Following a marathon day of debates and the extended wait for a recorded vote, the Senate Bill (S. 3729) has been passed by lawmakers by a ratio of 3 to 1. Modifying the heavily criticised path laid out by President Obama, Congress passed the bill which will allow for the ultimate transition towards commercial access [...]
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NASA’s immediate future appears to be gaining some degree of clarity, at least as far as the House of Representatives and Senate are concerned. With the release of a compromise NASA Authorization bill for FY 2011 that aims to mend the differences between the original House and Senate versions of the Authorization Act, the United [...]
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Following the arrival of the last External Tank (ET-122) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) now heads into an uncertain future. Hundreds of Lockheed Martin workers now face imminent layoffs, as the facility winds down operations, with the hope of new life being breathed into the facility firmly focused on [...]
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An Orbital Minotaur IV has made its first orbital launch during the early hours of Sunday morning, carrying the first Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite for the US Air Force and Missile Defense Agency. The launch - from Vandenberg Air Force Base – was on schedule, at the start of a 14 minute window, whiched opened [...]
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Discovery is behaving well during the early part of what is her final pad flow, with only one issue reported as the stack continues Launch Pad Validation tasks (S0009). Away from Pad 39A, managers are beginning their departmental Flight Readiness Review (FRR) meetings, leading up to the key Agency FRR – which is likely to [...]
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Marking the end of Expedition 24, cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson successfully undocked their Soyuz TMA-18 at the second attempt, before landing at 5:23am GMT. The scheduled undocking was delayed 24 hours, following a problem related to the latch and hooks between the Soyuz and the MRM-2 (Mini Research Module-2) module.
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NASA and Lockheed Martin managers at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) have spoken pride in the manufacturing, assembly, and repair work on External Tank 122 (ET-122), which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina five years ago. On Monday morning, the tank was rolled from Building 420 to the Pegasus barge that will carry it to Kennedy [...]
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China has carried out the ninth orbital launch of the year, by launching their Long March 2D carrying the Weixing-11 remote sensing satellite. The launch took place at 02:42UTC on Wednesday, lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Meanwhile, China has spoken about its near-term space flight goals.
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The United Launch Alliance (ULA) have launched an Atlas V with the classified NROL-41 payload for the United States National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket, flown in the 501 configuration, launched from Space Launch Complex 3E at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Launch was delayed due to a range violation, prior to lifting off [...]
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In what is highly likely to be her final rollout, Discovery – as the STS-133 stack – departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) Monday evening (7:23pm local time), before making good time for an arrival at Pad 39A, just after 1:15am. Meanwhile, the final External Tank (ET-122) – sporting its numerous repair patches – [...]
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With the fate of the Constellation Program at this juncture of time all but a certainty, Program officials are, nonetheless, pressing ahead with testing of the Orion crew capsule design. Specifically, current testing on Orion’s design is geared toward EVA egress/ingress procedures and mechanics for the four person capsule that was supposed to serve as [...]
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Discovery is not one to go quietly into the night, as engineers work through the second large issue to be suffered during the veteran orbiter’s final visit to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Damage to a T-0 umbilical bolt is close to being resolved, thanks to the skills of her engineering teams, which will allow [...]
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NASA managers are continuing to work the alignment process between the STS-335 LON (Launch On Need) rescue role of Atlantis – in support of STS-134 – and the yet-to-be-funded STS-135 mission. The process – which ranges from requirements on the International Space Station (ISS), to the External Tanks – allows for a smooth transition to [...]
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Following an engineering solution to the left External Tank separation bolt nut and nut retaining fixture issue, Discovery is moving at a pace through her Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) milestones. The stack is currently being put through its Shuttle Interface Test (S0008), ahead of next week’s rollout to Pad 39A.
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Endeavour is deep into her processing flow for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), as engineers worked through a few hiccups with her AMS payload. Managers continue to work on the STS-134 mission baseline, which may include a fourth EVA. ET-122 is also now assigned to STS-134 in processing charts – pending [...]
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A Russian Soyuz-U launch vehicle launched the M-07M/39P Progress resupply ship into orbit on Friday morning, enroute to what was an issue-free Sunday docking with the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile, an investigation overview into aborted docking of the M-06M/38P Progress has been reviewed by NASA managers.
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The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 18 (H-IIA F18) has launched with the First Quasi-Zenith Satellite “MICHIBIKI” – meaning “guiding” or “showing the way.”- from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) on Saturday. Launch occurred at 11:17 GMT.
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Discovery suffered a setback during mating operations between the orbiter and her External Tank (ET-137) on Friday, when an internal nut – prepositioned inside the aft compartment of the orbiter – became loose and moved out of position, negating the possibility of installing a flight structural bolt. Engineers successfully accessed the area to conduct a [...]
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Following a one day delay – due to a burst water main at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) – Discovery has made her way over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), riding on top of the Orbiter Transporter System (OTS). Rollover began on time at 6:55am Eastern, departing her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-3) for the [...]
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Discovery’s rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) has been rescheduled to 6:30am Eastern on Thursday, after a water main broke at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) – shutting down the center to all non-essential personnel and effectively giving a large section of the workforce the day off for health and safety reasons.
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