday set March 16 as the new date for the much-delayed launch of a satellite to monitor Earth's gravitational field. The Gravity field and state-steady Ocean Circulation Explorer, or GOCE, has suffered several delays from its original launch date of September 10 from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Moscow. More (Source: Space Daily - Feb 7)
UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE PLACES WEATHER SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - The United Launch Alliance fired a weather satellite built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. into orbit Friday morning. The launch of a ULA Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. was the second mission of 2009 for the Centennial-based company, the government’s main contractor for satellite launches. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is headquartered in Littleton. The satellite launched Friday is the last of 16 satellites in a fleet of weather-tracking orbiters procured by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. launched the first satellite in the fleet in 1978. More (Source: Bizjournals.com - Feb 7)
SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH DELAYED AGAIN FOR VALVE TESTS - NASA has delayed the next space shuttle launch again. Now the space shuttle Discovery won't lift off before Feb. 22. NASA says it needs the extra time to finish testing hydrogen gas fuel valves. A small part of one valve broke during the launch of the last shuttle flight in November. On Tuesday, NASA postponed the launch of Discovery from Feb. 12 until at least Feb. 19 More (Source: Associated Press - Feb 7)
NASA SATELLITE LAUNCH IS AGAIN POSTPONED - The U.S. space agency has, for the second time this week, postponed the launch of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the launch of the NOAA-N Prime weather satellite was delayed Thursday morning when a payload air conditioning compressor at the launch pad failed. The unit provides cool, dry air inside the spacecraft prior to launch. More (Source: UPI - Feb 6)
STS-119 MISSION PREPS MOVE FORWARD - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians installed space shuttle Discovery's gaseous hydrogen, or GH2, flow control valves Saturday. GH2 leak checks will be performed today. The GH2 valves are used to synchronize the gas pressure between the external fuel tank and the engines, creating an even flow. Final installation of the ordnance that will separate the shuttle from the mobile launcher platform at the time of liftoff is scheduled to take place late tonight. More (Source: Space Daily - Feb 5)
ARIANE 5 READY FOR HOT BIRD 10, NSS-9 AND SPIRALE SATELLITES LAUNCH - Arianespace's first Ariane 5 for launch in 2009 is now complete following the full installation of its multi-satellite payload, keeping preparations on schedule for a February 12 evening liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana. The final assembly step occurred today (February 4) when Ariane 5's upper payload stack component was installed atop the launcher. This element is composed of the Eutelsat HOT BIRD 10 satellite, which is mounted on Ariane 5's SYLDA dispenser system and encapsulated inside the launch vehicle's protective payload fairing. More (Source: Space Daily - Feb 5)
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