CHINA SUCCESSFULLY ORBITS ITS 3RD WEATHER SATELLITE - China has successfully orbited its third meteorological satellite, the Fengyun-2-06, the country's central television CCTV reported on Tuesday. The satellite was launched from the XiChang Satellite Launch Center, in southwest China at 08:54 a.m. local time (00:54 a.m. GMT) on board a Chang Zheng-3A carrier rocket. The Fengyun-2-06 weather satellite will collect meteorological data from the previously orbited satellites and replace its outdated predecessor, the Fengyun-2-C, orbited in 2004. China launched its second weather satellite, the Fengyun 2-D, in 2006. More (Source: RIA Novosti - Dec 23)
TWO EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION SATELLITES PUT IN ORBIT - A European Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Saturday to put two satellites into orbit for the European telecoms operator Eutelsat (ETL.PA), officials said. The rocket was launched from Europe's space base in Kourou on the northeast coast of South America at 7:35 p.m. (2235 GMT). More (Source: Reuters - Dec 22)
SRO'S COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION SATELLITE LAUNCHED - A state of the art communication satellite, W2M, built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched on Sunday at 0405 hrs (IST) by the European Ariane-5 launch vehicle. The launch took place from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana. 32 minutes after its lift-off, W2M separated from Ariane-5, after reaching its intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Radio signals transmitted by W2M were successfully received by ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka and the satellite’s health is normal More (Source: The Hindu - Dec 22)
CHINA ORBITS YAOGAN-5 SATELLITE VIA CHANG ZHENG-4B LAUNCH VEHICLE - China has launched a new remote sensing satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The fifth satellite in the YaoGan series was orbited by a CZ-4B Chang Zheng-4B launch vehicle at 03:22 UTC Monday morning. According to the state media, and as is predecessors, the YaoGan-5 satellite will be used for scientific research, land resources surveying, crop yield estimate and disaster prevention and relief. The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 15)
CHINA TO LAUNCH NEW REOMOTE SENSING SATELLITE - China is scheduled to launch a new remote sensing satellite "Yaogan V" on Monday at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province. The satellite is to be launched into the space on a Long March-4B carrier rocket "at an appropriate time", China News Service reports on Sunday. At present, both the rocket and the satellite were in good condition and the preparation went on well, according to the launch center. More (Source: Xinhua - Dec 14)
ILS PROTON SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES CIEL II SATELLITE - International Launch Services (ILS), a world leader in providing mission and launch services to the commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the Ciel II satellite into space for the Ciel Satellite Group of Canada today on Russia's premier heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Proton Breeze M. This was the sixth launch of the year, and 49th overall, for ILS. It is the 340th launch for the Proton system since its inception. The Proton Breeze M vehicle is built by Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow. More (Source: Market Watch - Dec 11)
SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR MAKES STOP IN FORT WORTH - The space shuttle Endeavour made a pit stop in Texas en route to Florida on Wednesday afternoon and will probably continue its cross-country trek this afternoon, authorities said. A modified 747 jet brought the shuttle piggyback to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth about 3:15 p.m. The shuttle made a quick stop in El Paso earlier in the day. More (Source: Dallas News - Dec 11)
NASA SETS TARGET SHUTTLE LAUNCH DATE FOR HUBBLE SERVICING MISSION - NASA announced last Thursday that space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is targeted to launch May 12, 2009. The final servicing mission to Hubble was delayed in September when a data handling unit on the telescope failed. Since then, engineers have been working to prepare a spare for flight. They expect to be able to ship the spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling System, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in spring 2009. More (Source: About.com - Dec 9)
CHINA LAUNCH REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE YAOGAN-4 - WITH POTENTIAL MILITARY USE - According to the state media, the Yaogan-4 satellite “will be used for scientific research, land resources surveying, crop yield estimate and disaster prevention and relief, having a positive role in the country’s economic development.” The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology. The lack of information about this new bird raises the questions about its military nature. Announced as a remote sensing and disaster relief satellite series, the Yaogan satellite has an obscure mission. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 2)
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