PSLV C16 LAUNCH ON APRIL 20 - The Indian Space Research Organisation is gearing up to launch the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C16 (PSLV C16) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre of Sriharikota Range, 90 km from here, at 10.12 am on April 20. The countdown for the launch will begin at 4.12 am on April 18, 54 hours before the launch. ISRO chairman K Radhakrishan, who conducted a series of technical meetings with the scientists, expressed satisfaction on the arrangements.   More
(Source: Express Buzz - Apr 17)

NEW U.S. SPY SATELLITE LAUNCHES ON CLANDESTINE MISSION - A rocket carrying a new U.S. spy satellite lit up the California night sky Thursday on a secret mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The spy satellite NROL-34 soared into orbit atop an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket after launching from a pad at the Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:24 p.m. PDT (0424 GMT on April 15) to begin the latest classified flight for the NRO. The details of the satellite's purpose and final orbit are classified, but the new spacecraft will definitely serve a role for the U.S. military, officials said.    More
(Source: Space.com - Apr 15)

SCHEDULE MAPPED OUT TO FINAL SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH - The powerful booster rockets for the final space shuttle launch continue to be stacked segment-by-segment inside the Vehicle Assembly Building in preparation to propel Atlantis skyward this summer. Technicians began piecing the solid motors together on March 29 when the base for the left-hand booster was hoisted atop the shuttle's mobile launching platform. The aft segment of the right-hand booster followed suit on March 31. The bottom segments of each booster get anchored to the platform by explosive bolts that pop at liftoff to release the shuttle.    More
(Source: Space Flight Now - Apr 12)

ARISSAT-1 ON THE AIR FOR GAGARIN ANNIVERSARY - To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the ARISSat-1 satellite aboard the International Space Station will be on the air using the station’s external antenna. Transmissions will begin on Monday, April 11, at 14:30 UTC and continue until 10:30 UTC on April 13. To preserve the satellite’s battery, transmissions will cycle on and off. ARISSat-1 will transmit for 40 to 60 seconds, and then remain silent for 2 minutes. The FM transmissions on 145.950 MHz will alternate between a voice ID, telemetry values, SSTV images and audio greetings in 15 different languages. One of the transmissions will contain audio of a conversation between Gagarin and ground controllers that was recorded during the historic flight.    More
(Source: ARRL - Apr 11)

ISRO TO LAUNCH THREE SATELLITES ON APRIL 20 - ISRO today announced that it will launch three satellites, including an advanced remote sensing satellite to study and manage natural resources, on April 20. "Preparations for the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) carrying Resourcesat-2 satellite are progressing well at Satish Dhawan Space Centre , Sriharikota. In this mission, PSLV-C16 will launch Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat satellites," the space agency said. Built by ISRO, Resourcesat-2 is an advanced remote sensing satellite weighing 1206 kg for facilitating the study and management of natural resources, it said.    More
(Source: Economic Times - Apr 10)

AZERBAIJAN MAY LAUNCH ANOTHER ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE - Azerbaijan may launch another artificial satellite into space in coming years, deputy director of the Ministry Defense Industry' National Aerospace Agency head Tofig Suleymanov told Trend. A program on a remote sensing satellite has already been developed and submitted to the state, he added. "Unlike the Communications and IT Ministry's satellite, this startup aims to study the Earth's interior.    More
(Source: TMC Net - Apr 10)

CHINA LAUNCHES 8TH NAVIGATION SATELLITE - China has successfully launched its eighth navigation satellite into orbit as part of a project to develop its own global satellite navigation system, official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. A Long March-3A carrier rocket carrying the Beidou or Compass navigation satellite took off at 4.47 a.m. Sunday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the agency said.    More
(Source: RIA Novosti - Apr 10)

NASA: SOYUZ TMA-21 DOCKS WITH ISS - On Thursday, at 07:09 EDT, the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft docked with the ISS, International Space Station. The Expedition 27 members, flight engineers Andrey Borisenko and Ronald Garan and mission commander Alexander Samokutyaev, reached their colleagues Paolo Nespoli, Catherine Coleman and Dmitri Kondratiev, on the orbiting station since December 17.    More
(Source: Avionews - Apr 7)

YURI GAGARIN/SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA SPECIAL EVENT - To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the First Man in Space (Russian pilot Yuri Gagarin who in April 12, 1961, was the first human being to go into space on an 108 minute flight), and the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia (Sunday morning on April 12th, 1981, known as mission STS-1, opening what is called the Shuttle era), look for special event station, N4S, to be on the air in remembrance of these two events: One which changed the course of history, and the other helped expand our knowledge of the space sciences and in the construction of the International Space Station (ISS).    More
(Source: Southgate Amateur Radio Club - Apr 7)

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