All Space articles – Page 180
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Fregat qualification
Starsem, the Arianespace/Aerospatiale/Russian Space Agency/Samara consortium which markets the Soyuz booster for commercial launchers, has completed qualification of the Fregat upper stage for the vehicle. Added to the Soyuz, the Fregat will improve the booster's low and medium earth orbit capability and enable it to complete planetary-type missions. The Soyuz-Fregat ...
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Beal booster may fly late next year
Beal Aerospace, the privately funded company that is developing the Beal satellite launcher, could test fly a version of the booster from Cape Canaveral late next year or in early 2001. The all-liquid-fuelled three-stage BA-2 model will be as large as the Titan 4B, the USA's most powerful unmanned ...
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'Fighter phonebox' studies expand
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON Lockheed Martin plans to widen its study into using commercial satellites for military telecommunications following the successful demonstration of a call from a supersonic F-16 fighter using the Iridium low-earth orbit constellation. Commercial off-the-shelf communication systems are being viewed as a low-cost alternative to increasingly oversubscribed military ...
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US delays could keep Mir station in orbit
Russia's Energia company has suggested that, if funding can be found, a new crew could inhabit the Mir space station for six months next year, rather than the short visit planned to prepare the station for de-orbiting. The Russian move is in response to US delays to the International ...
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NASA reveals close-up images of moons
NASA has released images of the earth's moon (above) and Io - the volcanic moon of Jupiter (below). The moon image was taken during the close flyby of the earth-moon system last month by the Cassini spacecraft en route to Saturn, proving the quality of the craft's imaging system in ...
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Russia restarts Baikonur Proton services with launch of Yamals
Tim Furniss/LONDON Russia launched two Yamal communications satellites on a Proton K booster from Baikonur on 6 September, marking the first launch of a Proton booster since launches from Baikonur were banned by Kazakhstan after the Proton M failure on 5 July. The launch was also the first by ...
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ISS leaves a headache
Astronauts are trying to play down the bouts of sickness they experienced during their visit to the International Space Station in May Tim Furniss/LONDON Several crew members of the Space Shuttle STS96 Discovery became ill during a logistics supply mission and docking with the International Space Shuttle (ISS) in May ...
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The training drain
The Kosovo conflict pushed the USAF's European forces to the limit - and created a training backlog DeeDee Doke/RAMSTEIN AB An air power victory in the Kosovo conflict did not come without cost to the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), which commands 26,000 active-duty airmen at 14 ...
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Wiring problems force Space Shuttle delays
Checks on wiring inside the payload bays of all Space Shuttle orbiters following the short circuits during the STS93 Columbia launch have revealed similar damage to all the spacecraft. The orbiter Endeavour has the most serious problems, with over 20 damaged areas of wiring, including some sections down to bare ...
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Life comes to an end for Mir space station
The Mir space station has been abandoned after a career which began with the launch of the core module in February 1986. The final habitation crew landed safely in Kazakhstan on 28 August. Although another crew may be launched to prepare the space station for its de-orbiting early next ...
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First Chandra X-ray images released
NASA has released the first two test images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, deployed into orbit by the STS93 in July. One of the images (left) shows a dramatic view of the leftovers of the Cassiopeia A supernova explosion, revealing debris, shock waves and the bright centre of the ...
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SeaStar captures Hurricane Dennis development
The development of Hurricane Dennis late last month was tracked by the Orbital Sciences-built SeaStar satellite. The satellite, launched in 1997, uses a Hughes-built instrument - the Sea-Viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) - which is providing multi-spectral ocean colour data to NASA under a five-year contract for the space agency's ...
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Orbital Sciences wins licence to swap information with Canada
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Orbital Sciences (OSC) has received a US export licence to exchange technical information with Canadian subsidiary McDonald, Detwiler & Associates (MDA), raising hopes that the US company will be allowed to supply the spacecraft for Canada's Radarsat-2 earth observation satellite. Delays in granting the licence ...
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Boeing bases future designs on X-37
Boeing is looking at future launch vehicle designs which use a derivative of the X-37 experimental spaceplane as a reusable upper stage. "We are looking at expendable launch vehicle options under our contract [with NASA] and we are also looking at air-launched versions," says Boeing X-37 programme manager David ...
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NASA discusses X-33 upgrade
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA and Lockheed Martin are discussing follow-on flight testing of the X-33 to further reduce the risk attached to commercial development of the planned VentureStar reusable launch vehicle. The X-33 technology demonstrator has yet to fly, but talks are under way on an ...
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More delays expected on ISS
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA is expected to announce further delays to the International Space Station (ISS) assembly schedule. The STS101 Atlantis mission to the ISS, which was due in December, is likely to be delayed until next year, and the major Shuttle assembly mission 3A is expected to be pushed ...
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Hughes wins contract for two more Astra satellites
Satellite television and radio service provider Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) has contracted Hughes Space and Communications to build the Astra 2C and 2D communications satellites to help meet the growing demand for digital services. The new satellites will operate from 28.2°E in geostationary orbit, primarily serving the UK ...
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NASA and Orbital revamp X-34 testing plans to reduce risk
NASA and Orbital Sciences have revised the test programme for the X-34 reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator to reduce risk. The first airframe, vehicle A-1, will be upgraded for unpowered flight tests from Orbital's Lockheed L-1011 carrier aircraft. The vehicle has completed one captive flight on the L-1011, and ...
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Shuttle may salvage Orion 3
Tim Furniss/LONDON Hughes Space and Communications and NASA are discussing a possible Space Shuttle mission in 2001 to capture the stranded Loral Skynet Orion 3 communications satellite. The craft was left in the wrong orbit by a failed Delta III launch in May. The mission, which will resemble that ...