RUSSIAN SUPPLY SHIP DOCKS AT SPACE STATION ON 2ND TRY - An unmanned Russian cargo ship that missed its first chance to dock at the International Space Station last week tried again Sunday – this time successfully linking up with the orbiting lab. The Progress 38 cargo ship docked flawlessly at 12:17 p.m. EDT (1617 GMT) while flying without the safety net of a remote control system that allows cosmonauts inside the space station to take command of incoming supply ships using a joystick should they veer off course.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jul 4)

SUPPLY SHIP FAILS TO DOCK WITH SPACE STATION - Russian Mission Control says an unmanned space capsule bring supplies to the International Space Station has failed in a docking attempt. The Progress space capsule is carrying food, water, food and other supplies for the orbiting laboratory. Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin was not immediately available for comment, but his secretary confirmed Russian media reports Friday that the docking had failed. It was not immediately clear when another docking might be attempted.    More
(Source: The Associated Press - Jul 3)

NASA EXTENDS ITS SHUTTLE COUNTDOWN - The end of the space shuttle era will end a little later. NASA announced Thursday that the launching of the last space shuttle flight was now intended for early next year. With two flights remaining, the shuttles had been scheduled to be retired by September. But the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which was to be taken to the International Space Station next month, ran into technical difficulties, pushing that mission to late November. That flight has now been further pushed back, to Feb. 26, 2011.    More
(Source: New York Times - Jul 3)

RESUPPLY SHIP FOR THE SPACE STATION SOARS INTO ORBIT - A load of basic essentials for the International Space Station and its resident crew -- food, fuel and supplies -- launched aboard a Russian-made cargo freighter today. The Progress spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT), soaring into a clear sky at sundown. At the moment of launch, the station was flying about 220 miles over the South Atlantic.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Jul 1)

BOEING BUILDING SPACE SHUTTLE REPLACEMENT - As NASA's space shuttle fleet draws close to retirement, aerospace juggernaut Boeing is hard at work developing a new capsule-based spaceship to fly people to and from the International Space Station. The new Boeing space capsule is a project using the company's recent $18 million award from NASA to advance the concepts and technology necessary to build a commercial crew space transportation system. It is one of several efforts by different U.S. companies to come with new spaceships to fill the void left by NASA's retiring shuttles.    More
(Source: Fox News - Jun 30)

GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE BY KOREA REACHES ORBIT - Korea’s first geostationary satellite has successfully reached Earth’s orbit after being launched from Guiana Space Center in French Guiana yesterday morning, the government said yesterday. The communication, ocean and meteorological satellite (COMS) is Korea’s 12th satellite. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said an Ariane 5-ECA rocket carrying the Korean satellite, which is named Chollian, successfully launched at 6:41 a.m. Korean time after being delayed several times on Thursday and Friday by minor technical problems.    More
(Source: JoongAng Daily - Jun 29)

ARIANE 5 LAUNCHES ARAB AND SOUTH KOREAN SATELLITES - Europe's Ariane 5 commercial launcher carried out another uneventful trek to orbit Saturday night, successfully deploying a powerful broadcasting bird for the Arab world and a unique spacecraft to see and communicate with South Korea. The rocket roared away from a jungle launch base on the northeastern coast of South America at 2141 GMT (5:41 p.m. EDT) atop the thrust produced by its hydrogen-fueled main engine and twin solid boosters.   More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Jun 27)

SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS LIKELY TO BE POSTPONED: NASA - The two final US space shuttle missions before the shuttle program is phased out will likely be postponed, a NASA spokesperson told AFP. "It's not official yet but it's very likely," said Allard Beutel, media services chief at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "The decision will be officially announced July 1st," he said. The US space shuttles are being retired after President Barack Obama opted not to fund a successor program, deciding instead to encourage private spacecraft development.    More
(Source: AFP - Jun 26)

SOUTH KOREA'S FIRST GEOSTATIONARY WEATHER SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED SUNDAY - South Korea's first geostationary ocean weather satellite is being prepared for liftoff, three days behind the original launch date due to mechanical problems, a state-run aerospace agency said Saturday, reports Yonhap news agency. The Chollian communication, ocean and meteorological satellite had originally been scheduled to be placed into orbit aboard a French Ariane-5ECA rocket early Thursday but the countdown was halted three times due to what experts called "minor" glitches, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said.   More
(Source: Bernama - Jun 26)

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