All Space articles – Page 198
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Record re-entry
Russia's Cosmos 2348 photo-reconnaissance satellite returned to Earth on April 14. Launched last December, the satellite was in orbit for 119.5 days, around 30 days longer than the previous record holder, Cosmos 2331. Russia does not now have a low-orbit photo reconnaissance satellite operating in orbit, says the Molniya Space ...
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Eutelsat contract
Eutelsat, the European satellite communications organisation, is to launch the Europesat 1 multimedia satellite into a 29¹E geostationary orbit in mid-2000. Matra Marconi Space will build the 36-transponder craft, which will compete with the Astra satellites operated by Luxembourg-based SES, which will introduce digital services from a new slot at ...
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Laser link lined up
Tim Furniss/LONDON The European Space Agency's (ESA) Artemis project is now well on its way after cost and technical problems combined to delay the satellite, which had been originally due to be in orbit now. The flight model has been completed by Alenia Spazio in Rome and will soon ...
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Italy leads ESA interest in Vega K development
Development of the proposed European Vega K low Earth orbit launcher will depend on industrial funding of around Ecu70 million ($77 million) as well as the ECU350 million funding requested from interested member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) led by France and Italy. The Italian space agency says ...
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NASA Deep Space launch faces
Late delivery of spacecraft power electronics and an "ambitious" flight software development schedule has forced NASA to delay the launch of its first New Millennium programme spacecraft, the Deep Space 1. The delay, from July to October, will mean the scrapping of planned fly-bys of an asteroid, a comet ...
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China eyes manned launch
Preparations are under way at China's Jiuquan launch base for an unmanned orbital test flight of a manned spacecraft aboard an uprated Long March (LM) 2E booster unveiled by the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. A three-crew flight could take place in 1999 to celebrate the 50th anniversary ...
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Columbia crew is blamed for Spartan deployment failure
Tim Furniss/LONDON Blame for the botched deployment of a Spartan free flyer during last November's STS87/Columbia flight has been placed firmly at the door of the spacecraft's crew. Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla has come in for most blame, but the whole STS87 crew, led by commander Kevin Kregel, ...
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Artemis unveiled
The European Space Agency's geostationary orbiting Artemis communications technology satellite has been unveiled at Alenia Aerospazio in Rome amid fears that its scheduled launch on a Japanese H2 Alpha Plus in 1999 is likely to be delayed at least until February 2000 because of development problems with the new booster. ...
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First EOS launch suffers a six month setback
The launch of the first satellite in the Earth Observing System (EOS), the centrepiece of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth programme, has been delayed by at least six months after the discovery of a series of ground control software faults. Faults in the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) ...
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Orbital aspirations
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) has announced plans for a national manned spaceflight (see box), an unmanned lunar explorer and radical improvements to space applications technology, thus enabling China to compete more effectively in the international marketplace. A space applications plan has been announced to ...
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Nissan makes plans for small launcher
Nissan is planning to introduce a small commercial solid propellant satellite launcher as early as 2001, with a booster developed from two current Japanese programmes. It would be the first private Japanese attempt to enter the commercial launcher market. No government funding is envisaged for the project, which will cost ...
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Space trace
An Orbital Sciences' (OSC) Pegasus XL booster air launched from the company's Lockheed TriStar carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on 2 April successfully placed NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) satellite into low Earth orbit. The 212kg TRACE will be used to investigate the connection between the sun's ...
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Spot on satellite
The Spot 4 launch has breathed new life into the French Earth observation satellite programme Andrzej Jeziorski/KOUROU Just another 2t of junk in a relentlessly growing orbital scrapheap, Spot 3 still zips from pole to pole, awaiting its end as a fiery skid mark across the upper atmosphere. In ...
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Room for manoeuvre
Hughes is cutting satellite production cycle times with a new test site Tim Furniss/LONDON To meet the growing demand for its satellites, Hughes Space and Communications - has added 3,800m2 (41,000ft2) of test space at its factory in El Segundo, California. The extra space provided by a new thermal stress ...
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Cassini heads for Venus fly-by
NASA's Cassini Saturn Orbiter and its European Space Agency Huygens Titan lander, launched on a Titan 4 Centaur in November 1997, will pass to within 300km of the planet Venus on 26 April on its flightpath towards the ringed planet which it will reach in July 2004. The Huygens probe ...
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Hughes wins contract to build first Canadian Anik F satellite
Tim Furniss/LONDON Hughes Space and Communications has received a contract to build the first Anik F series communications satellite for Telesat Canada. The contract brings to 38 the number of geostationary orbit (GEO) communications spacecraft on Hughes' orderbook, with a further two craft on order for meteorological applications. ...
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STS90 Neurolab mission remains on schedule
NASA has confirmed that the next Space Shuttle mission will be launched on 16 April. The date had been threatened by fears that problems, mainly concerning a possible rescheduling of International Space Station (ISS)-related missions, could delay the launch to 28 April. The Neurolab - the final planned flight ...
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Israeli First
A space first for Israel occurred on 25 March when the national satellite Ofeq 3, launched in 1995, was manoeuvred into a higher orbit, reports the Molniya Space Consultancy, London. The spacecraft's 354-519km orbit was raised to 496-518km by two burns of the Ofeq's propulsion system. Source: Flight International
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Space Group
The European Space Agency (ESA) will establish a single European astronaut corps to prepare for the International Space Station programme by combining a cadre of ESA astronauts with those in programmes now operated by France, Germany and Italy. Source: Flight International
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ISS centre truss tested
Boeing has completed a test article of the 13m-long centre truss segment which is destined to become the backbone of the International Space Station (ISS). Assembly is now proceeding on the first production segment due to be attached in orbit to the crew laboratory module in early 2000. The centre ...