IRAN PLANS TO JOIN APSCO SATELLITE-BUILDING PROJECT - Iran intends to design and build a remote sensing satellite jointly with Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) member states. "Iranian scientists have always taken part in APSCO meetings," the Head of Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli told ISNA adding that, "designing and building a remote-sensing satellite is one of the fields for cooperation." "We plan to gain a larger share in building the satellite," he continued, "the country's share is to be set based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but Iran is struggling to gain a larger share." The launch aimed at testing the function of programming systems and subsystems.    More
(Source: ISNA - Apr 4)

NASA SAYS ENDEAVOUR SUSTAINED MINOR STORM DAMAGE - A powerful storm including a lightning strike in the launch pad area caused minor damage to the space shuttle Endeavour, a NASA official said Thursday. Continuing bad weather has prevented further inspection of the shuttle scheduled to launch on its final mission on April 19, said Allard Beutel, a spokesman at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The storm Wednesday included a wind gust of 90 miles per hour at launch pad 39A, as well as a lightning strike "inside the pad perimeter," Beutel said.   More
(Source: CNN - Apr 1)

ARIANE ABORT PRODUCES FIRE AND SMOKE, BUT NO BLASTOFF - With its hydrogen-fueled Vulcain main engine already spewing flame, an Ariane 5 rocket was dramatically grounded Wednesday by a last-second abort moments before two mighty solid rocket boosters were to have ignited to send the 1.7-million-pound launcher toward space. The 16-story rocket was due to lift off at 2145 GMT (5:45 p.m. EDT), but a final computer check of the Ariane 5's health uncovered a problem that triggered the cutoff of the countdown, according to Jean-Yves Le Gall, Arianespace's chairman and CEO.    More
(Source: Space Flght Now - Mar 31)

AMATEUR SKYWATCHERS SPOT SECRET SPACE PLANE - After an intense search, a crew of amateur satellite sleuths has spotted the U.S. Air Force's second X-37B space plane – a robotic spacecraft that launched into orbit March 5. The mission of the unmanned X-37B space plane, which is known officially as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 (OTV-2), is shrouded in secrecy. The Boeing-built spacecraft is believed to be involved in reconnaissance — perhaps testing powerful sensors for a new generation of spy satellites. It looks much like a small version of NASA's space shuttles and blasted off from the Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. While its mission is secret, the OTV-2 itself has attracted the eyes of dedicated skywatchers hoping to spot it in orbit just as they saw its predecessor – the first X-37B spacecraft, OTV-1 – during the OTV-1's months-long flight last year.    More
(Source: Fox News - Mar 30)

PAKISTAN TELECOM SET TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITE - A hallmark of Pak-China joint venture, Pakistan telecommunication satellite Paksat 1R will be launched on August 14, the Independence Day of Pakistan, which also happens to be the date for the 50th anniversary of SUPARCO, an official said on Monday. Paksat-1R is being developed in China to replace the currently in-orbit leased satellite Paksat-1. The timely development and launch of this satellite is important as Paksat-1 is reaching the end of its service life next year.    More
(Source: The News International - Mar 23)

SPACE DEBRIS THREAT NEEDS INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE, MILITARY OFFICIAL SAYS - The United States needs to team up with other countries and the private sector to track the huge volume of potentially dangerous space debris circling the Earth, according to a U.S. military official. More than 22,000 pieces of space junk are being tracked today as they zip around our planet, posing a collision threat to valuable satellites and other spacecraft. But there's far too much of the stuff for the U.S. government to keep track of on its own, so cooperation is required to improve the country's space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities, said Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component Command for Space.    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 22)

KSC WORKERS POSE FOR UNIQUE PORTRAIT - Thousands of Kennedy Space Center employees stand side-by-side to form a full-scale outline of a space shuttle orbiter outside the Vehicle Assembly Building. The unique photo opportunity was designed to honor the space shuttle program's 30-year legacy and the people who contribute to processing, launching and landing the vehicle.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Mar 19)

HAMS INVITED TO TRACK SATELLITES - In November 2010, five research satellites were carried to orbit aboard a Minotaur V rocket from Kodiak Island, Alaska. Two of these satellites -- FASTRAC 1, known as “Sara Lily” and FASTRAC 2, referred to as “Emma” -- entered orbit as a single nanosatellite, but on March 15, scientists sent the command to have them separate. According to FASTRAC Student Program Manager Sebastian Munoz, KE5FKV, students at the University of Texas will be confirming the separation as the satellites pass: “We started one of the most exciting phases of our project by separating both of our girls so that they can compute on-orbit real-time relative navigation solutions while both of them are freely drifting from one another.”    More
(Source: ARRL - Mar 17)

RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA-01M IN NOMINAL RETURN TO EARTH - Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly, along with Russian flight engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri, have returned to Earth, following a nominal re-entry of their Russian Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft. The trio landed in horrendous weather conditions in Kazakhstan, resulting in a speedy evacuation by helicopter. The Soyuz Vehicle consists of three modules: the Orbital Module, the Descent Module (DM), and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module (IPM). All three modules nominally separate simultaneously, shortly after the deorbit burn is completed – at around 140 km altitude.    More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 17)

Previous Next