SATELLITE IMAGE CAPTURES GREEK FIRES RAGING OUT OF CONTROL - NASA's Earth-monitoring Aqua satellite captured this dramatic shot of the deadly fires in Greece that have claimed an estimated 60 lives. Smoke clouds drift across southern Greece and into the Mediterranean. Fires burning actively are outlined with red boxes. More (Source: Independent Online - Aug 29)
LOCKHEED IN BID FOR 32-SATELLITE NETWORK - Lockheed Martin Space Systems has teamed with a pair of other defense industry giants in a bid for a massive Air Force contract to build and launch a new global positioning satellite network. More (Source: Bizjournals.com - Aug 28)
PSLV TO LAUNCH ISRAELI SATELLITE - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is busy preparing to launch an Israeli satellite called Polaris by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) between September 17 and 20 from the spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. More (Source: Hindu - Aug 28)
RUSSIA, US, EUROPE TO BUILD WEATHER SATELLITE SYSTEM - Russia, the United Sates and Europe will jointly create an orbital grouping of weather monitoring satellites, Georgy Polishchuk, the general director of the Lavochkin research and production corporation (Khimki, near Moscow). More (Source: New Europe - Aug 26)
CHINA, JAPAN RACE FOR THE MOON - Japan claims its project is the biggest since Apollo. China says it is readying its probes to study the lunar surface to plan a landing. Japan‘s space agency said last week that its SELENE lunar satellite is on track for a Sept. 13 launch, following years of delay as engineers struggled to fix mechanical problems. More (Source: Pierceland Herald - Aug 25)
NASA ORDERS FIX ON DISCOVERY'S EXTERNAL TANK BRACKETS - Insulating foam that covers brackets of Discovery's external fuel tank needs to be removed before the shuttle can fly again, NASA said Friday. A new X-ray analysis shows small cracks that probably make the material prone to shedding, officials said. More (Source: CNN.com - Aug 25)
ENDEAVOUR HAS LANDED! - Space Center, Fla., bringing to a close an International Space Station Assembly mission and concluding the flight of a teacher turned astronaut. Touchdown occurred at 12:32 p.m. EDT on runway 15 with STS-118 Commander Scott Kelly and Pilot Charles Hobaugh at the controls. The STS-118 crew also includes Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams, Barbara R. Morgan and Alvin Drew. More (Source: NASA - Aug 21)
ASTRONAUTS CLOSE PAYLOAD BAY DOORS FOR LANDING - The STS-118 crew is making final preparations for its return to Earth aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour to complete a successful assembly mission to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for 12:32 p.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Endeavour's payload bay doors are now closed. If flight controllers decide to press ahead with landing, Commander Scott Kelly and Pilot Charles Hobaugh will fire Endeavour’s engines at 11:25 a.m. to begin the descent to Kennedy. More (Source: NASA - Aug 21)
ENDEAVOUR CLEARED FOR LANDING - Mission managers announced Monday that Space Shuttle Endeavour is cleared for landing. The decision came after a thorough review of imagery and data collected during late inspection of the orbiter on Sunday. In space, the seven-member STS-118 crew prepared for its return to Earth aboard Endeavour after a successful stay at the International Space Station. More (Source: NASA - Aug 21)
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