VENERABLE DELTA 2 ROCKET LAUNCH FLAWLESS AGAIN - Not knowing if the future will bring it more launch business, the workhorse Delta 2 rocket successfully deployed a vital climate and weather observatory this morning before riding into an uncertain state of limbo. The United Launch Alliance-made rocket, one of the world's most reliable space boosters ever built, pierced a star-filled sky for its middle-of-the-night ascent to deploy the NPP spacecraft. Liftoff occurred from Vandenberg Air Force Base along California's central coastline at 2:48 a.m. PDT (5:48 a.m. EDT; 0948 GMT). More (Source: Space Flight Now - Oct 28)
CHINA TO LAUNCH UNMANNED SPACE MISSION NEXT MONTH TO PRACTICE DOCKING WITH SPACE STATION - China will launch an unmanned spacecraft early next month that will attempt to dock with an experimental module, the latest step in what will be a decade-long effort to place a manned permanent space station in orbit. In space, the Shenzhou 8 will carry out maneuvers to couple with the Tiangong 1 module now in orbit. More (Source: Washington Post - Oct 27)
BALL-BUILT NPP SATELLITE SET TO LAUNCH FROM CALIFORNIA ON FRIDAY - A satellite built by Boulder-based Ball Aerospace is scheduled to launch into space in the wee hours of Friday morning from California. The satellite -- known as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, or NPP for short -- will help scientists better predict the weather and build on a record of climate observations that stretch back for decades. More (Source: Daily Camera - Oct 27)
NEW SATELLITE WILL HELP FORECASTING - Our understanding of weather and our forecasting of it is about to get better. A brand new Satellite will launch early Thursday morning to enhance our forecasting and monitoring of bad weather and study of the climate. The satellite will gather data on cloud cover, ocean color, and sea surface temperatures, as well as other data. All of this new information gets incorporated in the computer models that forecast the weather into the future. More (Source: WWLP 22News - Oct 26)
IPADS AND ANGRY BIRDS LAUNCHING TO SPACE STATION - Popular tablet computers and the red feathered star of a leading video game played on them are bound for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard two upcoming Russian space launches. Two Apple iPads are packed on board the next unmanned resupply vehicle to fly to the space station, set for launch later this month. And a stuffed toy doll of the red bird from Rovio Mobile's "Angry Birds" puzzle game will accompany the next three crew members to depart Earth for the ISS next month. The iPads will augment Apple iPod music players already aboard the station, while the red Angry Bird toy will help by signaling to the launching cosmonauts and NASA astronaut that they have made it to space, when it starts to float. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 26)
GERMAN SATELLITE CRASHES INTO ASIA - A defunct German research satellite crashed into Earth on Sunday somewhere in southeast Asia, and several parts must have survived re-entering the atmosphere before hitting the surface at a speed of up to 280 m.p.h., scientists said. Most parts of the minivan-sized ROSAT scientific research satellite were expected to burn up, but as many as 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons could have crashed, according to the German Aerospace Center. More (Source: Detroit Free Press - Oct 25)
PROTOTYPE PASSENGER SPACESHIP POISED FOR LAUNCH - A prototype passenger spaceship developed by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies arrived in Florida on Sunday for launch on a practice cargo run to the International Space Station, officials said on Monday. Liftoff of the Dragon capsule aboard the company's Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for as early as December 19, although the final launch date will be set by NASA, which is sponsoring the flight, said Bobby Block, vice president for communications for Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. More (Source: Reuters - Oct 25)
SCIENTISTS TRY TO DETERMINE FATE OF GERMAN SATELLITE THAT RETURNED TO EARTH - Scientists were trying to establish how and where a defunct German research satellite returned to the Earth Sunday, after warning that some parts might survive re-entry and crash at up to 280 mph (450 kph). There was no immediate solid evidence to determine above which continent or country the ROSAT scientific research satellite entered the atmosphere, said Andreas Schuetz, spokesman for the German Aerospace Center. More (Source: Washington Post - Oct 23)
THE FALLING GERMAN SATELLITE ROSAT: BIGGEST QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - Less than a month after a dead NASA satellite came crashing to Earth, the sky is falling again. The defunct 2.7-ton German ROSAT satellite is slated to make a fiery, uncontrolled re-entry to our atmosphere sometime Saturday or Sunday (Oct. 22 or 23). Experts say the broken-up bits of ROSAT have a roughly 1-in-2,000 chance of hitting someone somewhere on Earth. That risk, while still quite remote, is higher than the 1-in-3,200 chance posed by NASA's UARS satellite, which fell uneventfully into the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 24. More (Source: Space.com - Oct 22)
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