All Space articles – Page 188
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Spacehab drums up first Space Station research customer
The first customer has been signed up for the Spacehab commercial space research facility aboard the International Space Station. The Colorado School of Mines' Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space will use the Spacehab-funded furnace, known as Space-Drums, to process exotic glasses and ceramic materials in microgravity. ...
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Satellite lost after gas escape
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA's Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) satellite was lost on 8 March, four days after launch. The spacecraft entered orbit safely aboard an Orbital Sciences (OSC) Pegasus booster after an air launch on 4 March, but soon went into a 60rpm spin. The $73 million WIRE, ...
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Martian gliders
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA hopes to deploy a fleet of small gliders to explore parts of Mars that other spacecraft cannot reachSwooping through Mars' own grand canyon, the Valles Marineris, would be the ultimate hang-gliding trip. The first aircraft to make that tantalising journey could be the $40 million Mars ...
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NASA may make emergency flight to fix Hubble
An emergency servicing mission may be flown to the Hubble Space Telescope in October because the telescope's gyro system could be on the brink of total failure. The third of its six gyros has now failed and NASA is considering whether to replace them earlier than the third servicing ...
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Ariane launches the UK's military Skynet 4E with Arabsat 3A
The UK's Skynet 4E military communications satellite and the Arabsat 3A satellite were launched on board Ariane V116/44L from Kourou, French Guyana, on 26 February. Matra Marconi Space built the Skynet 4E, and the first of the new generation Arabsat 3A communications spacecraft was built by Aerospatiale's satellite division, ...
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Last of the Mir crews are put into orbit
Russia launched what may be the final crew to inhabit the Mir space station, 13 years after the launch of first core module. The Soyuz TM29 was lifted off on a Soyuz U booster from Baikonur on 20 February and docked with the station on 22 February. The crew ...
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The cost war
Tim Furniss/LONDON European commercial space launcher group Arianespace is facing increasing challenges to its market dominance as the USA prepares to launch its new fleet of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs). The first flights of the versatile Boeing Delta IV and Lockheed Martin Atlas V-based EELVs are two ...
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Hughes and China Great Wall rocked by satellite export ban
Tim Furniss/LONDON Hughes Space and Communications and China Great Wall Industry have been hit by a US Government decision to delay issue of an export licence for a satellite launch on a Long March 3B booster. The launch of the Hughes-built Asia Pacific Mobile Telecommunications satellite from China ...
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Doubts over future of VentureStar and X-33 SSTOs
A key Congressman, who is responsible for oversight of US space activities has voiced doubts over the viability of the Lockheed Martin X-33 and VentureStar projects to develop and operate a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle to replace the Space Shuttle. Lockheed's plan to finance VentureStar development with venture capital will ...
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Argos to test military systems
Tim Furniss/LONDON The US Air Force's latest satellite is a technology demonstrator for future space systems The US Air Force's Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (Argos), to be launched no earlier than 22 February, is a space version of the Swiss army knife. It carries an array ...
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Russia admits responsibility for Space Station problems
Russia has "let down" its partners in the International Space Station (ISS) by failing to deliver components on time, according to Yuri Koptev, director of the Russian Space Agency. He admits that, because the Zarya module was designated as the first element and Russia was late delivering it, this was ...
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Europe navigates independent satellite route with Galileo
The European Commission (EC) has proposed development of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) independent from the US global positioning system (GPS) as the second stage in Europe's satellite navigation programme. The Galileo project, announced by EC transport commissioner Neil Kinnock on 10 February, will require funding of up ...
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News in Brief
Mars Fleet - NASA has awarded commercial space exploration company SpaceDev of San Diego a research contract to study the possible use of small spacecraft in Mars orbit. These could provide communications and navigation services for unmanned Mars craft. The SpaceDev vehicle would use a common spacecraft bus with interchangeable ...
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Starsem blasts off with four Globalstars
Tim Furniss/LONDON Russian-Franco commercial launch consortium Starsem completed its first mission on 9 February when a Soyuz booster lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, carrying four Globalstar satellites. Starsem, a joint venture involving Aerospatiale, Arianespace and Russian Soyuz builder Samara, plans to launch 20 more Loral Globalstar ...
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NASA begins search for space lifeboat manufacturer
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES NASA expects to issue a request for proposals at the end of March for the design phase of the International Space Station emergency crew return vehicle (CRV) due to enter service in 2003. The CRV is similar to the X-24A lifting body, but would glide ...
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US Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel warns on Shuttle danger
The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has warned NASA that its workforce has been so reduced by redundancies and a hiring freeze that Space Shuttle safety could be jeopardised. If new engineering and other staff are not employed, it could create a crisis over the next five to 10 years, ...
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Italy begins development work on advanced satellite sensor
Andrea Nativi/GENOA The Italian Ministry of Defence and the local space agency have signed an agreement to develop jointly a new advanced synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor, dubbed SAR 2000, that could be used in a proposed military/civil earth observation satellite. The contract calls for the MoD ...
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Clipped wings
NASA's decision to slash its funding for aeronautics research should be seen as a warning cry for the US aircraft industry- and as a clarion call for its European counterpart. The agency was only able to transfer funds from aeronautics research to the Inter-national Space Station because it was ...
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Lockheed Martin to build second Garuda
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems has received an order to build a second A2100 satellite for the Asia Cellular Satellite Systems (ACeS) company. The US concern has also landed a deal with GE Americom to build four satellites. Lockheed Martin is a member of the ACeS consortium, which owns ...
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NASA budget hit by space station needs
NASA's budget is to be reduced for the sixth year running, with more money than ever going towards the International Space Station (ISS). The agency's fiscal year 2,000 budget request of $13.58 billion, which represents a slight decrease on the FY1999 funding level, includes $2.48 billion for the ISS, ...