IRAN SENDS SATELLITE TO ORBIT - Iran has successfully sent its first domestically made satellite into orbit, state radio reported Tuesday, another development in the country's ambitious space program that has worried many international observers. The satellite called Omid, or hope in Farsi, was launched late Monday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave the order to proceed, according to the radio report. State television also showed footage of what it said was the satellite blasting off in the darkness from an unidentified location in Iran. The reports could not be independently verified by outside observers. Some western observers have accused Tehran of exaggerating its space program.    More
(Source: Associated Press - Feb 3)

BACK FROM THE BRINK: BROKEN SATELLITE NOW FIXED AND READY - A half-billion dollar climate observatory, having weathered the storied perils of its past, is finally poised for launch early Wednesday. The NOAA-N Prime satellite is scheduled for liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 2:22 a.m. PST (5:22 a.m. EST; 1022 GMT). A Delta 2 rocket, boosted by three 40-inch-wide solid motors, will propel the 3,130-pound spacecraft to an altitude of 530 statute miles during a nearly 66-minute mission.    More
(Source: SpaceFlightNow.com - Feb 2)

RUSSIAN TSYKLON-3 BOWS OUT WITH CORONAS LAUNCH - Russia has launched its third satellite on a program for the study of the Sun and solar-terrestrial physics. The launch of Koronas-Foton took place at 13:30 UTC from the GIK-1 Plesetsk Cosmodrome, in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km North of Moscow. This was the last launch of the venerable 11K68 Tsyklon-3 rocket. CORONAS (Complex ORbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun) is the Russian program for study of the Sun and solar-terrestrial connections physics by series of spacecrafts, which provided the launch of three solar-oriented satellites onto the near-Earth orbit.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Feb 1)

ISRO-BUILT SATELLITE FAILS AFTER FIVE WEEKS - The very first communications satellite sold by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to the European operator Eutelsat has failed abruptly after five weeks in orbit, in a setback to ISRO which just celebrated the 100th day of its successful moon mission. "Scientists at ISRO are analyzing the anomaly in the hope of reviving the satellite," ISRO spokesman S. Satish said.    More
(Source: The Times of India - Feb 1)

FIRST RUSSIAN ROCKET OF 2009 LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY - Russia successfully launched its first cargo rocket of 2009, placing into orbit a Corona research satellite, according to a mission control spokesman. The launching of the Cyclone-3 rocket from the space center of Plesetsk in the northwest of Russia had been programmed for Thursday, but it was delayed by one day for technical reasons. The Corona satellite, projected to study solar processes, is third of three to study the Sun in orbit near earth under the Russian program Coronas.    More
(Source: Pravda - Feb 1)

FAILED TELECOM SATELLITE DRIFTING OUT OF CONTROL - The Astra 5A commercial telecommunications satellite is out of control after an unexplained failure Jan. 15 and is drifting eastward along the geostationary orbital arc, with ground controllers pessimistic about their ability to re-establish sufficient communications to guide it into a graveyard orbit, industry officials said Thursday. Officials said Astra 5A used a large portion of its remaining fuel during the hours following the initial loss of attitude control Jan. 15.   More
(Source: Fox News - Jan 24)

JAPAN LAUNCHES SATELLITE TO EYE GREENHOUSE GASES - The Japanese space agency launched a satellite Friday (Jan 23) that will measure greenhouse gases from the earth's orbit. The IBUKI satellite is designed "to observe the concentration distribution of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and to help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions covered by the 'Kyoto Protocol,'" the agency's Web site said.    More
(Source: CNN.com - Jan 23)

SINGLE ROCKET TO CARRY 6 'PRIVATE' SATELLITES - An H-2A rocket carrying six small satellites developed by universities and private-sector companies will be launched Wednesday from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. This will be the largest number of "private" satellites to be carried by a Japanese rocket. The SOHLA-1 exploratory satellite, which is also known as Maido Ichigo, was developed by a team of small and midsize companies in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture.    More
(Source: he Daily Yomiuri - Jan 19)

NEW SATELLITE TO MONITOR GLOBAL WARMING - Japan's space agency will launch a satellite next Wednesday that will monitor greenhouse gases and assist in the fight against climate change. After blast-off, the satellite will go into orbit around the Earth making rounds in less than two hours, and will collect new climate data every three days.    More
(Source: WFIE-TV - Jan 19)

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