SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying a Dragon spacecraft, successfully launched

The SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying a Dragon spacecraft loaded with scientific equipment and cargo launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Sept. 21, 2014.

Image Credit: NASA /Frankie Martin

An eruption of fire and smoke sent a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft skyward laden with 5,000 pounds of scientific equipment and supplies destined for use by the crew of the International Space Station.

"This launch kicks off a very busy time for the space station," said NASA's Sam Scimemi, director of the International Space Station, noting upcoming launches of a Soyuz carrying the next crew of the station and launches of cargo spacecraft within a month.

Lifting off at 1:52:03 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 21, from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon etched a yellow and white arc across the sky as it flew on a path roughly paralleling the East Coast of America.

The nine Merlin 1D engines of the first stage shut down as planned about 2 minutes and 41 seconds into flight and the single Merlin engine of the second stage ignited to carry the Dragon the rest of the way into orbit.

Cheers greeted the video from Dragon as the second stage pushed itself away from the orbit-bound spacecraft and a pair of solar array "wings" unfolded to recharge the Dragon's batteries.

"There's nothing like a good launch, it's just fantastic," said Hans Koenigsman, vice president of Mission Assurance for SpaceX. "From what I can tell, everything went perfectly."

Following the launch, the spacecraft starts a two-day chase to catch up with the space station. It is scheduled to complete this pursuit by Tuesday morning.

Once the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft reaches the ISS, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman will reach out with CanadArm-2, the station's robot arm, and maneuver the capsule to latch onto a port of the station.

The station crew later will unload the equipment and supplies inside the Dragon, including a glovebox-sized habitat holding 20 mice that will be used for microgravity research into bone density.

BRITE-Constellation: Two low-cost Canadian nanosatellites launched

Nanosatellites will form a unique "constellation" aimed at understanding the ecology of the Universe. 

Together, the satellites are known as the BRITE-Constellation, standing for BRIght Target Explorer.

Credit: UTIAS - Space Flight Laboratory.

Two nanosatellites were launched from Yasny, Russia, at 15:11:11 Eastern Daylight Time today by Anthony Moffat, of the University of Montreal and the Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec (CRAQ), and UTIAS, the Canadian research and technology team he leads.

Costing a fraction of conventional space telescopes and similar in size and weight to a car battery, the satellites are two of six that will work together to shed light on the structures and life stories of some of the brightest stars in the sky, uncovering unique clues as to the origins of our own Sun and Earth.

Together, the satellites are known as the BRITE-Constellation, standing for BRIght Target Explorer.

"BRITE-Constellation will monitor for long stretches of time the brightness and colour variations of most of the brightest stars visible to the eye in the night sky. These stars include some of the most massive and luminous stars in the Galaxy, many of which are precursors to supernova explosions."

"This project will contribute to unprecedented advances in our understanding of such stars and the life cycles of the current and future generations of stars," said Professor Moffat, who is the scientific mission lead for the Canadian contribution to BRITE and current chair of the international executive science team.

Luminous stars dominate the ecology of the Universe. "During their relatively brief lives, massive luminous stars gradually eject enriched gas into the interstellar medium, adding heavy elements critical to the formation of future stars, terrestrial planets and organics."

"In their spectacular deaths as supernova explosions, massive stars violently inject even more crucial ingredients into the mix."

"The first generation of massive stars in the history of the Universe may have laid the imprint for all future stellar history," Moffat explained.

"Yet, massive stars, rapidly spinning and with radiation fields whose pressure resists gravity itself - are arguably the least understood, despite being the brightest members of the familiar constellations of the night sky."

Other less-massive stars, including stars similar to our own Sun, also contribute to the ecology of the Universe, but only at the end of their lives, when they brighten by factors of a thousand and shed off their tenuous outer layers.

Nanosatellites will form a unique "constellation" aimed at understanding the ecology of the Universe. 

Together, the satellites are known as the BRITE-Constellation, standing for BRIght Target Explorer. 

Credit: UTIAS - Space Flight Laboratory

BRITE-Constellation is in fact a multinational effort that relies on pioneering Canadian space technology and a partnership with Austrian and Polish space researchers – the three countries act as equal partners.

Canada's participation was made possible thanks to an investment of $4.07 million by the Canadian Space Agency.

The two new Canadian satellites are joining two Austrian satellites and a Polish satellite already in orbit; the final Polish satellite will be launched in August.

All six satellites were designed by the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies - Space Flight Laboratory, who also built the Canadian pair.

The satellites are were in fact named "BRITE Toronto" and "BRITE Montreal" after the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal, who play a major role in the mission.

"BRITE-Constellation will exploit and enhance recent Canadian advances in precise attitude control that have opened up for space science the domain of very low cost, miniature spacecraft, allowing a scientific return that otherwise would have had price tags 10 to 100 times higher," Moffat said.

"This will actually be the first network of satellites devoted to a fundamental problem in astrophysics."

The nanosatellites will be able to explore a wide range of astrophysical questions. "The constellation could detect exoplanetary transits around other stars, putting our own planetary system in context, or the pulsations of red giants, which will enable us to test and refine our models regarding the eventual fate of our Sun," Moffatt explained.

JAXA Epsilon Launch: New generation of Japan Rocket launched

Japan's new Epsilon rocket launches on its debut mission from Uchinoura Space Center on Sept. 14, 2013 carrying the SPRINT-A (Hisaki) space telescope, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) satellite designed to study the planets of the solar system from Earth orbit. 

Credit: JAXA

Japan space agency JAXA, has launched the first in a new generation of space rockets, hoping the design will make missions more affordable.

The Epsilon rocket is about half the size of Japan's previous generation of space vehicles, and uses artificial intelligence to perform safety checks.

Japan's space agency Jaxa says the Epsilon cost $37m (£23m) to develop, half the cost of its predecessor.


Epsilon launched from south-western Japan in the early afternoon.

Crowds of Japanese gathered to watch the launch, which was also broadcast on the internet.

It was carrying  SPRINT-A (Hisaki) space telescope, being billed by Jaxa as the world's first space telescope that will remotely observe planets including Venus, Mars and Jupiter from its Earth orbit.

Jaxa said the rocket successfully released the Sprint-A telescope as scheduled, about 1,000km (620 miles) above the Earth's surface.

Epsilon's predecessor, the M-5, was retired in 2006 because of spiralling costs.

Jaxa said the Epsilon was not only cheaper to produce, but also cheaper to launch than the M-5.

Because of its artificial intelligence, the new rocket needs only eight people at the launch site, compared with 150 people for earlier launches.

JAXA: ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X CubeSats launched into space

CAD Drawing of ArduSat. Credit: Peter Platzer / Wikipedia.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched an H-2B cargo rocket into space—a portion of which is bound for a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

After it docks, two CubeSats, ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X, held in its cargo module will be deployed into an orbit above the Earth.

The two tiny cube-shaped satellites will be pulled from the same cargo module that holds Kirobo—a talking humanoid type robot designed to study whether astronauts might benefit from an electronic companion.

The small satellites usher in a new low cost era in space technology—each will offer the possibility of non-professionals running real-time experiments aboard a real orbiting satellite.

Both of the miniature satellites are loaded with technology, including cameras, ozone and CO2 sensors, a Geiger counter and temperature gauges.

They also have an onboard computer running Arduino, an open-source platform that allows for controlling instruments aboard the craft.

Arduino was chosen because it is an already established platform used by educational institutions and hobbyists alike.

Both craft have a set list of objectives to fulfill before time runs out—both will plummet to the Earth at some point in time between three and seven months.

Once its initial objectives have been fulfilled, the satellite will be made available to other projects run by customers on the ground. $125 will get a user three days worth of satellite time while $250 will get a whole week.

Since each satellite is capable of running 16 experiments simultaneously, there will be plenty of opportunities for schools and other organizations to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

Shortly after docking with the ISS, ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X will be pulled from the cargo module by a robotic arm which will then release them into space.

The two CubeSats were partly built in Australia and were also partly funded via a Kickstarter project. The aerospace company responsible for their creation is Nanosatisfi LLC, their stated goal is to "democratise access to space."

They deployment of the two CubeSats is just the beginning they have told reporters. They hope to send up hundreds or even thousands of tiny satellites allowing almost anyone with a desire to perform experiments in space, a platform for doing so.

ROCOSMOS Soyuz: A Star is launched

Sarah Brightman once sang about losing her heart to a starship trooper. Now she’s paying more than £30million to become one herself – or at least as near as it’s possible for an earthly tourist to get.

The former wife of composer Andrew Lloyd Weber has confirmed she will be travelling to the International Space Station with the Russian Space Agency, ROSCOSMOS.

Reports in the US said she had ‘bumped’ an astronaut off the next flight after outbidding Nasa to secure her seat as the next space tourist.

The 52-year-old singer refused to say how much she paid for her place aboard the Soyuz spacecraft, but said she was getting sponsorship.

A US TV station said she had paid $51million (around £31.8million) – the highest sum ever offered for a ticket.

Miss Brightman will begin training for the mission in 2014 after a 12-month world tour and will lift off later that year for two weeks orbiting Earth.

 She said: ‘I am more excited about this than I have been about anything I have done. ‘Most of my life I have felt an incredible desire to take the journey to space that I have now begun. This is beyond my wildest dreams.'

She has already undergone physical and psychological tests in Moscow to prove she is fit enough for the challenge. ‘I was prodded and poked and a lot of blood was taken,’ she said.

Successful Russian Soyuz Launch: Six Communication Satellites in Payload

After suffering a setback when a rocket crashed early last week, Russia recovered with the successful launching of a Soyuz rocket with six communications satellites into orbit on Wednesday.

The Soyuz 2 rocket launched six satellites for Louisiana-based communications provider Globalstar at 12:09 p.m. EST (1709 GMT) from the snow-covered central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the same site used by another Soyuz 2 booster that earlier met with disaster when it crashed in Siberia, destroying a Russian military communications satellite.

Wednesday's launch used a Soyuz 2-1a version of Russia's usually dependable Soyuz workhorse rocket. The booster design uses an older third stage rocket engine than the one used in the Soyuz 2-1b booster that crashed on Dec. 23.

ussia's ITAR-Tass news service reported that the country's space agency, Roscosmos, is investigating the recent rocket failure and is expected to present an initial report to the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin soon.

Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovin said earlier that an engine failure was the most likely cause of the Dec. 23 rocket crash, though more investigation was needed to be sure.

The Soyuz 2 rocket launch, which was overseen by the European launch provider Arianespace via its Russian affiliate Starsem, carried six second-generation Globalstar satellites, each weighing 1,543 pounds (700 kilograms), into an initial 572-mile (920-km) orbit.

The mission is the third in a series of Globalstar satellite launches, with twelve satellites launched on two earlier missions. Another six satellites will be launched for Globalstar in 2012, Arianespace officials said.

NASA Mars Science Lab and Curiosity Rover Launches

The Atlantic Ocean provides a backdrop as the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket clears the tower at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Sealed inside the rocket's protective payload fairing is NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft, beginning a 9-month interplanetary cruise to Mars.

Liftoff was at 10:02 a.m. EST Nov. 26. MSL's components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source.

Image Credit: NASA/Darrell L. McCall

COMPASS GPS: China successfully launched its fifth orbiter

The fifth orbiter into space, as part of its satellite navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system, is launched on the Long March 3I carrier rocket at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on August 1, 2010. (Xinhua/Du Cai)

China successfully launched its fifth orbiter into space at 5:30 a.m. Sunday, as a part of its indigenous satellite navigation and positioning network.

The satellite was launched from the Long March 3I carrier rocket.

It is the 126th flight for the country's Long March series of rockets.

The satellite will join another four satellites in orbit to form a network that will eventually consist of 35 satellites.

The system, code named "COMPASS", is a crucial part of the country's space infrastructure for providing navigation and positioning services in transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire monitoring, disaster forecast, telecommunications and public security among others.

China started building its own satellite navigation system to end its dependence upon the U.S. GPS system in 2000, when it sent two orbiters as a double-satellite experimental positioning system.

The system is designed to provide navigation, time and short message services in the Asia and Pacific region before 2012 and will be capable of providing global navigation services by 2020.

NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory Launched

Solar Dynamics Observatory Launched

The Solar Dynamics Observatory and its Atlas V rocket rolled out to the launch pad at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Weather for launch day stands at 40 percent "go" at liftoff time due to wind, cloud thickness and a slight chance of showers. The temperature at launch time is expected to be a chilly 51 degrees.

Live coverage of the launch will begin at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday on NASA TV and NASA's Launch Blog.

SDO's unprecedented mission will study the sun and its dynamic behavior. Onboard telescopes will scrutinize sunspots and solar flares using more pixels and colors than any other observatory in the history of solar physics. And SDO will reveal the sun's hidden secrets in a prodigious rush of pictures.

SBIRS GEO-1 to be launched by Atlas V vehicle

The first SBIRS GEO spacecraft is planned for delivery to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late 2010 where it will then undergo final processing and preparation for launch aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle.

The joint U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin-led team announced that it has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous (GEO-1) satellite, one of the most significant program milestones that validates spacecraft performance in a simulated space environment.

The U.S. Air Force's SBIRS program is designed to provide early warning of missile launches, and simultaneously provide important capabilities to other missions, including missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness.

Conducted inside Lockheed Martin's Dual Entry Large Thermal Altitude (DELTA) chamber, the test verified spacecraft functionality and performance in a vacuum environment where the satellite was thoroughly tested at the extreme hot and cold temperatures it will experience in space.

Thermal vacuum testing represents the last of several critical environmental test phases that validate the overall satellite design, quality of workmanship and survivability during space vehicle launching and on-orbit operations.

"Successful completion of environmental testing gives us high confidence in the capabilities of this technically complex satellite and represents the culmination of years of hard work by a government/industry team dedicated to achieving mission success on this vitally important program," said Col Roger Teague, the U.S. Air Force's SBIRS Wing Commander.

"We are on track with our remaining work ahead and look forward to the delivery of this first-of-its-kind satellite, which will provide substantially improved surveillance capabilities for the warfighter."

With the completion of spacecraft environmental testing, Lockheed Martin will now perform final factory work on the satellite and execute a series of integrated spacecraft and system tests to ensure the vehicle is ready for flight.

The first SBIRS GEO spacecraft is planned for delivery to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late 2010 where it will then undergo final processing and preparation for launch aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle.

"The team performed a thorough and disciplined test and we fully expect this cutting-edge spacecraft will meet or exceed our customer's expectations," said Jeff Smith, Lockheed Martin's SBIRS Vice President. "Our team is now focused on successfully executing the final integration and test activities to verify system integrity in preparation for delivery next year."

Mariner 10

Mariner 10

On Nov. 3, 1973, the Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 spacecraft, also known as Mariner 10, was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first spacecraft designed to use gravity assist. Three months after launch it flew by Venus, changed speed and trajectory, then crossed Mercury's orbit in March 1974.

This photo identifies the spacecraft's science instruments, which were used to study the atmospheric, surface and physical characteristics of Venus and Mercury. This was the sixth in the series of Mariner spacecraft that explored the inner planets beginning in 1962.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL