OUR ONLY SOLAR STORM WARNING SATELLITE ON ITS LAST LEGS - Every time a giant solar storm — like the one that blasted by Earth earlier this week — rushes past NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer satellite, scientists at NOAA's space weather forecasting branch cringe. The satellite, nicknamed ACE, provides the only advance notice of incoming high-energy particles from the sun which can wreak havoc on radio, GPS and satellite communications that are now embedded in modern life.    More
(Source: MSNBC - Mar 10)

ASTRONAUT LAUNCHES ANGRY BIRDS, IN GAME AND ON SPACE STATION - With those words broadcast from space, NASA astronaut Don Pettit helped launch a furious flock of feathered fighters on Thursday (March 8) in the latest edition of Rovio Mobile's popular Angry Birds strategy puzzle game. "Angry Birds Space," which will be released on iOS and Android, Mac and PC, animation, merchandise and book publishing on March 22, will hit appstores with 60 puzzling levels, new Angry Birds characters, superpowers and new gameplay.    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 9)

IRAN... MORE LAUNCHES UPCOMING - According to the Tehran Times, the country's Aerospace Industry Organization Director Mehdi Farahi has announced that Iran plans to send satellites into geostationary orbits after the end of the country’s Fifth Development Plan. Iran’s Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015) is part of the 20-Year Outlook Plan (2005-2025), which is the country’s main blueprint for long-term sustainable growth.    More
(Source: SatNews Publishers - Mar 6)

PRIVATE ROCKET PASSES BIG TEST FOR SPACE STATION LAUNCH - A private SpaceX rocket sailed through a dress rehearsal March 1 for the launch of the robotic Dragon space capsule, which could blast off toward the International Space Station as early as next month. The five-hour launch readiness test, held at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, went through full countdown procedures, including fueling, for the next Dragon test flight, which is slated for late April. It was designed to check out any potential issues with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon and associated ground systems.    More
(Source: MSNBC - Mar 5)

SPACE STATION CARGO DELIVERY DELAYED ABOUT TWO WEEKS - Technicians must re-enter a European Automated Transfer Vehicle to tighten retention straps on cargo bags, a move that will delay the craft's launch on a logistics mission to the International Space Station by two weeks to around March 23, officials said Friday. The Automated Transfer Vehicle, already closed up inside the nose of an Ariane 5 rocket, was scheduled to launch March 9. But managers reviewing the readiness of the mission ordered a delay to give workers time to cinch two loose straps on two cargo bags, according to Massimo Cislaghi, the European Space Agency's ATV mission manager.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 3)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OVER WASHINGTON, D.C., EAST COAST - Check out the image just posted to Facebook by NASA’s Earth Observatory of the International Space Station flying over the U.S. East Coast. What stands out most is the prominence of the I-95 corridor from Richmond to New York City - appearing as a river of city lights. Truly a megalopolis....    More
(Source: Washington Post - Feb 29)

FIRST SPACE STATION DELIVERY FROM VA. DELAYED - The first delivery of supplies from Virginia to the International Space Station has been delayed. Dulles-based Orbital Sciences had been planning a summer launch. The company now says the first delivery will take place sometime between September and December. The company has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to launch supplies from the Eastern Shore to the International Space Station.    More
(Source: WTOP - Feb 28)

100 NEW RUSSIAN SATELLITES - One hundred new military satellites will be launched in the nearest decade, to improve reconnaissance and cruise missiles detection, Vladimir Popovkin, the head of the Roscosmos, announces. However, when it comes to spacecraft is not only military satellites that Russia needs. Popovkin’s statement was part of a comment to an extensive article by Vladimir Putin, the prime minister of Russian government, published on February 20, stating the commencement of rearmament with airspace defense, communications, reconnaissance and control system among top priorities.    More
(Source: The Voice of Russia - Feb 28)

BEIDOU NAVIGATION PAYLOAD LAUNCHED BY CHINESE ROCKET - China launched another satellite Friday for the Beidou space-based navigation network, continuing the system's expansion after it began trial service in December. A Long March 3C rocket lifted off at 1612 GMT (11:12 a.m. EST) Friday from the Xichang space base in southwest China's Sichuan province. It was 12:12 a.m. Saturday at the launch site, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 27)

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