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)

NASA TO LAUNCH PLANET-HUNTING TELESCOPE FRIDAY - A NASA telescope was cleared to launch on Friday on a mission to look for Earth-like planets around other stars and determine whether there are places that could support human-like life beyond our solar system. Liftoff of the Kepler telescope is scheduled for 10:49 p.m. EST on Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This is a historical mission," NASA's space science chief Ed Weiler told reporters on Thursday.    More
(Source: Reuters - Mar 6)

ANOTHER GOES SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED - The U.S. space agency says its latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is undergoing final testing prior to its scheduled launch April 28. The GOES-O satellite was developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Once in orbit it will be designated GOES-14 and NASA will transfer operational responsibility to NOAA.    More
(Source: UPI - Mar 5)

RUSSIAN MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY PROTON ROCKET - A Russian Proton rocket hauled a military communications satellite into orbit early Saturday. The three-stage Proton booster, topped by a Block DM upper stage, blasted off at 0410 GMT (11:10 p.m. EST Friday) from Complex 81 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket's Block DM upper stage completed several burns to place mission's payload into a geosynchronous transfer orbit stretching from an altitude of approximately 136 miles to a high point of about 22,000 miles.    More
(Source: SpaceFlightNow.com - Mar 1)

N. KOREA BEGINS ASSEMBLING ROCKET FOR LAUNCH, YONHAP REPORTS - North Korea appears to be assembling a rocket that it claims will carry a satellite into space, Seoul-based Yonhap News said. Ground assembly of the rocket appears to be proceeding, Yonhap reported, citing a government official it didn’t identify. North Korea will probably complete the work in a week at the earliest, it added. South Korean officials expect North Korea to complete launch preparations before its scheduled parliamentary elections next month, the report said.    More
(Source: Bloomberg.com - Feb 28)

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