Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

April 30, 2014

Commercial liftoff for Europe's smallest launcher
Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Apr 30, 2014
The third launch by Europe's new small launcher, Vega, has delivered Kazakhstan's first satellite for high-resolution Earth observation into its planned orbit. Liftoff of flight VV03 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana came at 01:35 GMT on 30 April (03:35 CEST; 22:35 local time on 29 April). The DZZ-HR satellite was released into the target Sun-synchronous circular orbit at 750 km altitude and an inclination of 98.54+ precisely 55 minutes and 29 seconds after launch. This ... read more

Previous Issues

Apr 29

Apr 28

Apr 25

Apr 24

Apr 23

Search for life on exoplanets more difficult than thought A new study from the University of Toronto Scarborough suggests the search for life on planets outside our solar system may be more difficult than previously thought. The study, authored by a ... more		NASA Seeks to Evolve ISS for New Commercial Opportunities As part of NASA's continuing effort to open low-Earth orbit to commercial space opportunities, the agency is seeking feedback on ways it can help create greater access to and use of the Internationa ... more		Arianespace to launch Indonesia satellite BRIsat On behalf of Stephane Israel, who is on duty at the CSG in French Guiana for a launch campaign, Jacques Breton, Arianespace Senior Vice-President, Sales and Customers, signed a contract on April 28t ... more
				Twins Mark and Scott Kelly to participate in long-term space travel study [VIDEO] Identical twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly are going to be part of an experiment in long term space travel to gauge the health effects of a mission to Mars. ... more		Alien planet's rotation speed clocked for first time Tired of the nine-to-five, the eight-hour work day? At least Earth's 24-hour day leaves some time for eating and sleeping. On Beta Pictoris b, the alien planet with only eight hours in its day, there'd only be time for work, work, work. ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Astronomical Forensics Uncover Planetary Disks in NASA's Hubble Archive Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have applied a new image processing technique to obtain near-infrared scattered light photos of five disks observed around young stars in the Mikulski ... more		NASA Partners with LittleBits Electronics on STEM Activitie NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Innovative Partnerships Office has entered into a Space Act Agreement with littleBits Electronics, Inc., New York, N.Y., to collaborate with the Aura Mission on ac ... more				Traces of recent water on Mars The southern hemisphere of Mars is home to a crater that contains very well-preserved gullies and debris flow deposits. The geomorphological attributes of these landforms provide evidence that they ... more
				Drill Here? NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Inspects Site The team operating NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is telling the rover to use several tools this weekend to inspect a sandstone slab being evaluated as a possible drilling target. If this target ... more		Asteroids as Seen From Mars; A Curiosity Rover First A new image from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is the first ever from the surface of Mars to show an asteroid, and it shows two: Ceres and Vesta. These two - the largest and third-largest bodie ... more

UAV Payloads 2014, 24 - 25 June - London, UK

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Startup in the Land of the Rising Sun; A Japanese Solar Venture - by Bradley L. Bartz

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Seven Samples from the Solar System's Birth by Aaron L. Gronstal for a href="http://www.astrobio.net/">Astrobiology Magazine /a> At this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), scientists reported that, after eight painstaking ... more		Metabolism may have started in our early oceans before the origin of life The chemical reactions behind the formation of common metabolites in modern organisms could have formed spontaneously in the earth's early oceans, questioning the events thought to have led to the o ... more				ViaSat Awarded Damages in Patent Infringement and Breach of Contract Lawsuit Against Space Systems/Loral ViaSat has announced that a federal court jury has awarded ViaSat $283 million in damages in its patent infringement and breach of contract case against Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). The jury found SS ... more
				It's a "go" for Arianespace's Vega launch with Kazakhstan's first Earth observation satellite Arianespace's next Vega mission from French Guiana has been given the "all clear" for liftoff on April 28 with its DZZ-HR payload, following completion of the launch readiness review performed Frida ... more		Orion Feels the Vibe During Tests at Kennedy Space Center Testing designed to simulate the vibrations NASA's Orion will experience during its first trip to space successfully wrapped up inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy ... more

Commercial liftoff for Europe's smallest launcher

Arianespace to launch Indonesia satellite BRIsat

It's a "go" for Arianespace's Vega launch with Kazakhstan's first Earth observation satellite

Traces of recent water on Mars

Drill Here? NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Inspects Site

Mission to Mars

John C. Houbolt, Unsung Hero of the Apollo Program, Dies at Age 95

NASA Completes LADEE Mission with Planned Impact on Moon's Surface

Russia plans to get a foothold in the Moon

Dwarf planet 'Biden' identified in an unlikely region of our solar system

Planet X myth debunked

WISE Finds Thousands Of New Stars But No Planet X

	Equipped with New Sensors, Morpheus Preps to Tackle Landing on its Own A test flight later this week will challenge a set of sensors to map out a 65-yard square of boulder-sized hazards and pick out a safe place to land. Mounted to an uncrewed prototype lander ca ... more		Orion Exploration Design Challenge Winner Announced After a year-long competition among the nation's high schools, evaluators from NASA, Lockheed Martin, and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) have selected Team ARES from the Governor's School ... more		No Plans to Produce Zenit Rocket in Russia The Russian space agency believes it would be illogical to start the production of Ukrainian-made Zenit space launch rockets in Russia, the agency's head said Thursday. "In regard to the Zenit ... more		Russia Gives Green Light to Super-Heavy Rocket Project A project to build a new super-heavy carrier rocket was included into the draft new Federal Space Program (FSP) Roscosmos chief Oleg Ostapenko said on Thursday. "A [super] heavy carrier rocket ... more

Russia sends two satellites into space		Mission to Mars		Space terrorism, floating debris pose threats to US		Solved: Mysteries of a Nearby Planetary System's Dynamics		SpaceX sues US Air Force over satellite contracts
Curiosity spots asteroids from the surface of Mars		An Earth-sized planet that might hold liquid water		Vega for third Arianespace mission, carrying Earth observation spacecraft		Pentagon scientists show off life-size robot		Close collaboration in optical communication between space and Earth

AVX To Present At The 2014 Space Parts Working Group

China village gunning for tourists

MESSENGER Completes Its 3,000th Orbit of Mercury, Sets Mark for Closest Approach

Astronomers discover Earth-sized planet in habitable zone

ATK Announces Contract Award from ULA to Build Composite Launch Vehicle Structures

Russia to Test Launch New Angara Rocket June 25

Spiders in Space Weave a Web of Scientific Inspiration for Spider-Man Fans

A Star's Early Chemistry Shapes Life-Friendly Atmospheres

Impact glass stores biodata for millions of years

No Official Confirmation of NASA Severing Ties with Russian Space Agency

NASA Selects Commercial Crew Program Manager

Astronauts Complete Short Spacewalk to Replace Backup Computer

Some astronauts at risk for cognitive impairment, animal studies suggest

NASA Names Six New Members to Advisory Council

Launcher build-up begins for Arianespace's fifth Ariane 5 mission to orbit an ATV

NASA Innovative Advanced Concept Program Seeks Phase II Proposals

First Potentially Habitable Earth-Sized Planet Confirmed By Gemini And Keck Observatories

Arianespace's Vega launcher receives its "upper composite" for this month's launch

Upside-down planet reveals new method for studying binary star systems

45th Space Wing supports third SpaceX Launch for ISS Resupply mission

Free Newsletters - Space - Defense - Environment - Energy

Buy Advertising

Media Advertising Kit

Editorial & Other Enquiries

Privacy statement

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.