NASA TV COVERAGE SET FOR SIXTH SPACEX RESUPPLY MISSION TO SPACE STATION - The sixth SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch on Monday, April 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The company's Falcon 9 rocket will lift off at 4:33 p.m., carrying its Dragon cargo spacecraft. Dragon is filled with more than 4,300 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support about 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 43 and 44. More (Source: Space Ref - Apr 9)
GILBERT PLANT TO BUILD NASA WEATHER SATELLITES - Next-generation weather satellites designed to monitor Earth's climate and weather patterns for the U.S. government will be the latest in an array of spacecraft to be built at a high-tech manufacturing center in Gilbert. Orbital ATK, based in Virginia with Arizona facilities in Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa, recently landed a contract worth up to $470 million to design and build the Joint Polar Satellite System for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service. Data and images from the weather satellites are expected to boost the timeliness and accuracy of public warnings and weather forecasts, reducing potential loss of life and property, according to NASA. More (Source: azcentral.com - Apr 8)
THE INNOVATORS: BUILD AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN SATELLITE ... FOR 20,000 POUNDS - After Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March last year, one of the most vexing questions was: how can a modern aircraft with 239 people on board vanish without trace? Tom Walkinshaw believes a repeat could be avoided by tracking planes via a network of hundreds of tiny satellites that monitor oceans where there is limited radar coverage. The 25-year-old founder of the PocketQube Shop, a Glasgow-based company which provides the components for making tiny 5cm3 PocketQube satellites, is taking advantage of a new generation of space technology that allows small businesses to join an industry previously the preserve of governments and well-funded private companies. More (Source: The Guardian - Apr 6)
SPACEX CARGO LAUNCH NOW SET FOR APRIL 13 - The launch of SpaceX’s next resupply run to the International Space Station has been rescheduled for April 13, officials said Tuesday. The Falcon 9 rocket’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral was due for no earlier than April 10, but the launch date has been delayed to April 13. Officials did not provide a reason for the delay. Blastoff from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad is set for 4:33 p.m. EDT (2033 GMT). The 20-story rocket will have one second to lift off when the space station’s orbital path passes over Florida’s Space Coast. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Apr 4)
TWO MORE RADIO AMATEURS JOIN INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW - he ISS ham radio population expanded to three, following the arrival of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF, and Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, on March 28 (UTC). Kelly, 51, and Kornienko, 54, will remain aboard the ISS for 1 year -- the longest space mission ever assigned to a NASA astronaut. More (Source: eHam.net - Apr 4)
NASA DENIES AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA FOR NEW SPACE STATION - NASA denies the United States has agreed to build a new orbital space station with Russia. Russian space agency head Igor Komarov said on March 28 that NASA and Roscosmos agreed to extend operations of the International Space Station (ISS) to 2024 and work on a replacement after that. NASA spokesman David Weaver said later on March 28 that the U.S. space agency appreciated Russia's commitment to full use of the ISS through 2024 and its expression of "interest in continuing international cooperation for human space exploration beyond that.” He did not confirm any plans for a future space station. More (Source: RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty - Apr 3)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES AND SECRET PAYLOAD - After a four-week delay, a converted ballistic missile launched a trio of communications satellites and a classified piggy-back cargo on Tuesday. The rocket carried three barrel-shaped Gonets-M satellites for the Gonets-D1M communications network, while the fourth payload might be a maneuverable experimental satellite. The launch was previously scheduled for March 3, however the liftoff was delayed by additional inspections of the engines on the second stage of the rocket. The Rockot booster (which means "rumble" in Russian) is made of a retired Soviet-era UR-100NU ballistic missile, plus an additional third stage known as Briz-KM, which serves as a space tug to deliver its payload from an initial parking orbit to a final operational orbit. More (Source: Sen - Apr 2)
WOW! 8 ROCKET MISSIONS LAUNCHED IN 6 DAYS LAST WEEK - Spacefaring nations greeted the arrival of the Northern Hemisphere spring with a pretty impressive fireworks display last week. Countries including the United States, Russia, Japan and India combined to launch eight space missions in a six-day span last week, beginning just a few days after winter relinquished its grip on the land with the spring equinox on March 20. Here's a brief rundown of all the spaceflight action, which ranged from suborbital missile tests to the liftoff of the first-ever yearlong mission to the International Space Station. More (Source: Space.com - Apr 1)
MYSTERIOUS MINI SPACEPLANE THE NEXT ATLAS 5 PAYLOAD - With its new homeport in renovated NASA space shuttle hangars off in the distance, the Air Force’s X-37 mini spaceplane will be launched from Cape Canaveral on May 6 for its fourth journey into orbit. The Orbital Test Vehicle will be the primary payload aboard the next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the 54th Atlas 5 and ULA’s 96th mission overall. The launch has a codename AFSPC 5 for the Air Force Space Command flight No. 5. Liftoff is targeted some time between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT (1300-1700 GMT). Stacking of the two-stage launcher began today inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Complex 41. The rocket will fly in its 501 configuration, the 6th flight of its type, that features a five-meter nose cone, no solid boosters and a single engine on the Centaur upper stage. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 31)
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