Newest launch info from NASA. Gov After excessive high level winds prompted the delay of yesterday’s launch attempt for the Antares booster, Orbital Sciences is preparing to try again today; same time, same channel. Launch now is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT, and NASA Television coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. Good luck to NASA, Orbital […]
NASA has announced that Orbital Sciences is planning a second launch attempt for the Antares booster “no earlier than” 5:00 PM (Eastern) on Saturday, April 20th. Launch coverage on NASA TV will begin at 4:30 PM Eastern if the time holds, or 30 minutes prior to liftoff if it slips. As occurred on Wednesday’s attempt, the launch window progressively narrows as the Antares […]
If some have accused the goals of the U.S. space program of attempting to repeat what it accomplished in the 1960’s, they may be equally unenthused over Russia’s latest launch. In what is generally accepted as the 1,802 nd successful flight of the Soyuz booster, Russia today lofted the Bion-1M biological research satellite. Containing 45 mice, 8 gerbils and 8 geckos, as well […]
The European Southern Observatory in Chile is in some ways the Earth bound counterpart to the Hubble Space Telescope, providing both groundbreaking research as well as simply stunning images of deep space which often defy imagination, such as the image shown above, taken with the Very Large Telescope, which shows a planetary nebula surrounding a dying star 3300 light […]
Update: This story has been updated to reflect a possible new launch attempt on Friday. The maiden launch of the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket was scrubbed Wednesday at 4:48 PM Eastern time. The abort was caused by the pre-mature separation of a second stage umbilical line. Orbital has confirmed that the earliest likely opportunity will be on Friday, […]
There are any number of interesting stories surrounding today’s scheduled launch of Orbital Science Corporation’s Antares rocket, not the least of which is the opportunity for a bit of redemption for Orbital Sciences, for first stage manufacturer Yuzhmash of the Ukraine, and perhaps most of all, the pair of Soviet built NK-33 main engines, now updated and rebranded as the Aerojet […]
One of the more innovative smaller efforts underway at NASA is the Flight Opportunities Programs, which offers researchers access to the suborbital and high altitude environment on a variety of platforms. The range of the experiment portfolio is impressive, and it has already hosted a number of experiments which could be important stepping stones on the path to permanent and expanding presence in space. For instance, much […]
If two recent stories are any indication, the ongoing budget battle between supporters of NASA’s heavy lift Space Launch System and the Commercial Crew program is about to enter a new and very unproductive phase. In an interview in the Huntsville Times, Alabama representative Robert Aderholt said in referring to a proposed $110 million decrease in the budget for SLS/Orion in NASA’s FY […]
A Russian Proton Booster, operating for International Launch Services out of Reston, Va. is set for the launch of the Anik G1 Canadian Comsat today at 2:36 PM EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch will be the second of 2013 for Proton, which is attempting to shake off a recent history of three failures […]
It is a very rare occasion to see the first flight of a new launch vehicle, but if all goes well Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares Launch Vehicle will blast off from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility at 5:00 PM (Eastern) on Wednesday, April 17th. The launch window extends to 8:00 PM each day through the […]
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