Credits: +Virgin Galactic
June 14, 2013
June 13, 2013
Remains of the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft found
Dear followers,
3 days ago, the Chinese space rocket, Long March 2F rocket, took off, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying 3 cosmonauts for the Chinese space station. Yesterday, the Chinese authorities founds some pieces of the space rocket lost during the successful liftoff of Shenzhou-10 mission.
Credits: www.news.cn/www.chinanews.com
The escape tower remains of Shenzhou-10 spacecraft have been found in Badain Jaran desert. The desert is located in the northwest of north China's Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region.
June 12, 2013
Departure of the Russian Cargo Progress from ISS
Dear readers,
two weeks after its docking to the International Space Station with 3 cosmonauts, the Russian space cargo, called Progress 51 docked with success. The spacecraft has taken off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on May 28 with the Russian rocket Soyuz. The three cosmonauts were Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian space agency, Karen Nyberg from +NASA and +Luca Parmitano from +European Space Agency, ESA .
Credits: +NASA
The Progress 51P has been loaded with trash from the Space Station. After some a series of engine burns the spacecraft will be destroyed into Earth's atmosphere. The actual deorbit will occur on 19 June at 12:52 GMT.
The docking area of the International Space Station is now clear for docking with ATV-4 on Saturday 15 at 13:46 GMT.
Stay tune !
June 11, 2013
Successful liftoff of the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts
Dear followers,
today, on June 11, 2013 at 09: 38 GMT (5:38 a.m. EDT) the Chinese spacecraft, Long March 2F rocket, has taken off with success for the Shenzhou 10 mission from Chinese space station, Tiangong 1. The liftoff has been done from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The spacecraft carries three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, ZhangXiaoguang and Wang Yaping.
Credits: ©CHINA MANNED SPACE ENGINEERING
Shenzhou 10 represents the final mission to Tiangong 1, which is set to be de-orbited later this year and replaced in the coming years with the larger Tiangong 2 and Tiangogn 3 modules, which will form the basis for a full-size orbital station.
Credits: www.news.cn
You could follow in live steam the flight of the Chinese spacecraft with the crew :
or here
June 10, 2013
June 7, 2013
There was some floodwaters on Mars
Dear followers,
The spacecraft launch by +European Space Agency, ESA, called Mars Express has revealed from great pictures that floodwater occurred on Mars 3 billions years ago. The picture shows the mosaic, which features the spectacular Kasei Valles.
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Credits: +European Space Agency, ESA
The spacecraft has been send by ESA June 2nd 2003 in order to orbit around the red planet. This mission is dedicated to the orbital study of the interior, subsurface, surface and atmosphere, and environment of the planet Mars.
The total initial Mars Express budget excluding the lander was €150 million; however, 10 years after its liftoff, Mars Express continues to send some data from Mars to scientific.
June 6, 2013
Successful Ariane 5 liftoff with ATV-4
Dear followers,
Yesterday we said you that the European space rocket, Ariane 5, built by +Arianespace, will liftoff from Kourou on the evening. The space launcher had carried with success the 4th resupply cargo spacecraft, ATV to the International Space Station (ISS). The successful launch occurred as scheduled from Kourou, the Guiana Space Centre at 18:52 local time (23:52 CET).
The ATV control center at CNES (French space agency) in Toulouse is buzzing with activity after the cargo spacecraft weighing more than 20 tonnes was orbited. it's a new launch mass record for Europe’s heavy-lift vehicle. The ATV-4 is carrying equipment, food, fuel and oxygen for the station’s crew.
Now, the ATV-4 is slowly moving to the ISS, where it is scheduled to dock on 15 June.
More details of the docking will be releave soon, so stay tune
Yesterday we said you that the European space rocket, Ariane 5, built by +Arianespace, will liftoff from Kourou on the evening. The space launcher had carried with success the 4th resupply cargo spacecraft, ATV to the International Space Station (ISS). The successful launch occurred as scheduled from Kourou, the Guiana Space Centre at 18:52 local time (23:52 CET).
Credis: CNES
Now, the ATV-4 is slowly moving to the ISS, where it is scheduled to dock on 15 June.
More details of the docking will be releave soon, so stay tune
June 5, 2013
ATV launch by Ariane 5 live on 5 June 2013
Dear followers,
yesterday, the space rocket, Ariane 5 VA 213, which will carry the Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV, has been moved from the final assembly building. The +European Space Agency, ESA 's fourth ATV, Albert Einstein, is now ready for launch to the International Space Station. The liftoff is set at 23:52 CEST or 21:52 GMT from the Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Credit: ESA-S. Corvaja
Couples days ago, we told you about some troubles with the docking sensors during the concerning the final approach to ISS . The engineers seems to fix that.
The live steaming of the liftoff will be proposed in the following link:
June 3, 2013
Baikonur Cosmodrome. A different view point.
Dear follower,
today I'm proposing an article written by Alexander Kagalnitskiy who spent some days in the Baikonur cosmodrome during the last take-off of Soyuz to the International Space Station and which share to us these feelings about this great event, enjoy:
This past May 2013, I had the unique opportunity to participate in the 6-day tour to the Baikonur space center to witness a manned space rocket launch. The unusual part about it was the fact that I went there as a tour leader from the tour company where I work – “Country of Tourism LTD”. We had a rare chance to provide travel services for a large group of tourists from all over the world! Since this was my first time actually going to Baikonur, I was a bit worried at first, as I was responsible for the entire group. The worry however, went away completely when I realized how united and passionate everyone was.
The city of Baikonur is fairly small. It only houses around 70000 people, but that doesn’t affect the population’s friendliness, or the fact that the entire city somehow plays a role in the space industry. One might find it a bit disturbing, or unsettling, however I find it amusing and somehow romantic, that on the background or the Soviet era buildings, and monuments dated back to the 1950’s, the most advanced modern science is being put to work. Walking down the city streets, you will hardly notice the fact that only a few kilometers away, they develop, build, service and launch real rockets into space! On a first glance, one might consider Baikonur one of the desert towns, abandoned by progress, where the time has stopped ticking many years ago. It’s like the entire city is frozen in the Soviet time, and is feeling quite comfortable there. When you look closer though, you start to realize that this is not at all true. Progress has not stopped, and the time is still flowing. Nevertheless, this is a very unique and interesting place!
Every corner is filled with a monument, landmark of some sort, or a real rocket just sitting on a stand on an empty square. One of the original Soyuz rockets is pretty much free for anyone to climb on! Where else will you see that? They have statues of the first space heroes, starting with Korolev and Gagarin, and continuing with the ground layers of the city. You cannot afford to forget your camera when leaving your hotel for a walk! You are guaranteed to see something new and interesting everywhere you go!
As a tour leader, I had the chance to work with some amazing people, organizing the excursions for my group. The organizational process was quite difficult, but very doable with the help of my local colleagues. Every day we had to face a new unexpected issue, but considering how many people were in the group, we resolved every single one of them smoothly, and at the end, everyone was happy with their experience. Being one of the organizers, that is the highest reward I could get!
It’s funny, but when you ask the locals how they feel about the whole space thing, most of them just shrug. I guess when you’ve been living next door to something all your life, at some point you just stop bothering about it. The cosmodrome exists right outside the city, and the people exist inside. And that seems to be the extent to which the majority of locals are interested or concerned. Of course, they love tourists, because they bring money into the small city, but on the other hand, it seems they would have been just fine without all the commotion… It truly is an amazing contrast.
Locals aside, the tour was amazing! Being one of the organizers, I had the inside information on everything, which made it a lot more predictable, but for the rest of the group, every new day was an adventure. We did not disclose the detailed itinerary right away, in order to sustain that pleasure of conquering the unknown. Turns out we made the right choice! When the group found out that we’re taking them to the press conference with the astronauts, they went ballistic! Not many dared to even dream of such an honor! When we went to see the rollout of the rocket, everyone appreciated how close we stood to the train tracks, which was only a couple of meters away! On the day of the launch we went to the actual Launchpad, where the rocket proudly stood, awaiting her astronauts and getting all fueled-up for the flight. At that point we were also allowed to stand as close as about 20 meters from it! As far as I know, that’s unheard of in tourism world. All those little things made for a huge impression. When everything was said and done, I couldn't help to smile, as I saw all the happy and excited faces!
All-in-all, I recommend everyone interested in space, or technology, or history to attend a rocket launch in Baikonur! You will see it all, from the landmark-filled city and the full of artifacts museums, to the in-depth interactive displays of the rocket technology and the real perks, such as the press conference, the rocket rollout, and of course, the launch! Our company “Country of Tourism LTD” has been organizing these tours for many years, and now that I actually took part in one of them, I can say with full assurance, that this is the absolute best experience for a true space fanatic! Nowhere else in the world you will see and do the things you see and do with this tour!
©2013 Alexander Kagalnitskiy, “Country of Tourism LTD” adventure@bestrussiantour.com
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