ISRO'S COMMUNICATION SATELLITE HYLAS LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY - An advanced communication satellite HYLAS (Highly Adaptable Satellite), built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched today (November 27, 2010) at 00.09 hours Indian Standard Time (IST) by the European Ariane-5 V198 launch vehicle. According to ISRO's press release, the launch took place from the Guyana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guyana.    More
(Source: The Hindu - Nov 29)

DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH DELAYED UNTIL AT LEAST MID-DECEMBER - NASA managers reviewing the progress of repairs to the shuttle Discovery's external tank and the rationale for making another launch attempt decided Wednesday to pass up an early December launch window, delaying the flight to at least Dec. 17 and possibly all the way to February. Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon told reporters engineers need more time to understand what caused cracks to develop in structural ribs, or stringers, during fueling Nov. 5 to better assess the likelihood of additional cracks during flight that could lead to potentially damaging foam insulation losses or even structural failure. While the latter is believed to be a remote possibility, engineers need to make sure. And that will take time.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Nov 29)

INDIA TO LAUNCH NEW COMMUNICATION SATELLITE NEXT MONTH - India would launch a new communication satellite from its spaceport of Sriharikota next month to augment capacity and services in the field. Sources in the Indian Space research Organisation said that top space scientists would meet on December 10 to conduct a mission-readiness review and give the final go-ahead for the launch on December 20. The satellite, GSAT-5 Prime, would be launched by geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06).    More
(Source: Economic Times - Nov 25)

U.S. MILITARY SPACE PLANE NEARING END OF DESIGN LIFE - Observers tracking movements of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B secretive space plane report the spacecraft is dropping altitude, a possible sign the clandestine mission is near landing as it approaches the limit of the its design life. Air Force officials remain silent on landing and recovery plans for the reusable space plane, other than it will return to Earth at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The X-37B features stubby wings, a powerful orbit-changing engine and a landing gear for touchdown on a 15,000-foot-long runway originally built for the space shuttle.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Nov 25)

EU TO LAUNCH DEDICATED BROADBAND SATELLITE - There is light at the end of the tunnel for the estimated 20 million Europeans who cannot get high-quality broadband access. On Friday a new satellite will be launched that will deliver broadband Internet access to consumers and businesses across the European Union. The Hylas 1 satellite is the first European satellite dedicated to providing broadband as well as a range of conventional telecommunications services. Huylas, created by ESA and Avanti, stands for "Highly Adaptable Satellite," and adaptability is one of its unique selling points, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).    More
(Source: PC World - Nov 25)

SHUTTLE DISCOVERY REPAIRED FOR FINAL VOYAGE - NASA's space shuttle Discovery is all patched up for its planned final launch into space next week, NASA officials said Monday. Engineers have completed work to plug a potentially dangerous hydrogen gas leak and reinforce cracked metal ribs on Discovery's huge external tank. The shuttle is sitting atop a seaside launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., awaiting a launch that has already been delayed more than a month. Discovery's upcoming launch is currently slated for no earlier than Dec. 3 at 2:52 a.m. EST (0753 GMT).    More
(Source: msnbc.com - Nov 24)

RESOURCESAT-2 SATELLITE LAUNCH IN JANUARY - India's premier space agency ISRO will launch Resourcesat-2 advanced remote sensing satellite on board home-made PSLV rocket in January. The Bangalore-headquartered space agency held a mission readiness review in the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh during which ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan and top ISRO officials were present.    More
(Source: Space Daily - Nov 23)

UNITED NATIONS SATELLITE UNESCOSAT TO TEST VIABILITY OF ASTRONAUT POO AS SPACE FUE - THE United Nations is preparing to go boldly where no man has gone before. At least, not without surgical gloves and a peg on his nose. UNESCOSat is the UN's first satellite. It's a $US5 million project to promote global cooperation, education and our shared heritage as we push further into space as a race. A large part of the push requires fuel - namely, hydrogen. And one of the best ways to harvest hydrogen is to get bacteria to create it from waste products. The problem is, nobody has properly studied how bacteria behave in microgravity, so the UN's using its first mission to carry several bacterial payloads in order to see how they cope with it all.    More
(Source: NEWS.com.au - Nov 23)

AIR FORCE LAUNCHES MASSIVE, SECRET SPY SATELLITE - A powerful Delta 4 rocket roared to life and climbed away from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Sunday evening on a high-priority mission to boost a National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite into orbit. Under a cloudy sky, the hydrogen-fueled engines in the three common core boosters of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 ignited with a rush of orange fire at 5:58 p.m. EST and quickly throttled up to nearly 2 million pounds of thrust.    More
(Source: CBS News - Nov 23)

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