http://www.spaceflightnews.net NASA and Spaceflight news about Space Exploration,rockets,launches,space shuttle,space station,mars,moon,spaceraft en-gb http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100831175732843 Despite the fact that the Obama Administration is pushing to cancel NASA's Constellation program and its Ares rockets, today NASA and ATK Aerospace Systems successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the solid rocket booster that's being designed to power the first stage of the Ares I launch vehicle. The test, named Development Motor-2 (DM-2) was the second successful static test Ares five-segment reusable solid rocket motor derived from the four-segment boosters used in the space shuttle program. FREE VIDEOARES DM-2 TEST FIRE (FROM NASA TV HD) • DOWNLOADALL-ACCESS MEMBER VIDEO DOWNLOADSDM-2 POST-TEST PRESS CONFERENCE • DOWNLOADENTIRE ARES DM-2 NASA TV COVERAGE • DOWNLOADARES DM-2 STATIC TEST FIRE • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100830165809218 WASHINGTON, DC - NASA has extended the Space Program Operations Contract with United Space Alliance, LLC, of Houston to March 31, 2011. The $909,593,590 contract extension supports flight operations for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. The contract provides mission design and planning, astronaut and flight controller training, system integration, flight operations, vehicle processing, launch and recovery, vehicle sustaining engineering, and flight crew equipment processing. This is a cost reimbursement contract with award and performance fees. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100830165718808 WASHINGTON, DC - Three compilations of images from more than half a century of NASA history are available for comment on a section of the photo-sharing site Flickr known as The Commons. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100830165607847 WASHINGTON, DC - NASA's Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program (CRuSR) has awarded a total of approximately $475,000 to Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Texas and Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif. The awards will allow the two companies to perform test flights of their experimental vehicles near the edge of space. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100830165345751 HOUSTON, TX - NASA astronauts Linda Godwin and Scott Altman have announced plans to leave the agency. Godwin will retire and Altman will take a job in the private sector. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100820165855994 HOUSTON, TX - If you like music, the space program and are a little nostalgic, NASA has the perfect opportunity for you. For the first time, the public can help choose songs to wake up the astronauts during the last two scheduled space shuttle missions. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100820164156307 WASHINGTON, D.C. ??? U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected New Mexico State University (NMSU), Las Cruces, NM, to lead a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. The center is a partnership of academia, industry, and government, developed for the purpose of creating a world-class consortium that will address current and future challenges for commercial space transportation. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100817165500354 WASHINGTON, DC - The President's Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development, co-chaired by NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, today released its report to President Barack Obama with recommendations to enhance economic development strategies along Florida's Space Coast. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100810150356768 WASHINGTON - NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement Tuesday about the plane crash in Alaska that killed former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and injured former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and his son, Kevin: "We at NASA are deeply saddened by today's news that former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and others were killed in a plane crash in Alaska that also injured former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and his son, Kevin. As a long-time supporter of NASA, Sen. Stevens made lasting contributions to our agency and our country. We at NASA mourn his loss and send our deepest condolences to his family, as well as the families and friends of all who perished in the accident. We also send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Sean, Kevin, and other survivors of the crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families." http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100804142902644 On Wednesday, August 4, Arianespace orbited the NILESAT 201 direct broadcast satellite for the Egyptian operator Nilesat, and the RASCOM-QAF1R communications satellite for the pan-African operator RascomStar-QAF. Both satellites were built by Thales Alenia Space.READ:ARIANE V201 MISSION BOOK: READFREE VIDEOARIANE 5 LAUNCH CLIP (CREDIT: CNES) • WATCHVIDEO DOWNLOADS FOR ALL-ACCESS MEMBERSARIANE 5 LAUNCH CLIP (CREDIT: CNES) • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100804142811471 A three-stage Black Brant X suborbital sounding rocket was successfully launched on August 4, 2010 at 5:15 a.m. from NASA's launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The purpose of the mission was to flight qualify the vehicle's third stage Nihka motor. FREE VIDEO BLACK BRANT LAUNCH CLIP • WATCH VIDEO DOWNLOADS FOR ALL-ACCESS MEMBERs BLACK BRANT LAUNCH CLIP • DOWNLOAD LONGER VIDEO OF BLACK BRANT LAUNCH • DOWNLOAD WATCH THE ENTIRE LAUNCH WEBCAST • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100728223802114 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Kennedy Space Center has a bright future - the was the message from center Director Bob Cabana during this morning's annual Community Leaders Breakfast at the KSC Visitor's Center. However, Cabana was also blunt in pointing out the tremendous challenges facing Kennedy over the next several years as the space center embarks on an ambitious plan for the most comprehensive restructuring since the inception of the space shuttle program over 30 years ago. (Photo Credit: Lloyd Behrendt / Blue Sawtooth Studio) WATCH FREE VIDEO BOB CABANA'S MORNING TALK • WATCH QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION • WATCH HI-QUALITY VIDEO DOWNLOADS FOR ALL-ACCESS MEMBERS BOB CABANA'S MORNING TALK • DOWNLOAD QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100727142022686 Officials with The Conrad Foundation today announced ManSat Limited, a global commercial space corporation headquartered on the Isle of Man , has joined with the Conrad Foundation to expand the 2010-2011 Spirit of Innovation Awards program on the international stage. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100702195955200 Russian flight controllers are scrambling to determine why the Progress 38 (M-06M) resupply spacecraft failed to dock with the International Space Station today, sailing past the orbiting complex as the six astronatus on-board watched during a few heart-stopping moments before it was determined that craft automatically aborted its rendezvous and guided itself safely past the station instead of careening out of control. FREE VIDEO PROGRESS-38 DOCKING IS ABORTED • WATCH PROGRESS-38 LAUNCH • WATCH ALL-ACCESS MEMBER VIDEO DOWNLOADS PROGRESS-38 DOCKING IS ABORTED • DOWNLOAD JULY 2, 2010 ISS UPDATE • DOWNLOAD JUNE 30, 2010 ISS UPDATE • DOWNLOAD PROGRESS-38 LAUNCH • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100724141738414 Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. - The 45th Space Wing celebrated the 60th anniversary of the inaugural launch from its Eastern Range here today. This historic launch, which featured a Bumper 8 launch vehicle and was primarily composed of a captured V-2 rocket, occurred on July 24, 1950. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=2010071614225636 LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, CA - Continuing a tradition from the Milstar satellite communications program, the Lockheed-Martin/Air Force Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) team signed a piece of the flight thermal blanket for the AEHF-1 satellite. http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100701142746800 Kennedy Space Center, FL - Mr. Ed Mango, Launch Director for NASA's Ares I-X, and Mr. Pete Nickolenko (right), Acting Director Launch Vehicle Processing, recognized Ms. Kathy Winters of the 45th SW Weather Squadron with a NASA Launch Director's Award for her outstanding support of the Ares I-X mission at Kennedy Space Center on July 1.by 1st Lt. Karl Wiest45 SW/PAREAD THE ORIGINAL STORY: http://www.patrick.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123213447 http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100627220949304 On Saturday, June 26, an Ariane 5 rocket successfully orbited the Arabsat-5A communications satellite for the operator Arabsat, and the COMS multimission satellite for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).FREE VIDEOARIANE 5 V915 LAUNCH CLIP. CREDIT: ARIANESPACE. • WATCHALL-ACCESS MEMBER VIDEO DOWNLOADSARIANE 5 V915 LAUNCH CLIP. CREDIT: ARIANESPACE. • DOWNLOADWATCH A REPLAY OF THE LAUNCH WEBCAST. CREDIT: ARIANESPACE. • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100616184739343 BAIKONUR COSMODROME, KAZAHKSTAN - Three new residents blasted off for the space station this evening and headed for a rendezvous with the other half of the Expedition 24 crew already working aboard the complex. The Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft lifted off on time at 5:35 p.m. EDT from Baikonur Cosmodrome on the steppes of Kazahkstan and, after nine minutes of a picture-perfect ascent settled into preliminary orbit as the crew set about preparing for docking with the station on June 17 for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.(Image Right: Soyuz blasts off. Credit: NASA)LARGE HIGH-QUALITY ALL-ACCESS MEMBER VIDEO DOWNLOADSWATCH A REPLAY OF NASA TV SOYUZ LAUNCH COVERAGE • DOWNLOADSOYUZ TMA-19 LAUNCH DAY HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOADSOYUZ LAUNCH REPLAYS • DOWNLOADPOSTLAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH BILL GERSTENMAIER • DOWNLOADPRELAUNCH ACTIVITIES AND FINAL CREW PRESS CONFERENCE • DOWNLOADPRELAUNCH ACTIVITIES AND STATE COMMISSION MEETING • DOWNLOADPRELAUNCH VIDEO FILE • DOWNLOADEXPEDITION 24 CREW BACKGROUND • DOWNLOADSOYUZ MATING AND ROLLOUT TO THE LAUNCH PAD • DOWNLOADJUNE 15 ISS UPDATE • DOWNLOADJUNE 16 ISS UPDATE • DOWNLOADEXPEDITION 24 IN-FLIGHT MEDIA INTERVIEWS JUNE 2 • DOWNLOADEXPEDITION 24/25 PRELAUNCH ACTIVITIES AND PRESS CONFERENCE • DOWNLOADJUNE 2 ISS UPDATE • DOWNLOAD http://www.spaceflightnews.net/article.php?story=20100611141441333 University students and professors from across the country and Puerto Rico will converged NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia this month to learn how to build small experiments that can be launched on sounding rockets. This is part of a week-long workshop, known as RockOn!, that began June 19.(Photo Caption: A Terrier-Orion Rocket launches from Wallops Island. Credit: NASA/J.Owen)