(Space Politics) Houston’s delegation optimistic about Constellation
On Thursday morning eight members of the House from the greater Houston area held a press conference with Houston mayor Annise Parker (at the podium above, flanked by the House members), who was visiting Washington in part to lobby to project jobs at the Johnson Space Center that might be jeopardized by NASA’s plans to [...](Space Fellowship) ILS Proton Successfully Launches EchoStar XIV
BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, (ILS) – International Launch Services (ILS), a leading mission and launch services provider for the global commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the EchoStar XIV satellite into orbit today on an ILS Proton for DISH Network L.L.C., the fastest growing pay-TV provider in America. This was the second ILS Proton launch and the fourth overall Proton launch this year. The EchoStar XIV satellite was also the 21st consecutive successful Proton launch in 2 [...]
(Space Fellowship) Maintenance for Station Crew
(NASA) - The Expedition 23 crew members aboard the International Space Station were busy Friday with a variety of maintenance activities after the departure and landing of Expedition 22 crew members Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev. Williams and Suraev returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft Thursday, landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Staying behind aboard the station are Flight Engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer and new Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov. Expedi [...]
(Space Fellowship) NASA and NOAA's Environmental Satellite Now GOES-15
GREENBELT, Md., (NASA) -- Twelve days after a flawless launch, NASA and NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P (GOES-P) reached its proper orbit and was renamed GOES-15. The latest weather satellite will complete its checkout in mid August 2010 and be stored in-orbit, ready for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust their fuel. "The NASA team has done an excellent job and the spacecraft performance has been near perfect. Reaching the pr [...]
(Space Fellowship) New launch date for CryoSat-2 confirmed
(ESA) - The technical issue with the second stage of the Dnepr rocket that delayed the launch of ESA's Earth Explorer CryoSat-2 satellite in February has now been resolved – and the new launch date of 8 April has been set. The launch of CryoSat-2 was originally scheduled to take place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 February, but had to be postponed owing to a problem with the fuel reserve in the launcher's second stage. The problem had surfaced a week before the scheduled [...]
(Space Fellowship) ESA and Thales Alenia Space enter negotiations for MTG
(ESA) - The tendering process that will result in the supply of Europe's next series of meteorological satellites, Meteosat Third Generation, has reached an advanced stage as ESA invites Thales Alenia Space to enter formal contract negotiations. These negotiations follow rigorous evaluation of the proposals to build the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites – with the Tender Evaluation Board (TEB) meeting three times since October to review the offers. ESA's first Earth observati [...]
(Space Fellowship) ATK Successfully Tests Attitude Control Motor for Orion Launch Abort System
(ATK) - Key Milestone Test Performed at ATK's Elkton, Maryland Facility MINNEAPOLIS -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) announced that it successfully completed the second of two ground tests of a full-scale attitude control motor (ACM) for the launch abort system (LAS) of NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle. The second test was conducted on March 17, and evaluated environment extremes and ignition system robustness in addition to confirming the motor performance. The test was conducted [...]
(AviationWeek) Satellite Makers Prepare For Downturn
Despite continuing boom in the fixed-service satellite sector, satellite makers are digging in for a retrenchment(Discovery News) Flashback: Images From the Week's News
Take a look back at the week's top stories in the Discovery News Flashback Slide Show.(Discovery News) Geneva Atom Smasher Sets Record for Beam Energy
The world's largest atom smasher has just broken its own record, and it's just getting started.(Space Fellowship) Picture of the Day - Experience Hubble's Universe in 3D
This image depicts a vast canyon of dust and gas in the Orion Nebula from a 3-D computer model based on observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and created by science visualization specialists at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md. A 3-D visualization of this model takes viewers on an amazing four-minute voyage through the 15-light-year-wide canyon. The model takes viewers through an exhilarating ride through the Orion Nebula, a vast star-making fa [...]
(Space Politics) Defending Constellation via the FAA
Supporters of NASA’s Constellation program are fighting for the program wherever they can, including in legislation that has nothing to do with NASA. On Thursday Sen. George LeMieux (R-FL) announced that he was introducing an amendment to an FAA reauthorization bill that would reiterate an existing provision in the FY2010 appropriations legislation for NASA [...](euronews) Space: Are we alone?
Flying saucers, aliens and UFOs (unidentified flying objects) are fairy tales to most people, but to some they are real. What is the scientific…(Discovery News) Is There Water On The Moon? Bucketloads.
A huge quantity of water has been discovered in craters at the north lunar pole, enough water to supply a large US city for three years. Also, there also appears to be evidence for a lunar "hydrosphere".(AviationWeek) Soyuz Lands Safely With Two From ISS
NASA 's Jeff Williams and Russia's Maxim Suraev spent 167 days on the orbiting facility(Space Travel) ICAP Ocean Tomo To Auction Multiple NASA Patent Portfolios
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be offering exclusive licenses to four patent portfolios through a live public auction managed by ICAP Ocean Tomo, the intellectual property brokerage division of ICAP Plc (IAP.L), on March 25 in San Francisco, Calif. This will be the first auction featuring lots from multiple NASA field centers. (Space Daily) Integration Of VIIRS With NPP Complete
Boulder CO (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - Ball Aerospace and Technologies reports that the fourth of five weather instruments that will fly aboard the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) has been successfully integrated. (Space Daily) Integral Systems Announces Agreement With SUIRG
National Harbor MD (SPX) Mar 16, 2010 - Integral Systems has announced that its Integral Systems Service Solutions (IS3) business unit has entered into an arrangement with the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group to offer discount rates on annual subscriptions for SATCOM NetOps Services to SUIRG membership. (Space Daily) The Mystery Of Moonwater
Huntsville AL (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - Moonwater. Look it up. You won't find it. It's not in the dictionary. That's because we thought, until recently, that the Moon was just about the driest place in the solar system. Then reports of moonwater started "pouring" in - starting with estimates of scant amounts on the lunar surface, then gallons in a single crater, and now 600 million metric tons distributed among 40 craters near the lunar north pole. (Space Daily) ASTRA 3B And COMSATBw-2 Ready For Lift-Off
Kourou, French Guiana (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - Astrium has delivered the 50th flight-ready Ariane 5 launch vehicle to Arianespace together with two communications satellites - ASTRA 3B for SES Astra and COMSATBw-2 for the German Armed Forces. (Space Daily) Icebridge To Study Arctic Glaciers
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, the largest airborne survey ever flown of Earth's polar ice, kicks off its second year of study when NASA aircraft arrive in Greenland March 22. (Space Daily) Gilat To Takeover Raysat Antenna Systems
McLean, VA (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Raysat Antenna Systems, (RAS), a leading provider of Satcom On The Move antenna solutions. The consideration for the acquisition is $25 million in cash and is expected to be completed within four to six months. (Space Daily) Cassini Shows Saturnian Roller Derby
London, UK (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - The seemingly serene orb of Saturn is in fact a gas giant with extraordinary patterns of charged particles and rough and tumble roller derbies for rings. Such are the findings of NASA's Cassini spacecraft since its arrival at Saturn in 2004 - they are combined in two review papers to be published in the March 19 issue of the journal Science. (Space Daily) Capacity, Flexibility, Reliability All Key Factors In Winning OHO-1 Launch
Paris, France (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 - Arianespace's selection by new satellite services operator OverHorizon to orbit its first relay platform was based on criteria that included launch capacity, flexibility and a track record of reliability. (Space Daily) C2-C4ISR Systems Constitutes Around 5 Percent Of National Defence Budgets
London, UK (SPX) Mar 18, 2010 - The considerable growth in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) applications is driving the development of powerful communications systems, high resolution electro-optic sensor subsystems, signal processing and intelligence analytics software. (Space Daily) A Galactic Desktop Of Cold Dust
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 19, 2010 - Planck's ability to measure the temperature of the coldest dust particles will provide a better understanding of the physical processes at play in the spaces between stars, and in regions of star formation. (Space Daily) Astronauts return to Earth on Russian spacecraft
Moscow (AFP) March 18, 2010 - A Russian cosmonaut and a US astronaut returned to Earth on Thursday from the International Space Station (ISS) after 169 days in space, mission control in Moscow said. (Space Daily) Newly Discovered Planet Could Hold Water
Paris, France (ESA) Mar 19, 2010 - The Corot satellite strikes again with another fascinating planet discovery. This time, the newly discovered gas giant planet may have an interior that closely resembles those of Jupiter and Saturn in our own Solar System. (Space Fellowship) Russia could build extra Soyuz capsule for space tours
MISSION CONTROL, (RIA Novosti) - An additional Soyuz capsule could be built especially for commercial space tourists, the head of Russia's Energia space corporation said on Thursday. "Construction of an additional Soyuz spaceship could start in the middle of the year," Vitaly Lopota said. Energia currently manufactures four single-use three-man Soyuz capsules a year, but when the number is raised to five, it could resume space tours that it has put on hold for now. Earlier in the year R [...]
(Space Fellowship) Soyuz Landing Caps Milestone Space Station Mission
WASHINGTON, (NASA) -- Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Max Suraev landed their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan Thursday, wrapping up a five-and-a-half-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Suraev, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft as it undocked at 4:03 a.m. EDT from the station's Poisk module. The duo landed at 7:24 a.m. at a site northeast of the Kazakh town of Arkalyk. Working in frigid temperatures, R [...]
