Forgive me for the title – I needed something that wasn’t the same “Tiangong-1 Will Crash Into Earth” article title that every other place covering this seems to be using. The statement is true, though. For whatever reason, contact and control of Tiangong-1 was lost in early 2016, and over the past year and a …
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Category:Science
It’s Been A Very Busy Month For Space Related Subjects – An Update
I feel like this month has been far more active on the Space subject than previous months for me – that is, on the end of launches and active flights. I’m actually overdue on mentioning a few other launches since they all occurred around the same time as the launches that I have covered – …
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NROL-52 Successfully Launches On A United Launch Alliance Atlas V Booster
On October 15th, 2017 a United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 40 carrying a “Satellite Data System” communications satellite into orbit for the United States Department of Defense. This launch was interesting in that it was originally planned earlier in the month, but was repeatedly delayed …
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20 Years Ago, The Launch Of Cassini
On October 15th, 1997, a Titan IV/B lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft into space for its eventual amazing mission to study the planet Saturn. This was one of the first launches of the Titan IV/B and the first flight of that particular Titan variation …
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Progress MS-07 Launches Towards The International Space Station
A few days after a rather unique pad abort, the Progress MS-07 supply craft successfully launched today for it’s rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. As mentioned, the vehicle was delayed in launching following the abort the other day. Incidentally, that launch was timed for a very fast (read, about 3 hours) rendezvous …
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Progress MS-07 Launch Scrubbed Seconds Before Liftoff
In an event that sounds more interesting than it actually is to see, the Progress MS-07 launch planned for today was scrubbed due to the failure of an umbilical system on the launch pad to retract, and allow the launch sequence to begin. Since the launch sequence is mostly automated, with this umbilical not disengaging, …
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Echostar 105 / SES-11
A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster successfully launched from Launch Complex 39A yesterday (October 11th) carrying the Echostar 105 / SES-11 satellite. This is an interesting “Dual Mission” type of satellite, carrying two independent communications relay systems dedicated to two separate tasks which both cover the same general range over the Earth. This launch was delayed …
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches A New Set of Iridium NEXT Satellites
Early this morning a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying 10 new satellites for the Iridium NEXT communications network. They were released about an hour after launch once they were in their proper positions to function in the “constellation” of satellites that will make up the Iridium NEXT …
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The Importance Of Sputnik
Earlier today I wrote my article on the 60th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1. I wasn’t quite happy with how it turned out, and thought more about it – what I really wanted to say with it. That’s when I realized it wasn’t the fact that it launched that I wanted to convey, …
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60 Years Ago, The World Entered The Space Age – Sputnik 1
60 years ago today, on October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the worlds first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, using a slightly converted intercontinental Ballistic Missile. This action shocked the United States – an enemy nation, the “backwards and primitive” Soviet Union, they had launched something into orbit before us? This, of course, couldn’t stand. …
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We Have Burnout – Hostility In The Space And Rocketry Online Community
Cutting straight to the point, I’m somewhat burnt out right now – namely, with regards to SpaceX, space subjects in general, and a few other things. Reading comment after comment on the SpaceX front has certainly been a chore, having to see them mentioned in every single space related subject ever is itself quite annoying, …
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Re: The Downsizing Of The SpaceX “BFR”
While I plan on eventually addressing the entiretiy of the points made by Elon Musk at the International Astronautical Congress this past Friday, I did want to, at current, focus on one thing that has really gotten under my skin; the fact that SpaceX has, as I’ve heard others say, down-scaled and in some ways …
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Intelsat 37e And BSAT-4a Are Successfully Launched On An Ariane-5 Booster
Nearly a month after a launch abort on September 5th (caused by an electrical failure in a Solid Rocket Booster, which was discovered following main engine ignition) an Ariane-5 rocket carrying 2 American communication satellites lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana yesterday. Ariane-5 is the European Space Agencies heavy booster of choice, and although it …
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A Proton-M Booster Successfully Launches AsiaSat-9
In the Early Morning Hours of September 29th Kazakhstan time, a Proton-M booster lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying the AsiaSat-9 communications satellite, providing improvements to communications capabilities over East-Asia and the Pacific. Proton is an interesting booster – It’s a 3 or 4 stage brute of a rocket originally designed at its core as …
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Can SpaceX Actually Accomplish It’s Incredible Goals?
Something that I don’t think has actually come up in my commentary on SpaceX and its fan base is the question of capability. With all the criticisms I (naturally) have for the far off, science-fiction sounding goals of the company, you have to wonder: Do I actually think SpaceX can do all the things they …
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