Really Rocket Science

Intended to deliver broadcast and broadband services across Europe and Africa, the SIRIUS 4 satellite successfully launched yesterday for SES-Sweden:

A Proton launch vehicle successfully lifted the SIRIUS 4 satellite into orbit today, marking the fourth mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS).

The Proton Breeze M vehicle, built by ILS partner Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, lifted off from Pad 39 at the cosmodrome at 4:39 a.m. today local time (5:39 p.m. EST Saturday, 22:39 GMT Saturday). After a 9-hour-13-minute mission, the launcher released the satellite into geostationary transfer orbit.

The SIRIUS 4 satellite is expected to go into service at the beginning of January at 5 degrees East longitude, where it will deliver broadcast and broadband services across Europe and parts of Africa for SES SIRIUS of Sweden.

“This was an especially important mission for ILS and our customer, SES SIRIUS,” said ILS President Frank McKenna. “ILS and our partner, Khrunichev, continue to focus on performance and on our long-term relationship with the SES group of companies.” This was SES SIRIUS’ first mission with ILS, which has launched 12 other satellites on Proton for sister companies SES ASTRA and SES AMERICOM since 1996.

“We are very proud and satisfied that the SIRIUS 4 mission has been a success,” said Hakan Sjodin, managing director of SES SIRIUS. “SIRIUS 4 will benefit our customers and extend our coverage and service in Eastern Europe. The success of the SIRIUS 4 mission is a milestone in our company history and we would like to express our appreciation of the good cooperation with our launch partners, International Launch Services and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems.”

Lockheed Martin built the SIRIUS 4 spacecraft using its A2100 platform. This was the 10th Proton mission with this type of spacecraft.

The launch video:

The Sirius satellites will be operated by the Swedish Space Corporatoin. Sven Krohn, who from his bio appears to be the Swedish space business superstar, runs their blog.

Ariancespace set a new record Wednesday evening:

Dans la nuit du mercredi 14 au jeudi 15 novembre 2007, Arianespace a mis en orbite de transfert géostationnaire deux charges utiles : le satellite de télécommunications militaires Skynet 5B d’Astrium Paradigm pour le Ministère britannique de la Défense et le satellite de télécommunications civiles Star One C1 de Thales Alenia Space pour l’opérateur brésilien Star One.

Trente-cinquième lancement d’Ariane 5, vingt-et-unième succès d’affilée et nouveau record de masse en orbite. Ce nouveau succès du lanceur Ariane 5, le cinquième en 2007, confirme que l’offre de Service & Solutions d’Arianespace est la référence pour tous les opérateurs du secteur des télécommunications civiles ou militaires. Depuis le début de 2007, Arianespace a lancé dix des douze satellites commerciaux de télécommunications lancés avec succès vers l’orbite géostationnaire.

Now, in English:

On Wednesday evening, November 14, Arianespace boosted two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO): the Astrium Paradigm Skynet 5B military communications satellite for the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the Star One C1 commercial communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Brazilian operator Star One.

The latest successful launch of an Ariane 5, the fifth in 2007, confirms that Arianespace’s launch Service & Solutions continues to set the standard for all telecom operators worldwide, whether civil or military. Since the beginning of 2007, Arianespace has successfully launched 10 of the 12 commercial telecommunications satellites placed in geostationary orbit. The Ariane 5 ECA launcher set a new record on this mission, orbiting a total payload of more than 8,700 kg.>

This is very cool: a video shot from the jungles of French Guiana. So this is what’s its really like to be there.

The ESA explains what went on, rocket-wise:

The Ariane 5’s cryogenic, liquid fuelled, main engine was ignited first. Seven seconds later, the solid fuel rocket boosters were also fired, and a fraction of a second after that, the launch vehicle lifted off.
 
The solid boosters were jettisoned 2 min: 19 sec after main engine ignition, and the fairing protecting the payload during the climb through the Earth’s atmosphere was discarded at 3 min: 10 sec. The launcher’s main engine was shut down at 8 min: 58 sec; six seconds later the main cryogenic stage separated from the upper stage and its payload.
 
Four seconds after main stage separation, the engine of the launcher’s cryogenic upper stage was ignited to continue the journey. The upper stage engine was shut down at 24 min: 56 sec into the flight, at which point the launch vehicle was travelling at 9377 metres per second (just over 34 800 km/h) at an altitude of 626.1 kilometres and the conditions for geostationary transfer orbit injection had been achieved.
 
At 27 min: 12 sec after main engine ignition, Skynet 5B separated from the launcher, followed by Star One C1 at 33 min: 47 sec.

What about that payload?

The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses the Skynet satellites for communications, with this newest generation provided many times more capacity than the previous series. Interestingly, the MOD doesn’t really own the satellite. They contract with Paradigm Secure Communications to design, build and operate the entire Skynet system. They make sure it’s suitable for military use (hardened, jam-proof, etc.)

Star One C1’s X-band payload will be used by the Brazilian military, but most of the payload will be used for television broadcasting and Internet applicaitons. Representing the third generation of Embratel satllites, Star One C1 was built by Thales Alenia Space and is based on the Spacebus 3000B3 configuration. It will replace Brasilsat B2 at 65° West. The C-band beam will be pretty hot over Brazil, and will be available to commercial teleports in southern Florida, as will the Mercosur Ku-band beam. The Brazilian Ku-band beam will be concentrated over Brazil’s urban centers along the southeast coastal area.

We blogged about Intel helping establish the most remote WiMAX city in the world before, so we’re glad to see Embratel placing an emphasis on bridging the digital divide. The Embratel Institute is their dedicated organization, setting up communications points, digital libraries and distance learning programs throughout Brazil.

Hey, that reminds me. Have you done your part to help? The One Laptop Per Child project deserves your support.

A Delta 4 Heavy rocket will launch the DSP-23 (Defense Support Program) satellite from Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station tonight (Launch Window: 8:39-10:41 p.m. EST; 0139-0341 GMT). Built by Northrop Grumman, the DSP satellites have been the spaceborne segment of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD’s) Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment System since 1970.

DSP satellites use infrared sensors to detect heat from missile and booster plumes against the Earth’s background. Air Force Defense Support Program satellites provide early detection and warning of missile launches and nuclear explosions to National Command Authorities and operational commands.

The launch will be broadcast LIVE via satellite (G26 @ 93° West, transponder 5, analog C-band, dowlnink frequency 3800 MHz Vertical) and webcast on the United Launch Alliance site — if they can get it right. ULA’s prior webcasts haven’t worked well. SpaceFlightNow will have real-time text updates. At 11:00 p.m. EST, you can watch it in HD on HDNet, which is available on Dish Network and DirecTV, and many other multichannel providers. HDNet may not stay on DirecTV much longer, given the lawsuit they’ve got going on. DirecTV want to put HDNet in a higher-priced package with other HD channels, and Mark Cuban doesn’t like that at all.

You’ve got to admire how he’s going about this. He saw the future and it was in HD. Yes, he grabbed old shows like Hogan’s Heroes — it was simple to convert from 35mm film to HD, but there wasn’t much content around when he started. Broadcasting launches from the Cape is something we like to see, even if it pre-empts regulars programming. In this case, for example, NASA TV will not be broadcasting the launch (showing STS-122 roll out instead).

At the CTAM Show in Washington last summer, held annually by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, trade publication Television Week held a luncheon and discussion with Dan Rather, formerly of CBS News and leader of Mark Cuban’s original news program, Dan Rather Reports. Really good interview; honest, candid and insightful: watch it here.

Also got to give him credit for doing what he wants to, whether it’s competing on Dancing With The Stars on ABC, or picking a fight with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.  He talked about these topics and more in his closing keynote speech at the BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas . Here’s the transcript, courtesy of Fast Company:

Connection between Dancing With the Stars and blogging. Dancing With the Stars taught me value of different mediums. People complimenting me for blogs is nothing like little old ladies telling me i should have won and that I was cheated on Dancing With the Stars.

I started my blog in 2004 because I did an interview with the Dallas Morning News about the Dallas Mavericks. I expected to see a write up that equated with the conversation. What was written was different than the email exchange. I decided it was time to start a blog. I put up a link to the article and then put up the email exchange. The response was amazing and was an accelerator for me to start blogging.

All of a sudden they realized they weren’t in charge of me. They had to realize they had to pay attention to people. Blogging isn’t just about people getting things off their chest, it’s a way for ideas and the truth to come out.

Over time I understood what blogging meant to me. Before kids and marriage I knew I could call up my buddies and we talked about everything on our minds: sports, tech, politics — but it was limited to the 5 or 10 drunks I knew

I got to talk to a whole universe of people. It was about how everyone was responding to me. More than 1 million people read the blog in 2004, and the software couldn’t support the comments. But it was the response coming back that mattered.

Are you honest in what you write or are you not? Are you just writing to get people to read. If you do that than you’re no different than mainstream media.

I learned you have to be brutally honest. Once you are honest you can define your brand.

If you’re gonna go the corporate route. MSM is trying to introduce blogs. If you’re a reporter for the newspaper — you’re a reporter. Either you’re a reporter or you’re not.

As exciting as we think our opinions are — we’re gonna run out. I think I’m gonna be able to whip something out in 15 minutess and I say someone is going to call me on that. I wrote a blog recently about facebook about opening its api vs what google is doing for opensocial. As i started doing more homework I realized I was not only gonna look like an idiot to readers but I was gonna feel like one. It becomes stronger when you do the work behind it.

The blogosphere is changing and becoming corporatized. You have to compete with nonbloggers; it’s your opinion vs The New York Times and The Dallas Morning News. You have to understand where you fit. As others enter your brand starts to dissipate.

Replenish yourself through good old fashion research and work. Decide if it’s full time or part time. Is it who you are or not who you are.

When you take the step to get paid to blog you’re going to lose ability to be perfectly honest. Someone is going to want something for paying your bills.

Bill O’Reilly is a moron. I’ve fallen into that trap. I’ve done my f you blogs. The hardest ones are the ones where you scream and yell at someone. It feels really really good. Then you remember these blogs are forever. The Internet archives are there forever. Whatever you write is going to be there forever.

What appears to be an honest answer that brands you today may not be in 2008. People Google you. When we hire people we Google them.

I don’t hold myself back but I’ve got a lot more money than you. I don’t care. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I can sit up here and not care. But not everybody is that fortunate. But I’m not saying muzzle yourself. Just be honest.

Mark Cuban takes questions from the audience.

Q: When starting should you worry about ads?
A: GoogleAds cheapen it. They need to be appropriately placed. Once you start getting some traffic and you realize you can turn it into a business then you can make decisions about it.

Q: Have you ever considered turning off comments because of haters?
A: I’ve turned them off; deleted them. Anonymity makes people say the darndest things. They say I can’t dance because my toes are funny.

Q: How do you marry your business with blogging?
A: I have this site called Sharesleuth where we investigate companies. I’ll take a position in the stock prior to publishing. I’m open and transparent. We are factual. We haven’t been sued or questioned.

Q: Did it work asking people to vote for you on your blog?
A: I was a complete whore. I put it on facebook and on my blog. I spent more time on trying to get votes than my dancing.

Q: Future of blogging — what can change it? What can take over?
A: The history of all of this is the Website. A lot of people were setting up sites in the 90s. People were putting up sites and speaking their mind. There were forums in Compuserve and Prodigy. Then it was an application that changed it all Don’t think the game is gonna change all that much. I’m not a huge fan of UGC and YouTube. Whenever it is easier to create everybody does. The longer and longer the tail becomes. MSM is also adopting easy tools … other things will come up. It’s gonna be hard to have more than just the ultra long tail. Viewers or readership impact. Look at the music industry. It’s so easy to create a song right now, everybody does. It’s harder to stand out. It will come down to content is king, with marketing being a major part of it.

Q: What about facebook’s new advertising?
A: It’s an advertising forward. It’ll be okay the first couple of times. Then everybody turns into a super spammer and they ain’t your friend no more. Someone will get paid to send and someone to receive. There are much better alternatives.

Q: Do you write your own blog?
A: Yes I do unlike Donald Trump. See I always go back to the people I pick on. Yes I write my own blog.

Q: Do you find Bill O’Reilly’s attacks on you to be a net plus or a net minus?
A: It’s neither. I’ve been putting my e-mail out in the public since 1986. I put it up on the JumboTron. I’ve said it on Letterman and and Leno. It’s the same 25 people saying the same thing. He says I’m gonna get you. It sounds like my 4-year-old daughter.

We put together HDNET and Magnolia so you can see it before it goes to theaters also DVD releases same day. Sneak preview on HDNET. Redacted in limited theaters — theaters don’t want what we’re giving free previews of . But at the end of the day, even if you have large screen, you’re going to the movies — it’s a different experience.

Q: What do you think about UGC now? Do you still think YouTube is not a real business?
A: If the media writes about it, then more media writes about it. YouTube is subsidizing any video you want to put on the Internet for free. Because they hide behind the Digital Millennium Copyright Act — Google can’t get in trouble if someone puts up South Park. South Park has to find it and request it be taken down. They don’t know what’s there. They are hiding behind the DMCA. they can’t put ads around what they don’t know is there. Let Google pay. They can’t sell ads around non-licensed content. If it were any other company in the world, they’d be gone. But they can subsidize a lot of things.

Q: Is facebook overvalued?
A: It’s cheap at the value Microsoft gave if they ever really get to monetize their members. Facebook is the only place where there’s all that information about me. Facebook has the opportunity to be gianormous. But the biggest opportunity is a new OS right now. Microsoft is like 25 years old. Mac is great but you can only use it on Apple. It’ll be great to have something like what Google is proposing with a mobile OS.

Q; If facebook were for sale would you buy it?
A: Yeah I’d buy it but I can’t afford it. The two companies I would buy are Verizon and facebook.

Another highlight at BlogWorld was the world’s larget pajama party, held at the Hard Rock Cafe.

A la suite d’une anomalie constatée sur l’un des équipements du lanceur Ariane 5, Arianespace a décidé de reporter le lancement prévu le vendredi 9 novembre afin de procéder à des vérifications complémentaires. Une nouvelle date de lancement sera communiquée dès que possible.

Translation: Arianespace has postponed tonight’s Ariane 5 lift-off following the detection of an anomaly on the launch vehicle. Additional verifications on the launcher are being performed.  A new launch date will be announced shortly.

Le poop, via Arianespace:

Tonight’s Ariane 5 lift-off has been postponed by Arianespace following the detection of an anomaly on the launch vehicle.

Both the launcher and its dual-satellite payload are in a safe mode, and the Ariane 5 is being moved back to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building. The electrical anomaly involves a flight support unit on one of the launcher’s two solid propellant boosters, and this unit will be swapped out with a new one.

A new launch date for the mission will be announced shortly. The flight will be Arianespace’s fifth Ariane 5 mission of 2007, and the launcher carries the Skynet 5B and Star One C1 satellites.

Skynet 5B was built by Astrium, and will be delivered in orbit to Paradigm Secure Communications. The spacecraft is to provide military telecommunications services for the United Kingdom’s armed forces, NATO and other countries.

Star One C1 is a Thales Alenia Space-manufactured satellite, which will be used by Brazilian satellite operator Star One for communications, multimedia and broadband Internet services over South America.

In September, we discussed the launch Japan’s lunar study, KAGUYA – what many consider the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission in the post-Apollo Era. KAGUYA is already showing results, bringing us the first high definition image of Earth (link):

The photograph was taken from a distance of 110,000 km– hundreds of times further away from Earth than any spaceship with similar capabilities had ever been. After taking these breathtaking images, KAGUYA went on to orbit the Moon and then released a baby satellite as part of its ongoing lunar exploration mission.

Until recently there were only three possible ways to photograph Earth from a distance of several hundred kilometers- via a Space Shuttle, via the International Space Station (ISS) or via orbiting satellites. Now, thanks to the KAGUYA Lunar explorer, which was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), we can see Earth in its full glory, as it is from afar.

In September 2007, JAXA launched the KAGUYA (SELENA: Selenological and Engineering Explorer) into space. It is composed of a main orbiting satellite and two smaller satellites in polar orbit, and is equipped with instruments for scientific investigation of the Moon.

KAGUYA’s (SELENA) main mission is to collect scientific data from the Moon that will be used to explore the possibility of utilizing the Moon in the future. The three HD CCD 2.2 Mega-pixel cameras onboard the KAGUYA were developed by Japan’s Broadcasting Corporation specifically for this mission. In addition to the cameras, the ship is equipped with 13 other scientific instruments which will be used to explore the Moon.

The abovementioned image was processed from a high resolution video that was shot periodically over eight minutes, on September 29th, 2007. When looking at the image, one can see the outlines of the west coast of South America quite distinctively.

And we have hi-def images of the moon, as well:

This is a still image taken out from the first moving image shooting when the KAGUYA flew from the northern area of the Oceanus Procellarum to the centre of the North Pole. As the altitude near the North Pole is high, the angle of the coming sunlight was lower, thus the shade of the crater topography looks long in the image. The moving image was taken at 4:07 AM on 31 October 2007 (JST) by eight-fold speed intermittent shooting (eight minutes is converged to one minute) from the KAGUYA, and the data was received at the JAXA Usuda Deep Space Centre on the same day.

A video of the moon captured by the HDTV camera is available here.

A Chinese satellite successfully entered lunar orbit Monday, a month after Japan put its own probe into orbit around the moon, the AP reports:

 

Chinese space officials said the Chang’e 1 satellite, part of the country’s ambitious space exploration plans, entered lunar orbit after completing a planned braking operation.

China plans to keep the Chang’e 1 – named after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon – there for one year, about the same length of time as Japan’s probe. China launched its satellite late last month, while Japan put its into space in September.

The timing of the launches raises the prospect of a space rivalry between the two Asian nations, with India possibly joining in if it carries through on a plan to send its own lunar probe into space in April.

 

We blogged about the Japanese lunar probe when it launched in September. Meanwhile, back at the 73rd annual meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the lunar probe referenced above is indeed planned for April, 2008, with more missions to follow:

Work on Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe, was progressing, said J.N. Goswami, Director, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. The plan was to launch the spacecraft around April 2008.

Planning for the follow-on mission had started, he said. Apart from an orbiter that would circle the moon, Chandrayaan-2 could also have a soft-lander carrying a robotic rover.

A slide projected by Dr. Goswami during his talk indicated that the Chandrayaan-2 mission could take place around 2011-12.

Wikipedia has some good information on Chandrayaan. 

So is this the beginning of an Asian space race? Here’s an opinion piece from Japan, translated into English and published in the China Daily, which argues that China is way ahead of the game:

China already has a high level of space technology. It has launched more than 100 Long March rockets since 1970, while Japan’s H2-A rocket has been launched only 13 times…..

[Now], China’s space development has drastically accelerated. Starting with the launch of the orbiter, China’s lunar exploration program comprises a moon landing and deployment of a moon rover with the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples. China also aims to advance its technologies for manned spacecraft.

Further, it is moving forward with projects to launch a reconnaissance satellite and another one for its own global positioning system.

In addition, China is launching communication satellites for Venezuela, Brazil and Nigeria, and also received an order from France to launch a communication satellite, showing the commercial success of its program.

China has voiced a strong desire to participate in the International Space Station (ISS) program in which Japan is involved and the United States and Russia play pivotal roles.

Some observers say that in the near future China will become one of the world’s leading nations in the field of space development, equivalent to the United States and Russia.

In contrast, Japan’s space program, despite its successful development of the H2-A rocket, lacks specific targets – including what type of satellite it will launch in the future – due to budget woes.

The SAR-Lupe satellite was launched via a Kosmos-3M rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia earlier this morning. Built by OHB-System AG in Germany ("lupe" is German for magnifying glass; SAR = synthetic aperture radar), the satellite will be used for earth observation, day or night, in any weather condition — according to Wikipedia:

They use an X-band radar with a three-metre dish, providing a resolution of about 50 centimetres over a frame size of 5.5km on a side (‘spotlight mode’, in which the satellite rotates to keep the dish pointed at a single target) or about one metre over a frame size of 8km x 60km (‘stripmap mode’, in which the satellite maintains a fixed orientation over the earth and the radar image is formed simply by the satellite’s motion along its orbit). Response time for imaging of a given area is 10 hours or less.

The Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (German Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement) runs this program. Here’s what they like best about this system:

Satellites as carriers of optical or radar sensors can, unlike aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles, carry out reconnaissance operations without infringing sovereign rights. They are thus particularly suited to gather information – without escalating effect – about early crisis detection and prevention and about effective crisis management.

Ripping through the atmosphere, landing in Kazakhstan. Just a little off target, via SpaceFlightNow.com:

The Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan today, bringing outgoing space station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, flight engineer Oleg Kotov and Malaysia’s first man in space, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, safely back to Earth after a steeper-than-usual descent that left the ship well short of its intended landing site.

The spacecraft undocked from the aft port of the Russian Zvezda command module around 3:14 a.m. EDT. Yurchikhin fired the capsule’s braking rockets for four minutes beginning at 5:47 a.m. to begin the hourlong descent. At 6:14 a.m., the craft reached the discernible atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 feet.

Plunging back to Earth from west to east over central Kazakhstan, the flight plan called for a landing near the town of Arkalyk. But for reasons yet to be explained, the Soyuz flew a steeper-than-planned trajectory and landed short of the intended touchdown point, subjecting the crew to higher-than-normal braking forces. It was the first "ballistic" re-entry since the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft returned on May 3, 2003, with the space station’s sixth full time crew.

Landing some 211 miles west of Arkalyk, there was no live television coverage of the landing. But NASA commentator Rob Navias, monitoring the re-entry from the Johnson Space Center’s mission control in Houston, said Russian recovery forces aboard search aircraft spotted the capsule as it descended under its main parachutes at an altitude of about 5,000 feet. Russian flight controllers said recovery crews contacted the cosmonauts during the final moments of the descent and were told the crew was in good shape.

The account, as provided by the Associated Press: 

A technical glitch sent a Soyuz spacecraft on a wild ride home Sunday, forcing Malaysia’s first space traveler and two Russian cosmonauts to endure eight times the force of gravity before their capsule landed safely.

All three were fine, with medical tests showing they were not injured during the steeper-than-usual descent, Russian Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov said at a news conference at Mission Control in Korolyov, just outside Moscow.

He said space officials and experts had "a few tense moments" but the spacecraft landed safely with the crew in good condition.

The Soyuz — with Russians Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, and Malaysian Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor on board — veered off-course and touched down at 6:36 a.m. EDT, more than 200 miles west of the designated landing site on the steppes of Kazakhstan, Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said.

"That meant that the crew were subjected to higher than normal gravity load on their descent," he told The Associated Press.

Soyuz crews typically must bear four times the force of gravity when the spacecraft returns to Earth. But Lyndin said the glitch meant the crew was subjected to eight times the force of gravity.

Russian teams quickly located the craft, NASA said on its Web site.

Alexei Krasnov, head of the Russian space agency’s manned space programs, said an official commission would investigate the glitch.

"It’s difficult to immediately name a specific reason behind the problem. We need to do an in-depth analysis," he said.

A similar problem occurred in May 2003 when the crew — Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin and American astronauts Kenneth Bowersox and Donald Pettit — also experienced a steep, off-course landing. It then took salvage crews several hours to locate the spacecraft because of communications problems.

Yurchikhin and Kotov were returning home after a six-month stint at the international space station. Sheikh Muszaphar, a 35-year-old physician, had been at the orbital outpost since Oct. 12.

"This is a very momentous and historic occasion for Malaysia," Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters.

During about 10 days in space, Sheikh Muszaphar, fulfilling both his own dream of space travel and his country’s aspirations, performed experiments involving diseases and the effects of microgravity and space radiation on cells and genes.

"I am also very proud … that finally we have joined the small number of nations that have sent their sons and daughters to space," Sheikh Muszaphar wrote in his Web journal before returning to Earth.

The $25 million agreement for a Malaysian astronaut to fly to space was negotiated in 2003 along with a $900 million deal for Malaysia to buy 18 Russian fighter jets.

Back at the space station, the remaining crew — U.S. astronauts Peggy Whitson and Clayton Anderson, and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko — monitored the progress of the Soyuz on its return journey.

Whitson, the station’s first female commander, arrived along with Sheikh Muszaphar and Malenchenko on another Soyuz that lifted off from the Russian-leased launch facility in Kazakhstan Oct. 10.

She and Malenchenko are to spend six months in orbit, while Anderson — aboard since June — is to be replaced in the coming weeks by U.S. astronaut Daniel Tani, who is to arrive on the U.S. shuttle Discovery later this month.

The station’s new crew is to perform space walks linked in part with efforts to expand the station, which is due to add a European Space Agency module and a Japanese module in the coming months.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

We’ve discussed China’s space ambitions before (here and here), including Tom Delay’s over-the-top (if not ridiculous) assertion that the U.S. is losing a 21st "Space Race" with China.

And now it appears that China plans to "hit" the moon.

Gasp. Don’t worry — our Eastern "space race competitor" is not bombing the moon:

Chang’e I, China’s first lunar probe satellite will hit the moon to end its one-year orbital tour as part of the research mission, said Professor Xiao Naiyuan from the Department of Astronomy of Nanjing University in a scientific lecture held on October 6, according to a report by Nanjing Daily on October 8. The launch day of the satellite is yet to be determined.

The satellite is expected to shoot high-resolution photos when crashing into the moon, said Xiao.

I can’t wait to see the photos from that. The launch is in its final stages:

Chinese researchers and technicians are making final preparations for the launch of the country’s first moon orbiter.

Zhang Qingwei, minister in charge of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, says his team has nearly finished pre-launch tests.

The rocket and orbiter have been transported to the launch site and will blast off at the end of October. The mission has three main goals: to map three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, analyze dust on the moon, and study the space environment between the Earth and the moon. The minister says the next mission will be to launch a moon vehicle, and then safely return it to Earth.

A video of the orbiter is available here.

And if you want to see the launch in-person, you better be a Chinese national and line-up for your tickets now:

China is offering 2,000 tickets to view the launch of the country’s first lunar mission, the Chang’e 1 probe satellite, a company said Friday.

Only Chinese nationals are allowed to buy the tickets, priced at 800 yuan (107 dollars) each, Yang Pei, a spokeswoman for the ticket agency, Chengdu Chang’e Benyue Co. Ltd., told AFP.

Viewers can choose from three viewing points, with two located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) away from the launch site and one four kilometres away, according to Friday’s Shanghai Morning Post.

I love the smell of hydrochloric acid in the morning! That’s what you get when you mix rocket fuel burn-off with the air around the launch pad.

A Delta II rocket will be the sight to see Wednesday morning at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (webcast). The details, courtesy of United Launch Alliance:

Rocket/Payload: Delta II launching the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIR-17M satellite.

Date/Launch Time/Site: Oct. 17, with a launch window of 8:23 – 8:38 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-17A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. If the launch slips, the next launch attempt is set for Oct. 18, 8:19 – 8:34 a.m. EDT.

Description: GPS IIR-17 (M) will be the fourth modernized NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) military navigation satellite to launch. GPS is a space-based radio-positioning system consisting of a minimum of 24-satellite constellation that provides navigation and timing information to military and civilian users worldwide.

Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321.

Satellite Feeds:
Test Signal Start Date/Time: 10/17/2007 07:45:00 EASTERN
Program Start Date/Time 10/17/2007 8:00:00 EASTERN
End Date/Time: 10/17/2007 10:00:00 EASTERN

Downlink: Galaxy 26
Transponder – G26C-09
ORBITAL POSITION: 93 DEGREES (W)
BAND-C ANALOG
BANDWIDTH 36 MHz
DOWNLINK FREQ 3880 MHz (V)

All launches from the Cape are supported by the 45th Space Wing, Patrick Air Force Base — and people like Chris Bruce, who was featured in nice piece by Patrick Peterson in Florida Today:

When Chris Bruce isn’t keeping his 19-year-old daughter’s car running, he’s using his considerable mechanical ability to lead the team of technicians preparing the third stage of Delta 2 rockets for launch.

The GPS IIR-17 launch from Complex 17A on Wednesday morning will be the latest of nearly 50 rockets on which the 45-year-old Mims resident has worked.

Weighing 4,540 pounds, the satellite will be the fourth to feature newer GPS technology. It will be able to provide more accurate navigation data for pilots, drivers, boaters, hikers and the military.

Working conditions are tough. The good-natured
ribbing between his colleagues at United Launch Alliance, who also are his golfing buddies, often rises to a level of nastiness that only the thick-skinned and steel-nerved can bear.

There is one consolation.

"What goes around comes around," he said, showing a good-natured grin. "What you’ve dished out the day before, you’re receiving the next day."

The constant needling and trading of verbal jabs keeps the crew on their toes, he added. Oddly, it also makes for a good work environment.

"We’re like a second family," he said. "It’s like hanging out with your brothers."

Long hours at work are required during crunch times, and Bruce’s boss depends on him to make sure people and parts are where they should be.

"He leads with his experience," said Robin Smith, an assembly and test manager with 37 years of aerospace experience. "And I do count on him and rely on him a lot."

Bruce’s easygoing personality makes him a good co-worker.

"He’s very good natured," Smith said.

Bruce is among about 4,000 United Launch Alliance employees who launch government satellites for the company formed by a merger of the rocket divisions of Lockheed Martin Corp. and The Boeing Co. in May 2005.

His crew assembles the launcher’s third stage, which is about six feet tall and will push the GPS satellite to its final orbit about 11,000 miles above Earth. The spacecraft will become one of 30 GPS satellites in orbit.

"We’ve been really good about putting them right where they need to be," Bruce said.

Bruce came to Brevard County 22 years ago, after completing a two-year associate’s degree in electronics at DeVry University in Atlanta.

"I had an uncle who worked for McDonnell Douglas. He got me an interview, and the rest is history," he said.

After several job changes, including working as a roofer for a year during a slowdown, Bruce started working on the Delta program in 1996.

If successful, this GPS launch would be the 77th Delta launch since the last failure in 1997. Consistency has been a hallmark of the program.

"There have been very few changes since I’ve been in this group," Bruce said. "It’s basic, but it’s efficient."

Bruce said the experienced crew is comfortable processing the rocket’s third stage because they have done the job many times before.

"It’s just like clockwork," he said. "Everything gets bolted and torqued. We’ve done it so much, we just know."

Bruce said attention to detail and the determination to do a good job are the personality traits that make his group successful.

"It was the way I was brought up," he said. "My dad always had the philosophy, ‘If you’re going to do it, do it right the first time. Put forth your best effort.’ "

"It’s the whole group. It has to be right," he said. "There’s no room for error."

During Wednesday’s launch, Bruce will follow the countdown even though he doesn’t work with the launch crew.

"I really don’t worry," he said. "I know the system is reliable and it always has been."