Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 05, 2008 - In the last months before China's first spacewalk, facts about the mission are slowly trickling out. China has been coy about releasing precise information on the spacesuit to be used or the tethering system to be used for the spacewalker. Other details, such as the number of astronauts who will be exposed to vacuum in the orbital module, are also hard to find in official statements.
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) May 02, 2008 - Space shuttle Discovery is set to complete the final leg of its preflight journey May 3, making the 3.4-mile trek from Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. Perched atop the mobile launcher platform, the shuttle assembly will roll out to the oceanside launch complex atop the massive crawler-transporter at less than one mile an hour.
Baltimore MD (SPX) Apr 30, 2008 - NASA will launch two identical probes into the radiation belts to provide unprecedented insight into the physical dynamics of near-Earth space, where violent space weather can affect astronauts, satellites and even ground-based technologies.
Moscow (SPX) Apr 30, 2008 - Khrunichev Space Center and its partner International Launch Services today announced a broad-based quality initiative for Khrunichev and all of its subcontractors. This will reinforce our dedication to quality across the board, ensure we improve our performance and enhance our position as a leading space company, said Vladimir Nesterov, Khrunichev General Director.
Kourou, French Guiana (SPX) Apr 30, 2008 - The two payloads for Ariane 5's third mission of 2008 are undergoing pre-flight checkout at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana as Arianespace maintains the accelerated launch rate for its heavy-lift workhorse vehicle this year. These satellites - Skynet 5C and Turksat 3A - are being readied for liftoff on May 23, which will be five weeks to the day after Arianespace's most recent on-target Ariane 5 launch with the VINASAT-1 and Star One C2 spacecraft.
Seoul (AFP) April 30, 2008 - South Korea's first astronaut Yi So-Yeon is suffering from back injuries after a gruelling descent to Earth, a doctor said Wednesday.
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Apr 30, 2008 - A Ukrainian-Russian carrier rocket has successfully put an Israeli communications satellite into orbit, Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Monday. The Zenit-3SLB rocket was launched earlier on Monday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan for the first time under the Land Launch program and after a number of delays.
Tel Aviv, Israel (SPX) Apr 29, 2008 - Spacecom has announced that its newest satellite, AMOS-3, has been successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan. AMOS-3 roared into the atmosphere onboard a Zenit-3SLB launcher this morning at 08.00 Israel local time (05.00 GMT). The launcher's first and second stages have already been successfully separated.
Sriharikota, India (SPX) Apr 29, 2008 - In its thirteenth flight conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, today (April 28, 2008), ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C9, successfully launched the 690 kg Indian remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A, the 83 kg Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) and eight nanosatellites for international customers into a 637 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Apr 29, 2008 - Space shuttle Discovery rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, where the shuttle's external tank and two solid rocket boosters awaited. Discovery was then lifted to vertical inside the building's 50-story-tall transfer aisle, lowered into a high bay and joined with the tank and boosters atop the mobile launcher platform.
Seoul (AFP) April 29, 2008 - South Korea's first astronaut Yi So-Yeon has been admitted to hospital with severe back pains caused by her rough return voyage to Earth, officials said Tuesday.
Brisbane, Australia (SPX) Apr 28, 2008 - The University of Queensland has signed a memorandum of understanding with NASA to continue close collaboration on hypersonic propulsion projects. Hypersonics is the study of velocities of Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) or more. The University of Queensland's Centre for Hypersonics, one of the largest space engineering University groups in the world, conducts research into all aspects of hypersonic flight.
Moscow (AFP) April 28, 2008 - A rocket carrying an Israeli communications satellite was successfully launched Monday from a Russian base in Kazakhstan, television footage showed.
Tinker AFB OK (SPX) Apr 28, 2008 - NASA officials brought the Super Guppy -- a uniquely-designed aircraft used to transport cargo, including parts of the space shuttle program -- to Tinker AFB in mid-April so that maintainers here could inspect the aircraft and perform some repairs. According to NASA Chief Flight Engineer Henry Taylor, officials chose Tinker AFB because it has a great reputation for having lots of capabilities when it comes to doing significant maintenance.
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 28, 2008 - The House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics has held an oversight hearing to examine the status of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) International Space Station (ISS) program. Committee Members discussed the challenges facing the program and questioned witnesses regarding how it should be operated, managed, and utilized.
Baikonur, Kazakhstan (AFP) April 26, 2008 - The European commercial space-launch consortium Arianespace said Saturday it would make a bid to launch 26 satellites from French Guyana to kickstart the European Union's Galileo satellite navigation programme.
