AmericaSpace

‘With Flying Colours’: The Revival of Skylab

Ben Evans — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:32 +0000

With a cry of “We can fix anything,” the first crew heads toward Skylab on 25 May 1973. Since the launch pad was originally configured for the enormous Saturn V rocket, the smaller Saturn IB required a “pedestal” to raise its stages to the appropriate level for umbilicals and other utilities. Photo Credit: NASA

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Video Feature: Launch of GPS IIF4

Jason Rhian — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:00:27 +0000

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Video courtesy of AmericaSpace

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — There could not have been clearer skies on May 15, 2013, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch of an Atlas V 401 rocket with its GPS IIF-4 payload took place right on [...]

Reaction Wheel Failure Places Kepler Mission in Jeopardy

Jason Rhian — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:31:10 +0000

Image Credit: NASA/JPL

NASA announced May 15 that a second reaction wheel on the Kepler spacecraft has failed. This is forcing officials at the space agency to reconsider what mission that space-based telescope is now capable of conducting. Kepler went into safe mode Tuesday. When controllers went about recovering Kepler, they discovered that one [...]

Chris Hadfield Brings David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ to the ISS

Paul Scott Anderson — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:43:39 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video courtesy of NASA / CSA

In what is being called the first music video recorded in space, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield posted his own version of David Bowie’s classic hit “Space Oddity“ (1969) on YouTube last Sunday. It was his last day as commander on the International Space Station, and [...]

‘The Right Guy’: A Restoration of Faith (Part 2)

Ben Evans — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:31 +0000

Atop a converted Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile, America launches its fourth man into orbit on 15 May 1963. Gordon Cooper’s 34-hour, 22-orbit voyage aboard Faith 7 would be NASA’s most challenging space mission to date. Photo Credit: NASA

Early on 14 May 1963, a hotshot pilot lay on his back in a tiny capsule, [...]

Atlas V Boosts GPS IIF-4 Satellite Into Orbit

Ben Evans — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:29:31 +0000

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 401 lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., carrying the Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-4 satellite. Photo Credit: John Studwell / AmericaSpace

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — United Launch Alliance (ULA) has successfully launched its Atlas V rocket on an ambitious mission to insert the [...]

‘How About Now?’ The Faith in Gordon Cooper (Part 1)

Ben Evans — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:00:13 +0000

Fifty years ago, on 15 May 1963, America launched astronaut Gordon Cooper on its longest manned space mission to date. In doing so, NASA began to take strides toward meeting President John Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. The humiliation of Yuri Gagarin’s orbital flight had been [...]

Boeing to Build 4 More Intelsat Epic 702MP Satellites

News Release — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:00:52 +0000

Image Credit: Boeing

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 9, 2013 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] will build four more 702MP satellites for Intelsat S.A., furthering its role as the initial manufacturer of Intelsat’s new high-performance satellite fleet, Intelsat EpicNG. The 702MPs will deliver reliable, affordable, and high-capacity data transmission that Intelsat customers can tailor to their needs.

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Expedition 35 Ends After Five Dramatic Months in Orbit

Ben Evans — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:02:51 +0000

Carrying Canada’s first ISS Commander, Chris Hadfield, together with Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Soyuz TMA-07M descends toward a touchdown in central Kazakhstan after 146 days in orbit. Photo Credit: NASA

Expedition 35 crewmen Chris Hadfield of Canada, Roman Romanenko of Russia, and NASA’s Tom Marshburn landed safely Monday, [...]

Space Coast Braces for Two Launches in One Week

Jason Rhian — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:59:36 +0000

Photo Credit: Alan Walters / awaltersphoto.com

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — Florida’s Space Coast is poised to host near back-to-back launches in the coming days. Two different launch vehicles are slated to roar off of the launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. United Launch Alliance (ULA) is planning to launch an Atlas [...]

Launch Viewing Guide: ULA Atlas V Rocket With GPS IIF-4 Satellite Set for Wednesday Evening

Jason Rhian — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:56 +0000

Photo Credit: John Studwell / AmericaSpace

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing to launch an Atlas V 401 rocket with the Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) in Florida. Launch is currently set to take place May 15 at [...]

Atlas V Stands Ready to Launch GPS IIF-4 Satellite

Ben Evans — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:18 +0000

Wednesday’s launch of GPS IIF-4 will follow hard on the heels of the successful Atlas V 401 flight of SBIRS GEO-2 in March. Photo Credit: Julian Leek / Blue Sawtooth Studio

United Launch Alliance’s venerable Atlas V booster is set to roar aloft on 15 May on a mission to place the Global Positioning [...]

Aerojet Delivers Final Orion EFT-1 Crew Module Reaction Control System Pod Assembly

News Release — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:03:44 +0000

Image Credit: NASA

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 8, 2013 — Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced today that the final Crew Module Reaction Control System (CM RCS) pod assembly for NASA’s Orion spacecraft’s Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) has arrived at the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

Aerojet’s CM [...]

The Shuttle Landing Experience: The Shuttle is Gone, But the Dream Lives On!

Jason Rhian — Sun, 12 May 2013 13:00:08 +0000

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Video courtesy of AmericaSpace with NASA elements

TITUSVILLE, Fla — During the space shuttle era, one of the most iconic moments of any of the missions was the orbiter’s rapid drop to the hard Earth below to the Shuttle Landing Facility, or [...]

Buzz Aldrin’s Mission to Mars: A Review

Space Safety Magazine — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:53:54 +0000

Buzz Aldrin has released a book about the topic of a manned mission to Mars. Photo Credit: Julian Leek / Blue Sawtooth Studio

On May 7, veteran astronaut and space advocate Buzz Aldrin releases his new book, Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration. Co-written with respected space journalist Leonard David, the book [...]