IRAN LAUNCHES ROCKET CARRYING ANIMALS INTO ORBIT - Iran has launched a rocket into orbit carrying what state-owned Al-Alam televison report as an "experimental capsule". The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket is reportedly carrying a capsule with live animals including a rat, turtles and worms. Footage shown on state television shows the rocket being fired from a launch pad. President Ahmadinejad praised the launch of the satellite and the progress his country was making in its space programme.    More
(Source: BBC News - Feb 3)

ENDEAVOUR'S MISSION: MEET THE CREW - This next shuttle mission is crucial for the construction of the International Space Station, and Endeavour’s astronauts have been through some extensive training to make sure it’s a success. With only five space shuttle missions remaining, NASA had some tough decisions on naming crewmembers for the final flights. Most of the astronauts on the last missions are veterans of spaceflight.    More
(Source: Central Florida News 13 - Feb 2)

RASCOMSTAR-QAF TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITE - Rascomstar-Qaf will boost its pan-African connectivity by launching a new satellite in May, two years after launching the Rascomstar-QAF1 that is expected to stop working by the end of this year. Rascomstar-QAF1 was launched in December 2007 but had a helium leak, reducing its lifespan from the projected 15 years to three years. The satellite was launched by French company Ariane Space, which is going to launch the replacement.    More
(Source: The Industry Standard - Feb 2)

INTELSAT 4 SATELLITE EXPERIENCES ANOMALY - Intelsat S.A. announced today that its Intelsat 4 satellite (IS-4), located at 72° East Longitude, experienced an anomaly on 1 February 2010 at approximately 00:18 GMT. Intelsat is working with affected customers to identify restoration capacity. Intelsat and Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, the manufacturer of the IS-4, are working together to identify the cause of the anomaly.    More
(Source: SYS-CON Media - Feb 2)

ASTRONAUTS READY FOR SHUTTLE LAUNCH AMID NASA UNCERTAINTY - Six NASA astronauts are ready to rocket into space on the shuttle Endeavour in just over a week as questions swirl over the impact of the space agency’s upcoming budget request. Endeavour commander George Zamka said Friday that he and his crew are completely focused on the planned Feb. 7 launch to the International Space Station. Their mission: to deliver a new room to the $100 billion orbiting lab that will leave it nearly complete.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 30)

PROTON BLASTS OFF WITH RUSSIAN MILITARY PAYLOAD - A Proton rocket launched overnight Thursday with a Russian defense ministry satellite to relay communications between troops and military commanders. The silver launcher blasted off at 0018 GMT Thursday (7:18 p.m. EST Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, kicking off a nine-hour mission that included multiple burns of the Breeze M upper stage.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Jan 29)

OBAMA TO END NASA CONSTELLATION PROGRAM - On the eve of the fullest moon of the year, NASA scientists were told they won't be able to visit any longer. In his new budget, President Obama plans to eliminate the space program's manned moon missions. When the president releases his budget on Monday, a White House official confirmed on Thursday, there will be a big hole where funding for NASA's Constellation program used to be. Constellation is the umbrella program that includes the Ares rocket -- the replacement for the aging space shuttles.    More
(Source: Fox News - Jan 29)

RUSSIA SENDS MILITARY SATELLITE INTO SPACE - military satellite launched early Thursday has successfully entered orbit, the Defense Ministry said. The satellite, aboard a Proton-M heavy carrier rocket, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 03:18 Moscow time (00:18 GMT). The satellite successfully separated from the rocket at around 12:19 Moscow time (09:19 GMT), said Space Forces spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin. "Contact is steady, and the onboard equipment operates well," he said. The launch was Russia's first this year.    More
(Source: Xinhua - Jan 28)

STUDENT-BUILT RUBIK'S CUBE SIZE SATELLITE SELECTED FOR FLIGHT BY NASA - A tiny communications satellite designed and built by University of Colorado at Boulder undergraduates has been selected as one of three university research satellites to be launched into orbit in November as part of a NASA space education initiative. The three satellites, dubbed "CubeSats" because of their shape, were built by CU-Boulder, Montana State University and Kentucky Space, which is a consortium of state universities.    More
(Source: Science Daily - Jan 28)

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