TWO YEARS IN SPACE FOR GALILEO SATELLITE - On 28 December, it will be two years since GIOVE-A - the first Galileo satellite - was launched by a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, in Kazakhstan. This satellite demonstrates the progress Europe has made in setting up its own navigation system. More (Source: European Space Agency - Dec 20)
CANADA LAUNCHES SATELLITE ON RUSSIAN ROCKET - The Canadian Space Agency said Friday it successfully launched a commercial radar satellite into orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket "lit up the night sky as it was launched" at 7:17 pm (1417 GMT) local time, the agency said in a statement. More (Source: AFP - Dec 15)
NASA DELAYS ATLANTIS LAUNCH TO JAN. 10 - NASA on Thursday delayed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to Jan. 10 to give workers time off at Christmas. After back-to-back delays caused by errant fuel gauges, shuttle managers had been targeting a liftoff no earlier than Jan. 2. "Moving the next launch attempt of Atlantis to Jan. 10 will allow as many people as possible to have time with family and friends at the time of year when it means the most," shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said in a statement. More (Source: Associated Press - Dec 14)
FIFTH SATELLITE LAUNCH FOR ARIANESPACE IS FOR HISPASAT - HISPASAT has awarded to Arianespace the launching of their new comsat, the Amazonas 2. The satellite will be in the orbital position of 61° W. The launch is planned for 2009. This is the fifth satellite launched by Arianespace. That company also sent the satellites Hispasat 1A and Hispasat 1B into space in 1992 and 1993, respectively. In 2005 and 2006, Arianespace launched Xtar-Eur and Spainsat, government comsats. More (Source: SatNews Publishers - Dec 14)
CANADIAN SATELLITE SET TO KEEP AN EYE ON ARCTIC - Space and military officials are hoping a satellite set to launch Friday and capable of spotting fishing vessels as small as a car will be the latest tool to protect Canada's Arctic. Radarsat-2, the second in a series of Canadian radar satellites, will be launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan at 8:17 a.m. ET. More (Source: CBC North - Dec 14)
RUSSIA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES NEW MILITARY SATELLITE - A Russian booster rocket successfully launched a new military satellite into orbit on Sunday, officials said. The Proton-M rocket, launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, placed the Kosmos-2434 satellite into a designated orbit, the Russian Space Forces said in a statement carried by the Russia news wires. More (Source: International Herald Tribune - Dec 10)
ATLANTIS LAUNCH DELAYED TO JANUARY - NASA's Mission Management Team has delayed launch of the shuttle Atlantis on a critical space station assembly mission to at least Jan. 2 to troubleshoot intermittent electrical problems with low-level hydrogen fuel sensors that derailed launch attempts Thursday and again today. The shuttle's current launch window closes Dec. 13 because of space station power and temperature issues related to the lab's orbit. The window reopens Dec. 30, but NASA managers do not want to conduct a launch campaign during the end-of-year rollover because of countdown software issues. More (Source: Spaceflight Now - Dec 9)
FAULTY FUEL GAUGE SCRUBS SHUTTLE LAUNCH - NASA called off Sunday's planned launch of the space shuttle Atlantis after a gauge in the fuel tank failed for the second time in four days. It was not immediately clear when NASA might try again to send Atlantis to the international space station. Senior managers planned to meet later Sunday to decide on a course of action. More (Source: ABC News - Dec 9)
SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH DELAYED UNTIL SUNDAY - NASA mission managers decided Friday to push the space shuttle Atlantis' scheduled Saturday launch to Sunday afternoon. The liftoff is now scheduled for 3:21 p.m. Sunday and managers were still meeting to discuss final details of the plan, Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel said. More (Source: CNN.com - Dec 8)
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