Tokyo (AFP) Jan 31, 2007 - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced concern Wednesday about China's satellite-destroying test, charging that Beijing had violated international law. I believe it would not be in compliance with basic international rules such as the Outer Space Treaty, Abe said in parliament of the Chinese test.
Houston TX (SPX) Jan 30 2007 - The first of three spacewalks in nine days by International Space Station Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Sunita Williams is scheduled to begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST. The three spacewalks, from the Quest airlock in U.S. spacesuits, and a Russian spacewalk scheduled for Feb. 22 will be the most ever done by station crew members during an increment, said Mike Suffredini, station program manager.
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Jan 31, 2007 - The International Space Station will likely remain operational until 2025, the head of the Russian spacecraft manufacturer Energia said Tuesday, adding that by 2009-2015, Russia will be the only country able to deliver crews to the station. No one is going to sink or drop the ISS, as all countries realize that the station is becoming a full-scale industrial facility in space. Although it is scheduled for decommissioning in 2015, its operational life could be prolonged until 2025, Nikolai Sevastyanov said.
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jan 30, 2007 - In another milestone marking steady progress on the Orion crew exploration vehicle program, the Lockheed Martin team accepted responsibility today for the Operations and Checkout (OandC) Building at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Lockheed Martin will use the historic facility to process Orion, America's next-generation human spacecraft. The transition announcement was made in a ceremony held today at Kennedy Space Center's OandC Building originally used for the Apollo program.
Beijing (XNA) Jan 30, 2007 - China will promote manned space flight, lunar exploration and a number of other science and technology initiatives in 2007, said Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Guanhua, here on Monday. These key projects are vital to upgrading China's innovation capacity and consequently its economic competitiveness, said the minister. The ministry will invite experts to discuss budget requirements and the feasibility of these projects. Several projects will get underway by the end of this year, said Xu.
Paris, France (ESA) Jan 30, 2007 - At the initiative of the International Space Education Board, ESA has decided to sponsor one European student to participate in the NASA Academy 2007 summer session. Recognizing the importance of education for the benefit of the space sector, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), CSA (Canadian Space Agency) , CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) , JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and ESA have established the the International Space Education Board (ISEB).
Cape Canaveral FL (UPI) Jan 29, 2007 - NASA says the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station on mission STS-117 will occur March 15 -- one day earlier than planned. NASA officials at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida said the orbiter is scheduled to move to the Vehicle Assembly Building Feb. 7 for mating with the external tank and solid rocket boosters. NASA said the canister that holds the space station's S3/S4 solar arrays has been fit tested and is to be transported to the pad Feb. 18.
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 29, 2007 - Can tiny and ubiquitous devices like Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) be of use for space applications? The answer is a definite yes. Recent tests have demonstrated current and future uses for PDAs on board the International Space Station. Up until late 2006, PDAs had been used on board the International Space Station (ISS) mainly as personal computing or entertainment platforms. In the near future, PDAs will start being used as integrated components of real applications.
Paris, France (SPX) Jan 26, 2007 - It was a wonderful flight, extremely exciting. I couldn't have asked for more. Ahead of his visit to his home city of Stockholm, in Sweden, which started this week, ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang spoke about his recent Celsius Mission.
Stockholm (AFP) Jan 26, 2007 - A Swedish company signed a deal Friday with Britain's Virgin Galactic they hope will see tourists rocketing off from Sweden's arctic north for two-hour space flights as early as 2010. A cooperation agreement was signed Friday between Spacesport Sweden and Virgin Galactic with the aim of starting space flights as early as 2010, possibly 2012, Swedish Space Corporation spokesman Jonny Jaernmark told AFP.
Paris, France (ESA) Jan 24, 2007 - The heads of the International Space Station partners, space agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States, met at European Space Agency Headquarters in Paris, France, on 23 January 2007, to review ISS cooperation. In their discussions, the Heads of Agency noted the significant accomplishments of the partnership in implementing the Space Station configuration and assembly sequence endorsed at their last meeting in March 2006.
Houston TX (SPX) Jan 24, 2007 - The Coalition for Space Exploration's Public Affairs Team today officially announced its new leadership for 2007. Joe Mayer of The Boeing Company has been named the organization's new chairman, and will be serving a one-year term effective January 2007 through December 2007.
Atlanta GA (SPX) Jan 24, 2007 - Engineering consulting firm SpaceWorks Engineering announces the release of a new space economic study entitled: Winning in the Next Space Market: Prospects for Financial Success of Commercial Transportation Services to the International Space Station (ISS). This is the first study of its kind which provides quantitative evidence that emerging space transportation companies can make a profit supporting the ISS and estimates the cost savings to the government of such outsourcing.
Herlev, Denmark (SPX) Jan 24, 2007 - The Terma Star Tracker team has now received the first ever in-orbit live data from the Terma HE-5AS Star Tracker. The data has been recorded onboard the TacSat-2 spacecraft during the first hours following the successful release from the Minotaur I launch vehicle on Dec 16 2006. The Star Tracker was switched-on exactly one hour after the spacecraft release.
Poker Flat AK (SPX) Jan 24, 2007 - From Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks, four NASA rockets launched into an aurora display over northern Alaska, starting at 3:29 a.m. Alaska Standard Time. Scientists hope to learn more about electrical heating of the thin atmosphere from about 60 to 120 miles above Earth's surface with the launch of these rockets. The project is called JOULE II.
Seoul (Yonhap) Jan 23, 2007 - A South Korean military officer has been chosen to take part in a research project by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), South Korea's Air Force said Monday. Lt. Col. Park Sei-kwon plans to leave for California Tuesday for the one-year space biology-related research program by the NASA's Ames Research Center located in Silicon Valley, it added.
