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Space Travel Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Space Travel Editorial Team

Editorial Team

The Space Travel Editorial Team produces Space Travel's coverage of human spaceflight and access to space. We report on launch, crewed missions and space tourism, and the propulsion, vehicles and human factors of getting people to space. Articles reflect our team's collective editorial process, source verification, drafting, technical review, and editing, rather than a single writer's work. Space Travel takes editorial responsibility for content under this byline. For more on how we work, see our editorial policy.

Legacy Reports

Successful Ariane 5 Upper Stage Engine Re-Ignition Experiment

Paris, France (SPX) Oct 23, 2007 - A successful re-ignition of the Ariane 5 upper stage engine performed during the most recent mission has consolidated Ariane 5's readiness for the launch of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle. The launch of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), which carries supplies to the International Space Station, will require multiple firings of the Ariane 5 ES upper stage engine. In this context, hundreds of re-ignition tests under various thermal conditions have been undertaken at the DLR Test Centre in Lampoldshausen to qualify the Aestus engine for several re-ignitions.

Oct 23, 2007
Legacy Reports

ILS Proton Launch Scheduled In November For SES SIRIUS 4 Satellite

McLeab VA (SPX) Oct 23, 2007 - International Launch Services (ILS) has scheduled its next Proton Breeze M commercial mission for November 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the launch of the SIRIUS 4 satellite for SES SIRIUS of Sweden. The SIRIUS 4 satellite arrived in Baikonur Friday (October 19). The satellite, a Lockheed Martin A2100AX model, will weigh approximately 4600 kg at liftoff, making it the largest in the SIRIUS fleet. SIRIUS 4 is a multi-mission Ku-and Ka-band satellite offering a wide range of communications services across Europe and Northern Africa.

Oct 23, 2007
Legacy Reports

Space Shuttle Discovery Is Ready; Weather Remains A Concern

Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Oct 23, 2007 - The countdown to launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-120 mission is proceeding smoothly at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA Test Director Steve Payne announced at this morning's countdown status briefing. At this point in the count, we're on schedule, our systems are all good and we're in great shape, Payne said, adding that the launch team is not tracking any technical issues.

Oct 23, 2007
Legacy Reports

Broccoli Sprout-Derived Extract Protects Against Ultraviolet Radiation

Baltimore MD (SPX) Oct 23, 2007 - A team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that humans can be protected against the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation - the most abundant cancer-causing agent in our environment - by topical application of an extract of broccoli sprouts. The results in human volunteers, backed by parallel evidence obtained in mice, show that the degree of skin redness (erythema) caused by UV rays, which is an accurate index of the inflammation and cell damage caused by UV radiation, is markedly reduced in extract-treated skin.

Oct 23, 2007
Legacy Reports

Former USAF Pilot Second Woman To Command Shuttle

Washington DC (SPX) Oct 23, 2007 - Retired Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will become the second woman to command a NASA space shuttle flight when Discovery lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., tomorrow. The STS-120 flight is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, according NASA's Web site. The mission will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station. The Harmony device will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules.

Oct 23, 2007
Legacy Reports

Columbus Hatch Closed For Last Time

Paris, France (ESA) Oct 22, 2007 - Preparations of the European Columbus laboratory took an important step earlier this week with the final closure of the module's hatch ahead of the December launch to the International Space Station. Although there was no formal ceremony to mark the occasion, the hatch closure is an important milestone for all involved. This means we are 99% ready for flight, explains Bernardo Patti, ESA's Columbus Project Manager. All the activities related to the pressurised volume are finished. The work left to be done on the exterior is considered to be minor.

Oct 22, 2007
Legacy Reports

NASA Assigns Crew For Final Solar Array Delivery To Station

Houston TX (SPX) Oct 22, 2007 - NASA has assigned the space shuttle crew for Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for launch in the fall of 2008. The flight will deliver the final pair of power- generating solar array wings and truss element to the International Space Station. Air Force Col. Lee J. Archambault will command Discovery. Navy Cmdr. Dominic A. Antonelli will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Joseph Acaba, Richard R. Arnold II, John L. Phillips and Steven R. Swanson.

Oct 22, 2007
Legacy Reports

Malaysian First Astronaut To Be Commissioned As Cosmonaut In Russia

Kuala Lumpur (XNA) Oct 22, 2007 - Malaysia's first astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who is scheduled to return to earth on Sunday, will be commissioned as a cosmonaut along with another astronaut candidate Faiz Khaleed, Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Auk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis was quoted by local media as saying on Friday. The commissioning ceremony would take place in Russia two weeks after Sheikh Muszaphar's return as he has to be quarantined for one week after touchdown on Earth, said Jamaludin at an Aidilfitri open house hosted by him in Rompin, central state of Pahang, on Thursday night.

Oct 22, 2007
Legacy Reports

Expedition 15 Set To Return Home

Houston TX (SPX) Oct 21, 2007 - As Expedition 15 wraps up and prepares to return home, the Expedition 16 crew members are busy preparing for the arrival of space shuttle Discovery. At a change of command ceremony Friday afternoon, the Expedition 15 crew formally handed over command of the station to Expedition 16. Accepting command of the station from Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson remarked, It's been a very impressive mission, and you guys have performed exceptionally.

Oct 21, 2007