Did you leave a hole in the water?
No!
Leave the market and someone will fill the void.
Quit flying the Shuttle and watch what takes its place.
Don't want to put humans on the Moon.
Stand by and see who does.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.russiatoday.com/
Europeans hope to buy Soyuz spacecraft
August, 2009, 03:00
The European Space Agency seeks to buy a Russian Soyuz rocket as European astronauts make their way into orbit. Europe has asked Russia to increase the number of spacecrafts they produce from four to five per year.
The Europeans hope to buy their own vehicle, perhaps with the Canadians who are also considering participating in the deal.
The prospects of the possible agreement were discussed at the International Aviation and Space Salon, MAKS 2009 last week.
With the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle program in sight, Russian craft might soon be the only way of getting to the International Space Station.
The station is likely to gain one extra ‘room’ as Europe plans to begin sending its astronauts to space from 2013 and onwards.
------------------------------
and back in March 29, 2008. - LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.esa.int/esaMI/ATV/
Jules Verne demonstrates key capabilities
29 March 2008
Jules Verne ATV today demonstrated its ability to navigate safely from a point 39 km behind the ISS to a stand-off point just 3.5 km away using relative GPS navigation. The vessel then executed an Escape manoeuvre commanded from the ATV Control Centre in which the craft flew off to a safe distance.
“All systems were completely nominal, which is very satisfying for this first day of really testing the rendezvous capability of the spacecraft,” said John Ellwood, ESA ATV Project Manager.
Today’s demonstration also confirmed Jules Verne is able to establish a continuous two-way data link with the ISS. Using the high-rate S-band communication link, which was switched on at a distance of 40 km from the ISS, Jules Verne for the first time conducted relative GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) measurements with the Station. Relative GPS is a navigation technique executed by computers between the ATV's GPS receiver and the ISS GPS receiver that enables ATV to navigate relative to the Station with very high accuracy.
snip
------------------------------
UP, up, and away. Who is going to heavy lift to the ISS? - LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.aviationweek.com/
TinyURL for above - http://tinyurl.com/klq9sj
HTV On Target For Sept. 11 Launch
Sep 3, 2009
By Jefferson Morris
Japan's unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) has passed a NASA flight readiness review and is in final preparations for liftoff from Tanegashima Space Center on its first mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 11 local time.
On Aug. 30, the encapsulated vehicle was transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Tanegashima, where it is being mated to the second stage of its H-IIB rocket and having the final elements of its pressurized cargo installed.
The 10-meter long spacecraft is capable of carrying 4.5 metric tons of internal cargo and 1.5 tons of external cargo. This first flight will carry 2.5 metric tons internally - which will mostly be station logistics, with about 20 percent of the pressurized volume being occupied by research hardware.
The HTV also carries two external scientific payloads - Japan's SMILES
(Superconduting Submillimeter-Wave Limb Emission Sounder) and NASA's HREP (HICO-RAIDS Experiment Payload) experiments. SMILES will study the effects of trace gases on the Earth's ozone layer, and HREP will study the oceans and map the ionosphere and thermosphere. Both will be installed on the Japanese Kibo laboratory's exposed experiment facility on the station.
Launch of the HTV is set for 2:01 a.m. Sept. 11 Japan time, or roughly noon Central U.S. time Sept. 10. It will be the first flight for the H-IIB. The launch window will be open until Sept. 30, and will include about seven liftoff opportunities, according to NASA ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini. After that, the next opportunities for launch won't occur until early next year.
snip
------------------------------
And if SpaceX wants to deliver to the ISS, how say you? - LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.spacex.com/press.
Hawthorne, CA – September 1, 2009 – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announces delivery of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Communication Unit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in preparation for launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-129. The unit will be delivered by Atlantis to the International Space Station (ISS) and integrated in preparation for SpaceX's future flights to the orbiting laboratory.
Developed by SpaceX, in collaboration with NASA, the unit allows for communication between the ISS, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, and ground-based mission control. The system also allows the ISS crew to monitor an approaching or departing capsule. As part of NASA's COTS competition, SpaceX will conduct flights of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft, culminating in Dragon berthing with the ISS and then returning to Earth.
The unique public-private partnership created through the COTS program will allow SpaceX's Dragon to serve as a replacement for cargo transport to the ISS when the Space Shuttle retires. Upon completion of the COTS requirements, SpaceX will begin to fulfill the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, awarded by NASA in late 2008. The contract includes 12 cargo flights between 2010 and 2015 and represents a guaranteed minimum of 20,000 kg to be carried to the ISS. Dragon will deliver pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the ISS and
return pressurized cargo back to Earth.
“SpaceX is pleased to have delivered the two-way communication system to the Cape in preparation for flight to the ISS,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President, SpaceX. “The unit had to pass NASA's strict ISS safety standards and reviews, demonstrating our progress under the COTS program and laying the groundwork for future F9/Dragon flights to resupply cargo and possibly crew to the ISS when Shuttle retires.”
Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch no earlier than November 12, 2009, from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A.
For more information about the Falcon family of vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft, please visit http://www.spacex.com/.
snip
------------------------------
Well I wonder who will be going to space in the future?
- LRK -
Will there be an International Space Station or some country wanting to go their own way?
http://www.parabolicarc.com/
Aviation Week article - TinyURL http://tinyurl.com/mkeff5
China's Space Station May Be Signal To NASA
Posted by Jeffrey Manber at 3/3/2009 7:45 AM CST
Thanks for looking up with me.
Larry Kellogg
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
=============================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
=============================================
Posts
