IRAN READY TO SEND SIX SATELLITES INTO SPACE - Iran is preparing to launch five to six satellites into the space as part of its aerospace development programme. "We are currently carrying out a project which will see the design, production and launch of 5 to 6 satellites. We hope to send one satellite into space in the first half of the coming year," Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour said. "Iran has laid the foundation for the development of its aerospace industry in the past three to four years," Taqipour told Fars News Agency.    More
(Source: The Times of India - May 9)

ZOMBIESAT! WHAT'S NEXT FOR OUT-OF-CONTROL SATELLITE - The Galaxy 15 commercial satellite recently lost contact with the ground, joining a boatload of other debris adrift in space. What's next for this 4,171-pound zombiesat? The Galaxy 15 commercial satellite that recently lost contact with the ground has joined the ranks of a boatload of other debris adrift in space. It's now termed a "zombiesat" by engineers who have a better sense of humor than you might have imagined.    More
(Source: Fox News - May 7)

OIL SPILL HINDERS SPACE SHUTTLE FUEL TANK DELIVERY - The massive oil spill plaguing the United States Gulf Coast has also thrown a wrench in NASA's plans to deliver a huge space shuttle fuel tank from Louisiana to Florida for the last launch of shuttle Discovery in September. The expanding oil slick has cut into the deep water route typically used by NASA barges and their tugs to haul the 15-storey space shuttle fuel tanks from their manufacturing site — the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans — to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be attached to an orbiter for launch.    More
(Source: MSNBC - May 5)

INTENSE SOLAR STORM SPINS SATELLITE OUT OF CONTROL - Galaxy 15 stopped responding to ground controllers on April 5. The satellite's manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Virginia, has said an intense solar storm in early April may be to blame. An adrift Intelsat satellite that stopped communicating with its ground controllers last month remains out of control and has begun moving eastward along the geostationary arc, raising the threat of interference with other satellites in its path, Intelsat and other industry officials said.    More
(Source: Fox News - May 5)

RUSSIAN CARGO SHIP DOCKS AT SPACE STATION DESPITE MALFUNCTION - A new unmanned cargo ship loaded with tons of supplies successfully docked at the International Space Station Saturday despite a last-minute failure that forced a Russian cosmonaut to take control and guide the robotic freighter in manually. Russian space station commander Oleg Kotov took manual control of the automated cargo ship, called Progress 37, while it hovered about 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) away from the orbiting lab with 2.6 tons (2,359 kg) of supplies onboard    More
(Source: Space.com - May 2)

INDIAN SATELLITE LAUNCH POSTPONED TO JUNE - The Indian space agency is likely to launch its rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15), carrying its cartography satellite Cartosat-2B and couple of other payloads, sometime in June. Originally scheduled for launch May 9, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Thursday decided to postpone the flight to a future date as it found "a marginal drop in the pressure in the second stage of the vehicle during mandatory checks".    More
(Source: Times of India - May 1)

RUSSIAN MILITARY SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY SENT TO ORBIT - A Kosmos 3M rocket launched from northern Russia overnight to place a military navigation satellite in orbit more than 600 miles above Earth. The two-stage launcher lifted off at 0105 GMT Tuesday from pad 132 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The launch occurred at 5:05 a.m. Moscow time. The mission's secret payload arrived in orbit about one hour later at 0208 GMT, according to the Russian Novosti news agency. U.S. tracking data shows the satellite was released in a nearly circular orbit more than 600 miles high with an inclination of about 83 degrees.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Apr 29)

JAPAN TO LAUNCH SOLAR-POWERED SPACECRAFT - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced plans to launch a solar-powered 'space yacht'--the first of its kind--according to various media reports on Tuesday. The Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun (IKAROS) satellite uses a special 66-foot (20m) sail made of thin-film solar technology that will allow the ship to use pressure, created by the reflection of sunlight off the sails, as propulsion. Furthermore, the satellite craft will also be equipped with solar cells to generate electricity, effectively making the IKAROS a hybrid spacecraft.    More
(Source: Red Orbit - Apr 29)

ATLANTIS ASTRONAUTS ENJOY SLOW RIDE TO PAD WITH SHUTTLE - The astronauts who will fly space shuttle Atlantis into orbit next month got a rare chance Thursday morning as they rode along with their spacecraft on its slow trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Riding the crawler last night was absolutely fantastic,” Ham said. He said the crawler, powered by destroyer engines, reminded him of a Navy ship even though it moves across gravel instead of rolling waves. “It is incredible to see that battleship on the ground.”    More
(Source: Space Fellowship - Apr 27)

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