SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS SAFELY RETURN TO EARTH - Three spacemen made a safe delayed return from the International Space Station on Friday as Russia again pushed back the launch of their replacement crew because of a recent rocket crash. Space officials said the Soyuz capsule landed on its side in the wind-swept steppes of the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan at 0400 GMT. "A bull's-eye landing for the Soyuz TMA-21," a NASA commentator said in a live video feed while Russian mission control flashed a message on its screen reading: "Landing confirmed!" More (Source: AFP - Sep 17)
NEXT SPACE STATION CREW WILL LAUNCH NOV. 14, NASA SAYS - NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have agreed on a Nov. 14 date for the first manned Soyuz rocket launch since the failure of a similar booster carrying a robotic cargo ship last month. The decision follows an investigation by Russian space officials to identify the source of that failure and ensure it won't plague future launches, NASA announced today (Sept. 15). It also clears the way for a new three-man crew to launch on the Soyuz to the International Space Station, sustaining the orbiting lab's 10-year streak for a continuous human presence in space. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 16)
DEAD SATELLITE WILL FALL TO EARTH BY SEPTEMBER'S END, NASA SAYS - A defunct satellite poised to fall back to Earth will make its death plunge during the last week of September, NASA officials now say. The spacecraft, an old NASA climate probe called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), was decommissioned in 2005 and has been slowly losing altitude since. Soon, the 6 1/2-ton satellite will make a final uncontrolled plunge through Earth's atmosphere. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 15)
GLOBALSTAR ANNOUNCES SATELLITE LAUNCH UPDATE - Globalstar, Inc., a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to businesses, government and consumers, today announced that its upcoming launch of six second-generation satellites planned for mid October will be delayed. Russian Space Agency officials notified the Company of the delay and said it will undertake complete inspections of all Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicles, including three to be used for launches to the International Space Station and Globalstar's, following a recent launch failure. More (Source: MarketWatch - Sep 14)
RUSSIAN ROCKET DELAYS RISK TURNING INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION INTO GHOST TOWN - Houston, YOU have a problem. With no space shuttles to take astronauts to the International Space Station, the U.S. relies upon Russian rockets. But amid deep concerns over a recent rocket crash, Russia on Tuesday announced it was postponing the launch of the latest space station crew to Nov. 12 -- mere days before before the final astronauts on the orbiting laboratory are due to return to Earth. That makes the potential for an unmanned International Space Station very real -- and NASA could have seen it coming, said Christopher C. Kraft, the former director of NASA's Manned Spaceflight Center. More (Source: Fox News - Sep 14)
RUSSIA SETS SPACE CREW'S RETURN AFTER CRASH - Russia said Monday it would return three of the six international crew members on board the International Space Station to Earth later this week despite no immediate plans to send up their replacement. A Russian Mission Control Centre official told RIA Novosti that the two Russians and one NASA astronauts would return on board a Soyuz TMA-21 capsule early Friday. He said their landing in the steppes of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan was expected at 0038 GMT. Their return will leave the ISS with a skeleton crew of three in breach of regular practice. More (Source: AFP - Sep 13)
MEGHA-TROPIQUES LAUNCH ON OCTOBER 12 - If all tests go according to plans, Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) ‘Megha- Tropiques’, an Indo-French advanced tropical climate monitoring satellite will be launched on October 12 at 11.00 am from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced on Saturday. Speaking to media about the launch of Megha- Tropiques, Radhakrishnan said, "The final tests are being conducted"... More (Source: IBNLive.com - Sep 11)
VIASAT-1 SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAYED AGAIN - ViaSat, a Carlsbad satellite communications company, said Thursday that the launch of its new $400 million broadband Internet satellite has been delayed until mid October. ViaSat's satellite was scheduled to launch at the end of September. This is the third delay for ViaSat-1, which aims to bring high speed satellite Internet service to rural areas outside the reach of cable and DSL. More (Source: SignOnSanDiego.com - Sep 10)
RUSSIA PINS SOYUZ FAILURE TO PRODUCTION LINE DEFECT - The Russian space agency says a rocket that failed while carrying cargo to the International Space Station on 24 August had a production line defect. A blocked duct cut the fuel supply to the Soyuz-U's third-stage, causing its engine to shut down prematurely, Roskosmos said in a statement. The Soyuz failed to put into orbit its cargo ship, which fell back to Earth. Since the US space shuttle was retired in July, the Russian rockets have become the key link to the station. More (Source: BBC News - Sep 10)
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