30 June 2009 – The Proton Breeze M rocket carrying the SIRIUS FM-5 satellite successfully lifted off from the Baikonurr Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 01.10 local time (1 July).
30 June 2009 – The countdown for the launch of the SIRIUS FM-5 communications satellite on the Proton Breeze M launch vehicle is continuing. There was a minor anomaly which occurred when a fill/and drain valve could not be opened. The valve subsequently was opened and Breeze M fueling operations were successfully completed. The launch will take place at 15.10 EDT today (19.10 GMT) and 01.10 at Baikonur (July 1).
30 June 2009 - NASA and Japan have released a new digital topographic map of Earth that covers more of our planet than ever before. The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft. The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo-pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users everywhere at no cost. http://www.nasa.gov/ topics/earth/features/ 20090629.html
30 June 2009 - Arianespace's Ariane 5 heavy-lift flight with the world's largest commercial telecommunications satellite was given the go-ahead for its July 1 liftoff following yesterday's launch readiness review. This review, which is performed prior to every Ariane mission, confirmed the launch readiness of the Ariane 5 ECA, along with its TerreStar-1 payload, the launch infrastructure at Europe's Spaceport, and the network of downrange tracking stations. The go-ahead clears the way for Ariane 5's roll-out today from its Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone, where the vehicle will be fueled and readied for an afternoon liftoff on July 1 during a two-hour launch window that opens at 1:13 p.m. local time in French Guiana. This mission will be Arianespace's third of seven Ariane 5 flights planned in 2009. With a liftoff weight of nearly 7,000kgs, TerreStar-1 is riding as a single passenger on the dedicated Ariane 5.
29 June 2009 - After reviewing more than 3,500 applications, NASA has selected nine people for the 2009 astronaut candidate class. They will begin training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston this August. "This is a very talented and diverse group we've selected," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "They will join our current astronauts and play very important roles for NASA in the future. In addition to flying in space, astronauts participate in every aspect of human spaceflight, sharing their expertise with engineers and managers across the country. We look forward to working with them as we transcend from the shuttle to our future exploration of space, and continue the important engineering and scientific discoveries aboard the International Space Station."
28 June 2009 - The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O, soared into space yesterday after a successful launch from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The GOES-O spacecraft lifted off at 6:51 p.m. EDT on a Delta IV rocket. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-O satellite will improve weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world. The satellite is the second to be launched in the GOES N series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. Approximately 4 hours and 21 minutes after launch, the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle. The Universal Space Network Western Australia tracking site in Dongara monitored the spacecraft separation. On July 7, GOES-O will be placed in its final orbit and renamed GOES-14. Approximately 24 days after launch, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will turn engineering control over to NASA. About five months later, NASA will transfer operational control of GOES-14 to NOAA. The satellite will be checked out, stored in orbit and available for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust its fuel
26 June 2009 – Yesterday an AN-12 airplane delivered three of the six spacecraft to be launched by Dnepr rocket to Baikonur. The Dnepr rocket carrier is a modified version of the RS-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (SS-18 Satan under NATO classification). The satellites delivered are Dubaisat-1 (United Arab Emirates), Deimos-1 (Spain) and UK DMS-2 (UK).
24 June 2009 – On Monday the Sea Launch Company and five of its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing liquidity concerns and recurring losses from operations. The filing is with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Sea Launch has listed assets of up to $500 million and liabilities of more than $1 billion. One option being looked at by the company is the sale of one or more of its divisions. Major shareholders of Sea Launch, which offers commercial space launch capabilities from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan, are Boeing with 40 per cent, Russia's RSC Energia (25 per cent), Norway's Aker ASA (20 per cent) and the Ukrainian companies PA Yuzhmash and Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (15 per cent). Since its inception in 1995 it has assembled and launched thirty rockets, with two failures and one partial failure. After the launch failure of NSS-8 in January 2007 launches were delayed for a year which severely deprived the company of revenue. Since January 2008, the company has successfully launched seven satellites from its ocean and land platforms, the latest being MEASAT-3A which was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome under the Land Launch project earlier this week.
24 June 2009 - The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, successfully completed its most significant early mission milestone on Tuesday with a lunar swing-by and calibration of its science instruments. The satellite will search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's South Pole. With the assist of the moon's gravity, LCROSS and its attached Centaur booster rocket successfully entered into polar Earth orbit at 6:20 a.m. PDT on June 23. The maneuver puts the spacecraft and Centaur on course for a pair of impacts near the moon's South Pole on October 9. During its swing by the moon, the spacecraft's instruments were turned on and calibrated by scanning three sites on the lunar surface. These sites were the craters Mendeleev, Goddard C and Giordano Bruno. They were selected because they offer a variety of terrain types, compositions and illumination conditions. The spacecraft also scanned the lunar horizon to confirm its instruments are aligned in preparation for observing the Centaur's debris plume.
24 June 2009 - The TerreStar-1 telecommunications satellite was mated to its Ariane 5 launcher yesterday, taking Arianespace’s upcoming heavy-lift mission one major step closer to the July 1 liftoff. TerreStar-1 will be the world’s largest civilian telecommunications satellite ever launched, and it is riding as a solo payload on a dedicated Ariane 5 ECA.
23 June 2009 - After a successful insertion rocket burn this morning, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter entered orbit around the moon shortly after 6 a.m. EDT. Rocket burns initiated by controllers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., have helped the moon capture the LRO, which arrived after a five-day journey. Now the LRO begins its primary mission of mapping the lunar surface to find future landing sites and searching for resources that would make possible a permanent human presence on the moon.
23 June 2009 - Two Ariane 5 launch campaigns are in full swing at the Spaceport. For its third flight of the year, the TerreStar-1 telecommunications satellite has made initial contact with Ariane 5 hardware, with the very large spacecraft being mated to the cone-shaped adapter unit that will serve as its interface with the Ariane 5 ECA. This activity occurred in the S5A hall of the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility, where TerreStar-1 was loaded with its onboard propellant last week. The next step will be TerreStar-1’s transfer to the Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building, where it will be installed atop the heavy-lift launcher as a solo payload for the July 1 mission. In parallel, the fourth heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA for launch in 2009 has completed its initial build-up at the Spaceport. Industrial prime contractor EADS Astrium achieved the assembly milestone inside the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building when it topped off the vehicle with Ariane 5’s upper composite – which consists of the ESC-A cryogenic upper stage and equipment bay.
22 June 2009 – MEASAT-3A was successfully launched for the from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at A Zenit-3SLB rocket was launched today from the Baikonur spaceport at 1:50 a.m. Moscow time onboard a three-stage rocket Zenit-3SLB under the Land Launch project: The three-stage rocket Zenit is a product of the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and is similar to the Zenit-3SL used by the Sea Launch. Measat’s fourth satellite was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp and will add 12 Ku-Band and 12 C-Band transponders to its fleet, increasing by 50 per cent the amount of satellite capacity at the company’s prime 91.50E orbital slot and will provide high-quality communications in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. The Ku-transponders will offer TV service in Malaysia and Indonesia. The launch of the satellite was initially scheduled for 22 August 2008, but the satellite was damaged in an incident at Baikonur and the launch was delayed.
21 June 2009 - The final tests have completed on DubaiSat-1 which is due to be launched aboard a Russian Dnepr on July 25th. The UAE team is currently preparing to ship the satellite from the factory in Korea to its launch base in Kazakhstan.
20 June 2009 - Initial preparations for Vega’s new launch site in French Guiana have been completed, clearing the way for facility integration and qualification tests that should lead to a maiden flight of this new lightweight launcher in 2010. Vega will be operated from the ELA-1 facility at Europe’s Spaceport, which has been refurbished and updated for missions with the third member of Arianespace’s launcher family. ELA-1 previously was used for flights of the Ariane 1 and 3 versions, entering service with the first liftoff of an Ariane 1 on December 24, 1979. Its final mission was performed with an Ariane 3 in July 1989. Preparations performed for Vega’s introduction at ELA-1 include upgrading and resurfacing the concrete launch pad, installing a new purpose-built mobile gantry, refurbishing the support infrastructure (including electrical power and the environmental control system), and connecting the site’s various supply lines.
20 June 2009 - The first stage of the КSLV-1 (The First Korean Space Launch Vehicle) was delivered to South Korea on June 19. The stage was developed by Khrunichev Space Center under a cooperation agreement which was signed in October 2004. In the contract, South Korea is represented by Korea Aerospace Research Institute and on the Russian side, the contractors are: the Khrunichev Space Center, responsible for the integrated design, Energomash R&D, which develops and manufactures the first stage engine, and Transport Machine-Building Design Bureau, responsible for ground facility design.
19 June 2009 – Yesterday NASA successfully launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, on a mission to search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole. The satellite lifted off on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 5:32 p.m. EDT, with a companion mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. LRO safely separated from LCROSS 45 minutes later. LCROSS then was powered-up, and the mission operations team at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., performed system checks that confirmed the spacecraft is fully functional. LCROSS and its attached Centaur upper stage rocket separately will collide with the moon at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2009, creating a pair of debris plumes that will be analyzed for the presence of water ice or water vapor, hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. The spacecraft and Centaur are tentatively targeted to impact the moon's South Pole near the Cabeus region. The exact target crater will be identified 30 days before impact, after considering information collected by LRO, other spacecraft orbiting the moon, and observatories on Earth
18 June 2009 - NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, are scheduled to lift off together today, aboard their Atlas V rocket from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, with three attempts possible at 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m. If launch slips to Friday, June 19, the launch opportunities would be 6:41 p.m., 6:51 p.m. and 7:01 p.m. LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission at a polar orbit of about 31 miles, or 50 kilometers, the closest any spacecraft has orbited the moon. Its primary objective is to conduct investigations to prepare for future explorations of the moon. LCROSS will search for water ice on the moon by sending the spent upper-stage Centaur rocket to impact part of a polar crater in permanent shadows. LCROSS will fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure the properties before also colliding with the lunar surface.
17 June 2009 - NASA postponed the launch of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission Wednesday because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle’s external fuel tank. Endeavour's next launch opportunity is July 11. This date comes after the end of an orbital sun-angle condition called a beta angle cut-out, which occurs between June 22 and July 10. The cut-out creates a thermal condition that prohibits shuttle and space station docked operations. The gaseous hydrogen venting system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Wednesday's leak is similar to one that prevented Endeavour's launch on June 13. The 16-day mission to the International Space Station will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.
17 June 2009 - Speaking at an international press conference at the Paris Air Show Arianespace’s Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said preparations are continuing for the completion of Soyuz’ new launch site at Europe’s Spaceport with the focus on performing the medium-lift vehicle’s inaugural flight from French Guiana in the first weeks of 2010. The lightweight Vega also is scheduled to make its maiden liftoff from the Spaceport during 2010, thereby bringing Arianespace’s launcher family to its full force of three different vehicles.
17 June 2009 - Arianespace is on track for another record year in new order bookings for its commercial launch services, and will maintain a sustained Ariane 5 mission rate during 2009 while preparing for the upcoming introduction of Soyuz and Vega. Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall outlines Arianespace’s strong market position and its launch planning for 2009 during the company’s Paris Air Show press conference (June 16). Speaking to international reporters at the company’s traditional Paris Air Show press conference, Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said Arianespace already has signed 10 Service & Solutions contracts this year for payloads to be placed into geostationary transfer orbit. Additionally, it received an order for four navigation satellites that will be launched into circular orbit. “While we beat our commercial order record in 2008, I think we’ll go even further this year,” Le Gall said. “In reviewing the contracts signed so far in 2009, these payloads underscore just how much Arianespace has become the company that all [telecommunications] operators prefer for their launch services.” The 10 geostationary transfer orbit payloads won to date in 2009 are Hispasat 1E, Asabsat 5C and Badr 7, Yamal 401 and 402, Intelsat New Dawn, JCSAT-13, Alphasat I-XL – as well as two spacecraft signed last weekend and announced today: ST-2 for the Singapore/Taiwan joint venture ST-2 Satellite Ventures Pte Ltd; and ABS-2 for Hong Kong-based ABS.
17 June 2009 - The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O, or GOES-O, is scheduled for a liftoff on Friday, June 26, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The one-hour launch window extends from 6:14 to 7:14 p.m. EDT. GOES-O is the second of three in the current series of geostationary weather and environmental satellites. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., was responsible for designing and developing the GOES-O spacecraft and its instruments for NOAA. Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems built GOES-O for NASA. It will be launched into orbit for NASA aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket procured by Boeing Launch Services.
16 June 2009 - The operator Asia Broadcast Satellite has chosen Arianespace to launch its ABS-2 communications satellite. This is the 10th contract signed by Arianespace in 2009, all with the world’s leading satellite operators. The launch of ABS-2 into geostationary transfer orbit is scheduled for the first half of 2012. It will be launched by an Ariane 5 ECA from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. ABS-2 is the first satellite for which ABS has chosen an Arianespace launch. Asia Broadcast Satellite, one of the leading operators in the Asia-Pacific region, is Arianespace’s 30th new customer. The ABS-2 satellite will weigh about 6,000 kg at launch and offers a design life exceeding 15 years. With a payload power of 15 kW it will be fitted with a hybrid C, Ku and Ka-band payload. Positioned at 75 degrees East, ABS-2 will offer a wide range of services for Asia, Russia, Africa and the Middle East, including direct broadcast TV, television distribution via cable, multimedia applications and data networks.
16 June 2009 - ST-2 Satellite Ventures Pte Ltd (STS), a joint venture formed by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) and Chunghwa Telecom Company Ltd (Chunghwa), has chosen Arianespace to launch its new telecommunications satellite, ST-2. This satellite will replace ST-1 launched by Arianespace in 1998. ST-2 will be launched by an Ariane 5 ECA during the second quarter of 2011 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellite will be built by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan, using the DS2000 platform and will have a lift-off mass of more than 5 100 kg. The satellite will carry C and Ku band transponders providing fixed and mobile satellite services as well as Voice and Data IP based services for businesses, particularly DTH operators and Shipping companies in Asia and the Middle East. ST-2 will have a 15 year on orbit lifetime.
16 June 2009 - Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, and Antonio Fabrizi, Director of Launchers for the European Space Agency (ESA), signed a framework contract at the Paris Air Show concerning the procurement of launch services for future ESA missions. The agreement has two main objectives: to define the conditions under which ESA procures launch services for its missions; and to facilitate European preference, in line with the launch service procurement policy decided by the ESA Council at ministerial level. The contract concerns the European launcher family, Ariane, Vega and Soyuz, operated by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, and could be extended to encompass all European governmental missions. Based on this agreement, ESA will be in charge of supporting the preference policy in relations with European institutions. Following the contract signing ceremony, Jean-Yves Le Gall said: “This framework contract is a milestone for the European space sector. It confirms that Arianespace guarantees independent access to space for Europe, fully meeting the needs of the public and private space sector.”
16 June 2009 - The launch of Russia's modernized Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana has been put off until the first half of 2010. The launch was planned for December 2009 but has been delayed for unspecified reasons.
15 June 2009 - NASA managers have scheduled the next launch attempt of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission for 5:40 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 17. The launch will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As a result, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, are set to lift off together aboard an Atlas V rocket on Thursday, June 18. There are three launch opportunities from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida: 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m. NASA managers postponed Endeavour's planned June 13 liftoff because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. The LRO and LCROSS launch was moved to June 18 to accommodate Endeavour's June 17 liftoff. If Thursday's liftoff of LRO and LCROSS is postponed 24 hours, the launch times Friday are 6:41 p.m., 6:51 p.m. and 7:01 p.m. Saturday's opportunities are 8:08 p.m., 8:18 p.m. and 8:28 p.m.
15 June 2009 – According to Anatoly Perminov, head of Russia's Space Agency, Russia’s European, American and Japanese partners on the International Space Station may want the orbiter to continue its mission until at least 2025. Speaking at the International Paris Air Show he said the Europeans and Japanese both have new science modules in or near operation, adding that Japan intends to build its own space cargo ship to fly to the ISS and therefore needs the station for at least 10 years. He said that everyone needs the station and Russia supported this view.
15 June 2009 – ISRO, The Indian Space Research Organisation, has announced plans to launch Ocean Sat on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in July-August. ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said the mission would enable the study of the sea surface, wind and also track down the fishing zones. The launch will take place from Sriharikota,
15 June 2009 – According to local newspaper reports Vietnam will launch the country's second man-made satellite in 2012. The satellite, called VNREDSat-1, will enter a low orbit and will provide pictures to centers gathering earth-surface satellite pictures. A control centre will be built on an area of two hectares in the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park in Hanoi. The project is estimated to cost about US$60 to 70 million. The satellite will have a five life span.
13 June 2009 - NASA postponed space shuttle Endeavour's launch to the International Space Station today because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle’s external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Managers scrubbed the launch for at least 96 hours. The earliest the shuttle could be ready to launch is June 17. However, there is a conflict on the Eastern Range that date with the scheduled launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. Mission managers will hold a meeting at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday to discuss the repair options and Endeavour's launch opportunities. A news conference will follow the meeting and air on NASA Television and the agency’s Web site. The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.
13 June 2009 - NASA has selected three new flight directors who will manage and carry out shuttle flights and International Space Station expeditions. Dina Contella, Scott Stover and Ed Van Cise will join a select group of individuals who lead human spaceflights from Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "Since the first flight director, Chris Kraft, was selected during the Mercury era, 77 men and women have served as flight directors. One of the new flight directors will be the 80th in the history of U.S. human spaceflight," said John McCullough, chief of the Flight Director Office at Johnson. "Dina, Scott and Ed are senior flight controllers who have lead management experience and an average of 10 years of flight control experience." A flight director leads and orchestrates planning and integration activities with flight controllers, payload customers, international partners, and technical and program support across the agency. Flight directors also are involved in developing plans and reviewing systems for future Constellation Program exploration missions. All of the recently selected individuals will begin training as space station flight directors. "This group will help us transition the knowledge and experience from the existing human spaceflight programs into the development and execution of our exploration program with the new Orion spacecraft in the years to come," McCullough said.
12 June 2009 - NASA's Constellation Program reached two major processing milestones this week as two new pieces of Ares I-X hardware were transferred for final assembly in preparation for the first flight test of the rocket later this summer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once stacking operations begin later this month, it will be the first time a new vehicle has been stacked on NASA's Mobile Launch Platform in more than 25 years. The forward assembly, composed of the forward skirt, forward skirt extension and the frustum, was moved Thursday from Kennedy's Assembly Refurbishment Facility, or ARF, to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations. The aft skirt was moved Monday from the ARF to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility to be attached to the aft motor segment, forming the aft assembly. The assembly will next move to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the Mobile Launcher Platform. The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator hardware that will resemble the Ares I crew launch vehicle in size, shape and weight. It will provide valuable flight data to guide the final design of the Ares I, which will launch astronauts in the Orion crew exploration vehicle.
11 June 2009 – Intelsat has today provided further details with respect to its current fleet investment plan, which is expected to result in a significant improvement in the types and quantities of satellite capacity available to media, networking and government customers in the Asia-Pacific region. Intelsat expects to launch 11 satellites between now and the end of 2012, five of which will provide new or replacement capacity in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific build includes the acceleration of replacement satellites for two core roles and one new satellite that increases capacity for media and networking customers and addresses defense-related opportunities in the region. In addition to the fleet program, Intelsat continues to invest in its ground network infrastructure, expanding customer access to Intelsat’s Asia-Pacific assets. An upgrade at Intelsat’s Paumalu Teleport in Hawaii improved fiber diversity and upgraded antenna facilities to expand accessibility and redundancy on Intelsat’s Pacific Ocean satellites, enhancing services for media customers. Intelsat also expanded its GlobalConnex Network Broadband Managed services, adding hubs at KT Corporation’s teleport facilities in South Korea.
11 June 2009 - NASA scientists have confirmed Saturday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour which will deliver the final piece of Kibo, Japan's $1 billion space station laboratory. The astronauts will install an outdoor unit for experiments during the five planned spacewalks. The seven shuttle astronauts will join six others already at the space station so for the first time 13 people will be together in space.
11 June 2009 - Because of weather concerns and launch site preparation needs, NASA has rescheduled the test launch of the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, to no earlier than June 20 at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch window June 20 extends from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. EDT. The launch had been scheduled previously for June 15. The unpiloted test is part of an effort to design a system for safely propelling future spacecraft and crews away from hazards on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit. This system was developed as an alternative concept to the launch abort system chosen for NASA's Orion crew capsule. The 33-foot-high MLAS vehicle will be launched to an altitude of approximately one mile to simulate an emergency on the launch pad. A full-scale mockup of the crew module will separate from the launch vehicle and parachute into the Atlantic Ocean.
10 June 2009 – The second spacewalk has been successfully completed by two crew members of the International Space Station. During the 37-minute spacewalk Russian Commander Gennady Padalka and U.S. Flight Engineer Michael Barratt successfully installed a cone-shaped docking component onto the Zvezda (Star) service module. Both spacewalks conducted in first half of June were aimed to install necessary equipment outside the Zvezda service module for the docking of Russia's small research module MIM-2, a space vehicle due to blast off in autumn.
9 June 2009 - TerreStar Networks Inc has rescheduled the launch of TerreStar-1 for a July 7-12, 2009 window to permit additional time to ensure that an on-orbit anomaly that occurred recently on another operator's satellite has no bearing on the flight worthiness of TerreStar-1. "While our vendors have assured us that TerreStar-1 is ready to launch, we believe this short delay may provide a window for additional data to verify that TerreStar-1, including its 18 meter reflector, is unaffected by the anomaly reported by another operator's S Band satellite," Dennis Matheson, CTO of TerreStar said. Arianespace, TerreStar-1's launch services provider, has agreed to this updated launch schedule
8 June 2009 - Euroconsult, the leading international research and analyst firm specialized in the satellite sector, announced today that an estimated 1,185 satellites will be built and launched for the period 2009-2018, an increase of about 50% compared to the previous decade (1999-2008). Market revenues generated from the manufacturing and launch of these satellites are forecast to grow by the same rate, reaching $178 billion for the period 2009-2018 according to Euroconsult’s just-released “Satellites to be Built & Launched by 2018, World Market Survey.”
6 June 2009 - Two crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) successfully concluded a spacewalk on Friday to install new equipment and test new Russian-made Orlan-MK computerized spacesuits. The space walkers, Russian Commander Gennady Padalka and US Flight Engineer Michael Barratt, installed three antennas for the Kurs auto-docking system to receive a Russian MIM-2 small research module, which will be delivered on board the next Progress cargo spacecraft scheduled to blast off in the autumn. The Orlan-MK's main improvement is the mini-computer in the Portable Life Support System backpack, which processes data from the spacesuit's various systems and issues a warning in the event of a malfunction. It then outlines a contingency plan that is displayed on an LCD screen attached to the right breast of the spacesuit. During the current 180-day mission, the six-member ISS crew will receive and unload three Russian Progress craft and a Japanese HTV-1 space freighter and carry out a series of scientific experiments.
5 June 2009 - Guy Laliberte, The founder of Cirque du Soleil, the circus performance group, is to become Canada's first space tourist when he travels to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Soyuz in September. The flight will cost an estimated $25m and the Quebec-based billionaire will be the seventh private citizen to visit the ISS since April 2001. Laliberte will be joining Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk, who has just begun a six-month space station visit and is to return to Earth in November.
4 June 2009 - On Wednesday NASA managers completed a review of the space shuttle Endeavour's readiness for flight and have selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour's launch date was announced following a daylong Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. The STS-127 crew members are Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.
3 June 2009 - According to a government statement South Korea has tentatively scheduled the launch the country's first space rocket, the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), for the 30 July. The launch which has been postponed twice will take place from the Naro Space Centre in Goheung county in Jeollanam-do, a province in the southwest of South Korea. The spaceport is operated by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute who have completed construction work on the rocket and are now working to mate the first-stage main thruster to the second-stage space vehicle.
3 June 2009 - The United Space Alliance has assembled a team of experienced, innovative experts in space operations to support the Kennedy Space Center’s mission to maintain the leading edge in space vehicle and payload processing, integration, launch and recovery operations. The team has been assembled to compete for the Exploration Ground Launch Services (EGLS) contract, which provides ground processing and operations for launch vehicles, spacecraft and payloads in support of the Constellation, International Space Station and the Launch Services programs. In addition, it includes support for the transition and retirement of legacy assets supporting both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. Joining USA on the team are Lockheed Martin, Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and Jacobs Technology. The team is led by United Space Alliance (USA) which is the primary contractor for Space Shuttle operations at KSC today.
2 June 2009 - NASA managers will hold a Flight Readiness Review on Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to assess preparations for shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. The review is expected to include the selection of an official launch date. Endeavour currently is targeted to launch at 7:17 a.m. on June 13.
2 June 2009 - Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has been switched from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program as preparations continue towards the first flight test of the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch system. The Constellation Program is developing new spacecraft -- including the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles, the Orion crew capsule, and the Altair lunar lander -- to carry humans to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond. Since the late 1960s, pad B has been instrumental in human spaceflight programs, such as Apollo, Skylab and the space shuttle. The pad originally was built for the Saturn V rockets to launch the Apollo capsules to the moon. In July 1975, the pad was modified to support space shuttle operations. The first space shuttle to lift off from pad B was Challenger in January 1986. The handover took place Sunday after space shuttle Endeavour was moved to Launch Pad 39A. The ground operations team will finish modifying pad B for the Ares I-X rocket launch. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than August 30.
1 June 2009 - China's first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1, is expected to be launched in the second half of this year. The probe had passed its research phase and will be launched by a Russian carrier rocket, accompanied by the Russian Phobos-Grunt. The Phobos-Grunt mission’s objectives are to collect soil samples from Phobos, a satellite of Mars and to bring the samples back to Earth for comprehensive scientific research into Phobos, Mars and Martian space. Yinghuo-1 would go into Mars orbit in 2010 after a 10-month journey But unlike the Russian craft, it wouldn’t land.
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