SPACEX READY AT LAST TO LIFT OFF FOR SPACE STATION - The private spaceflight company SpaceX is preparing to launch a robotic capsule to the International Space Station this week, following a series of delays that postponed the historic first flight of a commercial spacecraft to the orbiting outpost. SpaceX is slated to launch its Dragon capsule to the space station atop the company's own Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is set for 4:55 a.m. EDT. More (Source: MSNBC - May 15)
SOYUZ TMA-04M LAUNCHES THREE NEW CREWMEMBERS FOR BUSY MISSION TO ISS - The Russian Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft, known by its US designation of 30S, has launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday (local time) carrying three new crewmembers bound for the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff was on schedule at 7:01 AM Tuesday local Kazakh time, which was 3:01 AM Tuesday GMT, or 11:01 PM More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - May 15)
NEW ASTRONAUT CREW LAUNCHING TO SPACE STATION TONIGHT - Three astronauts are finally ready to blast off toward the International Space Station tonight (May 14), after weeks of delay caused during testing of their Russian-built space capsule. NASA astronaut Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin are slated to lift off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome tonight at 11:01 p.m. EDT (0301 GMT Tuesday). They'll ride a Soyuz spaceship into orbit, ultimately berthing with the station early Thursday morning (May 17), NASA officials said. More (Source: Fox News - May 15)
INDIAN ROCKET ENGINE TEST SUCCESSFUL - India Saturday successfully tested the indigenous super cooled cryogenic engine that will be used to fire a heavier rocket to put a communication satellite in the geo-synchronous orbit later this year, the space agency said. "The acceptance test of the cryogenic stage of the heavy rocket was conducted for 200 seconds and the performance of the engine was as predicted," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement here. More (Source: New York Daily News - May 14)
DEAD SATELLITE MAY POSE THREAT TO SPACECRAFT FOR 150 YEARS - An enormous Earth-observing satellite that was officially declared dead in space Wednesday may stay in orbit for the next 150 years, posing a threat to other spacecraft zipping around our planet. The $2.9 billion Envisat spacecraft, which is about the size of a school bus, went mysteriously silent about a month ago after 10 successful years of studying our planet from orbit. The European Space Agency (ESA) announced Wednesday that it had given up hope of recovering the satellite, which died a year before its planned 2013 decommissioning. More (Source: MSNBC - May 13)
CHINESE SPY SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED - China launched an optical military reconnaissance satellite Thursday aboard a Long March 4B rocket, successfully orbiting another member in a fleet of spacecraft spying for Chinese intelligence agencies. The secretive Yaogan 14 satellite launched at 0706 GMT (3:06 a.m. EDT) from the Taiyuan space center in Shanxi province in northern China. Launch occurred at 3:06 p.m. Beijing time. The 150-foot-tall Long March 4B rocket flew south from Taiyuan to reach an orbit flying over Earth's poles. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - May 12)
ESA DECLARES HUGE ENVISAT SATELLITE DEAD IN SPACE - The European Space Agency declared the death of its massive Earth-observing satellite Envisat Wednesday after a month of mysterious silence from the school bus-size spacecraft. Envisat is the world's largest Earth-watching satellite for civilian use, with ESA officials touting its 10th anniversary in space earlier this year. The $2.9 billion satellite was originally designed to snap high-resolution photos of Earth for five years, but managed to last 10 years during its successful mission. More (Source: MSNBC - May 11)
AIR FORCE'S SECRET X-37B A 'SPECTACULAR SUCCESS' - The U.S. Air Force's secretive robotic X-37B space plane mission continues to chalk up time in Earth orbit, nearing 430 days of a spaceflight that — while classified — appears to be an unqualified success. The space plane now circuiting Earth is the second spacecraft of its kind built for the Air Force by Boeing’s Phantom Works. Known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2, the space plane's classified mission is being carried out by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. More (Source: MSNBC - May 10)
NEXT SOYUZ SPACE STATION CREW PREPARES FOR LAUNCH - The next residents of the International Space Station are making final preparations for a May 14 launch and NASA Television will provide live coverage of launch and docking. This week, NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and his two Russian crewmates, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, are completing their training, undergoing Soyuz spacecraft fit checks and taking part in traditional ceremonies. More (Source: Sacramento Bee - May 9)
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