EUROPE LAUNCHES SATELLITE TO OBSERVE POLAR ICE CAPS - After a brief ride atop a converted Soviet-era ballistic missile, a $187 million European satellite arrived in orbit Thursday to spend more than three years measuring Earth's eroding polar ice caps. Scientists expect the CryoSat 2 satellite will not only determine the rate ice is melting, but also provide clues on how the changes will affect Earth's fickle climate and sea levels.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Apr 8)

CREWS OPEN SHUTTLE, STATION HATCHES - At 5:11 a.m. EDT, the crews opened shuttle and station hatches. Discovery's seven-person crew joined the six-person space station crew, beginning more than a week of work together. Four women are aboard the same spacecraft for the first time as Discovery Mission Specialists Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Naoko Yamazaki join Expedition 23 Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson. Yamazaki and Expedition 23 Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi are the first JAXA Astronauts to fly in space at the same time.   More
(Source: NASA - Apr 7)

SHUTTLE LIFTS OFF FOR SPACE STATION - Lighting up the pre-dawn sky, the shuttle Discovery climbed out of darkness and into the glare of the rising sun early Monday, putting on a spectacular sky show as it thundered away on a space station resupply mission. Carrying a crew of seven and 10 tons of supplies and equipment, Discovery lifted off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 6:21 a.m. EDT after a problem-free countdown.    More
(Source: New York Times - Apr 5)

ASTRONAUTS HEAD TO LAUNCH PAD 39A - Amid cheers and applause from space center workers, the seven STS-131 astronauts walked out of the Operations and Checkout Building that houses their crew quarters at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dressed in their familiar, bright-orange launch-and-entry suits, they waved to the crowd before departing in the silver Astrovan. The trip to Launch Pad 39A takes about 25 minutes.   More
(Source: NASA - Apr 5)

RUSSIAN SPACECRAFT DOCKS AT ORBITING STATION - A U.S.-Russian space team sent their Easter greetings down to Earth Sunday after their Soyuz spacecraft docked flawlessly at the International Space Station. "Happy Easter to you all," Souyz captain Russian Alexander Skvortsov said in a broadcast from the station shortly after the ship hooked up with the orbiting station using an automatic docking system. His teammates, California native Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian Mikhail Kornienko joined him in greeting the world's Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians who celebrate their belief in Jesus' resurrection on the same day this year because of a coincidence in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.    More
(Source: The Associated Press - Apr 5)

SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LAUNCH COUNTDOWN BEGINS - The official countdown has begun for Monday's scheduled launch of NASA's space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle craft is set to liftoff Monday at 6:21 a.m. EDT on from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During its 13 days in space, Discovery's seven-member crew, including three women, will deliver some 17,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. "We're eager to get Discovery flying on Monday morning," NASA Test Director Steve Payne said today, adding that launch preparations are so far going as planned.    More
(Source: Computerworld - Apr 3)

SOYUZ CREW TRANSPORT CAPSULE HEADS FOR SPACE STATION - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft roared to life and rocketed away from its launching pad in Kazakhstan early Friday, carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut on a two-day flight to the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-18 commander Alexander Skvortsov, flight engineer Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, a shuttle veteran with a doctorate in chemistry, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12:04 a.m. EDT Friday.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Apr 2)

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO LAUNCH NEXT MONDAY, APRIL 5TH - Space Shuttle Discovery has been cleared for flight and will be launching on Monday, April 5th at 6:21 a.m. After an all-day Flight Readiness Review meeting NASA managers gave the shuttle a 'go' for launch. The managers determined that there were no issues that were left unresolved, and nothing was preventing the STS-131 crew and Discovery from being able to fly safely.    More
(Source: Examiner.com - Apr 2)

DISCOVERY DUE TO LAUNCH ON APRIL 5 - The fourth-to-last Space Shuttle launch has been scheduled by NASA for April 5. Discovery will be on a 13 day mission to the space station, where it will bring various supplies and swap out some station hardware. Discovery will be using the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module to carry those supplies. The launch is planned for 06:21 EDT (10:21 GMT), so the sky will still be relatively dark but getting lighter (sunrise is a little after 07:00). It should be very pretty!    More
(Source: Discover Magazine - Mar 30)

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