NEW SATELLITE HELPS SPACE EXPLORATION - China blasted off a new data relay satellite, Tianlian I-02, on Monday at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan province. The new satellite will bolster the country's satellite communication network for space docking. The satellite was launched on a Long March-3C carrier rocket at 11:41 pm, sources at the center told Xinhua News Agency. More (Source: China Daily - Jul 14)
NASA FINDS NO SHUTTLE DAMAGE AFTER TWO LIGHTNING STRIKES - Early data shows space shuttle Atlantis, poised for launch Friday, escaped damage from two lightning strikes Thursday afternoon, NASA said. One bolt emanating from a severe thunderstorm struck a water tower 515 feet from the pad; the second struck the beach nearby, the space agency said in a statement. Currently, the launch time of 11:26 a.m. Friday remains unchanged, despite only a 30% chance of favorable weather, according to NASA. Fueling was scheduled to start at 2:01 a.m. Friday. Ahead of that, engineers will determine whether the lightning affected systems, the external tank, main engines or other components. More (Source: CNN - Jul 8)
PSLV-C17 TO LAUNCH GSAT-12 ON JULY 15, 2011 - Preparations for the forthcoming launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C17) carrying India's communication satellite GSAT-12 are progressing well at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The launch of PSLV-C17/GSAT-12 mission is targeted for July 15, 2011. GSAT-12 Communication satellite with a mass of 1410 kg at lift-off, has 12 Extended C-band transponders. PSLV-C17 will inject GSAT-12 into an elliptical Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO) of 284 km perigee and 21,000 km apogee. More (Source: Space Daily - Jul 6)
LAUNCH OF ASTRA 1N SATELLITE POSTPONED - SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), announces that the launch of its new ASTRA 1N satellite has been postponed due to an anomaly that occurred during the final launch count-down. The launch service provider, Arianespace, having decided to conduct additional verifications, SES is currently not in a position to comment on the possible causes of the mission abort and is awaiting the results of the official investigation. Arianespace will reschedule the launch as soon as possible. More (Source: Business Wire - Jul 2)
SCIENTISTS USE 'HACK' TO REVIVE SATELLITE - European scientist say they've resorted to an unconventional "dirty hack" to bring a dead science satellite back to life. The European Space Agency said one of four of its Cluster mission satellites, intended to work together in studying Earth's space environment and its interaction with the solar wind, failed to switch on a vital scientific instrument in March, jeopardizing the entire mission. More (Source: UPI.com - Jul 2)
SUCCESSFUL ROCKET LAUNCH AT WALLOPS AFTER DELAY - After a one day delay due to the weather, and another brief delay Wednesday night, the ORS-1 satellite was launched into orbit from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Virginia's Wallops Island. The Air Force launched the battlefield imaging satellite atop a four-stage, solid-fuel 70-foot-tall Minotaur 1 rocket, the largest ever launched from the Delmarva peninsula. The launch, which happened shortly after 11 p.m., was expected to be visible across the Mid-Atlantic region, with past launches seen as far away as New York, South Carolina and West Virginia. More (Source: The Baltimore Sun - Jun 30)
SPACE JUNK FORCES ASTRONAUTS TO TAKE SHELTER IN RUSSIAN SPACESHIPS - A piece of space junk zoomed uncomfortably close by the International Space Station today (June 28), so close that the outpost's six-man crew had to take shelter in Russian space capsules in case of a collision. The space debris made its closest approach to the space station at 8:08 a.m. EDT (1208 GMT), coming within 850 feet (260 meters) of the space station, where it posed a slim chance of hitting the station. However, the debris passed by the station without incident and the spaceflyers were able to re-enter the station after about a half hour. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 28)
SOYUZ ROCKET LIFTS OFF WITH RUSSIAN SPY SATELLITE - A Soyuz rocket launched Monday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia with a top secret Russian photo reconnaissance satellite to spy on strategic sites around the world. The launcher blasted off at 1600 GMT (12 p.m. EDT) from the Plesetsk space base. Liftoff occurred at 8 p.m. Moscow time, according to Russian news reports. The Russian Defense Ministry announced the three-stage Soyuz booster placed the secretive spacecraft in the correct orbit about eight minutes after launch. The payload will be named Kosmos 2472 in the Russian military's nomenclature for defense spacecraft. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Jun 28)
SUNSET ROCKET LAUNCH TUESDAY MAY SURPRISE EAST COAST RESIDENTS - This Minotaur rocket launch from Wallops Island in December 2006 was photographed by Geoff Chester in Alexandria, Virginia. CREDIT: Geoff Chester. Used with permission. View full size image NASA plans to launch a new military satellite from a Virginia spaceport late Tuesday (June 28), a flight that could potentially create a spectacular sight for skywatchers along the U.S. East Coast. The U.S. Air Force's Minotaur 1 rocket is slated to blast off from a NASA launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility and Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at 8:28 p.m. EDT (0028 GMT). The mission: To launch ORS-1, a Department of Defense satellite built for the Operationally Responsive Space Office. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 28)
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