NEW SATELLITE WILL IMPROVE WEATHER, CLIMATE, OCEAN FORECASTS - A new NASA-French space agency oceanography satellite was lofted into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base early Friday morning on a three year mission to record sea level, a vital indicator of global climate change. The mission is expected to return a vast amount of new data that will allow greater precision in weather, climate and ocean forecasts. More (Source: Environment News Service - Jun 24)
NASA LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITE TO MAP RISING SEAS - The U.S.-European Jason-2 ocean altimetry satellite was launched successfully June 20 aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a five-year mission to continue the uninterrupted study of ocean levels and currents that was begun in the early 1990s in a U.S.-French partnership. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 22)
DATA RELAY SATELLITE CLUSTER LAUNCHED FOR ORBCOMM - Six new communications relay satellites were launched into orbit Thursday to rejuvenate a space-based messaging service operated by ORBCOMM Inc. The six spacecraft were hauled into orbit by a Kosmos 3M rocket launched from the Kapustin Yar space base in southwestern Russia. Liftoff was at 0636 GMT (2:36 a.m. EDT). The two-stage booster was aiming for an orbit with an altitude of about 415 miles and an inclination of 48.5 degrees. ORBCOMM officials announced the launch was a success. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Jun 21)
NASA UNDER PRESSURE TO EXTEND SPACE SHUTTLE'S LIFE - IT'S one of the priciest scientific instruments never used - and a thorn in NASA's side. Now the agency may be forced to delay the retirement of the space shuttle so that it can haul the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer particle detector into space. More than a decade ago, NASA agreed to lug the AMS to the International Space Station. There it will probe the origin of cosmic rays, measure antimatter, and look for hints of dark matter More (Source: New Scientist - Jun 19)
NEXT MISSION SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER TO WORK ON HUBBLE TELESCOPE - The next mission of the Space Shuttle is scheduled for October 8th when Shuttle Atlantic is scheduled to perform a servicing mission to the Hubble space telescope. The Hubble Space telescope is in orbit around the Earth and the Shuttle Atlantis will perform maintenance on the telescope to assist it in performing its mission to peer into the heavens. More (Source: Ontario Now - Jun 18)
STUDENT SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED - Students at Leicester University have started a project to design, build and launch a satellite into space. Twenty undergraduates in the department of physics and astronomy are involved in the mission to detect space dust. The main body of the satellite was donated this week by an engineering company based in Loughborough. More (Source: BBC News - Jun 15)
DISCOVERY LANDS IN FLORIDA - With Commander Mark Kelly and Pilot Ken Ham at the controls, space shuttle Discovery descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The STS-124 crew concluded their successful assembly mission to the International Space Station when the shuttle landed at 11:15 a.m. EDT. The STS-124 crew arrived at the station June 2, delivering the second component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory and a new Expedition 17 crew member – Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff – to the station. Chamitoff took the place of Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who is returning to Earth as a member of the Discovery crew. More (Source: NASA - Jun 14)
DISCOVERY HEADED HOME - Commander Mark Kelly performed the deorbit burn at 10:10 a.m. EDT to begin space shuttle Discovery's descent to Kennedy Space Center for landing. Discovery is expected to land at 11:15 a.m. on runway 15 at the shuttle landing facility. The STS-124 crew arrived at the International Space Station June 2, delivering the second component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory and a new Expedition 17 crew member – Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff – to the station. Chamitoff took the place of Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who is returning to Earth as a member of the Discovery crew. More (Source: NASA - Jun 14)
TURKSAT 3A, NEW SATELLITE, IN ORBIT - Turkey's new generation communication satellite, the Turksat 3A, was launched shortly before 1 a.m. from the Kourou base in French Guiana on Friday. Turkey's fifth satellite, Turksat will enable satellite and cable television operator Turksat to offer telecommunication services as well as direct TV broadcasting services... More (Source: Today's Zaman - Jun 14)
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