by David Todd | Feb 2, 2015 | Launches, NASA, Satellites, Science, Seradata News
NASA turned the clock back to use one of the last Delta II rockets to launch its SMAP (Soil Moisture Active and Passive) mission into orbit. The Delta II 7320-10C launch to a Sun-synchronous near polar low Earth orbit took place from the Vandenberg launch site in...
by David Todd | Jan 16, 2015 | ESA, exploration, Science, Technology
While there were recriminations and bitterness following the “landing failure” of the UK’s first space probe to Mars on Christmas day in December 2003, Beagle 2’s originator and planetary scientist, the late Professor Colin Pillinger, who died...
by David Todd | Jan 6, 2015 | NASA, Science
The French space agency CNES has placed an order worth €78 million ($94 million) for the construction of the SWOT spacecraft by Thales Alenia Space. The overall Mission is expected to cost US$1.1 billion. The SWOT (Surface Water Ocean Topography) mission is a joint...
by David Todd | Dec 19, 2014 | ESA, Satellites, Science, Seradata News
The European Space Agency finally called time on its Venus Express mission. Normal contact with the spacecraft has been lost since late November. While some telemetry data has been recovered, the spacecraft is in a spin after its fuel ran out during orbit raising...
by David Todd | Dec 16, 2014 | Commercial human spaceflight, commercial launch services, exploration, NASA, Science, SLS
While it occupies just a small portion of the spending in the trillion dollar budget of the US Government, as that was passed by Congress and the US Senate, NASA unexpectedly found itself a winner at this year’s throw of the dice. The Administration has been...
by David Todd | Dec 9, 2014 | China, Launches, Satellites, Science
At 0326 GMT on 7th December a Long March 4B rocket was launched from the Taiyuan launch site in China. Aboard the launch was CBERS 4 – China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite. The spacecraft was launched into a 751 x 742km sun-synchronous orbit at 98.5 degrees...
