Tim's Space Diary. Straight and to the point

24-29 July (29 July 2009)

Russia launched Progress M-67 on 24 July to the International Space Station to provide food, water, equipment and gifts to the crew, Roman Romanenko, Mike Barratt, Tim Kopra, Frank de Winne and Robert Thirsk. The fifth and last spacewalk by the Space Shuttle STS 127 Endeavour on 27 July featured Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn. The EVA lasted 7hr 12min.

Using the Japanese robot arm aboard the International Space Station three experiments were installed on a platform of the Kibo laboratory in a major milestone for the country’s space programme, after what ended as a 20 year programme.

China plans to launch its first space telescope in 2012 to observe black holes. The Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) will be placed into a 500km orbit.

India plans to launch its heaviest communications satellite in 2011-12. The 4.5 tonne satellite, equipped with 16 Ku-Ka band transponders will be launched by the GSLV Mark 3 booster from Shriharikota and stationed at 82deg. A GSAT 4 is planned for launched later this year aboard a GSLV Mark II.

The US Independent Space Panel says that the first manned  flights of the Constellation Orion spacecraft will not be made until 2017, while the Space Shuttle will retire in 2011.The first unmanned test of the Orion will be made in 2015 but there are serious doubts about the progress of the project. NASA has already space $4 billion on the Ares. There are serious suggestions that the Space Shuttle will be operational to 2014 but there are worries about safety. 

An investment fund based in Abu Dhabi has agreed to by a 32% stake in Virgin Galactic for $280 million, the companies announced Tuesday morning. In addition to the investment, Aabar Investments will also provide $100 million to develop a small satellite launcher capability, using the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft already developed as part of Virgin's suborbital space tourism system. Aabar also plans to develop unspecified "spaceport facilities" in Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates, for Virgin Galactic. The announcement came one day after WhiteKnightTwo flew cross-country from Mojave, California to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.


50 years ago
24 July 1959

A data capsule launched aboard US Air Force Thor booster was recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after launch from Cape Canaveral. The capsule’s movie camera showed the nose cone separation.

40 years ago
24 July 1959

The Apollo 11 Command Module returned to Earth, 24 miles from the recovery ship Hornet in the mid-Pacific.

A KH-4B reconnaissance spacecraft was launched from Vandenberg AFB aboard a Thorad Agena D into a 74deg inclination orbit but the forward camera did not work.

26 July

A Delta rocket was launched from Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral carrying the Intelsat 3 F-5 but a third stage failure left the satellite into an unusable orbit.

29 July

NASA released a tentative schedule of manned Apollo landing missions from 1969-1972:
Apollo 12 November 1969 Oceanus Procellarum 
Apollo 13 March 1970 Fra Mauro highlands
Apollo 14 July 1970 Crater Censorinus highlands
Apollo 15 November 1970 Littrow volcanic area
Apollo 16 April 1971 Crater Tycho      
Apollo 17 September 1971 Marius Hills volcanic domes

Apollo 18 February 1972 Schroter's Valley     
Apollo 19 July 1972 Hyginus Rille
Apollo 20 December 1972 crater Copernicus



 

22-23 July (23 July 2009)

Correction from earlier diary: Four rookie astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle STS 127 Endeavour became the joint 455th space travellers (499). The rookies are pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists, Chris Cassidy, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra. The next first time voyager(s) will be the 500th or joint 500th space travellers.

The third EVA of the STS 127 Endeavour mission at the International Space Station was curtailed 30 minutes earlier than planned after 5hrs 59 min after Chris Cassidy’s spacesuit carbon dioxide levels were raised due to a problem with its lithium hydroxide canister on 22 July. Cassidy and David Wolf removed insulation from the Japanese Kibo laboratory and prepared payloads for transfer to the lab’s Exposed Facility.

Avanti Communications’ Hylas communications satellite will be launched by an Arianespace Ariane 5 booster.

Gary Peach, a British space tracking employee working at NASA’s Canberra tracking station supporting the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 suggested that Neil Armstrong’s first words on the moon could be “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. His suggestion was passed to NASA. Peach was concerned that an American astronaut would say something banal such as “Holy chickens”. Peach never heard from NASA about his suggestion.

Turkey is to develop an Earth observation satellite system called Gokturk. The system will be managed by Thales Alenia’s Telespazio company.

40 years ago
22 July 1969

The Soviet Union launched a Voskhod booster from Plesetsk carrying Cosmos 290, a Zenit 2 reconnaissance satellite with a recoverable film capsule which was recovered after eight days in space, while at Baikonur, the Molniya 1-12 communications satellite was launched aboard a Molniya booster into a elliptical orbit.

23 July

McDonnell Douglas and North American began a Phase 2 study for a 12-man space station to be launched in the mod-1970s.

A Delta booster was launched from Vandenberg AFB, California carrying a DMSP meteorological satellite.

The Soviet Union launched a Kosmos booster from Plesetsk carrying a military target satellite. The booster failed at T+267s.
 

 

18-21 July (21 July 2009)

The first EVA of the STS 127 Endeavour mission at the International Space Station was made on 18 July, lasting 5hr 32min featuring astronauts David Wolf and Tim Kopra, who installed batteries, spare parts, external experiment platform preparing for the installation of the Japanese Kibo laboratory module which was followed on 20 July by a second EVA, by David Wolf and Tom Marshburn, on 20 July to transfer a spare Ku-band antenna, a backup coolant system pump and a robot drive motor to the station. The EVA lasted 6hr 53min and was the 127th EVA to assemble the space station, with 792 hours EVA time at the station. Three more EVAs are scheduled for the mission.

Russia launched a Kosmos 3M booster from Plesetsk on 21 July carrying a defence ministry satellite and a Sterkh Cospas Sarsat satellite.

Louis Gallois, the CEO of EADS has identified three goals for the future of European space. Europe needs Galileo. This navigation system will potentially create more than 100,000 jobs. It will open the door to a world of new possibilities and discoveries. But Europe has been slow in going for this goal. Others have shown more determination. Last year, the US decided to invest $10 billion into its third generation GPS [Global Positioning System]. Russia is completing its Glonass system and China is launching Compass. Europe has to understand that Galileo is an opportunity it can not afford to miss. But that requires accelerating the pace of implementing the project.We must ensure autonomous European access to space. A new Ariane 6 launcher is the solution. But for Ariane 6 to go into service between 2025 and 2030, Europe would have to start development on the project early next decade. The US, Russia and China have already invested heavily in launchers. To make Ariane 6 a reality, Europe needs to act quickly and determinedly. Whether Europe wants to explore Mars or the moon, we need capsules that can safely bring back probes, equipment or even astronauts from space. The Advanced Re-entry Vehicle is the next step after ATV. The key technologies are available  - we simply have to put them together. That is something we are capable of doing”.

NASA has released images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which feature clearly show the Lunar Modules of each mission sites of the successful Apollo missions except the Apollo 12 landing site. Some images show trails of footprints left by the moonwalkers. The Apollo 12 site will be photographed later in the year.

ILS International Launch Services has a won a contract to launch Telesat’s Telstar 14R aboard a Proton booster from Bainonur in 2011. The satellite will be supplied by Space Systems/Loral. Telesat’s Nimiq 5 is also scheduled for a Proton mission later in the year.

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the death of veteran journalist Walter Cronkite. "It is with great sadness that the NASA family learned of Walter Cronkite's passing. He led the transition from print and radio reporting to the juggernaut that became television journalism. His insight and integrity were unparalleled, and his compassion helped America make it through some of the most tragic and trying times of the 20th century. From the earliest days of the space program, Walter brought the excitement, the drama and the achievements of space flight directly into our homes. But it was the conquest of the moon in the late 1960s that energized Walter most about exploration. He called it the most important feat of all time and said that the success of Apollo 11 would be remembered 500 years from now as humanity's greatest achievement. It was Walter Cronkite's impassioned reporting on America's inaugural moon landing that inspired me to join in the dreams of many to travel to space and accept the risks that this exploration brings while I was a student in naval flight training. In honor of his ethical and enthusiastic coverage of our nations' space program, NASA was proud to honor Walter in 2006 with an Ambassador of Exploration Award and presented him with an Apollo lunar sample. For decades, we had the privilege of learning about our world from the original 'anchorman.' He was a true gentleman. Our thoughts and prayers are with Walter's family and his millions of friends and supporters."


50 years ago
21 July 1959
A full-scale US Air Force Atlas ICBM nose cone was recovered for the first time after a flight over the Atlantic.

40 years ago
18-21 July
British Headlines:
Apollo honours Russia’s space heroes
Soviet moon scoop today?
Britain is so green say the space men
Luna 15 goes into orbit round the moon
Moon Walk May Be Three Hours Early
Moon Men May Step Out Early
Nixon Plans to talk direct with men on the moon
Put Earth Before Mars Landing, Say Senators
Moon Men Star In Dazzling TV Show
Russian “All Clear” to Apollo
Assurance after call to Moscow
Frank (Borman) call Moscow and gets a promise to keep Luna away from the Apollo moon men
Now For A Bit Of Rock!
Apollo 11 rockets into moon orbit
Man Lands Today!
Off to Work in Water Cooled Underwear (and its British, by jove!)
Apollo 11 is in moon orbit
20 July 1969 – Today, after a million years on planet Earth, Man lands for the first time on another world. Tomorrow and Edwin Aldrin plant the American flag in the moon’s soil
Man is on the Moon
The Time: 9.18pm, July 20 AD 1969. Man On The Moon
The Eagle Has Landed
Man Lands on the moon with perfect touchdown
On the moon after perfect touchdown
Hearts Race As They Touch Down
Americans First on The Moon
Dateline: Tranquillity Base – Moon Day
“It’s good country for golf”
Moonfall – The Most Fantastic Voyage in human history
It was just like seeing arrival of Columbus
600 million see it all on TV and now the congratulations pour in
Day the heavens became part of man’s world
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
Tonight Moon Men Face New Peril








 











 

 

16-17 July (17 July 2009)

Four rookie astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle STS 127 Endeavour, which was launched on its sixth attempt from the KSC on 16 July, have become the joint 500th space travellers. The rookies are pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists, Chris Cassidy, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra. Kopra will remain on the International Space Station. The veterans are commander, Mark Polansky and mission specialists, Dave Wolf, on his fifth flight and Canadian Julie Payette. Endeavour carries the final segment of the Japanese Kibo laboratory, which will require five spacewalks during the 16-day mission. About nine pieces of debris were shed from the External Tank and inspections of the imagery was analysed and NASA says that “there is nothing that we have seen on the orbiter that causes concern”.

Space Sytems/Loral has won a contract to supply an SS/L 1300 spacecraft bus-based Telstar 14R to be located at 63degW in stationary orbit in 2001.

The following is a series of questions and answers prepared by Michael Collins, command module pilot for Apollo 11. Collins issued the following statement in lieu of media interviews:
These are questions I am most frequently asked, plus a few others I have added. For more information, please consult my book, the 40th anniversary edition of Carrying the Fire, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. All of the following sections in quotation marks are from that reference.
Q. Circling the lonely moon by yourself, the loneliest person in the universe, weren't you lonely?
A. No.
"Far from feeling lonely or abandoned, I feel very much a part of what is taking place on the lunar surface. I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have. This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two. I don't mean to deny a feeling of solitude. It is there, reinforced by the fact that radio contact with the Earth abruptly cuts off at the instant I disappear behind the moon, I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side."
Q. Did you have the best seat on Apollo 11?
A. No.
"The cancellation of 014 also freed Borman-Stafford-Collins for reassignment, and reassigned we were, but not as a unit. Tom Stafford moved up a notch and acquired his own highly experienced crew, John Young and Gene Cernan; they became McDivitt's back-up. Score one for Tom. Borman and Collins got promoted to prime crew of the third manned flight, picking up Bill Anders as our third member.
In the process, Collins also got 'promoted' from lunar module pilot to command module pilot, and lost right then and there his first chance to walk on the surface of the moon. The reason I had to move up was that Deke at that time had a firm rule that the command module pilot on all flights involving LM must have flown before in space, the idea being that he didn't want any rookie in the CM by himself. Since Bill and Anders had not flown, I was it. Slowly it sunk in. No LM for me, no EVA, no fancy flying, no need to practice in helicopters anymore."
Q. Were you happy with the seat you had?
A. Yes, absolutely. It was an honor.
Q. Has the space program helped young people become interested in careers in math and science? Don't you tell kids to opt for these choices?
A. Yes and no. We definitely have a national problem in that kids seem to be going for money rather than what they consider 'nerdy' careers. Other countries are outstripping us in the quality and quantity of math and science grads, and this can only hurt in the long run. But a liberal arts education, particularly English, is a good entry point no matter what the later specialization. I usually talk up English.
Q. Turning to your flight, what is your strongest memory of Apollo 11?
A. Looking back at Earth from a great distance.
"I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified fa?ade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied."
Small, shiny, serene, blue and white, FRAGILE.
Q. That was 40 years ago. Would it look the same today?
A. Yes, from the moon, but appearances can be deceiving. It's certainly not serene, but definitely fragile, and growing more so. When we flew to the moon, our population was 3 billion; today it has more than doubled and is headed for 8 billion, the experts say. I do not think this growth is sustainable or healthy. The loss of habitat, the trashing of oceans, the accumulation of waste products - this is no way to treat a planet.
Q. You are starting to sound a little grumpy. Are you grumpy?
A. At age 78, yes, in many ways. Some things about current society irritate me, such as the adulation of celebrities and the inflation of heroism.
Q. But aren't you both?
A. Not me. Neither.
Heroes abound, and should be revered as such, but don't count astronauts among them. We work very hard; we did our jobs to near perfection, but that was what we had hired on to do. In no way did we meet the criterion of the Congressional Medal of Honor: 'above and beyond the call of duty.'
Celebrities? What nonsense, what an empty concept for a person to be, as my friend the great historian Daniel Boorstin put it, "known for his well-known-ness." How many live-ins, how many trips to rehab, maybe--wow--you could even get arrested and then you would really be noticed. Don't get me started.
Q. So, if I wanted to sum you up, I should say "grumpy?"
A. No, no, lucky! Usually, you find yourself either too young or too old to do what you really want, but consider: Neil Armstrong was born in 1930, Buzz Aldrin 1930, and Mike Collins 1930. We came along at exactly the right time. We survived hazardous careers and we were
successful in them. But in my own case at least, it was 10 percent shrewd planning and 90 percent blind luck. Put LUCKY on my tombstone.
Q. Okay, but getting back to the space program. What's next?
A. I hope Mars. It was my favorite planet as a kid and still is. As celestial bodies go, the moon is not a particularly interesting place, but Mars is. It is the closest thing to a sister planet that we have found so far. I worry that at NASA's creeping pace, with the emphasis on returning to the moon, Mars may be receding into the distance. That's about all I have to say.
Q. I understand you have become a recluse.
A. I'm not sure that's the word. I think of the Brown Recluse, the deadliest of spiders, and I have a suntan, so perhaps. Anyway, it's true I've never enjoyed the spotlight, don't know why, maybe it ties in with the celebrity thing.
Q. So, how do you spend your time?
A. Running, biking, swimming, fishing, painting, cooking, reading, worrying about the stock market, searching for a really good bottle of cabernet under ten dollars. Moderately busy.
Q. No TV?
A. A few nature programs, and the Washington Redskins, that's about it.
Q. Do you feel you've gotten enough recognition for your accomplishments?
A. Lordy, yes, Oodles and oodles.
Q. Oodles?? But don't you have any keen insights?
A. Oh yeah, a whole bunch, but I'm saving them for the 50th.
Collins's official NASA astronaut biography is available online at: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins-m.html
Additional information about the 40th anniversary of Apollo can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/apollo40th


50 years ago
16 July 1969

A Juno 2 booster was launched from Cape Canaveral carrying an Explorer satellite but the rocket was destroyed by the range safety officer at T+5sec.

40 years ago
16-17 July 1969

Apollo 11 was launched aboard a Saturn 5 booster on 16 July from LC 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre on the first attempt to land men on the moon. The spacecraft was placed into a parking orbit and later the despatched into a trans-lunar trajectory. The mission was commanded by Neil Armstrong, with Mike Collins, the command module pilot and the lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin.


British newspaper headlines 16-17:

Apollo Set To Put Man On The Moon
All go for the three moon men today
“It is at once so inconceivable and so familiar – a journey to the Moon – the event becomes blurred in unreality”
Out of this world
“Countdown ahead of schedule for Apollo astronauts today
There is no more time. The green, twitching figures of the countdown clock run out like grains of sand. In the sky the cresent of the new Moon grows like the first chink of a slowly opening door.” Angus Macpherson, Daily Mail, Cape Kennedy, Tuesday.
“Spirit of mankind with you, says Nixon
“In Orbit. And it’s go all the way”
Apollo 11 stars with a “beautiful ride” on the way to the moon.
“the overture to a new era of civilisation”
3.32 on a summer day…and for good or evil, a new beginning”
“Beautiful” – and Apollo is well on its way
Real Cool Out There In Space
Race for the Moon
500,000,000 watch the big lift-off
“It’s Wonderful!”
The Quiet Moonmen Bang on Target
“Looking Good” for US Moon Trip
“Go, Go, Go” yells at lift-off
Russians set for first grab at moon rock




 

15 July (15 July 2009)

Four Russians and two Europeans have completed a 105 days mock mission to Mars, which began on 30 March. The Institute of Medical and Biological Problems plans another mission lasting 520 days in late 2009 or early 2010.

ILS International Launch Services has been assigned by SES to launch the Space Systems/Loral-built Ku-band QuetzSat 1 aboard a Proton booster from Baikonur in 2011 into a 77degW location in geostationary orbit, providing services to Mexico, North America and Central America.

The Orlando Sentinel reports: "Members of the presidentially appointed panel reviewing the future of America's manned-space plans have asked NASA to design a new way to send astronauts back to the moon. The request could result in NASA ditching the controversial Ares I rocket design that the agency has spent the past four years and more than $3 billion creating and defending. Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin recently wrote Augustine, the review panel's chairman, saying that the idea was feasible but that he did not support it. "The dual-Ares 5 launch does offer considerably more capability to the Moon than the baseline Ares 1/Ares 5 scheme," he wrote to Augustine in an e-mail last week that was copied to the Orlando Sentinel. "However, it also comes at much greater marginal cost, and therefore I do not, and we at NASA in general did not, recommend it for the baseline approach."

Ball Aerospace&Technologies has won a $13.4 million contract from the US Air Force to procure long-lead hardware for a second 120kg spacecraft bus for the Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV), to be launched in 2010.

Boeing has signed a multi-satellite contract with Intelsat to provide new 702B communications satellites.

United Space Alliance is declaring about 400 employees, 60% from the Houston operations.

Flight International reports that key technologies for the European Space Agency’s next generation Ariane launcher began testing in July, including the Vulcain X cryogenic engine. The new launcher will not be ready for flight until 2025 however. In the meantime, the Ariane 5 ECA, Vega and Soyuz 1b will provide launch services after maiden flights in 2010, with a potential uprated interim Ariane 6 “Mid-Life” booster with an 11,500kg capability to GEO.


40 years ago

15 July 1969

British Apollo 11 headlines

Moon men: “We has no fear”
Moon commander’s boyhood dream comes true
Taxi to the stars
Lunar Express
“Alert” plan if moon germs escape
“Fail-Safe” Plan Ready for Stray Moonbugs

 





 

14 July (14 July 2009)

"After more than a decade of construction, it is nearing completion and finally has a full crew of six astronauts. The last components should be installed by the end of next year. And then? "In the first quarter of 2016, we'll prep and de-orbit the spacecraft," says NASA's space station program manager, Michael Suffredini. That's a polite way of saying that NASA will make the space station fall back into the atmosphere, where it will turn into a fireball and then crash into the Pacific Ocean. It'll be a controlled re-entry, to ensure that it doesn't take out a major city. But it'll be destroyed as surely as a Lego palace obliterated by the sweeping arm of a suddenly bored kid." Washington Post. NASA and the Congress have lost the plot!

Northrop Grumman has been awarded the first phase of a $30 million US Air Force contract to develop the S-Band Space Fence for global space surveillance ground radar system.

The STS 127 Endeavour crew were stranded on the pad at the Kennedy Space Centre for the fifth time on Monday. The next attempt will be on Wednesday.

Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX) launched a Flacon 1 booster from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on 14 July (GMT) carrying the 400lb Malaysian RazakSAT. The maiden flight of the Falcon 9 booster is scheduled in October from Cape Canaveral.


40 years ago

14 July 1969

Apollo preview headlines from British newspapers:

Pressure for Mars flight after moon venture
It Looks Good says Apollo launch chief
Russia may try to beat US to moon soil samples
No death pill for men on the moon
Countdown clocks tick as last checks are made
Moonswoop - Daring Plan from rescue (using the Command Module)
Taking the bugs out of that big splashdown
Research Base Plan for Moon
 

11-13 July (13 July 2009)

The Space Shuttle Endeavour launch to the International Space Station was delayed for the fourth time on Sunday night due to bad weather. Another attempt will be made today.

NASA has awarded the University of Colorado a $42 million contract to provide a Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor to fly aboard a NOAA meterological satellite.

Russian Federal Space Agency head Anatoli Perminov says that six more Glonass satellites will be launched on two missions in September and December, providing a constellation of satellites. Meanwhile, Russia and China are developing a joint satellite system for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

China plans to land taikonauts on the moon in 2020


50 years ago

13 July 1959

The ONR Stratoscope 1 balloon with a camera was launched to photograph the sun from 81,250ft from St Paul, Minnisota and the largest plastic balloon to date, measuring 6 million cubic feet was launched from Fort Churchill, Canada.

40 years ago

13 July 1969

The Soviet Union attempted to beat the USA with the first return of moon soil back to Earth before Apollo 11 - also on 20 July - but Luna 15 crashed after 52 orbits, crashing the same day the Apollo 11 landed. “Russia’s robot races Moonmen”. Russian “moon scoop” bid”. “Russia’s robot races Moonmen”. Russia Puts Up Moon Robot”. “Luna 15 may watch Apollo”.

Dr Ernst Stuhlinger, a member of the USA Wernher von Braun team said that a manned flight to Mars was possible by 1986. Stuhlinger said, “if it were up to me, I’d aim for Mars instead of going to the moon”. 

British Apollo 11 preview headlines:

Flight to the Stars is Man’s real objective
Trip to the Mars Likely by 1986
Left Foot First For the Moon
Final Checks go perfectly for moon-shot
It’s Only a Beginning
What has four legs, is 23ft high and costs 17 million pounds?
“I report from Apollo 11”…Angus McPherson, The Daily Mail’s ace space correspondent
Over one million at Cape for blast off


 

10 July (10 July 2009)

Spaceflight, the magazine of the British Interplanetary Society, has listed the names of the first 16 Chinese women taikonauts. They are: He Xiao Li, Zhang Xiaojia, Zhang Xiao, Sheng Yifei, Wang Xin, Lu Yun, Zhou Shuai, Sun Mei, Lu Pin, Liu Xin, Zhang Xian, Yu Xu, Zhang Bo, Tao Jia Li and Zhong Qin. Their ages are between 21 and 24.  The first launch of a female taikonaut will be in 2012.

Russia’s Cosmonauts News Magazine reports that Magomet Talboev, one of the planned Energia-build Buran pilots, revealed that the Soviet Shuttle could have attacked the USA and captured the Skylab space station in its payload bay. Billions of dollars of money was invested in the project and over a million technicians worked to design and build it. Only one Buran flew into space – unmanned -  and the spacecraft was destroyed when a roof at Baikonur collapsed on it in 2002.

NASA’s planned Ares V cargo launch vehicle and the Altair lunar lander have been dropped from the programme as it is very-long term and money is needed to be concentrated on the near-term Ares 1 booster and Orion crew capsule. The first unmanned Ares 1 will be launched in 2014, the first manned flight in 2015 and the first Ares V in 2019. The project is getting to be a joke.

NASA Administrator to be, ex-Space Shuttle pilot and commander, Charles Bolden says that the space agency has “lost its inspirational power”. The agency “is at a crossroads…we have to choose either we can invest in building world technological leadership or we can abandon this commitment, ceding to other countries”.


40 years ago

10 July 1969

The Soviet Union launched a Voskhod booster from Plesetsk carrying Cosmos 289, a Zenit 4 recoverable high resolution, reconnaissance satellite into a 65deg inclination orbit. The recoverable capsule landed after five days in space.
 

7-9 July (9 July 2009)

The European Space Agency and NASA have created a Mars Exploration Joint Initiative to define and implement their scientific programmes and technological goals, as they plan Mars missions in 2016, 2018 and 2020. Existing planned missions are ESA’s ExoMars, which will be launched in 2016 and NASA plans the Mars Science Laboratory for 2011. The long-term goal is to bring back Mars material back to Earth on a $5 billion mission.

“The National Academies concludes that America's civil space program should be aligned with broader national goals, including an emphasis on Earth science and technology development. The report, "America's Future in Space", said that the civil space program, which includes not just NASA but other non-military government agencies as well as academia and the private sector, should focus on "Earth stewardship" as well as other science work. The report also called for the creation of a DARPA-like organization within NASA devoted to advanced technology development. The report also said that human spaceflight should remain a key part of the space program, but did not pass judgment on the Vision for Space Exploration.”

Orbital Sciences Corporation has won a $40 million contract from NASA to provide the spacecraft bus for the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism (SMEX) which will measure the polariazation of X-rays emitted by a neutron star. The launch will in 2015 at the earliest.

NASA successfully carried out a Max Launch Abort System launch from Wallops Island, Virginia for the Ares 1 programme, while at the Kennedy Space Centre, the Ares 1-X aft skirt was mated to a solid fuel segment for the planned test flight of a 327ft launch abort system simulator, which will be followed later this year of the first all-up Ares 1 rocket.

Russia launched a Rokot booster from Plestesk carrying three Strela military satellites into orbit on 7 July.

NASA is considering a Shuttle-derived heavy launch vehicle, which could be used to carry existing International Space Station cargo carriers and other hardware. One proposal is an External Tank-Sidemount Payload vehicle capable of carrying a combination of payload together, such as the ATV, MPLM and external payloads, creating a “space barge”.

The Japanese Selene/Kaguya lunar orbiter did not detect any sign of water ice in permanently shaded craters in the region of the south pole.


50 years ago

7 July 1959

A four-stage Argo D4 rocket was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia reaching 750 miles on a mission to measure radiation surrounding the Earth.

As development planning for Project Mercury evolved, NASA decided not to use the Jupiter booster for test flights. 
 

1-6 July (6 July 2009)

Russia launched a Rokot booster from Plesetsk carrying three satellites on 6 July on the 16th space launch by the nation.

Russia plans to launch a Belarusian spacecraft in 2010 as part of a planned fleet of remote sensing satellites.

NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle has lost its unmanned capability, while the Ares 1-X test flight is likely to continue in September, for now. Is it worth continuing?

Brazil will expand its Alcantara launch site building 12 more launching pads, to add to the three existing pads which will require the relocation of Quilombolas – descendents of the runaway salves in the time of slavery.   

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter transmitted its first images after entering orbit around the moon on 23 June, featuring the lunar highlands south of the Sea of Clouds. The spacecraft is equipped with two cameras.

Arianespace launched its 31st successful Ariane 5 mission on 1 July carrying the world’s largest commercial satellite - with a 60ft mesh antenna - toward a planned geosynchonous orbit. The 26ft tall and 15,235lbs satellite , built by Space Systems/Loral will eventually settle into an orbital station at 111degW. Arianespace plans to launch JCSAT 12 and Optus D3 in August, to be followed by three more Ariane 5 launches in 2009.

The Indian Space Research Organisation and Russia has agreed to develop and launch a Chandrayan 2 lunar mission in 2010-2011 aboard a new Geostationary satellite laun ch Vehicle Mark III booster. Co-operation will continue with the development of a resusable spacecraft. Russia is also aiding India with the development of a manned spacecraft in 2015 also aboard the Mark 3 GSLV. The mission will carry two astronauts in a 275km orbit on a week-long mission.

International Launch Services despatched the USA’s 12,831 pound Sirius XM Radio satellite aboard a Proton Breeze M booster from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on 1 July. It was the fifth launch of a Proton this year.

NASA plans to fly its last Space Shuttle mission - the 134th Space Shuttle mission - using the orbiter Discovery on missions STS 133, carrying payloads for the International Space Station and several Department of Defense payloads.

Avanti Communications has switched its Hylas satellite from SpaceX’s Falcon to an Ariane 5, which will cost 70 million more.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Oceansat 2 will be launched aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle also carrying six international nanosatellites in August.

Indonesia launched its RX-420 rocket from Garut, West Java in preparation for a planned satellite launched in 2014.


40 years ago

The European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) with a British Blue Streak first stage was launched from Woomera in Australia carrying an STV 2 technology satellite but the third stage of the booster failed at an altitude of 180 miles. This followed the failure of the British Black Arrow satellite launcher from Woomera on 28 June.

3 July

President Nixon cleared the text of the message on the plaque of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module: “Here men from the planet Earth, first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind”.

Astronaut Frank Borman visited the Soviet Union, while rumours were circulating that the Soviets planned to send an unmanned mission to land on the moons and bring back samples of the lunar surface before Apollo 11. Borman visited many institutions and also Baikonur. He met several cosmonauts, including Georgi Beregevoi who was the main host. 

The Soviet Union attempted to make a last chance flight to bring home some moon dust before Apollo 11 on the fifth launch of the mega booster, NI. The booster failed again this time at T+25s when an oxidizer pump on engine 8 ingested a lag fragment, fell back at a 45deg angle and exploded, destroying the launch pad. This was the end of the Soviet’s attempt to upstage Apollo 11.