STS-133 gets a new crew member; scientists prepare for Stardust comet rendezvous. Glory is prepped for its launch from California; NASA’s chief technologist Bobby Braun receives an AIAA award; NASA officials celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.; the U2 used for scientific research; and NASA celebrates the 25th anniversary of Voyager 2’s rendezvous with Uranus.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 on the pad at Cape Canaveral. (Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX)
SpaceX Plans 17 More Flights Before Launching Humans
Aviation Week
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) says it will launch its Falcon 9 rocket at least 17 more times before it is ready to fly humans, with nine of those flights carrying the Dragon capsule it is developing for cargo missions to the International Space Station.
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NanoSail-D (Credit: NASA)
NASA MISSION UPDATE
Friday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. EST, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite deployed its 100-square-foot polymer sail in low-Earth orbit and is operating as planned. Actual deployment occurred on Jan. 20 at 10 p.m. EST and was confirmed today with beacon packets data received from NanoSail-D and additional ground-based satellite tracking assets. In addition, the NanoSail-D orbital parameter data set shows an appropriate change which is consistent with sail deployment.
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International Space Station
NASA will conduct a remote refueling experiment at the International Space Station during the final space shuttle mission set to launch in June. The mission will involve refueling a mock spacecraft remotely from the ground.
ESA PRESS RELEASE
Romania took a step further in its relations with ESA by signing the Accession Agreement to the ESA Convention on 20 January 2011, to become the 19th ESA Member State.
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NASA MISSION UPDATE The launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle “Kounotori2” (HTV2) planned for Thursday, Jan. 20, was rescheduled due to a forecast for weather conditions that would exceed launch restrictions. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency reset the launch for 11:37 p.m. CST on Friday, Jan. 21. NASA still plans live television coverage of the launch from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. With an adjusted rendezvous plan, the grapple […]
U.S. – China Joint Statement President Barack Obama of the United States of America President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China 10. The United States and China agreed to take specific actions to deepen dialogue and exchanges in the field of space. The United States invited a Chinese delegation to visit NASA headquarters and other appropriate NASA facilities in 2011 to reciprocate for the productive visit of the […]
NASA MISSION UPDATE
On Thursday, the Space Shuttle Program baselined the STS-135 mission for a target launch date of June 28. It is NASA’s intent to fly the mission with orbiter Atlantis carrying the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems.
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CSA has selected Specialty Construction of San Luis Obispo as the apparent successful offeror to complete the first phase of the California Space Center. The first phase will include preparations of the 71-acre site, including the removal of existing concrete pads and the installation of basic utilities. Contract negotiations are scheduled to begin on January 28. Specialty Construction was one of six companies that submitted formal proposals for the first phase. Work under […]
SPACE FLORIDA PRESS RELEASE
Early this month, the Space Launch Division of the USAF Space and Missile Systems Center/Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) announced the award of a $48 million “Spaceports 3†contract to provide Florida-based launch services for the federal government.
The Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) award reflects a potential value of up to $48 million for future Minotaur launches from Florida. The first part of this award, which will go into effect immediately (valued at $30,000), is a Task Order to develop a Logistics Strategy Plan for solid-propellant rocket launches from Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral, managed by Space Florida. This logistics plan would include specifics regarding infrastructure requirements for launch as well as facilities to be used to process future solid-fueled boosters and payloads.
NanoSail-D (Credit: NASA)
UPDATE: NanoSail-D has ejected — Beacon data has been received
NASA PROGRAM UPDATE
On Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 11:30 a.m. EST, engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT. The ejection event occurred spontaneously and was identified this morning when engineers at the center analyzed onboard FASTSAT telemetry. The ejection of NanoSail-D also has been confirmed by ground-based satellite tracking assets.
Amateur ham operators are asked to listen for the signal to verify NanoSail-D is operating. This information should be sent to the NanoSail-D dashboard at: https://nanosaild.engr.scu.edu/dashboard.htm. The NanoSail-D beacon signal can be found at 437.270 MHz.
The launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 2 (H-IIB F2) with the KOUNOTORI2 (HTV2, a cargo transporter to the International Space Station) on board has been rescheduled as clouds including a freezing layer that exceeds the restrictions for suitable weather are forecast to be generated at around the scheduled launch time on January 20, 2011 (Japan Standard Time.) The new launch day will be no earlier than January 22 […]