JAPAN LAUNCHES CUTE ROBOT TO SPACE STATION - Japan launched a cargo-carrying rocket Sunday loaded with supplies for the crew of the International Space Station, along with a small robot meant as a companion for one of the country's astronauts. When hobbyist rocket designer Curt Newport launched his latest project towards space, it had a camera attached. More (Source: Discovery.com - Aug 4)
HTV-4 SET FOR LAUNCH SATURDAY, SCIENCE AND SPACEWALK PREPS FOR STATION CREW - The fourth Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV-4, is set for launch aboard an H-IIB launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 3:48 p.m. EDT Saturday (4:48 a.m. Sunday, Japan time) to begin a six-day journey to the International Space Station. The rocket is scheduled to roll out to its ocean side launch pad late Friday and will be fueled early Saturday for its scheduled launch. More (Source: Space Fellowship - Aug 3)
TALKING ROBOT ASTRONAUT TO HEAD TO SPACE STATION - In case it gets lonely in space, the Japanese have unveiled the first talking robo-astronaut as part of the world's first human-robot conversation experiment. Kirobo, the world’s first space conversation robot, will be launched into space from the Tanegashima Space Centre to the International Space Station Sunday. The robot was built with Toyota's latest voice-recognition software. More (Source: CBC.ca - Aug 3)
SATELLITE BUILT BY UAH STUDENTS '99 PERCENT' READY FOR OCTOBER LAUNCH ON NASA ROCKET - The spacecraft conceived and built in Huntsville is virtually ready for launch and blast-off is less than three months away. No, the Space Launch System is not suddenly on an accelerated program. Instead, it's a group of students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville who have been working for more than three years on a tiny satellite that is scheduled to be sent into space in October. Members of the Space Hardware Club at UAH were in San Luis Obispo, Calif., last week on the campus of California Polytechnic State University. The Cal Poly visit was to put the ChargerSat1 through readiness tests as a final hurdle toward the scheduled Oct. 30 launch. More (Source: The Birmingham News - Aug 3)
QATAR’S FIRST SATELLITE ES’HAIL 1 TO LIFT OFF FROM KOUROU ON AUG 29 - Qatar Satellite Company Es’hailSat yesterday announced the arrival of Es’hail 1, the country’s first satellite, at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for an August 29 launch, the company said in a statement. With the successful launch and operation of the satellite, television viewers in the Mena region, including Qatar, will be able to receive richer, more diversified content without installing a new dish. More (Source: Peninsula On-line - Jul 31)
INMARSAT CONFIRMS SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF ALPHASAT SATELLITE - Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, confirms the successful launch of the Alphasat satellite. Alphasat was launched on an Ariane 5 ECA from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana at 20.54hrs BST on 25th July (16.54hrs local time). Arianespace confirmed a successful spacecraft separation at 27 minutes 45 seconds after launch and the Alphasat Mission Operations Team confirmed telemetry reception and that they have command of the satellite at 21.47 BST. More (Source: HispanicBusiness.com - Jul 29)
PROGRESS SPACE FREIGHTER DOCKS WITH ORBITAL STATION - Russia’s Progress M-20M cargo spacecraft launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan earlier on Sunday successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), the Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, said. A Soyuz-U launch vehicle carrying the space freighter blasted off from Baikonur at 00:45 a.m. Moscow time [20:45 GMT on Saturday]. “The docking was carried out in automated regime as scheduled,” a Roscosmos spokesman said. More (Source: RIA Novosti - Jul 29)
RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP LAUNCHES SPACESUIT REPAIR KIT TO SPACE STATION - A Russian Soyuz rocket launched an unmanned resupply ship to the International Space Station Saturday (July 27) for an express delivery to the orbiting outpost. The vehicle will be delivering food, supplies and the last-minute addition of a repair kit for a U.S. spacesuit that malfunctioned during a spacewalk last week. The robotic Progress 52 spacecraft and its Soyuz rocket lifted off at 4:45 p.m. EST (2045 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it was early morning Sunday. More (Source: Space.com - Jul 28)
ADVANCED WEATHER SATELLITE INSAT-3D SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED - India's advanced meteorological satellite INSAT-3D was successfully launched by an European rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana early today, giving a boost to weather forecasting and disaster warning services. European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket launched INSAT-3D and Alphasat satellites. More (Source: Business Standard - Jul 26)
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