Recently in space station Category

Vega, the European Space Agency's new light launcher, has now got its maiden flight date set, for 26 January 2012. ESA had been hoping to launch during 2011, but the critical parameter was to get Vega launched between the 20 October launch of Soyuz and the beginning of preparations at Kourou, French Guiana for the next Automated Transfer Vehicle launch, via Ariane 5, to the International Space Station.

European made components have arrived by sea at Kourou from Avio's factory in Colleferro, near Rome. The inaugural campaign will begin on November 7 with rollout of Vega's P80 first stage to the launch pad, followed during the subsequent weeks by stacking of the Zefiro 23 second stage and Zefiro 9 third stage - all of which are loaded with solid-propellant. A progress review will be held on December 7 to authorize a continuation of the final integration process - allowing the bi-propellant Attitude and Vernier Upper Module (AVUM) to be mated atop the launcher, and final operations to begin with the mission's multi-spacecraft payload.

carrying LARES (LAser RElativity Satellite) and nine cubesat educational payloads of varying sizes.

Vega will lift off from the Spaceport's ZLV launch site, which originally was used for the Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 vehicles.

The medium-lift Soyuz and light category Vega will complement ESA's heavylift Ariane 5s to provide a fully flexible range of launch options at Kourou. Vega, whose first stage is one of the world's biggest carbon fibre single-piece structures, is designed to launch satellites up to 1.5 tonnes into 700km polar orbits. As French Guiana is much closer to the equator than Soyuz's normal launch site at Baikonur, added boost from the Earth's spin will nearly double its maximum payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) to 3 tonnes. Ariane 5 can lift 10 tonnes to GTO, though ESA member governments are thought to be moving towards approval of a mid-life upgrade to increase payload capacity.

A longer-term project is also underway, to develop a a high-thrust cryogenic engine that could form the basis of ESA's next-generation launcher. It will not fly until about 2025, but is intended to provide a medium-lift capability in a modular design, with a re-ignitable upper stage and options for strap-on solid propellant boosters offering extra thrust.

Res Communis has reported on a presentation on prospects for space tourism in China by a Ms. Xu Si from the Beijing Institute of Technology - very probably an institution heavily involved in the space programme

I wrote for Flightglobal back in 2007 that China's government was looking at more commercial aspects for its space programme. One change that was seen was the selling of tickets to allow people to watch launches at the launch site

In April 2009 I interviewed China's manned space programme head Zhou Jianping and he said that Tiangong-1 would be launched at the end of 2010. That should have rung bells that 2011 was a more likely date. Whenever aerospace organisations say the end of anything it always means the following month or year. Now we have Chinese state media reports that its docking target cum autonomous space laboratory called Tiangong will launch in 2011

The China manned space engineering programme deputy general designer Wang Zhonggui told this blogger in Korea last October that there would be up to three Tiangong modules launched. The Tiangong missions are a stepping stone to the autonomous docking of space station modules for the outpost the country expects to have operating in 2020

China is not in any hurry with its space programme and no doubt there will be more delays but eventually it will have its own space station and more. The interesting question for the near term is will China join the International Space Station programme?   

Released six weeks ago its still interesting to watch 

The joint statement by the International Space Station partners can be found here welcoming president Barack Obama's comitment to extending ISS use and the boost for station related space operations in the fiscal year 2011 budget request. The statement says:

The MCB also noted that the U.S. Administration's 2011 NASA budget submission continues the ISS to at least 2020 and expands efforts to utilize this unique platform for scientific, technological, and educational purposes by increasing the ISS budget by $2B over four years.

 

credit Flight / caption: Are we looking at the future shape of China's unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft?

This 1:10 scale model of China's manned space engineering programme's Tiangong spacelab docked to a Shenzhou spacecraft was exhibited at the 60th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Daejeon, Korea in October

While talking to Chinese space programme officials in Daejeon Hyperbola was told about the cargo spacecraft that will be developed from the Tiangong spacelab, of which three could fly over the next ten years. China will use them to test technologies for rendezvous and docking, life support and experiment equipment destined for the space station  

See the cargo spacecraft design and in-orbit space station assembly pictures and video in the extended portion of this blog post 

Go here to see the video of Chen Shanguang, the chief commander and chief designer of China's Manned Space Engineering astronaut system speaking to China's state run English language news and current affairs channel CCTV-9. Go here for more China manned space programme CCTV videos and here for videos related to Shenzhou missions care of Google

Here is Flightglobal's recent Chinese Moon programme story with pictures of the country's latest concept for its space station planned for 2020. Find other Flightglobal stories about China's space programme here and go here for past Hyperbola blog postings about the new super power's orbital endeavours

Watch this video from the International Astronautical Congress in Daejeon, Korea where the future of the International Space Station was discussed by the ISS partners 

Go here for more IAC2009 videos