INSPECTORS FIND FOURTH CRACK IN DISCOVERY SPACE SHUTTLE - Inspectors have found a fourth crack in support beams on the external fuel tanks of the space shuttle Discovery, whose final flight was delayed because of a hydrogen leak, NASA said. The latest crack was found while technicians were removing foam while inspecting the support beams, which are called stringers, in the aftermath of the hydrogen leak, the space agency said late on Monday. Two nine-inch (21-centimeter) cracks were found in an adjacent support beam on Friday, and a three-inch (7.5 centimeter) fissure was uncovered over the weekend.    More
(Source: AFP - Nov 17)

SPACE JUNK: A RISKY GAME OF SPACE INVADERS - Dead satellites and debris orbiting Earth pose a real threat to astronauts, warns Michael Day. When, in the early hours of February 10, 2009, an American communications satellite called Iridium 33 smashed into a Russian military satellite 500 miles above Earth's surface, the experts called it an "unprecedented event". A better description might have been "an accident waiting to happen".    More
(Source: Telegraph.co.uk - Nov 17)

SKYTERRA-1 SATELLITE SUCCEFULLY LAUNCHED - A satellite that promises to bring cellular voice and data coverage to remote parts of North America was successfully launched on Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The SkyTerra-1 satellite was carried into space on top of a Russian Proton Breeze M rocket at 11:29pm local time (5:29pm GMT).    More
(Source: PC World - Nov 16)

RUSSIA SET TO LAUNCH U.S. TELECOMS SATELLITE - Russian-U.S. company International Launch Services (ILS) will launch on Sunday a Proton-M heavy carrier rocket with a U.S. telecommunications satellite on board, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. ILS, owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc., provides spacecraft launch services for Proton-M heavy carrier rockets.    More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Nov 14)

STS-133 - UNLIKELY TO LAUNCH IN 2010 - It now appears likely that space shuttle Discovery, on its final mission, STS-133 might not launch this year. A series of slips in the first week of November (Discovery was set to launch on Nov. 1 – but that date was pushed back several time to Nov. 5) was capped-off with NASA learning that not only did the orbiter’s Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) have a leak – but there was a crack in the foam that covers the external tank (ET). It turned out that the crack in the foam – went far deeper – and represents a far greater challenge to get the shuttle off the ground during this calendar year.   More
(Source: Examiner.com - Nov 13)

SPACEX DELAYS LAUNCH OF ROCKET THAT WILL CARRY CARGO TO SPACE STATION - SpaceX, the California company that is on track to carry cargo to the International Space Station after the space shuttle program ends next year, has announced a delay in this month's test flight of its rocket. The flight of the Falcon 9 will be postponed until Dec. 7. It had been scheduled for Nov. 20.    More
(Source: Examiner.com - Nov 11)

SATELLITE TO BEAM SOLAR POWER TO EARTH, A LA BOND MOVIE - Like a solar satellite in the 2002 Bond movie, Die Another Day, a former president of India plans to launch satellites that catch the suns rays and create a focused microwave beam back to collectors on Earth. In a step toward solving the global energy crisis, a new plan aims to harvest the sun's energy from space with satellites then beam it down to Earth.    More
(Source: Christian Science Monitor - Nov 11)

ISRO TO SEND UP NEW COMMUNICATION SATELLITE IN 2010 - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to close 2010 with the launch of communication satellite GSAT-5P, which will replace the ageing INSAT 2E to ensure continuity of service for telecom and television channel customers. ISRO is also likely to open the New Year with the launch of Resourcesat-2, an earth observation satellite. First to escape the earth's gravity sometime between Dec 10 and 15 will be ISRO's heavy rocket called the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) carrying GSAT-5P to replace the ageing INSAT 2E launched in 1999.    More
(Source: Economic Times - Nov 11)

VANDENBERG LAUNCHES DELTA II ROCKET - Vandenberg has successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying the Thales Alenia Space-Italia COSMO-SkyMed Satellite from its Space Launch Complex-2 at North Vandenberg. The 350th mission has launched the fourth Italian-built Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean Basin Observation (COSMO-SkyMed 4) satellite.    More
(Source: Brahmand Defence and Aerospace News - Nov 10)

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