Satellite News

Two of the Tactical Satellite-3’s trio of payloads may be called secondary, but their importance to the success of the spacecraft’s year-long mission is primary, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory said.

The mission of Russia’s automatic research spacecraft Fobos Grunt to the Martian moon of Phobos is being delayed for two years, as the spacecraft is not ready, Interfax reported citing an “informed source.”

The European-built Node 3 module for the International Space Station will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, on 17 May.

NASA managers completed a review of space shuttle Atlantis’ readiness for flight and selected an official launch date for the STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

The classified military satellite launched by Russia yesterday is thought to be an optical reconnaissance spacecraft.

On 28 April, the final qualification test firing of the third stage solid propellant motor for Europe’s new small launch vehicle took place at the Salto di Quirra Interforce Test Range in Sardinia, Italy.

Aerojet said it successfully completed the first series of vibration and altitude hot fire tests on NASA’s Orion crew module’s 712-N (160 lbf) thrust mono-propellant rocket engine.

Rocket: Soyuz U; Payload: Kosmos 2450; Date: 28 April 2009, 1658 UTC; Site: Plesetsk, Russia. The classified military satellite reached its target orbit eight minutes after lift-off.