NASA REPORT EXPLAINS SATELLITE LAUNCH FAILURE - NASA this week released an eight-page report detailing all its engineers have learned about a failed satellite launch that took place on March 4, 2011. The launch of a Taurus XL T9 rocket, designed by Orbital Science Corporation, was meant to carry the Glory climate change monitoring satellite into orbit. The rocket instead failed to reach orbit, costing the agency around $388 million. A “mishap investigation board” put together by NASA in the aftermath of the failure determined that the rocket’s fairing system failed to open fully, causing the destruction of the rocket and its payload. More (Source: WebProNews - Feb 24)
SUITCASE-SIZE SATELLITE TO PATROL FOR DANGEROUS ASTEROIDS - Earth received a wake-up call last week with a double shot of incoming space rocks—the near miss of asteroid DA14 and the Russian meteor explosion. Our planet is in a cosmic shooting gallery and more work needs to be done to survey menacing asteroids, astronomers say. Now the Canadian Space Agency is stepping up to the plate to help do just that with the launch of a new sentinel to detect and track near-Earth objects (NEOs). The pint-size space telescope is hitching a ride into orbit aboard an Indian rocket on February 25. Even though the Near-Earth Object Space Surveillance Satellite (NEOSSat) might find it challenging to hunt down relatively smaller size meteors... More (Source: National Geographic - Feb 22)
AZERBAIJAN'S FIRST TELECOMMUNICATION SATELLITE TAKES ITS ORBITAL POSITION - According to APA, from 19 February to early March, Azerspace-1 trials will continue and thereupon it will be fully leased to Azercosmos. The satellite will be managed by specialists of Azercosmos from the main control center near Baku. Redundant control center is located in Nakhchivan. Remind that, Azerbaijan's first telecommunications satellite (Azerspace-1) launched to orbit on February 8. Azerspace-1 manufactured by the US-based Orbital Sciences Corporation on a flight-proven GEO Star-2 platform and launched by the highly reliable Ariane-5 launch vehicle of the French Arianespace. More (Source: News.Az - Feb 20)
RUSSIA TO LAUNCH BIOSCIENCE SATELLITE - A Russian satellite that will conduct biological experiments in space and its launch rocket have been delivered to the Baikonur space center, officials said. As part of Russia's Federal Space Program, the Bion-M spacecraft will conduct fundamental and applied research in space biology, physiology and biotechnology while in orbit, the Roscosmos space agency reported Monday. More (Source: UPI.com - Feb 20)
NEXT PRIVATE SPACECRAFT LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION SET FOR MARCH 1 - The next private cargo mission to the International Space Station is slated to blast off March 1, NASA announced today (Feb. 14). The unmanned Dragon capsule, built by California-based firm SpaceX, will launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT) on March 1 and arrive at the orbiting lab a day later. More (Source: Space.com - Feb 18)
INDO-FRENCH SATELLITE SARAL SET FOR LAUNCH ON FEBRUARY 25 - Indo-French satellite 'SARAL', aimed at oceanographic studies, would be launched along with a mix of six foreign mini and micro satellites on board PSLV-C20 from the spaceport of Sriharikota on February 25. The core-alone PSLV-20 is slated for the blast-off at around 6 pm on that day, sources in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told PTI here. More (Source: Economic Times - Feb 18)
ASTEROID 2012 DA14: WILL IT SMASH A SATELLITE? - If your satellite TV goes out on Friday, can you blame it on an asteroid? Highly unlikely, say scientists monitoring the approach of asteroid 2012 DA14, which will zoom closer to Earth on Friday than any other known object of its size. The celestial visitor, which is almost as wide as the length of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, is due to pass as close as 17,100 miles at 2:24 p.m. EST (7:24 p.m. GMT) on Friday. That's closer than the television and communications satellites which circle the planet some 500 miles higher. More (Source: Discovery News - Feb 14)
RUSSIANS SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCH SPACE STATION RESUPPLY SHIP - Dispatching a freighter filled with food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station, a Russian Soyuz booster launched Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a six-hour trek to the orbiting outpost. The rocket successfully blasted off carrying the automated Progress vessel from the launch base in Kazakhstan at 9:41:46 a.m. EST (1441:46 GMT; 8:41 p.m. local time), beginning Russia's 50th delivery mission attempted to the space station since 2000. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 13)
ROBOTIC RUSSIAN SUPPLY SHIP DOCKS WITH SPACE STATION - An unmanned Russian spacecraft carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies arrived at the International Space Station Monday (Feb. 11) less than six hours after blasting off. The robotic Progress 50 resupply ship docked with the orbiting lab at 3:35 p.m. EST (2035 GMT) Monday after launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EST (1441 GMT). Such unmanned cargo trips have traditionally taken about two days. More (Source: Space.com - Feb 13)
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