My Space Blog

Yesterday evening, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport at Kourou, in French Guiana, on its mission to place two multi-role telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbits. Two auxiliary payloads were also launched during this mission.Lift-off of flight V187 took place at 23:09 CET/Paris on 12 February (22:09 UTC/GMT; 19:09 UTC-3/Kourou). The satellites were accurately injected into the correct orbits about 30 minutes later.

Read More…

WALLOPS ISLAND — Infrastructure improvements are underway at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in preparation for Orbital Sciences Corp.’s planned demonstration flight in late 2010 of a new rocket system designed to supply cargo to the International Space Station.

“We’re beginning the process of developing the infrastructure at the launch site,” Orbital Sciences Vice President of Public Relations Barron Beneski said Tuesday. Beneski said the project is still in its early stages, but with a launch set for late 2010, it is anticipated all improvements should be in place by early fall that year.

Read More…

For the first time Iran has managed to launch an indigenous satellite (Omid) with an indigenous carrier rocket (Safir 2) on its own soil.

The Omid satellite is supposed to be a mere communication satellite with a weight of 27kg.

The launching vehicle Safir 2 uses the military Shahab 3 missile (North Korean Nodong) as first stage, the second stage is propelled by two smaller, gimballed engines, probably derived from the SA-2’s motor.

Even if the satellite is small and non-military this launch is a major technological achievement for Iran. Not even North Korea has managed to launch its own satellite so far.

After three years of delays, United Launch Alliance have launched the third Delta IV Heavy, carrying the classified NRO L-26 satellite for the US National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket finally launched liftoff from Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at 02:47 GMT (21:47 local time), following the resolution of a number of technical issues throughout the window.