Google+ SpaceTravelFoundation: 2014-01-05

January 10, 2014

Successful lift-off of the Antares rocket carrying equipments for ISS

Dear followers,

After a decrease of the radiation level which delayed the liftoff this week, the space launch  of the Antares rocket was performed. If you missed the Orb1 rocket launch to the ISS yesterday, enjoy this video 

Credit: +NASA 


January 8, 2014

Orb-1 mission of the Antares rocket delayed due to high space radiation environment

Dear followers,

yesterday, we announced that the Antares is already on the launch Pad-0A at +NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. This morning, the Antares launch team decided to delay the space launch due to an unusually high level of space radiation that exceeded by a considerable margin the constraints imposed on the mission to ensure the rocket's electronic systems are not impacted by a harsh radiation environment.

Image source : Orbital Science


The space rocket is in advance of a planned launch on January 8th at 1:32 p.m. EST on the Wallops Island, VA. The Orbital-1 mission is Orbital Sciences' first contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Among the cargo aboard Cygnus set to launch to the international space station are science experiments, crew provisions, and other hardware. 

Stay tuned 

[Update] : if the level of radiations moves down, Orbital Sciences announces that the launch could be performed on Thursday, the launch targeted launch time would be 1:10 p.m. (EST), with Cygnus arriving at the ISS Sunday morning, January 12.

The Online Astronomy Society Ezine – Dec 13 / Jan 14

Credits: The Online Astronomy Society

January 7, 2014

Antares ready on the launch pad for its lift-off on Wednesday 8th

Dear follower,

I wish you a happy new year 2014, and today, the Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the +International Space Station from Orbital Sciences Corporation is already on the launch Pad-0A at +NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The space rocket is in advance of a planned launch on January 8th at 1:32 p.m. EST on the Wallops Island, VA. The Orbital-1 mission is Orbital Sciences' first contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Among the cargo aboard Cygnus set to launch to the international space station are science experiments, crew provisions, and other hardware. 
Below a picture of the rocket on the pad, it's a great picture for a 2014 wallpaper !

 Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Stay tuned for the live streaming of the space launch on Wednesday

January 6, 2014

The Ear Nebula taken by IPHAS

Credit: T.A. Rector (+University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF)

The image was obtained using the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4 meters telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The picture shows the nebula known as the "Ear Nebula". This nebula is relatively old. It was discovered in 2005 by the IPHAS of the Northern Galactic Plane. The picture is built with observations in the Hydrogen alpha (red) and Oxygen (blue) filters. The North is to the top of the image, while the East is to the left.