31 May 2009 - The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) has conducted a launch to test its facilities at the Alcantara Launch Center which was built in 1983 in the northeastern state of Maranhao. The site is the closest launch site to the equator and offers significant advantages when launching geosynchronous satellites. The mission, the firsrt launch from the site in two years, was code-named Maracati 1 and was a partnership between Brazil and Germany. The Orion 1 rocket used in the test was developed by Germany and took place on Friday afternoon local time.
30 May 2009 - Intelsat has announced that attendees at TelCap’s International Telecoms Week (ITW) second annual conference will have an opportunity to attend a full day of satellite-related panels and presentations, hosted and sponsored by Intelsat. ITW 2009 will be held in Washington, D.C., 1-3 June 2009, at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. The satellite seminars will take place on Tuesday, 2 June.
29 May 2009 - NASA has signed a $306 million modification to the current International Space Station contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency for crew transportation and related services in 2012 and 2013. The firm-fixed price modification covers comprehensive Soyuz support, including all necessary training and preparation for launch, crew rescue, and landing of a long-duration mission for six individual station crew members. Space station crew members will launch on four Soyuz vehicles: two in spring 2012 and two in fall 2012. Their landings are scheduled for fall 2012 and spring 2013, respectively. The contract modification also provides for crew post-flight rehabilitation, medical exams and services. Under the contract modification, the Soyuz flights will carry limited cargo to and from the station, and dispose of trash. The cargo allowed per person is approximately 110 pounds launched to the station, approximately 37 pounds returned to Earth, and trash disposal of approximately 66 pounds.
29 May 2009 - Space shuttle Endeavour now is planned to be moved from Launch Pad 39B to 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 31, weather permitting. Endeavour is targeted to lift off June 13 on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-127 crew's launch dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, has changed from June 2 to June 4 at Kennedy. The delay will allow engineers and technicians to rearrange remaining processing work because of recent weather delays.
28 May 2009 - NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2011, has a new name thanks to a sixth-grade student from Kansas. Twelve-year-old Clara Ma from the Sunflower Elementary school in Lenexa submitted the winning entry, "Curiosity." As her prize, Ma wins a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., where she will be invited to sign her name directly onto the rover as it is being assembled. A NASA panel selected the name following a nationwide student contest that attracted more than 9,000 proposals via the Internet and mail. The panel primarily took into account the quality of submitted essays. Name suggestions from the Mars Science Laboratory project leaders and a non-binding public poll also were considered.
27 May 2009 - A Russian spaceship with three astronauts aboard blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the Mission Control Center outside Moscow said. It is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) at 16:16 p.m. Moscow time (1216 GMT) on Friday. On board the capsule are Roman Romanenko, Franc De Winne and Robert Thirsk, the crew of the 20th ISS expedition, who respectively come from Russia, Belgium and Canada. Once the three astronauts reach the space station, the number of ISS permanent crew members will have for the first time increased to six. Currently, there are three astronauts at the ISS, namely, American Michael Barratt, Japanese Koichi Wakata and Russian Gennady Padalka.
26 May 2009 – According to Xinhua news agency report Chinese scientists are considering the feasibility of a manned lunar landing mission between 2025 and 2030. China will launch the second lunar probe Chang'e-2 in 2010 which will conduct research at a 100-kilometer-high moon orbit as the preparation for a soft landing by Chang'e-3.
26 May 2009 - The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft is now on its launch pad at Baikonur cosmodrome. The crew of Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium is scheduled to take off to the International Space Station on Wednesday May 27.
25 May 2009 - International Launch Services (ILS) will launch the SkyTerra 2 satellite. This is the second of two satellite launches that ILS has been awarded from SkyTerra, following the selection of ILS in May 2007 to launch SkyTerra 1 on an ILS Proton launch vehicle. SkyTerra 2 is a Boeing 702 satellite, weighing 5.4 metric tons and is under construction by Boeing Satellite Systems, in El Segundo, California. ILS and Khrunichev are implementing a schedule to support a launch in late 2010. Frank McKenna, President of ILS said, “ILS/Proton was selected to launch the SkyTerra 1 two years ago with an option for a second launch. With this firm award to launch SkyTerra 2, SkyTerra has entrusted ILS to launch the full fleet of its next-generation satellites. SkyTerra has the confidence in ILS/ Proton to meet their schedule demands. ILS is honored to perform our role with the SkyTerra team in their planned next-generation network.”
25 May 2009 - Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew landed at 8:39 a.m. PDT Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., completing the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis' astronauts conducted five successful spacewalks during their STS-125 flight to enhance and extend the life of the orbiting observatory. "This mission highlights what the challenges of spaceflight can bring out in human beings," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This mission required the absolute best from the shuttle team, the Hubble science and repair teams, and the crew. The results are a tribute to the entire team and the years of preparation." Atlantis' nearly 13-day mission of almost 5.3 million miles rejuvenated Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments designed to improve the telescope's discovery capabilities by as much as 70 times, while extending its lifetime through at least 2014.
24 May 2009 - Gen. Charles Bolden has been chosen by President Obama to lead NASA. If confirmed, Bolden, who has flown in space four times and was an assistant deputy administrator at one point, would be the agency's first black administrator
24 May 2009 - Weather in Florida did not cooperate again for Atlantis’ return to Earth yesterday. There are two additional landing opportunities being considered Sunday on both U.S. coasts. For the first opportunity in Florida at Kennedy Space Center, the crew would execute a deorbit burn at 7:58 a.m. and land at 9:11 a.m. The second Kennedy opportunity calls for a deorbit burn at 9:31 a.m. and landing at 10:49 a.m. The first landing opportunity targeted in California at Edwards Air Force Base would start with a deorbit burn at 9:25 a.m. and culminate in a 10:40 a.m. landing. The second opportunity would begin with a deorbit burn at 11:08 a.m. and result in landing at 12:19 p.m. The Kennedy weather forecast is expected to improve slightly, but there is a chance that weather in the vicinity of the Shuttle Landing Facility will continue to be unfavorable. The Edwards forecast is generally favorable.
23 May 2009 – Baikonur space port: Following Thursday’s arrival of the Zenith-2SB launcher, that will provide launch services for Malaysian satellite Measat-3A to be orbited in June, Friday morning saw another train delivered Proton-M, which is to loft US telecommunications satellite Sirius-Radio FM-5 in late June-early July. Baikonur space port is the world leader in the number of launches: 8 rockets were launched from Baikonur is 2009; 4 were launched from Plesetsk. The Soyuz TMA-15 launch on May 27 will become the 9th for Baikonur this year. It is expected that about 30 launches will take place from this space port in 2009.
23 May 2009 - Thunderstorms, low clouds and showers prevented Atlantis’ astronauts from landing today at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew was waved off from its second and final Friday landing attempt about 7 a.m. CDT, when Mission Control sent word that the weather was too unstable to permit a safe landing. Shortly after the weather wave off, Entry Flight Director Norm Knight called up support for the backup landing site Saturday at Edwards Air Force Base. There are three landing opportunities available for Atlantis at both Kennedy and Edwards on Saturday. The Kennedy weather forecast is expected to improve somewhat, but there is a good chance weather in the vicinity of the Shuttle Landing Facility will be unfavorable. The Edwards forecast is generally favorable for all three opportunities.
22 May 2009 - Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew will stay in space another day after bad weather prevented them from landing today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Flight Director Norm Knight and the entry team will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Atlantis and its crew to land at 9:16 a.m. Saturday. A second Kennedy landing opportunity is at 10:54 a.m. The shuttle also has landing opportunities at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 10:46 a.m. and 12:24 p.m. If Atlantis does not land Saturday, there are multiple landing opportunities Sunday at Kennedy, Edwards, or White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
22 May 2009 - The seven astronauts who upgraded NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are expected to return to Earth aboard space shuttle Atlantis today after an 11-day mission. The two landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are at 10 a.m. and 11:39 a.m. EDT. NASA flight directors will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Atlantis and its crew to land. If weather prevents a return to Kennedy on Friday, the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California will be activated Saturday for consideration as well.
21 May 2009 - Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Minotaur I rocket successfully launched the Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) for the US Air Force. The mission originated on the 20 May from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch facility at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, VA. At approximately 7:55 p.m. (Eastern), the rocket’s first stage ignited, beginning its flight into low-Earth orbit. Approximately 12 minutes later, the Minotaur I deployed the TacSat-3 spacecraft in its targeted orbit of approximately 285 miles (460 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. The mission was the 16th mission for the Minotaur program since its inception in 2000, all of which have been fully successful. It was also the third Minotaur I launch from the MARS facility, following the TacSat-2 and NFIRE missions conducted from the Eastern Virginia launch site in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Including the TacSat-3 mission, which carried four other smaller payloads, Minotaur I rockets have put a total of 30 satellites into orbit. Orbital will conduct the first two Minotaur IV flights later this year when it launches TacSat-4, the next in the Air Force’s series of smaller-sized tactical satellites, from Kodiak, AK, and the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA.
21 May 2009 - Inmarsat has chosen Arianespace to launch its new Alphasat I-XL communications satellite. This contract follows a partnership agreement between Inmarsat and the European Space Agency (ESA) concerning the commercialization of the first mission to use the new European platform, Alphabus. Planned for launch in 2012, Alphasat I-XL will be carried by an Ariane 5 ECA in from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite will be built by Astrium using an Alphabus platform, and will weigh more than six metric tons at launch. The new-generation Alphasat I-XL will be positioned at 25 degrees East, and will join Inmarsat’s current satellite fleet of 11 geostationary satellites to offer advanced mobile voice and data communications services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Its design life is 15 years.
20 May 2009 - Eutelsat Communications has announced the full entry into commercial service of the Ku-band and C-band missions of the W2A satellite which was launched on April 3. The high-capacity W2A satellite almost triples resources at Eutelsat’s 10 degrees East position, which is one of the most longstanding locations in Europe and Africa for professional video, data and Internet services.
20 May 2009 - The Progress M66 was deorbited on Monday 18 May over the defined unpopulated area of the Pacific. The retroburn was initiated at 18:28:30 Moscow time. The remaining parts of the Progress M66 which had not burnt during the reentry came down in the south area of the Pacific Ocean at approximately 19:14.
20 May 2009 - The crew of Atlantis bid farewell to the Hubble Space Telescope yesterday. The telescope was released back into space at 7:57 a.m. CDT. With its upgrades, the telescope should be able to see farther into the universe than ever before. Astronaut Megan McArthur used the shuttle’s robotic arm to grab Hubble, lift it out of Atlantis’ payload bay and release it. Ground teams opened Hubble’s aperture door, which is the large shutter that protects the telescope’s primary and secondary mirrors. Atlantis performed a final separation maneuver from the telescope at 8:28 a.m., which took the shuttle out of the vicinity of Hubble. The berthing mechanism to which Hubble has been attached during the mission was stored back down into the payload bay. The rest of the day was focused on the scheduled inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield, searching for any potential damage from orbital debris. The crew used the shuttle robotic arm to operate the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) for the inspection. The crew worked ahead of schedule and returned the OBSS to the payload bay sill today instead of tomorrow.
19 May 2009 - Human hands have touched the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. Astronauts Andrew Feustel and John Grunsfeld spent seven hours and two minutes putting the finishing touches on the telescope in the final spacewalk from a space shuttle airlock. During the STS-125 mission’s five spacewalks, Atlantis’ crew completed all of the mission objectives to improve Hubble's view of the universe. Over the course of the mission’s five spacewalks, the crew added two new science instruments, repaired two others and replaced hardware that will extend the telescope's life at least through 2014. The five spacewalks lasted 36 hours and 56 minutes all together. There have been 23 spacewalks devoted to Hubble, totaling 166 hours and six minutes. The spacewalkers began yesterday’s work early and stepped quickly through the main focus, swapping a battery module from Bay 3 with a fresh module and removing and replacing the Fine Guidance Sensor 2. With that work complete, they installed New Outer Blanket Layers on three bays on the outside of the telescope, one of which was a leftover task from Sunday’s spacewalk and the third was a bonus task. About four months of activities are planned for checking out and calibrating the instruments before scientific observations can begin again.
18 May 2009 - The Soyuz TMA-15 has been transported from site 254 to the filling station at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The propulsion system is being filled with pressurized gases and propellant components. Later tonight when the operation has been completed the vehicle will be transported back to the integration and test facility. The Soyuz-FG launcher with the Soyuz TMA-15 crew vehicle is due to lift off from Baikonur on May 27, at 14:34 Moscow time. Roman Romanenko (Roscosmos), Frank de Winne (ESA) and Robert Thirsk (CSA) will fly to the ISS.
17 May 2009 - The fourth of five STS-125 spacewalks concluded at 5:47 p.m. EDT. It was 8 hours, 2 minutes, the sixth longest spacewalk in US history. During their walk in space, Good and Massimino experienced trouble removing a bolt from the STIS handrail. Massimino eventually was able to manually remove the handrail by pulling it free. The spacewalkers were then able to finish the rest of the STIS repair work without issue. Due to the lost time spent on the handrail, the New Outer Blanket Layer work planned for installation did not happen. Mission timeliners will work various options for tomorrow's fifth and final spacewalk.
17 May 2009 - Astronauts Mike Massimino and Michael Good began the fourth of five STS-125 spacewalks at 9:45 a.m. EDT. It is scheduled to last 6 hours, 30 minutes.The spacewalk will start with some setup tasks and the opening of the telescope's bay doors. Massimino and Good will spend the bulk of their spacewalk time repairing Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph – a task that has been compared to brain surgery. To access the electronics card the spacewalkers intend to replace, they’ll need to remove a cover plate. However, there are several obstacles to doing so. First, Massimino will need to remove a clamp from the upper left corner of the cover plate. Then he’ll need to remove a handrail. Both of these tasks require special tools to catch the fasteners currently holding those pieces in place. The clamp removal tool fits over the fasteners of the clamp and catches them as they’re released; the handrail removal tool does the same over the fasteners of the handrail.
16 May 2009 - International Launch Services successfully carried the Indostar II/Protostar II satellite into orbit today, marking the second commercial mission of the year for ILS and the fourth successful Proton launch of 2009. The May 16th launch comes on the heels of the milestone 50th ILS Proton launch on April 3rd. The Indostar II/Protostar II satellite was launched for Protostar LTD of Bermuda and will be commercially operated for Indovision of Jakarta, Indonesia, the largest Direct to Home operator in Indonesia. The ILS Proton Breeze M launched from Pad 39 at the cosmodrome at 6:57 a.m. today local time (8:57 p.m. EDT, 00:57 GMT). After a 9 hour 15 minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the satellite into the planned geo-transfer orbit. This was the 345th launch for the Proton. The Proton Breeze M vehicle is developed and built by Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, Russia’s premier space manufacturer. The Indostar II/Protostar II satellite, located at 107.7 degrees East, was built on the Boeing 601 HP platform and is the second satellite in Protostar’s evolving constellation. This satellite replaces the existing Chakarawarta 1 and will bring high power S-band and Ku-band capacity over Indonesia, with expanded service to India, the Philippines and Taiwan. The satellite’s S-band transponders will support Direct to Home TV and Radio services for Indovision. The satellite will also offer HDTV multimedia and broadband services throughout the ASEAN region.
16 May 2009 - Mission Specialists Mike Good and Mike Massimino will venture outside shuttle Atlantis today to complete the second of the mission’s five spacewalks. The crew awoke this morning at 3:31 a.m. CDT to “God of Wonders.” It was played for Good. Today’s spacewalk will begin at 7:16 a.m. and is scheduled to last 6.5 hours. The first major task will be the replacement of all three of Hubble’s rate sensing units (RSUs). Each rate sensing unit contains two gyroscopes, which help the telescope point itself. The telescope is designed to operate on three of the six gyros, but today’s spacewalk will give Hubble all new units. The second major task will be the replacement of the battery module in Bay 2 of the telescope. Each battery module weighs 460 pounds and contains three batteries. Each of the nickel hydrogen batteries weighs 125 pounds, and they provide power to the telescope when it passes into the night sky and the solar arrays are not exposed to the sun. All of the batteries on Hubble are original equipment, and they were only designed to operate for five years. The STS-125 crew also will install new batteries in Bay 3 of Hubble during the mission’s fifth and final spacewalk. Commander Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Megan McArthur will perform an inspection of some of the shuttle’s heat shield tiles using the robotic arm. The teams on the ground weren’t able to get a full view of the tiles during Tuesday’s inspection. There are 40 tiles the crew will be examining, and those images will be downlinked to the teams in Houston for analysis. Today’s inspection is expected to take 45 minutes. The last item on today’s schedule for the crew is the review of the procedures for tomorrow’s spacewalk, the third of the mission.
15 May 2009 - Two relay satellites will be launched in 2010-2011 that will enable users to receive high-precision GLONASS signals from anywhere in Russia according to an announcement by the Director General of Reshetnev, N. Testoyedov. Loutch-5A will be launched in December 2010 and Loutch-5B- in December 2011
15 May 2009 - The Hubble Space Telescope can now see farther into space and across a wider spectrum of colors, thanks to the work done during the first spacewalk of the STS-125 mission. Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel spent 7 hours and 20 minutes in space shuttle Atlantis’ cargo bay, installing the new Wide Field Camera 3 and replacing the telescope’s Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH. The new camera will allow Hubble to take large-scale, extremely clear and detailed photos over a wider range of colors than the camera they removed. After it was installed, ground controllers at the Space Telescope Operations Control Center at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland confirmed that WFC3 was receiving power as expected. The SIC&DH is a computer that sends commands to Hubble’s science instruments and formats science data for transmission to the ground. One side of the previous SIC&DH failed in September just before STS-125 was originally scheduled to launch. The mission was postponed to give teams on the ground time to prepare a replacement and train the crew for the task. Though the telescope was able to continue, this replacement restored redundancy.
14 May 2009 - The Russian Progress M-02M cargo spaceship docked with the International Space Station late Tuesday, said a spokesman for the Mission Control Center outside Moscow. After five days of independent flight, the spaceship successfully docked with the ISS at 11:24 p.m. Moscow time (1924 GMT) on Tuesday, said Valery Lyndin, spokesman for the flight control center. The Progress M-02M spaceship blasted off at 10:37 p.m. Moscow time (1837 GMT) on Thursday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, is to deliver some 2.5 tons of supplies for the ISS crew members.It carries food, water, fuel, clothes and equipment, as well as the third Orlan-MK space suit for the crew. The spaceship is equipped with a modern digital control system, which enables the spacecraft to dock with the ISS more accurately.
14 May 2009 - The crew of Atlantis is ready to meet up with the Hubble Space Telescope 340 miles above the Earth today. Overnight, Hubble’s high gain antenna was retracted in preparation for Atlantis’ arrival. Shortly before the shuttle arrives in the vicinity of Hubble, ground teams will command the telescope to maneuver to its grapple attitude in preparation for berthing in the shuttle’s payload bay. Atlantis is scheduled to perform the engine burn that will begin its final approach to the telescope at 9:41 a.m., and grapple of the telescope is scheduled for 11:54 a.m. while the two spacecraft are travelling over Madagascar. The crew will wrap up its day by performing a visual survey of the telescope once it is berthed in the payload bay, and all crew members will conduct a review of the procedures for Thursday’s first spacewalk. The crew also will finish up the check out of the tools necessary for the mission’s five consecutive spacewalks. Engineers continue to examine the images captured during Tuesday’s inspection of Atlantis’ thermal protection system and exterior surfaces. During that inspection, mission managers noted one area of damage on the forward part of the spacecraft where the wing blends into the fuselage. Initially it appears to be very minor and of no concern for the mission, and the flight team notified the crew late Tuesday that no focused inspection of that particular area is necessary.
13 May 2009 - Atlantis continued to move steadily closer to the Hubble Space Telescope yesterday, and its crew made good use of the time to perform a thorough inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield. Over the course of the day, five members of the seven-person crew took part in that survey, which lasted more than seven hours. Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson, and Mission Specialists Michael Good, Megan McArthur and Mike Massimino all used the shuttle’s 50-foot orbiter boom sensor system, attached to the shuttle’s 49-foot robotic arm, at one point or another to get an up close look at the surface of the shuttle’s belly and its wing-leading edges and nose cap. The data was sent to the ground, where it will be carefully analyzed to make sure that the shuttle didn’t sustain any serious damage during Monday’s launch. During that inspection, mission managers noted one area of damage on the forward part of the spacecraft where the wing blends into the fuselage. Initially it appears to be very minor and of no concern for the mission, however the standard expert analysis is underway. Meanwhile, Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel, with help from Massimino, checked out the four spacesuits that they and Good will wear for the mission’s five spacewalks.
12 May 2009 - The heavy-lift Ariane 5 for Arianespace’s upcoming space exploration mission is now complete following the installation of its payload fairing over the dual passengers of Europe’s Herschel space telescope and the Planck observatory. This milestone, which occurred yesterday, clears the way for final preparation and arming of the launch vehicle – and will be followed by Ariane 5’s roll-out to the launch pad on May 13 for its liftoff from the Spaceport in the morning hours of May 14. The fairing protects Ariane 5’s passengers during the launcher’s climb-out through the atmosphere’s dense layers, and it will be jettisoned approximately four minutes into the mission.
11 May 2009 - Space shuttle Atlantis with its seven-member crew launched at 2:01 p.m. EDT Monday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Atlantis' 11-day mission will include five spacewalks to refurbish Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments designed to improve the telescope's discovery capabilities by up to 70 times while extending its lifetime through at least 2014. Shortly before liftoff, Commander Scott Altman thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. Altman is joined on STS-125 by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. McArthur will serve as the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations while the remaining mission specialists pair up for the hands-on spacewalk work after Hubble is captured and secured in the payload bay. Altman, Grunsfeld and Massimino are space shuttle and Hubble mission veterans. Johnson, Feustel and Good are first-time space fliers. The STS-125 mission is the 126th shuttle flight, the 30th for Atlantis and the second of five planned in 2009. Hubble was delivered to space on April 24, 1990, on the STS-31 mission. STS-125 is referred to as Servicing Mission 4, although it is technically the fifth servicing flight to the telescope
11 May 2009 – The Express-AM44 satellite developed and manufactured by Reshetnev has been handed over to the client (Space Communication Federal Entity) for nominal operations. The satellite was orbited on February 11 and orbital tests of its systems were successfully completed on April 30. The satellite is located at 11 degrees West longitude. Express-AM44 will provide fixed-line telephony and mobile communication, digital television and radio broadcasting, multimedia services, data relay, and mobile presidential and governmental communication. The satellite is equipped with 16 Ku-band, 10 C-band and one L-band transponders. The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by Reshetnev ISS under the contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Mass Communications, and the federal state unitary enterprise “Space Communication”. The repeater and antennas were supplied by Thales Alenia Space.
8 May 2009 - NASA Television will provide live high definition coverage of Monday's scheduled launch of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The NASA Television HD feed (Channel 105) will be available beginning Friday at 12 p.m., EDT, with live images from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch coverage begins Monday, May 11, at 8:30 a.m. Liftoff is slated for 2:01 p.m. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
7 May 2009 - Russia's Progress M-66 cargo spacecraft undocked on Wednesday from the International Space Station to become a temporary space lab before being "buried" in the Pacific Ocean, Mission Control said. The freighter docked with the orbital station on February 13, bringing 2.4 tons of supplies, including oxygen, food, clothes and medical equipment for the ISS crew. During its ensuing automatic flight, to last until May 18, the craft will be used as an orbital laboratory to conduct a series of geophysical experiments under the Plasma-Progress program. It will then reenter the Earth's atmosphere before plunging into a safe area in the southern Pacific.
7 May 2009 - NSR has released its newest market survey and forecast report: Global SCADA and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) via Satellite Markets. The report provides an in-depth overview of demand trends for SCADA and M2M satellite communications services around the globe from 2008-2018 by tracking requirements for four distinct vertical markets. While many industries experienced declines in business and economic activity, players in the satellite SCADA/M2M sector actually experienced growth in 2008. Trends through the 1st Quarter of 2009 likewise showed sustainable growth levels, supporting the notion that satellite SCADA/M2M may actually be non-cyclical and recession-proof. The key to market sustainability resides in the customer base of the satellite SCADA/M2M industry. Four distinct vertical markets were analyzed in the study, including: the Transportation/Cargo Vertical; the Oil & Gas Industry; the Utility Industry; and Emerging Markets that include government/military demand as well as emerging Green Energy sectors. The very nature of the customer segments leads to continued operations of basic functions such as pipeline monitoring, leak detection and security-related activities. Mission-critical business activities cannot stop or slow down despite pressing financial challenges such as drastic changes in oil prices that have led to declining profits. In the government/military side, anti-terrorism and peacekeeping efforts are unrestrained by developments in the credit markets.
6 April 2009 - The Missile Defense Agency, supported by NASA and the commercial firm United Launch Alliance, successfully launched the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (ATRR) satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at approximately 1:24 p.m. PDT (4:24 p.m.EDT) on the 5 May. The satellite was launched aboard a Delta II 7920-10 launch vehicle. MDA, the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Center Space Development and Test Wing, and NASA have overall mission management responsibility. STSS ATRR is a small experimental satellite that serves as a pathfinder for next-generation sensor technology for future MDA space missions. The program takes multiple approaches to reduce overall risk to the layered Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) through sensor testing, launch and space vehicle integration, resource protection and security planning, and launch site processing.
6 May 2009 - Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications and the leading provider of commercial satellites, has been selected to provide a new communications satellite, named AsiaSat 5C, to AsiaSat. AsiaSat 5C will serve as a backup for AsiaSat 5, which is currently being built by Space Systems/Loral and is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2009. AsiaSat 5 will replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East. “Our focus on high quality and reliable service is something that we share with Space Systems/Loral,” said Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat. “The AsiaSat 5C procurement program ensures the continuity of service to our AsiaSat 2 customers in the event of a launch failure of AsiaSat 5.” The spacecraft is based on Space Systems/Loral’s 1300 satellite bus, with performance similar but not limited to that of AsiaSat 5 designed for the provision of fixed satellite services for television broadcast, telephone networks, and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across the Asia Pacific. “We are very pleased to be selected once again to provide AsiaSat with a satellite that will reinforce its existing services to crucial communications networks in Asia,” said John Celli, president and chief operating officer of Space Systems/Loral.
5 April 2009 - NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research Experience, known as Inspire, is accepting applications from high school students through June 30. NASA will make selections in September. The selectees will participate in an online learning community in which students and parents have the opportunity to interact with their peers and NASA engineers and scientists. It also provides appropriate grade level educational activities, discussion boards and chat rooms for participants and their families to gain exposure to the many career opportunities at NASA. Students selected for the online learning community will have the option to compete for experiences during the summer of 2010 at NASA facilities and participating universities throughout the nation. The Inspire project is designed to encourage ninth through 12th grade students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The summer experience provides students a hands-on opportunity to investigate education and careers in those disciplines. The Inspire project is part of NASA's education strategy to attract and retain students in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines critical to NASA's missions. For information about the project, including details about how to apply, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ education/INSPIRE
4 May 2009 - Pre-launch preparations continue for the launch of the IndoStar II/ProtoStar II Satellite at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan after standalone tests were completed the IndoStar II/ProtoStar II spacecraft was mounted and clamped onto the payload adapter. The spacecraft and payload adapter were then mated to the Breeze M forming the orbital unit. Overnight the testing and battery charging were completed and the tilting of the unit was c arried out. The ascent unit will now be transferred to Hall 111 for integration with the Proton M launcher. The launch date has been set for May 14 at 06:58 from Baikonur.
3 May 2009 - A space tourism company is in "advanced discussions" with parties in the UAE over building a spaceport in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson, is planning to open a Middle-Eastern spaceport as one of a network of three or four permanent facilities around the world from which civilians can embark on sub-orbital space flights. Stephen Attenborough, commercial director of the company, said the final location for the regional centre was yet to be decided and discussions were also under way with parties in countries including Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
2 May 2009 - The inauguration of six-person crew operations aboard the International Space Station will take place on May 27 when Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk blast off in a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS. They will arrive at the station on May 29 to join the station's Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The six men will form the Expedition 20 crew, the station's first six-person crew. This mission also will be the first time crew members are aboard representing all five International Space Station partners. In September, Expedition 20 will welcome the arrival of a new cargo craft, Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle. Additional environmental support equipment, exercise hardware and scientific racks will join the expanded crew in the months ahead.
1 May 2009 - Prelaunch processing of the Progress M-02M cargo supply vehicle continues at Baikonur. Yesterday, RSC-Energia experts performed the designer`s inspection of the vehicle, and fairing incapsulation. The launch of Progress M-02M by a Soyuz-U rocket from the Gagarin`s launch pad is scheduled for May 7.
1 May 2009 - NASA managers completed a review Thursday of space shuttle Atlantis' readiness for flight and selected an official launch date for the STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Commander Scott Altman and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 2:01 p.m. EDT, May 11, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis' launch date was announced following Thursday's Flight Readiness Review. 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. Atlantis' 11-day mission will include five spacewalks to refurbish Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments. After the astronauts' visit, the telescope's capabilities will be expanded and its lifetime extended through at least 2014. Commander Altman will be joined on the mission by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel, Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur and Mike Massimino. The spacewalkers are Feustel, Good, Grunsfeld and Massimino. McArthur is the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations.
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