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)

RUSSIAN ROCKET PLACES FIRST GALILEO GPS SATELLITES IN ORBIT - A Russian rocket placed in orbit Friday the first two satellites in the Galileo geopositioning system after making its maiden launch from a European space base in French Guiana, mission controllers said. Flight managers applauded loudly as the two satellites were deployed in space, nearly four hours after the veteran Soyuz rocket lifted off from Kourou. "This is the story of Europe, which succeeds and knows how to cooperate," according to Jean-Yves Le Gall, chief executive of Arianespace. "What a road we have traveled."    More
(Source: Fox News - Oct 21)

STATION RAISES ORBIT FOR VISITORS AS EXPERIMENTS CONTINUE - The International Space Station raised its orbit Wednesday after the Zvezda service module fired its engines for 1 minute, 53 seconds. The reboost puts the station in a good configuration for a second orbital boost on Oct. 26. Both firings will put the station at the proper altitude for the upcoming dockings of the ISS Progress 45 supply ship and the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft carrying three new Expedition 29 crew members.    More
(Source: Space Fellowship - Oct 21)

HISTORIC LAUNCH DELAYED OF RUSSIAN ROCKET CARRYING 2 SATELLITES FOR EUROPE’S GPS SYSTEM - The launch of the first two satellites of the European Union’s Galileo navigation system was postponed Thursday because of technical problems at the base in French Guiana, according to officials. Officials hope to delay the launch of the Russian Soyuz rocket by only 24 hours, although a new date will be announced once the investigation is complete, said Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, the commercial arm of the European Space Agency. Authorities postponed the launch after they discovered a leak inside a valve, he said.    More
(Source: The Washington Post - Oct 21)

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