DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH DELAY SHOULDN'T IMPACT SCHEDULE - The delay of space shuttle Discovery's launch to the end of the month should not impact the overall schedule for the final missions of NASA's three-orbiter fleet, agency officials said. A gas leak and a crack on the space shuttle Discovery's external tank forced NASA officials to call off their planned Nov. 5 launch. The earliest Discovery could now lift off is Nov. 30, NASA announced. If the space shuttle can make the next window that begins Nov. 30, then the following planned mission of the space shuttle Endeavour should be able to launch on time in February, officials said.    More
(Source: MSNBC - Nov 10)

ARIANESPACE TO LAUNCH AZERBAIJAN'S FIRST SATELLITE - The International Relations and Accounting Center of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan has chosen Arianespace to launch the country's first communications satellite. Arianespace has announced that it has signed a launch Service and Solutions contract with IR and AC for Azerbaijan's satellite to be launched by the end of 2012.    More
(Source: Space Daily - Nov 9)

DECEMBER LAUNCH FOR EAGLE-1 HAM RADIO SATELLITE - The Eagle-1 Pocket Qub form factor Amateur Radio satellite is slated for launch on December 16, 2010. The satellite is just 178x56x56mm and is planned to deploy from the satellite Edusat along with other Pocket Qubs. The mission is to test a deorbiting mechanism and verify space qualification of the radio and solar cells. Proposing a simplex UHF operation with 9k6 bps AX25 packet downlinks. Planned launch is from Yansy in Russia on a DNEPR launcher on Dec 16, 2010.    More
(Source: Southgate Amateur Radio Club - Nov 8)

350 LAUNCHES AND COUNTING FOR FAMILY OF DELTA ROCKETS - There was a sentimental blastoff from California on Friday night as the venerable Delta 2 made its one-and-only flight of the year, chalking up a major milestone for the rocket family's lasting legacy while also finishing deployment of Italy's radar satellite quartet that image the world for peace and security. It's the last commercial mission currently booked for the Delta 2 rocket, which faces an uncertain future in the years ahead. Three launches carrying satellites for NASA will occur in 2011, but whether the program continues beyond next year depends whether five additional vehicles in the inventory can be sold.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Nov 6)

NO LAUNCH ATTEMPT FOR DISCOVERY UNTIL END NOVEMBER: NASA - NASA will not attempt to launch the space shuttle Discovery until the end of this month after a hydrogen leak was found in the external fuel tank Friday, the US space agency said. "The launch is postponed until November 30 to give more time to fix the leak," said spokesman Allard Beutel. The shuttle mission has already been delayed five times due to weather and electrical problems.    More
(Source: AFP - Nov 5)

LAUNCH SCRUBBED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK AT GROUND UMBILICAL CARRIER PLATE - Space shuttle managers have scrubbed Discovery’s launch attempt for today due to a hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP (pronounced GUP). The next launch attempt would be no earlier than Monday. During the process of filling the external tank, the hydrogen leak was detected at the GUCP, an attachment point between the external tank and a 17-inch pipe that carries gaseous hydrogen safely away from Discovery to the flare stack, where it is burned off.    More
(Source: NASA - Nov 5)

WEATHER FORECAST FRIDAY: 60 PERCENT "GO" - The shuttle weather team is calling for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions for space shuttle Discovery on Friday. They are watching for high winds in the wake of a cold front moving through Central Florida. Discovery is on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Friday's launch time is 3:04 p.m. EDT. There are no scheduled STS-133 news conferences on NASA Television today and no planned Space Shuttle Program Mission Management Team meetings today. The shuttle team will convene at 5 a.m. Friday to assess the weather before giving a “go" or "no-go” decision to fill Discovery’s external tank.    More
(Source: NASA - Nov 5)

WEATHER DELAYS THURSDAY'S LAUNCH ATTEMPT FOR SHUTTLE DISCOVERY - NASA has delayed today's scheduled launch of space shuttle Discovery, due to rain showers and low clouds expected at launch time. Discovery was set to launch on its final mission at 3:39 p.m. Thursday, but weather forecasts called for multiple weather violations during that time. "Our team was prepared and ready to execute tanking this morning," said Pete Nickolenko, the assistant launch director. "Our tanking weather would have been acceptable, however the launch forecast continues to be poor    More
(Source: Central Florida News - Nov 4)

DELTA II WITH COSMO-4 SUFFERS THIRD SCRUB IN A ROW - The Delta II’s final scheduled commercial launch is struggling to get off the ground, after scrubbing for the third time in a row on Tuesday night. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) vehicle is aiming to loft COSMO-4 - the fourth and last COSMO-SkyMed radar imaging satellite – into orbit for the Italian government from Space Launch Complex 2W at the Vandenberg Air Force Base. The mission – re-arranged to Thursday at 7:20pm PDT – will mark the 350th launch of a Delta rocket.    More
(Source: NASASpaceflight.com - Nov 3)

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