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December 29, 2013

Russia launches upgraded Soyuz rocket
Moscow (Voice of Russia) Dec 29, 2013
Russia launched an upgraded version of its Soyuz rocket on Saturday, successfully delivering a scientific satellite into space. The Soyuz-2.1v light class rocket includes a new engine design. "The operational crew at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome (in Russia's Arkhangelsk Region) has successfully conducted a unique launch of a light-class Soyuz-2.1v rocket carrier with Volga upper stage and Aist spacecraft," Russia's Defense Ministry said. The Soyuz-2.1v blasted off at 12:30 GMT, with the Aist sate ... read more

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Space trips open to Chinese travelers Chinese travelers will be able to take space trips by the end of 2014 thanks to an agreement signed on Friday in Beijing between a Chinese travel agency and Netherlands-based space tourism firm Spac ... more		Russian cosmonauts Kotov and Ryazansky complete ISS spacewalk Two Russian cosmonauts who last month carried the Olympic torch into open space for the first time finished a spacewalk on Saturday to replace equipment on the outside of the International Space Sta ... more		Russian Rocket Puts Telecoms Satellite Into Orbit A Russian Proton-M heavy-lift rocket put a government communications satellite into orbit on Thursday in the final launch of the year for the Russian space industry. The rocket lifted off at 2 ... more
				Work on NASA's New Orion Spacecraft Progresses as Engineers Pivot to 2014 Orion's first mission, Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1, is less than a year away now, and the team building the spacecraft is meeting milestones left and right as they prepare the vehicle for it ... more		The Athena-Fidus satellite is readied for Arianespace first heavy-lift mission of 2014 The multi-role Athena-Fidus satellite has completed initial checkout at the Spaceport as it is readied for a dual-payload, geostationary transfer orbit launch on Arianespace's first flight in 2014. ... more

Curious Results from Mars NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on Mars with dramatic style in August, 2012. Now that the rover has spent more than a year exploring the martian surface, scientific data from the mission is star ... more		Laser Demonstration Reveals Bright Future for Space Communication The completion of the 30-day Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration or LLCD mission has revealed that the possibility of expanding broadband capabilities in space using laser communications is as b ... more		EU states to hold talks on 'drone wall' to protect bloc Denmark military intel fails to identify source of drone flights Lithuania eases rules on shooting down drones		Official: Iran to Send Astronaut into Space in 2024 Head of Iran's Space System Research Center Mohammad Ebrahimi underscored the countries' rapid growth in aerospace industries, and said that Iran plans to launch an explorer which can carry astronom ... more
				First launch of new Soyuz rocket with redesigned engine delayed A test launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket with a new engine design has been delayed until 2014, officials said without specifying a new date. ... more		Station's Replacement Pump Successfully Restarted Following Two Spacewalks To Replace A Degraded Pump Module On The Truss, Or Backbone, Of The International Space Station, Flight Controllers In The Mission Control Center At Nasa's Johnson Space Cen ... more

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China's moon rover "sleeps" through lunar night The moon rover and lander of China's Chang'e 3 lunar probe mission will "sleep" during the lunar night, enduring extreme low temperatures on the lunar surface. According to Wu Fenglei of the B ... more		Dwarf Planet Ceres - 'A Game Changer in the Solar System' In March of 2015, NASA's Dawn mission will arrive at the dwarf planet Ceres, the first of the smaller class of planets to be discovered and the closest to Earth. Ceres, which orbits the Sun in the a ... more		NASA ISRO radar satellite beams first Earth images from space Morocco High Atlas whistle language strives for survival China warns Papua New Guinea over Australian defence deal		ISRO end year on high note after Mars mission The successful launch of India's first inter-planetary Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the sending up of India's first navigation satellite midnight, the launch of the Indo-French satellite SARAL, and s ... more
				Spacewalk ends, station fix a success NASA astronauts on Tuesday successfully wrapped up a Christmas Eve spacewalk to make repairs at the orbiting International Space Station, the US space agency said. ... more		JAXA plans to test new large rocket from 2020 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to launch a new large-scale test rocket in fiscal 2020 and another the following year. The rocket, provisionally dubbed H-III, is a successor to JA ... more

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Boeing, Energia Achieve Mixed Results in Counterclaims

Russian Rocket Puts Telecoms Satellite Into Orbit

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Mars Express heading towards daring flyby of Phobos

China's moon rover "sleeps" through lunar night

Will the Moon be carved-up?

NASA Releases New Earthrise Simulation Video

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Voyager debuts first space based multi cloud region to advance orbital data processing

Mars Express heading towards daring flyby of Phobos		China launches communications satellite for Bolivia		Will the Moon be carved-up?		Spacewalk ends, ISS fix a success		Mars rover Curiosity gets software upgrade, improved capabilities
ISS Crew Set for Tuesday Pump Replacement Spacewalk		Working With NASA On The Space Structures Of The Future		Using an Atmosphere to Weigh a Planet		NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for InSight Mission		Spacesuit flaw postpones station repairs to Dec 24

No early Christmas? Spacesuit issue delays second spacewalk to fix ISS cooling system

China's Yutu "naps", awakens and explores

Sailing satellites into safe retirement

China's moon rover continues lunar survey after photographing lander

Europe's Gaia telescope detaches from Fregat-MT upper stage

Orbital Launches Completes 40th Consecutive Successful Suborbital Rocket For NASA

Argentina successfully launches research rocket

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NASA plans 3 urgent spacewalks to fix ISS coolant system, suspends cargo delivery

NASA and Russia prolong contract on Soyuz taxi flights to ISS

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Japan robot astronaut talks Santa in first chat with spaceman

Most Chang'e-3 science tools activated

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Russia's Putin pledges $1.5 billion for basic science research

NASA rigs up snorkel in spacesuit after risky water leak

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