[Update] Successful space launch of GPS Satellite with Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral

Dear readers,

yesterday night, the United launch Alliance performed with success its space launch of GPS satellite (GPS IIF-5) for the US AirForce. The payload has been orbited by the Delta 4 rocket developed by the private company. The launch took place from the Space Launch Complex-37 in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:59 pm EST on Thursday February 20th. 

Credit : United Space Alliance

GPS IIF-5 is the fifth in a series of the next-generation of GPS satellites and will join the navigation system utilizing 24 spacecrafts in 6 different planes in orbit around 17700 km of altitude. This ultimate generation of satellite provides an improved accuracy and enhanced performed for GPS users, for civil and military applications.

The liftoff has been also taken in picture by Sam Wolfe photographer

Credit : Sam Wolfe

Source

[Update] : Enjoy the video provided by SpaceVids.tv

Kate Upton in weightlessness with the Zero-G aircraft

Dear readers,

the model Kate Upton is very well known, and we don't have to present her. But this week, the model and the science have been united to experiment the zero gravity. The experiment took place on-board a +Boeing+ plane, the B727. In Europe the +CNES (French Space Agency) work with a similar gear, but in a +Airbus Group plane, A300-Zero-G. The A300 Zero-g looks very much like a conventional aircraft, with a few special modifications dedicated for this experiment.

Theweightlessness is attained through a series of aerobatic maneuvers known as parabolas, where the pilot pulls the plane up at 45 degrees to an altitude around 8500 meters, and then pushes the aircraft into a descent to create zero gravity for 20-30 seconds.

Since 2003, the A300 Zero-g is used by +European Space Agency, ESA and the +CNES for their research programs to keep track of main cryogenic propulsion stages falling backing to Earth during Ariane 5 launches. 

But this time, the model Kate Upton defied gravity for the Sports Illustrated’s 2014 Swimsuit Issue. And it was insanely awesome. Enjoy the picture and the video:

Credit image : +Sports Illustrated 

Source

Publication IJETAE: Space Debris Removal System

Moby Dick asteroid 2000 EM26 is missing - Help astronomers find It

Dear readers,

last Monday, February 18th, the asteroid called 2000 EM26 or Moby Duck with its 270 meters of diameter passed close to Earth. the Slooh's robotic telescope on Mount Teide in the Canaries Island should monitored the asteroid called 2000EM26. However, because of frozen conditions, the telescop didn't work normally as illustrated on the picture below.

Credit: +Slooh 

Yesterday night Slooh published a file about the only picture provided during the night of February 17th by Slooh and the Dubai Astronomy Group: "Somewhere in this image, amongst the trailing star field, there should be a static round point of light – the light reflecting from an asteroid some 394­886ft in diameter (­270m). Based on the orbital data held by +NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this is where Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2000 EM26 should have been. So if it’s not here, where was this chunk of primordial space rock as it made its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 17th 2014?"

Credit image: +Slooh 

Yesterday night Slooh announced officially that they are still looking for the asteroid. If you find it please contact Slooh as soon possible.

Stay Tuned

First picture of the asteroid 2000 EM26 from Dubai

Dear readers,

yesterday we told you about an hazardous asteroid of 270 meters of diameter. The asteroid called 2000 EM26 should be followed by the Slooh telescop in the Canary islands. Unfortunately, the Slooh's robotic telescope on Mount Teide which monitored the asteroid didn't work because of frozen conditions. 

Pictures from Dubai had been proposed by the Dubai Astronomy group. Look it is there :

Credit image : Dubai Astronomy group

Stay tuned for incoming pictures

[Update there]

Milky way taken by amateur photographer from Loch More, Caithness Scotland

Credit image : +Chris Sinclair 

A potentially hazardous asteroid of 270 meters of diameter close to Earth today

Dear readers,

in less then 10 hours now, the asteroid called 2000 EM26 will pass very close to Earth. The potentially hazardous asteroid has been estimated to have a diameter around 270 meters. Its trajectory should be very close to Earth around 8.8 of the distance Earth-Moon, and could be seen from Earth.

Enjoy this live steam of the hazardous asteroid with the video below :

Credit video: +Slooh 

Stay tuned

Update : Yesterday, the Slooh's robotic telescope on Mount Teide should monitored the asteroid 2000EM26 didn't work because of frozen conditions, but a first pictures had been proposed by the Dubai Astronomy group. 

The OAS Sky Notes Feb 2014

Yutu, the Chinese lunar rover is still alive after its abnormality

Dear readers,

Last night, China announced that the Yutu rover is still alive after its abnormality. “Yutu has come back to life!” said Pei Zhaoyu, the spokesperson for China’s lunar probe program, according to a breaking news report by the state owned Xinhua news agency.

 Credit : CNSA/CCTV

The rover landed on the Moon on December 14th, however, the January 25th an abnormality emerged before the rover entered its second dormancy at dawn on Saturday as the lunar night fell, according to SASTIND. The equipment failure may block the solar panel. If the panels cannot be closed, the rover will almost certainly freeze during the two week span. As said, the moon environment is really critical. 

Actually, one night on the Moon is about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below minus 180 Celsius. During the lunar night, there is no sunlight to provide power to Yutu's solar panel.

Today all the China people are so glad to heard that the first spacecraft Yutu sent on the Moon ground is still continuing its exploration of the lunar surface. Yutu can be translate as "Jade Rabbit" which corresponds to the rabbit in Chinese mythology that lives on the Moon as a pet of the Moon goddess Chang’e.

For the moment the space engineer of the China lunar program are still working on the identification of the abnormality. "Yutu failed to power-up Monday, February 11th, and data about its current condition and repair progress is still being collected and analyzed,” Xinhua reported.

Stay tuned

Amateur photography of the Flame and Horsehead Nebulae

Credit image: +Chris Sinclair 

The picture has been done with Celestron CG5 GoTo mount, Skywatcher ED80 Refractor and Canon 1100D. This was 50 images at ISO 6400 and 50 seconds, then another 15 images at ISO1600 and 50 seconds. All stacked with Deepskystacker

Progress M-22M docks with ISS 6 hours after its launch

Dear followers,

last Wednesday, February 5, the Progress M-22M spacecraft was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:23pm UTC. The Russian Progress M-22M, has successfully docked to ISS just 6 hours after launching from Baikonur. 

The space launch happened Less than 24 hours since its Progress M-20M cargo craft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS), following six months in residence.

Credit: +Roscosmos press service

The craft is full of cargo and supplies for the 6 membered Expedition 38 crew. Docking occurred at 22:22 UTC. With around 750 flights, the Soyuz-U is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed.

Live the docking to the International Space Station in video :

Successful launch and orbiting of 2 satellites by Ariane 5

Dear followers,

yesterday, the European space rocket, Ariane 5, performed its first 2014 launch from Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane 5 orbited 2 telecommunications satellites, Athena-Fidus and ABS-2 at  21:30 UTC (February 6th).

Credit: +CNES 

Athena-Fidus (Access on THeatres for European Nations Allied forces - French Italian Dual Use Satellite) is a telecommunications satellite developped by the large collaboration between France and Italia. Developed for CNES, the Italian space agency ASI, the French Defense agency (DGA) and the Italian Ministry of Defence, it will deliver telecommunications services to French and Italian military and civil protection forces, complementing capacity already provided by the Syracuse and SICRAL satellites.

In an other hand, ABS-2 is a telecommunications satellite that will enable the operator Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) to deliver telecommunications, television, multimedia and data transmission services to Asia, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Enjoy the European Ariane 5 rocket blasted off from Kourou in French Guiana

Credit: +Arianespace 

Dingo Gap, the dune of sand taken in 360° by Curiosity on Mars

Dear followers,

after 526 days on Mars, the curiosity rover from +NASA continue to explore the surface for the red planet until a dune of sand called Dingo Gap.

Credit image: +NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

A new 360° panorama has been proposed +Andrew Bodrov. The panorama shows the Dingo Gap taken during the 530th Martian day. The dune is about 1 m high.

Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 530 in The World


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Stay tuned

Impressive shot of the Orion Nebula and Running Man Nebula

Credit image: +Chris Sinclair 

North pole of Saturn from Cassini

Credit: +NASA 

NGC 6357 near NGC 6334 in the constellation Scorpius taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

Credit image: +Hubble Space Telescope 

Chinese moon rover Yutu has a mechanical control anomaly

Dear followers,

few days ago, we propose you an amazing work performed thanks to pictures taken by the Chinese moon rover, called Yutu or Change's 3. However, last weekend, an "abnormality occurred due to complicated lunar surface environment," announced the the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) from China. 

The abnormality emerged before the rover entered its second dormancy at dawn on Saturday as the lunar night fell, according to SASTIND. The equipment failure may block the solar panel. If the panels cannot be closed, the rover will almost certainly freeze during the two week span. As said, the moon environment is really critical. Actually, one night on the Moon is about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below minus 180 Celsius. During the lunar night, there is no sunlight to provide power to Yutu's solar panel.

 Credit: CNSA/CCTV

The Chang'e-3 lunar probe soft-landed on the Moon on December 14th after couple days in lunar orbit. The rover separated from the lander hours later.

The success of the Chang'e-3 mission makes China the third country to soft-land a spacecraft on lunar soil after the United States and the former Soviet Union. During this mission, China collaborates with ESA, the +European Space Agency, ESA for the communication part.

Milky Way taken from the North Coast of Scotland

Credit image : +Chris Sinclair 

Atlas 5 lift-off carrying TDRS-L Satellite from Cape Canaveral

Credit: +NASA 

Successful lift-off from Cape Canaveral of Atlas 5 carrying TDRS-L satellite

Dear followers,

Last night, the rocket ATLAS V 401 with its payload TDRS-L performed its lift-off from the launch pad Station Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:33pm EDT (2:33 GMT 24th).

Enjoy the video of the space launch :

Credit: +NASA 

The payload of the rocket is the TDRS-L (Tracking and Data Relay Satellites) satellite of the third generation. The TDRS satellites are operated by +NASA , and are used for communication between NASA facilities and spacecraft including the Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, and International Space Station.

TDRS-L mission launched today

Dear followers,

Today, the rocket ATLAS V 401 with its payload TDRS-L will lift-off from the launch pad Station Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The space launcher will be launched on an easterly trajectory and the spacecraft will be released into a highly elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit. The mission from launch to vehicle separation is scheduled to take just over 1 hour 45 minutes.

Credit image : America space

The payload of the rocket is the TDRS-L (Tracking and Data Relay Satellites) satellite of the third generation. The TDRS satellites are operated by +NASA , and are used for communication between NASA facilities and spacecraft including the Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, and International Space Station.

The launch window is planned today between 9:05pm - 9:45pm EDT (2:05 - 2:45 GMT 24th)

HTTP://COUNTINGDOWNTO.COM

Stay tuned for its launch

Milky Way taken in picture from Iceland

Credit image: Ivrie Belegurscki from iceland-photo tour

360° panorama from the Chinese Moon rover: Change's 3

Dear followers,

after its landing on our Moon, Chang'e3, the Chinese space rover, is exploring the Moon land.  

Lunar panorama: Chang’e 3 lander in The World

Working hard on ISS

Credit: +NASA 

New potential hazardous asteroid discovered by NASA

Dear followers,

for this beginning of 2014, +NASA revealed the discovery of a news potential hazardous asteroid, called 2013 YP139. The asteroid was at a distance of 0.235 astronomical units from Earth by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer from NASA. Its size is estimated around 650 meters.  It orbits the Sun in an elliptical orbit along the invariable plane and is currently 42 million kilometers away and is expected to come within 490,000 kilometers of our dear Earth planet, slightly beyond the orbit of the Moon. However, because of some potential uncertainties and this close proximity, the 2013 YP139 asteroid has classified as a potential threat.

Credit: +NASA / +NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

Stay tuned 

TDRS-L spacecraft encapsulated in its payload at NASA facility in Florida

Credit image : +NASA / Kim Shiflett

Virgin Galactic's third rocket-powered SpaceShipTwo flight at 21 km of altitude !

Dear followers,

+Virgin Galactic successfully completed its third rocket-powered supersonic flight of its passenger carrying reusable space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2) on Jan. 10, 2014 from the spaceport in the Mojave Desert, soaring to a record 21 km of altitude!

Credit: +Virgin Galactic 

All details of the test flight there : http://www.virgingalactic.com/news/item/virgin-galactic-reaches-new-heights-in-third-supersonic-test-flight/

Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo was berthed and installed with success to ISS

Dear followers,

after its successful lift-off from Earth 3 days ago, the Antares rocket developed by Orbital Sciences released its payload and the Cygnus was berthed and installed with success to the International Science Station. 

Credit image : Orbital Sciences

The module will remain for around one month while the crew of the space station transfers the 1.5 tons of provisions and experiments delivered by the private capsule, Cygnus. Enjoy the video:

Credit : +NASA 

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 

Great 2014 picture of Orion nebula taken by amateur photographer

Credit image: Guillaume Doyen

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

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

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.

Great shot of the Hubble Space telescope of the Crab Nabula

Credit: +NASA / +Hubble Space Telescope 

The Orion spacecraft cross the country for testing before its mission in September 2014

Credit: +NASA 

The spacecraft Orion is moving from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA to the Naval Base San Diego in California. There, the some test will be performed to simulate the recovery of the capsule during its first mission. its mission, called Exploration Flight Test – 1 (EFT-1), is scheduled for September 2014.

ISS without half of its vital cooling system

Dear followers,

yesterday, on Wednesday December 11th, the International Space Station lost half of its vital cooling system, due to a partial power down of some systems.

The safety of the members crew is under control, "at no time was the crew or the station itself in any danger" announced officially +NASA . All the astronauts slept on the orbiting laboratory as scheduled.

Credits: NASA

The trouble on the international space station occurred when one of two pumps used to circulate ammonia coolant outside of the space station shut itself down after the detection of unexpected low temperatures. The shutdown cut off half of the ability of the space system to regulate temperatures for both its internal and external systems. 

The engineer on the ground are working hard to troubleshoot the issue. If the showdown of the cooling system is due to a hardware problem, it may require that astronauts go outside ISS to replace or fix the pump module with a spare unit.

More news soon, so stay tuned.

The Cat's Paw Nebula taken from Chile

Credits Dr. Travis A. Rector / +NASA 

NASA discovers an ancient lake on Mars

Dear followers,

after many months on Mars, the Curiosity rover reveals its major discovery which could change the space field research. Actually, the space rover has revealed the evidence of an ancient lake with water that could plausibly be described as drinkable. This validates the first analyses performed and published few months ago: the first scoop of soil analysed by the analytic suite in the belly of martian rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight.

Credits: +NASA 

This discovery might emphasize the probability of an ancient life on the red planet; “If we put microbes from Earth and put them in this lake on Mars, would they survive? Would they survive and thrive? And the answer is yes,” said John Grotzinger, a Caltech planetary geologist who is the chief scientist of the Curiosity rover mission. 

As described in the science paper, "A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars", the aqueous environment found on the red planet was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species. C, H, O, S, N, and P were measured directly as key biogenic elements, and by inference P is assumed to have been available. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars.

We should have more details in the next days and months, so stay tuned

The Chinese spacecraft is in Lunar orbit

Dear followers,

few days ago, China sent its third spacecraft for a Lunar mission with the support of the European Space Agency for the communication with the spacecraft. 

Last Friday, so, less than five days after leaving Earth, the China's Chang'e 3 spacecraft reached lunar orbit to prepare for an historic landing on the Moon. The landing should take place in the moon's Bay of Rainbows, a dark lava plain on the upper-left quadrant of the moon's near side, around December 14th 2013.

Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

The spacecraft is now flying in orbit 100 km above the Moon. This week it plans to move down and lost its altitude. The spacecraft, Chang'e 3, will use its main engine to make a soft landing in the Moon ground. In order to guide its landing, the spacecraft will use some terrain recognition sensors. Around 1 meter above the moon, the lander will autonomously cut off its engine and drop to the lunar surface.

Stay tuned for the live landing in the next days.

Amazing successful liftoff Atlas5 rocket with NROL-39 And 12 CubeSats

Credits: Matthew travis

You could find below the badge of the Atlas5 with NROL-39 mission

ESA collaborates with China for its mission to the Moon

Dear followers,

as you know, few days ago, the China National Space Administration sent its first rover, called Yutu, to the Moon. For this mission, China is helped by the +European Space Agency, ESA . Actually, after the liftoff of the China’s Chang’e 3 spacecraft, the ESA's network of tracking stations is providing a crucial support during all the Lunar cruise of the spacecraft. This mission is the third Chinese mission to the moon after the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiter flights, launched in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

Credit: CCTV

After its liftoff from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the country's Sichuan province, the ESA’s station in Kourou, French Guiana, started receiving signals from the spacecraft and uploading commands on behalf of the Chinese control center. This tracking is operated during the voyage to the Earth's moon. Next, during the descent and after the landing some other ESA's space stations will follow the rover Yutu mission.

Credits: ESA

The landing of Yutu is planned to be in the Sea of Rainbows on December 14th 2013. This landing will be the first since Russia’s Luna-24 in 1976. This mission is the second step of the China's lunar exploration program. That program consists of three major steps: Orbit, land and finally return some Moon rock samples to Earth by 2020.

 Credits: China National Space Administration

Stay tunes for the next news during the phases of descend and landing on December 14th.

Curiosity Mars rover is back after a power glitch

Dear followers,

The NASA's space rover Curiosity which explores the Mars's land for 16 months has stopped the whole of the science operations and driving during six days. Actually, an electrical power system glitch had induced a system dysfunction on the space rover. Fortunately, the problem has now been resolved.

This dysfunction is the second trouble observed on the martian rover after an other one which has been observed and which has been assigned to radiation effects. For the moment the cause of this dysfunction has still not been found but the +NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers are working on it. “We made a list of potential causes, and then determined which we could cross off the list, one by one,” said rover electrical engineer Rob Zimmerman of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California.

Credits: +NASA 

For the moment, Curiosity has already accomplished its primary science goal of discovering a habitable zone at her landing site. This kind of dysfunction could be critical for the Curiosity mission, but the martian rover is safe now.

In the next months, the Curiosity rover will be join by the Maven spacecraft sent by NASA two weeks ago.

Stay tuned for the next news about the red planet discoveries.

Source: NASA

First commercial satellite launched by the SpaceX rocket

  Credits: Spacevids.tv

A 'second light' mission for the Kepler space telescope

Dear followers,

Few months ago, in May, the research working on the search of exo-planets received a very bad news from the US space telescope Kepler.  Actually, the +Kepler Space Telescope  was down due to a malfunction of a mechanism which allows the telescope to focus on a given point in the sky towards.

However, now, Engineers from the Kepler mission and Ball Aerospace have developed a way of keeping the stability of the spacecraft. The solution is based on the pressure provide by the Sun on the surface of spacecraft. 

based on this solution the second life of Kepler will be start. The US space telescope which has increased the discovery of new planets since 2009 is the first telescope dedicated to the search for planets sisters of the Earth in other solar systems in our galaxy, the Milky Way. So far it has detected 2,740 potential exo-planets which 122 were confirmed to the day using telescopes and other equipment.

Credit: wikipedia

In last April, astronauts had announced the discovery by Kepler, two exoplanets with the greatest similarity to Earth ever recorded and where water could remain liquid and potentially allow life to exist.

Orion Nebula taken from UK on November 29th 2013

Credits: +Sarah Fisher