ECHOSTAR XIV LAUNCHED ON COMMERCIAL - A commercial Proton orbited the heaviest satellite ever to fly on the Russian launch vehicle March 21, placing the 6.3-metric-ton EchoStar XIV Ku-band satellite in its geosynchronous transfer orbit for the DISH Network. The launch vehicle’s Breeze M upper stage released the spacecraft after a nine-hour, 10-minute mission. Liftoff from Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan came at 2:27 p.m. EDT. More (Source: Aviation Week - Mar 25)
GOES-P RENAMED GOES-15. THE SATELLITE IS NOW IN ITS PROPER ORBIT - The latest addition to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) constellation, GOES-P has now achieved its final storage orbit, some 12 days after its flawless launch. According to experts at NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the new spacecraft has now been renamed GOES-15, and it has just finished being set up for its future mission. At this point, no plans are in place to actually put the new instrument to work. More (Source: SoftPedia - Mar 21)
SECRET MINI SPACE SHUTTLE COULD LAUNCH APRIL 19 - It's cute. It's little. It's also top secret. The X-37B orbital test vehicle is at Cape Canaveral in Florida, and the word is that it will be launched on board an Atlas V rocket on Monday April 19, 2010 at around 10 pm EDT. Other than that, the Air Force isn't saying much about this mini-space shuttle look-alike. The reusable unmanned vehicle is capable of staying in orbit for 270 days, but the mission duration hasn't been announced. Additionally, the ship has a payload bay for experiments and deployable satellites, but no word if any payloads will be included on the inaugural flight of this mini space plane. More (Source: Universe Today - Mar 20)
NASA AIMS FOR APRIL 5 SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LAUNCH - NASA will run tests later this week to determine whether its safe to fly shuttle Discovery despite valve trouble that cropped up over the weekend during a critical propellant-loading operation at Kennedy Space Center. The tests, if successful, could provide managers with the data required to prove Discovery could launch as scheduled on April 5 and still fly its International Space Station outfitting mission safely. More (Source: USA Today - Mar 17)
NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE CREW RUNS - The Discovery astronauts donned their bright orange spacesuits and went to the launch pad Friday to board the space shuttle for a countdown dress rehearsal and emergency evacuation training. Commander Alan Poindexter, pilot Jim Dutton, spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Clay Anderson, and mission specialists Dotty Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency conducted the simulation in preparation for the April 5 launch to the International Space Station. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Mar 8)
SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TRANSPORTED TO LAUNCH PAD - Space shuttle Discovery is at its launch pad for an Easter Monday flight to the International Space Station. NASA moved the shuttle out of its giant hangar around midnight Tuesday. The three-and-a-half-mile trip took much of Wednesday morning. Discovery is set to blast off April 5 with a load of science experiments. It will be the next-to-last flight for Discovery. Only four shuttle missions remain. Discovery is slated to make the final shuttle flight in September. More (Source: Associated Press - Mar 5)
TEAMING OF DELTA 4 ROCKET AND GOES A SWEET SUCCESS - The Delta 4 rocket has accomplished a critical three-peat for the nation in flawless style, successfully capping a series of repetitive but highly important U.S. weather satellite launches with a beautiful blastoff at nightfall Thursday. A trio of orbiting observatories, known as the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites N, O and P, booked rides aboard Delta 4 rockets to get into orbit and serve meteorologists across America. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Mar 5)
DISCOVERY ASTRONAUTS READY FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN - The one-day delay in space shuttle Discovery's move to the launch pad didn't keep the seven astronauts away from the Kennedy Space Center, as commander Alan Poindexter and his crew jetted into the spaceport Monday for this week's emergency training and countdown dress rehearsal. More (Source: Space Flight Now - Mar 3)
OHO-1 SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED BY ARIANESPACE - OverHorizon has chosen Arianespace to launch its first communications satellite, OHO-1, the fourth contract signed by Arianespace in 2010 with the world's leading satellite operators. Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, and James Gerow, President of OverHorizon LLC have announced the signature of the launch service contract for the OHO-1 satellite. More (Source: Space Daily - Mar 3)
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