ISS COMPUTER OUTAGE COULD DELAY MONDAY'S SPACEX ROCKET LAUNCH - A computer outage at the International Space Station may require a spacewalk by astronauts and threatens to delay next week's launch of a commercial supply ship for NASA. NASA said Friday night that a backup computer on the outside of the orbiting lab is not responding to commands. The main computer, called an MDM or multiplexer-demultiplexer, is working fine, and the six-man crew is in no danger, officials said. But these computers control some robotic functions that would be needed for the upcoming supply run by SpaceX, one of two U.S. companies contracted by NASA to keep the space station well stocked.    More
(Source: Bay News 9 - Apr 13)

NEXT ANTARES LAUNCH FROM WALLOPS COULD BE DELAYED - Orbital Science Corp.'s next cargo mission from Wallops Island to the International Space Station is officially May 6 — but that launch might be postponed a month or more because of a wide range of issues, officials say. First, a fire at Cape Canaveral in Florida knocked out some of its radar tracking ability, said Orbital spokesman Barron "Barry" Beneski from his Dulles office. Then, in a sort of domino effect, that radar loss delayed two launches from the Cape, including one by SpaceX, the other company that makes commercial resupply runs to the space station for NASA.   More
(Source: Daily Press - Apr 12)

HUSH-HUSH PAYLOAD RIDES ATLAS 5 ROCKET INTO ORBIT - Setting sail at mid-day on a marathon trip to orbit, an Atlas 5 rocket launched a classified spacecraft for the National Reconnaissance Office on Thursday. Igniting its main engine and four strap-on boosters at 1:45 p.m. EDT, the 20-story-tall rocket bolted skyward and arced over the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The liftoff continued a string of fuel-and-launches for the Atlas, marking the 12th mission in a row to launch on the first countdown attempt.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 11)

NEW OFEK-10 SPY SATELLITE LAUNCHED FROM PALMACHIM - srael on Wednesday evening launched a new spy satellite into orbit from an air force base in the center of the country. The spacecraft, the “Ofek-10,” will reportedly orbit the Earth every 99 minutes from an altitude of 600 kilometers (373 miles). The launch, from the Palmachim IAF base near Rishon Lezion, was visible throughout much of Israel’s center. According an Israel Radio report, much of air and sea traffic in the area was temporarily halted in order to facilitate the launch.    More
(Source: The Times of Israel - Apr 10)

RUSSIAN PROGRESS CARGO CRAFT DOCKS AT SPACE STATION - A Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with a Russian Progress resupply spacecraft, kicking off a expedited flight to the International Space Station with 2.9 tons of fuel, water and supplies. The Progress completed a smooth docking with the outpost six hours after liftoff. The unpiloted Progress M-23M cargo vehicle launched at 1526 GMT (11:26 a.m. EDT), firing into an evening sky at Baikonur before its Soyuz booster disappeared in a shroud of low clouds as it raced northeast from the historic launch base.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 10)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH ROBOTIC CAPSULE TO SPACE STATION NEXT WEEK - A private spaceflight company will launch its third robotic resupply mission to the International Space Station next week. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's unmanned Dragon vehicle loaded down with supplies is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 14. This will be SpaceX's third official flight to the station under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly 12 missions to the orbiting outpost using the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. You can watch the SpaceX launch live on Space.com via NASA TV starting at 3:45 p.m. EDT (1945 GMT) on April 14. Launch is scheduled for 4:58 EDT (2058 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 9)

PROGRESS DEPARTS SPACE STATION, NEW CARGO SHIPS AWAITING LAUNCH - A Russian space freighter filled with trash departed the International Space Station on time Monday at 9:58 a.m. EDT. The ISS Progress 54 will orbit Earth 11 days for engineering tests before finally deorbiting over the Pacific Ocean for a fiery disposal. A new space delivery awaits its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan inside the ISS Progress 55 spacecraft. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:26 a.m. Wednesday with a docking to the station’s Pirs docking compartment just six- hours, or four orbits, later. The Russian resupply ship is delivering nearly 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies.    More
(Source: RedOrbit - Apr 9)

SPACEX COULD BE THE NEXT SPACE STATION - SpaceX could be the next space station in America, as the launch of the reusable rocket Grasshooper’s launch was successful last month, WacoTrib says. SpaceX did numerous tests to provide such a launch. The CEO of the company Elon Musk hopes that in the future, rockets along with the cars will be reusable and no gas will be needed. WacoTrib states that there will be a future test in New Mexico, which is yet to be scheduled for test flights of the Falcon9R at higher altitudes. The rockets should be able to land and be reused for another launch.   More
(Source: Guardian Liberty Voice - Apr 7)

PSLV PUTS NAVIGATION SATELLITE IN ORBIT - India marched towards establishing its own navigation system on Friday when its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C24) put into precise orbit the country’s second navigation satellite, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1B). The 1,432-kg IRNSS-1B will form part of a constellation of seven navigation satellites. It was the 25th success in a row for the PSLV, after it majestically lifted off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota at 5.14 p.m. After 19 minutes of flight, IRNSS-1B was put into a perfect orbit.    More
(Source: The Hindu - Apr 6)

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