RUSSIANS LAUNCH CREW ON CRUCIAL FLIGHT TO SPACE STATION - Three astronauts were lofted into orbit amid heavy snowfall on Monday, on a mission to bring the crew of the International Space Station back to full strength. The liftoff at 10:14 a.m. local time (11:14 p.m. ET) from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan came after a weeks-long delay, due to the crash of a Russian rocket that was carrying an unmanned cargo spaceship. That incident in August forced the Russians to review the safety of the similar Soyuz rocket model that is used for manned launches.    More
(Source: MSNBC - Nov 14)

RUSSIA TO RETURN FULL CREW TO SPACE STATION AFTER CRASH - Three astronauts will take off on Monday returning a full crew to the International Space Station (ISS) after the crash of a Russian cargo spaceship disrupted operations and undermined faith in the Russian space programme. The launch at 0414 GMT is the first since NASA ended its 30-year shuttle programme in July, heralding a gap of several years when the 16-nations investing in the $100-billion space station will rely solely on Russia to ferry crews.    More
(Source: Reuters - Nov 13)

IRAN TO PUT 3 NEW SATELLITES IN SPACE - Speaking at a Saturday gathering on Iran's satellite carrier systems, General Vahidi said that Iranian scientist are set to send the Fajr (Dawn), Navid (Harbinger) and Tolou (Rise) satellites into space in the course of the current and next Iranian calendar years. The Iranian defense minister told the gathering in Tehran that Fajr will blast into space with the thrusting power of 'Safir-e-Fajr' satellite carrier while Navid and Tolou will be mounted on Iran's Simorgh (Phoenix) carrier for lift-off, IRIB reported.    More
(Source: Press TV - Nov 13)

RUSSIAN SPACE PROBE UNLIKELY TO BE SAVED - A source in Russia's space industry says chances are slim for saving an unmanned Russian mission to Mars that remains stuck in low earth orbit. The source told Russia's Interfax news agency Friday that overnight efforts to re-establish contact with the spacecraft were unsuccessful. The source said that attempts to make contact with the probe will continue, using Earth-based facilities operated by NASA and the European Space Agency.    More
(Source: Voice of America - Nov 12)

RUSSIA TRYING TO SALVAGE PHOBOS-GRUNT MISSION - One day after a Russian Mars probe was left stranded in low Earth orbit, engineers planned to begin trying to save the mission Wednesday in hopes the problem was a relatively simple software glitch. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday, the 29,000-pound Phobos-Grunt spacecraft entered an orbit with a low point of 128 miles and a high point of 216 miles. But the craft's propulsion unit was supposed to fire twice later Tuesday night to raise its altitude and inject the probe on a trajectory toward Mars.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Nov 10)

SUCCESSFUL DOCKING CATAPULTS CHINA INTO ELITE SPACE CLUB - Two unmanned Chinese spaceships made an automated docking in orbit Wednesday, successfully proving precise navigation and rendezvous technology crucial to China's aspirations for a space station by the end of this decade. Although no one was aboard either spacecraft Wednesday, the precise docking could give Chinese officials confidence to put up to three astronauts on the next rendezvous mission.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Nov 7)

RUSSIAN PROTON ROCKET LAUNCHES THREE NEW NAVIGATION SATELLITES - A Proton launcher rocketed into orbit Friday with three Glonass navigation satellites for the Russian government, delivering reinforcements for the military-run fleet of positioning and timing spacecraft. Powered by six hydrazine-fueled main engines, the 191-foot-tall Proton rocket blasted off at 1251 GMT (8:51 a.m. EDT) Friday from a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket soared into a dusk sky over Baikonur, where it was just after sunset.    More
(Source: Space.com - Nov 6)

VIASAT-1 SATELLITE REACHES GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT - ViaSat Inc. has announced that ViaSat-1, the highest capacity satellite in the world, is now positioned in geosynchronous orbit where it will begin in-orbit testing. Since launching on October 19, ViaSat-1 has successfully completed all scheduled maneuvers: Deployment of solar arrays, Six apogee motor firings, lifting the spacecraft from transfer orbit to geosynchronous orbit, Deployment of main reflectors and sub-reflectors, Deployment of stationary plasma thrusters for satellite positioning.    More
(Source: Sacramento Bee - Nov 5)

RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP DELIVERS VITAL SUPPLIES TO SPACE STATION CREW - An unmanned Russian spacecraft delivered supplies to astronauts in orbit on Wednesday after the crash of the previous cargo flight left the three-man crew on the International Space Station with dwindling rations. The loss of the Progress cargo flight on Aug. 24 grounded all launches of Russia's workhorse Soyuz rocket over safety concerns and forced staffing levels to be cut on the space station.    More
(Source: Fox News - Nov 4)

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