The X-37B – what its first two flights have been about
The X-37B – what its first two flights have been about.
Tag: spaceflight
Intelsat signs MDA to perform in-space refueling of its communications satellites
Intelsat signs MDA to perform in-space refueling of its communications satellites.
The concept of refueling geosynchronous satellites has been lurking about the aerospace industry for years. According to this deal, we should see an actual mission in about five years.
Russia Delays Launch of Soyuz Capsule to Space Station
Soyuz TMA-M ballistic return possible
The return of a crew from ISS on Wednesday via a new upgraded Soyuz capsule might have problems.
Sergei Korolev: the rocket genius behind Yuri Gagarin
Sergei Korolev: the rocket genius behind Yuri Gagarin.
Japanese quake disrupts space station operations
The 8.9 earthquake has shut down the Japanese space station mission control center, forcing NASA to take over monitoring Japanese ISS modules.
Virgin Galactic surpasses $10 million in ticket sales
Virgin Galactic surpassed $10 million in space tourism sales in 2010.
Putting ISS to use
Putting ISS to use. Key quote:
Under consideration is using the entire station and its six-person crew as an analog for a deep-space human exploration vehicle en route to Mars. An internal team is studying the feasibility and value of such an exercise in the summer of 2012. “We might start with a small window, like a 30-day window, with actual time delays with what we’d expect with a Martian communications system,” Gerstenmaier says. “We may freeze our consumables on station, in the sense of saying that we’ve started our voyage to Mars, and see how well we do in our predictions.”
Russian Satellite Nearly Collided with Korean Weather Satellite
A Russian military satellite nearly collided with a Korean weather satellite earlier this week.
Maiden flight of the space shuttle Discovery
An evening pause:I had played this video as an evening pause back in November, when I thought the last mission of the space shuttle Discovery would be launched. Now that it has finally landed, completing its final mission, I think worthwhile to once again go back in time and watch a film of the shuttle’s maiden flight, launched August 30, 1984, narrated by the astronauts themselves. Note that the female astronaut on this flight is Judith Resnik, who died a little over a year and a half later in the Challenger accident.
Discovery has landed, for the last time
Discovery has landed safely, for the last time.