SpaceModo

Virgin Galactic Unveils SS2

Paul — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:50:45 +0000

Virgin Galactic has unveiled “SpaceShipTwo” or SS2, as well as a new mothership for the fledgling spaceliner company. Unfortunately the unveiling consisted of displaying a model, artist renderings, and design specifications, rather than any actual space hardware. We think this is mainly a marketing move — Virgin Galactic wants to show that they are making progress and is trying to keep up interest in their product.

The company has a good chance of actually providing sub-orbital flights to space tourists. SpaceShip One demonstrated the viability of the technology by winning the $10 million Ansari X Prize, and Richard Branson is providing the large amount of financial backing required to get the company airborne. Branson declared somewhat oddly that “2008 really will be the year of the spaceship”. Didn’t the Space Shuttle, Apollo, Soyuz, etc. count as “spaceships”? But in any case, we hope Virgin Galactic succeeds in its quest to launch the first (ahem) spaceship soon.

Israel Launches Satellite On Indian Rocket

Paul — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:09:50 +0000

Last week, Israel put a new spy satellite into space to monitor Iran’s nuclear and military activities. The TECSAR satellite was launched abort an Indian rocket. This was India’s second commercial mission on behalf of another country, as India tries to ramp up its commercial space program.

So what’s the satellite capable of? Well, obviously that’s a secret since it is spy satellite, but it’s said to be quite advanced, and capable of “enhanced footage technology”, which may mean that it can provide imagery through many different atmospheric conditions.

Spy Satellite Will Plunge To Earth In A Few Weeks

Paul — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:07:25 +0000

A spokesman for the National Security Council has announced that a secret U.S spy satellite is in a decaying orbit and will likely re-enter Earth’s atmosphere within the next several weeks. This might be the satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in December 2006. It was an experimental imagery satellite that failed or was disabled in some way. Soon after it reached orbit, communication was lost.

This particular satellite might still contain most of the hydrazine fuel that it carries for maneuvers in space. If this is not burned off during re-entry, it could pose a threat to whoever is beneath it as it crashes down. But Spacemodo thinks that is unlikely. In any case, it’s interesting to hear about the final fate of this secret space gadget.

BepiColombo To Study Mercury In Detail

Paul — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:10:47 +0000

The European Space Agency has started development of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The mission will combine two space probes, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) from Europe, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) from Japan. The intent is to provide the best understanding of Mercury to date, including a complete map of Mercury at different wavelengths. The missing is scheduled to launch August 2013.

MESSENGER Sends Back Mercury Photo

Paul — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 04:11:03 +0000

In its first swing past Mercury, the MESSENGER space probe returned this picture of the planet nearest the Sun. This is the first time this hemisphere of Mercury has been photographed.

Yes, Atlantis Will Fly February 7

Paul — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:06:10 +0000

It’s official — NASA has scheduled the ultimate space gadget to launch on February 7. STS-122 will be an 11 day mission that will bring the Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.

GLAST In Final Round Of Testing

Paul — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:37:59 +0000

GLAST is the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope. The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington will be doing its final round of testing (the third of three tests). GLAST will be used to study gamma-ray bursts.

MESSENGER Will Fly Past Mercury On Monday

Paul — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:09:14 +0000

The MESSENGER space probe, launched by NASA in August 2004, will perform the first of three flybys of the planet Mercury on Monday. This will give us the first good look at Mercury in more than 30 years. Read More …

Will Atlantis Launch On February 7th?

Paul — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:04:40 +0000

NASA is deciding whether they will be able to meet a Feb. 7 launch date for the shuttle Atlantis. Engineers will first need to replace an electrical connector for the shuttle’s external fuel tank.