India puts four satellites in orbit with one rocket
Success for India: Its PSLV rocket yesterday lifted four satellites into orbit.
Success for India: Its PSLV rocket yesterday lifted four satellites into orbit.
Tag: engineering
India puts four satellites in orbit with one rocket
ROSAT predicted to re-enter the atmosphere October 20 to October 25
The defunct 2.4 ton ROSAT space telescope is now predicted to crash to Earth sometime between October 20 and October 25.
The defunct 2.4 ton ROSAT space telescope is now predicted to crash to Earth sometime between October 20 and October 25.
Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser to get its first test flight in the summer of 2012
Dream Chaser, Sierra Nevada’s space plane, is to get its first test flight this coming summer.
For the unmanned test flight, it will be carried into the skies by WhiteKnightTwo, the carrier aircraft for the commercial suborbital passenger ship SpaceShipTwo, backed by Virgin Galactic, a U.S. company owned by Richard Branson’s London-based Virgin Group.
Dream Chaser, Sierra Nevada’s space plane, is to get its first test flight this coming summer.
For the unmanned test flight, it will be carried into the skies by WhiteKnightTwo, the carrier aircraft for the commercial suborbital passenger ship SpaceShipTwo, backed by Virgin Galactic, a U.S. company owned by Richard Branson’s London-based Virgin Group.
An update on the launchpad work for the first test flight of Taurus 2
An update, with pictures, from Orbital Sciences on the launchpad and assembly work leading to the first test flight of the Taurus 2 rocket.
An update, with pictures, from Orbital Sciences on the launchpad and assembly work leading to the first test flight of the Taurus 2 rocket.
The space police of Baikonur
I find this quote interesting:
When the status of the city was designated [after the fall of the Soviet Union], the leased Baikonur was monitored by two Interior Ministries, two prosecutors’ offices and two state security organs. But social problems have not disappeared. Engineers and astronauts are not the only ones who live in the city. Baikonur hosts a great deal of people who have local residence papers, including the indigenous Kazakhs. They cannot work on Baikonur objects because mostly Russians are hired to work there. If the Kazakhs are lucky enough to be hired, they are paid far less than the Russians.
In June of this year mass uprisings occurred in Baikonur. A crowd of youths pelted a police patrol car with stones and bottles.
I find this quote interesting:
When the status of the city was designated [after the fall of the Soviet Union], the leased Baikonur was monitored by two Interior Ministries, two prosecutors’ offices and two state security organs. But social problems have not disappeared. Engineers and astronauts are not the only ones who live in the city. Baikonur hosts a great deal of people who have local residence papers, including the indigenous Kazakhs. They cannot work on Baikonur objects because mostly Russians are hired to work there. If the Kazakhs are lucky enough to be hired, they are paid far less than the Russians.
In June of this year mass uprisings occurred in Baikonur. A crowd of youths pelted a police patrol car with stones and bottles.
The remaining assets of Rocketplane Kistler are to be auctioned off November 11
Got $50,000 for the good faith deposit? Then you can bid on remaining assets of Rocketplane Kistler, to be auctioned off on November 11.
Got $50,000 for the good faith deposit? Then you can bid on remaining assets of Rocketplane Kistler, to be auctioned off on November 11.
Louisiana Man Wins $1.7 Million From EPA For Malicious Prosecution
The abuse of power: A Louisiana man has won a $1.7 million lawsuit from the EPA for malicious prosecution.
The judge wrote that [government prosecutor Keith] Phillips, “set out with intent and reckless and callous disregard for anyone’s rights other than his own, and reckless disregard for the processes and power which had been bestowed on him, to effectively destroy another man’s life.” Furthermore, Judge Doherty railed against the complete absence of evidence against Mr. Vidrine and ordered the U.S. government to pay Mr. Vidrine $127,000 in defense fees, $50,000 in lost income, and $900,000 in loss of earning capacity.
The abuse of power: A Louisiana man has won a $1.7 million lawsuit from the EPA for malicious prosecution.
The judge wrote that [government prosecutor Keith] Phillips, “set out with intent and reckless and callous disregard for anyone’s rights other than his own, and reckless disregard for the processes and power which had been bestowed on him, to effectively destroy another man’s life.” Furthermore, Judge Doherty railed against the complete absence of evidence against Mr. Vidrine and ordered the U.S. government to pay Mr. Vidrine $127,000 in defense fees, $50,000 in lost income, and $900,000 in loss of earning capacity.
Getting to the right orbit, the hard way
Getting to the right orbit, the hard way.
Getting to the right orbit, the hard way.
A new report has found that Big Ben in London is leaning just under a half a meter off the perpendicular
A new report has found that Big Ben in London is leaning, just under a half a meter off the perpendicular.
A new report has found that Big Ben in London is leaning, just under a half a meter off the perpendicular.
How to build a Soyuz
Video: How to build a Soyuz rocket.
Video: How to build a Soyuz rocket.
Russia puts off building space lab
More Russian space industry news: Russia puts off building a space lab while announcing that it will use its Soyuz 2 rocket to launch manned missions from its new spaceport in the Vostochny spaceport in Amur, to be opened in 2015.
More Russian space industry news: Russia puts off building a space lab while announcing that it will use its Soyuz 2 rocket to launch manned missions from its new spaceport in the Vostochny spaceport in Amur, to be opened in 2015.
Anik F2 communications satellite back in operation
Anik F2 communications satellite is back in operation.
Anik F2 communications satellite is back in operation.
Five truths about climate change
Five truths about climate change. I like #2:
Regardless of whether it’s getting hotter or colder—or both—we are going to need to produce a lot more energy in order to remain productive and comfortable.
Five truths about climate change. I like #2:
Regardless of whether it’s getting hotter or colder—or both—we are going to need to produce a lot more energy in order to remain productive and comfortable.
Fighting forest fires, with water balloons
Fighting forest fires, with water balloons.
Fighting forest fires, with water balloons.
If all goes well, 2012 will be a busy year at ISS for both Dragon and Cygnus
If all goes well, 2012 will be a busy year at ISS for both Dragon and Cygnus.
The article outlines the preliminary cargo schedule for both ferries next year, assuming their initial test flights succeed (a big assumption).
If all goes well, 2012 will be a busy year at ISS for both Dragon and Cygnus.
The article outlines the preliminary cargo schedule for both ferries next year, assuming their initial test flights succeed (a big assumption).
A shutdown of a satellite today cut communications in Canada for thousands
A shutdown of a satellite today cut communications in Canada for thousands.
A shutdown of a satellite today cut communications in Canada for thousands.
Astronauts on ISS conduct eye exams in connection with recent eye problems caused by long term weightlessness
Astronauts on ISS have been conducting regular eye exams in an effort to understand the eye problems caused by long term weightlessness.
Astronauts on ISS have been conducting regular eye exams in an effort to understand the eye problems caused by long term weightlessness.
More on making the X-37B an ISS supply and crew ferry
More on making the X-37B an ISS supply and crew ferry.
More on making the X-37B an ISS supply and crew ferry.
Steve Jobs has passed away
Steve Jobs has passed away.
Steve Jobs has passed away.
Want to become an astronaut? NASA insists you speak Russian
Want to become an astronaut? NASA requires you to speak Russian.
Want to become an astronaut? NASA requires you to speak Russian.
Aden Meinel, astronomer and innovator, has passed away
Aden Meinel, astronomer and innovator, has passed away.
Meinel, first director of the Kitt Peak Observatory, was the also first to conceive and try to build robotic telescopes that could be operated remotely. Many of his ideas were later incorporated both on the ground and in space.
Aden Meinel, astronomer and innovator, has passed away.
Meinel, first director of the Kitt Peak Observatory, was the also first to conceive and try to build robotic telescopes that could be operated remotely. Many of his ideas were later incorporated both on the ground and in space.
The Taj Mahal in danger of collapse
The Taj Mahal is in danger of collapse.
Certain points about this story — few details and the extreme and sudden nature of the claims — leave me skeptical and wondering if it isn’t merely a ploy for funding.
The Taj Mahal is in danger of collapse.
Certain points about this story — few details and the extreme and sudden nature of the claims — leave me skeptical and wondering if it isn’t merely a ploy for funding.
A new Arianespace rocket
A new Arianespace rocket starts its journey to French Guiana.
This first launch, the Vega qualification flight, is planned for January 2012 and will pave the way for five missions that aim to demonstrate the system’s flexibility. . . . Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.
This rocket is comparable to SpaceX’s now discontinued Falcon 1, though it can put more payload into orbit.
A new Arianespace rocket starts its journey to French Guiana.
This first launch, the Vega qualification flight, is planned for January 2012 and will pave the way for five missions that aim to demonstrate the system’s flexibility. . . . Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.
This rocket is comparable to SpaceX’s now discontinued Falcon 1, though it can put more payload into orbit.
NASA awards $1.35M to creators after their electric plane flies 200 miles
NASA awards $1.35 million to the creators of an electric-powered plane after it flies 200 miles.
NASA awards $1.35 million to the creators of an electric-powered plane after it flies 200 miles.
A Virgin Galactic customer gets a refund
A Virgin Galactic customer gets a refund.
A Virgin Galactic customer gets a refund.
An update on the ongoing X-37B mission
An update on the ongoing X-37B mission.
I like this quote from the article:
Meanwhile, Boeing has begun to look at derivatives of their X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle — including flying cargo and crew to the International Space Station. Speaking this week at the Space 2011 conference —organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and held in Long Beach, Calif. — Arthur Grantz of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems sketched out a host of future uses for the space plane design. For one, the X-37B, as is, can be flown to the space station and dock to the facility’s common berthing mechanism. No new technology is required for X-37B to supply cargo services to the ISS, Grantz said. Also, an X-37C winged vehicle has been scoped out, a craft that would ride atop an Atlas 5 in un-shrouded mode.
The Boeing roadmap, Grantz added, also envisions a larger derivative of the X-37B space plane, one that can carry up to seven astronauts, as well as tote into Earth orbit a mix of pressurized and unpressurized cargo.
An update on the ongoing X-37B mission.
I like this quote from the article:
Meanwhile, Boeing has begun to look at derivatives of their X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle — including flying cargo and crew to the International Space Station. Speaking this week at the Space 2011 conference —organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and held in Long Beach, Calif. — Arthur Grantz of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems sketched out a host of future uses for the space plane design. For one, the X-37B, as is, can be flown to the space station and dock to the facility’s common berthing mechanism. No new technology is required for X-37B to supply cargo services to the ISS, Grantz said. Also, an X-37C winged vehicle has been scoped out, a craft that would ride atop an Atlas 5 in un-shrouded mode.
The Boeing roadmap, Grantz added, also envisions a larger derivative of the X-37B space plane, one that can carry up to seven astronauts, as well as tote into Earth orbit a mix of pressurized and unpressurized cargo.
Dawn begins close-up orbit observations
Dawn begins close-up orbit observations of Vesta. More new results here.
In this orbit, the average distance from the spacecraft to the Vesta surface is 420 miles (680 kilometers), which is four times closer than the previous survey orbit.
Dawn begins close-up orbit observations of Vesta. More new results here.
In this orbit, the average distance from the spacecraft to the Vesta surface is 420 miles (680 kilometers), which is four times closer than the previous survey orbit.
The world’s largest radio telescope has opened its eyes
The world’s largest radio telescope has opened its eyes.
The world’s largest radio telescope has opened its eyes.
Test flights of SpaceShipTwo resume
After a summer break, the flight tests of SpaceShipTwo have resumed. Thursday’s test appeared to a bit more exciting that previous flights:
Test card called for releasing the Spaceship from WhiteKnightTwo and immediately entering a rapid descent. Upon release, the Spaceship experienced a downward pitch rate that caused a stall of the tails. The crew followed procedure, selecting the feather mode to revert to a benign condition. The crew then defeathered and had a nominal return to base. Great flying by the team and good demo of feather system.
After a summer break, the flight tests of SpaceShipTwo have resumed. Thursday’s test appeared to a bit more exciting that previous flights:
Test card called for releasing the Spaceship from WhiteKnightTwo and immediately entering a rapid descent. Upon release, the Spaceship experienced a downward pitch rate that caused a stall of the tails. The crew followed procedure, selecting the feather mode to revert to a benign condition. The crew then defeathered and had a nominal return to base. Great flying by the team and good demo of feather system.
Russia launches its first Soyuz rocket since the failure in August
Russia launches its first Soyuz rocket since the Progress launch failure in August.
This was a launch of a Soyuz-2 rocket, which is not identical to the Soyuz-U rocket that the Progress freighter was on. Nonetheless, the success is a good sign that they are back in business.
Russia launches its first Soyuz rocket since the Progress launch failure in August.
This was a launch of a Soyuz-2 rocket, which is not identical to the Soyuz-U rocket that the Progress freighter was on. Nonetheless, the success is a good sign that they are back in business.