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Space


February 2004 Space News

  • ESA mulls blasting Rosette probe with Russian launch vehicle IRNA 29 Feb 2004 -- Following two failures to lift off an Arianne-5 launch vehicle with the Rosette probe under a flight program to discover the secrets of the Churyumov-Geramisenko comet, the European Space Agency (ESA) is mulling over putting the probe into orbit with, among other versions, a Russian Proton carrier.
  • U.S.-EU Joint Statement on GPS/Galileo Cooperation Washington File 27 Feb 2004 -- The United States and the European Union have achieved agreement "on most of the overall principles of GPS [Global Positioning System]/Galileo cooperation," according to a U.S.-EU joint statement issued in Brussels February 26, the day after the conclusion of the latest round of negotiations.
  • Remarks by Braibanti, Hilbrecht on GPS/Galileo Agreement Washington File 27 Feb 2004 -- A joint statement on principles of cooperation between two satellite navigation systems -- America's GPS, or Global Positioning System, and Europe's Galileo -- was issued in Brussels at the end of the latest round of negotiations February 25.
  • China unveils lunar probe project details PLA Daily 27 Feb 2004 -- China's long-expected lunar probe program broke the ground Thursday, with its scientific targets, project targets and the development schedule laid out, said China's Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense.
  • US Air Force to pay Boeing, Lockheed more PLA Daily 27 Feb 2004 -- The US Air Force will pay 50 percent more to Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. to send military satellites into space, the Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
  • Northrop Grumman Successfully Demonstrates Key Capabilities of Downlink Phased Array Antenna for Advanced EHF Program Northrop Grumman 26 Feb 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully demonstrated electrical performance capabilities of the downlink phased array antenna for the Advanced Extreme High Frequency (EHF) military satellite communications program, reaching a key company development milestone toward providing increased battlefield connectivity and protection for U.S. armed forces.
  • MARS ROVERS VOA 26 Feb 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover "Spirit" has entered the rockiest terrain it has encountered since arriving in January, as it heads for a crater to search for signs that water once flowed on the red planet. A mission scientist says he is confident the water question will be answered in about a month, when Spirit and its twin, "Opportunity," have gathered more data.
  • DARK ENERGY VOA 25 Feb 2004 -- U-S astronomers say their Hubble Space Telescope observations make them more confident that a mysterious, repulsive "dark energy" that counters gravity will keep the universe expanding, but not so fast as to tear it apart. However, a steadily expanding cosmos will eventually move other galaxies out of sight.
  • SPACE STATION / SPACEWALK VOA 25 Feb 2004 -- The two U-S and Russian crewmen aboard the International Space Station are preparing for a spacewalk later today (Thursday) that will leave the outpost temporarily unoccupied for the first time. The U-S space agency, NASA, had to overcome initial qualms about the maneuver before accepting it.
  • Lockheed Martin Taps Harris Corporation For Key Role On Space Based Radar Team Lockheed Martin 24 Feb 2004 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has chosen Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) to be a key member of its team pursing a U.S. Air Force contract to develop the Space Based Radar (SBR) system.
  • Shenzhou VI to fly five to seven days in space PLA Daily 24 Feb 2004 -- Shenzhou VI, China's second manned space flight to be launched next year, is scheduled to fly five to seven days, says Wang Yongzhi, chief designer of China's manned space program.
  • China plans to put two people into space in 2005 PLA Daily 23 Feb 2004 -- China, which last year became the third nation to blast a man into space, plans to send two astronauts up on a five-to-seven-day mission in 2005 and later build a space station, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Saturday.
  • Lockheed Martin Space Instrument To Study Role Of Comets In Formation Of Solar System Lockheed Martin 23 Feb 2004 -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, Calif. designed and built key components for ROSINA -- the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis -- an instrument ready for launch on Feb. 26, 2004 on the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft. The goal of the international mission is to rendezvous, orbit, and land on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, in an effort to answer questions about the origin of our Solar System.
  • Officail: Interplanetary shuttle can be built in five years IRNA 22 Feb 2004 -- A Russian interplanetary shuttle can be built in five years provided there is normal funding, said first deputy general designer of the Energia Space Corporation Nikolai Zelenschikov here Sunday.
  • ATK supports launch of Lockheed Martin Titan IV B rocket ATK 20 Feb 2004 -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) solid propulsion and composite technologies supported the recent launch of a Lockheed Martin Titan IV B rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., that successfully placed into orbit a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite.
  • LOCKHEED MARTIN-DEVELOPED NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM SUPPORTS MDA WAR GAME Lockheed Martin 19 Feb 2004 -- The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led Missile Defense National Team recently demonstrated a system architecture that links Joint services, Combatant Commands and disparate systems and sensors in a major Missile Defense Agency (MDA) war game. The National Team's Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system, the integrating architecture for missile defense, enabled war game participants to plan, coordinate and execute an effective defense against a simulated missile attack in a multi-week war game conducted in late 2003.
  • Lockheed Martin Receives $505 Million for PAC-3 Missile Production Lockheed Martin 19 Feb 2004 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received production contracts totaling $505 million for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missiles and related support equipment. The battle-proven PAC-3 Missile is currently the world's only fielded hit-to-kill, pure kinetic energy air defense missile.
  • SHUTTLE RESCUE PLANS VOA 19 Feb 2004 -- Officials at the U-S Space agency NASA suggest the space shuttle will not return to flight until next year. When it does, a second shuttle crew will be standing by on the ground to rescue its crew if necessary.
  • MARS ROVERS VOA 19 Feb 2004 -- Soil stuck to the wheels of a U-S rover on Mars is causing mission scientists to wonder if it is mud. Two rovers are on the red planet seeking evidence of liquid water that might once have supported life.
  • Putin vows to build missile defense system with new strategic weapons PLA Daily 19 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that his country may begin building its own missile defense system and the military will be equipped with new strategic weapons.
  • ATK Awarded $97 Million Contract to Supply Orion Rocket Motors to Orbital Sciences Corporation ATK 18 Feb 2004 -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) has received contracts worth over $97 million to produce first, second, and third stage Orion motors for Orbital Sciences Corporation. Work under the two-year contracts will be performed at the ATK Thiokol Propulsion Bacchus Plant in Magna, Utah.
  • BLACK HOLE DESTROYS STAR VOA 18 Feb 2004 -- For the first time, two orbiting telescopes have seen the violent death throes of a star being partially swallowed by a black hole. The observation supports a long-held theory of how black holes capture unsuspecting stars that wander into their neighborhood.
  • MARS ROVERS VOA 17 Feb 2004 -- One of the U-S Mars rovers has spun a wheel to dig a shallow trench in the sand in the continuing search for evidence that water once flowed on the red planet. The second rover is in the midst a long trek to a nearby crater that will take several days.
  • Lockheed Martin-Led Team Submits Proposal To Design And Build U.S. Navy's Next Generation Narrowband Tactical Satellite Communications System Lockheed Martin 17 Feb 2004 -- A team led by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today submitted its proposal to design and build the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), a next-generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system for the U.S. Navy that will provide significantly improved and assured communications for the mobile warfighter.
  • MARS ROVERS VOA 16 Feb 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover "Spirit" has set a distance record in its pursuit of evidence the red planet once had liquid water that could have supported life.
  • Successful Launch of Last Boeing IUS Deploys U.S. Air Force Satellite Boeing 14 Feb 2004 -- On the final mission for the program, a Boeing [NYSE:BA] Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) payload booster vehicle successfully deployed a U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite today.
  • Lockheed Martin-Built Titan IV Rocket Successfully Launches Defense Support Program Payload Lockheed Martin 14 Feb 2004 -- A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-built Titan IV B rocket thundered off its Complex 40 seaside launch pad today at 1:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time carrying a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force. The DSP satellite constellation provides early warning of missile launches worldwide. An Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) transferred the satellite to its final orbit approximately 22,000 miles above Earth.
  • 22nd Northrop Grumman-Built DSP Launched Successfully; U.S. Air Force Satellite Joins DSP Constellation On-Orbit Northrop Grumman 14 Feb 2004 -- The 22nd Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)-built Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite was successfully launched today by the U.S. Air Force from Cape Canaveral Air Station.
  • HUBBLE TELESCOPE'S FUTURE VOA 13 Feb 2004 -- After 14 years of stunning cosmic observations, the Hubble Space Telescope is facing oblivion. The U-S space agency NASA has canceled its final maintenance by a space shuttle crew, upsetting many astronomers, politicians, and private citizens. But new techniques in astronomy are making the Hubble obsolete.
  • Rosetta – Masterpiece of Technology with a Cosmic Message EADS 12 Feb 2004 -- Two weeks before launch of the European comet probe Rosetta, the final preparations are underway at the launch site Kourou, French-Guyana. Under the management of space technology engineers of the European space company EADS Astrium, the spacecraft has been thoroughly tested and integrated into Ariane 5. This requires meticulous care since the launch window for the start to a journey lasting ten years will open for the first time on February 26, 2004. Rosetta will be the first spacecraft to orbit the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and to deploy a lander on the comet's surface.
  • Rosetta - In Search of Pristine Matter EADS 12 Feb 2004 -- It is a journey far into our solar system, a journey into the unknown and also a journey into the past. With the Rosetta launch, one of the most exciting European space projects will be able to start at the second attempt after the launch had to be postponed for more than one year. Rosetta is to set off in February 2004 in search of pristine matter and help find answers on how life came into being. The launch window for the interplanetary mission opens on February 26.
  • First Lockheed Martin-Built Milstar Satellite Marks 10 Years In Service Lockheed Martin 12 Feb 2004 -- The first U.S. Air Force Milstar communications satellite, built by a team led by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], has achieved its 10-year design life of on-orbit service, providing our nation's warfighters with secure and reliable communications during military operations since 1994.
  • Northrop Grumman to Provide Antenna for Italy's Shallow Radar Experiment on NASA's Mission to Mars Northrop Grumman 12 Feb 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a contract by the Alenia Spazio, Rome, Italy, to provide a di-pole antenna for Alenia's SHARAD (SHAllow RADar) experiment to be flown on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005.
  • U-S / MOON-MARS VOA 11 Feb 2004 -- President Bush's new space commission has embarked on its effort to translate his broad plan for human visits to the moon and Mars into reality. The commissioners say the biggest challenge is not technology but sustaining public interest and political commitment for the decades necessary to complete the task.
  • Thales, Inmarsat and EADS space consortium pre-selected for second phase of Galileo concession process Thales 11 Feb 2004 -- The consortium formed jointly by Inmarsat Ventures Ltd, EADS Space Services and the Thales Group announced today that it has been chosen as one of only three final bidders for the Galileo Concession. The Galileo Joint Undertaking made the selection after a full evaluation.
  • Northrop Grumman-Led Team to Compete For Space Based Radar Program Northrop Grumman 10 Feb 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has assembled a best-of-industry team to compete to develop the Space Based Radar (SBR) system. SBR is a transformational program designed to bring global, persistent surveillance to military and intelligence community users. The system will be an integral component of the nation's future integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) network.
  • MARS ROVERS VOA 09 Feb 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover "Opportunity" has photographed an unusual rock that scientists say reminds them of a blueberry muffin. As they debate its origins, the twin rover "Spirit" is making its way to its second rock in the search for traces of water on the red planet.
  • MARS/ROVERS VOA 06 Feb 2004 -- The U-S space agency, NASA, says its troubled Mars rover, "Spirit," is finally back to normal and collecting science again. Computer problems had interrupted its data transmission more than two weeks ago, and threatened its water seeking mission.
  • Lockheed Martin-Built AMC-10 Satellite Launched Successfully From Cape Canaveral Lockheed Martin 05 Feb 2004 -- The AMC-10 telecommunications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] for SES AMERICOM, was successfully launched today from Cape Canaveral aboard a Lockheed Martin-built Atlas IIAS rocket provided by International Launch Services (ILS).
  • ILS Successfully Orbits AMC-10 Satellite Lockheed Martin 05 Feb 2004 -- International Launch Services (ILS) scored another success tonight, with the launch of the AMC-10 satellite on board a Lockheed Martin-built Atlas IIAS rocket.
  • ATK supports successful flight test of a Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor boost vehicle ATK 04 Feb 2004 -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems, NYSE: ATK) supplied three solid rocket motors used in the successful flight test of an Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor boost vehicle. The Integrated Flight Test-13b (IFT-13b) was conducted on January 26, and originated from the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The launch was the third consecutive success of the ATK-powered boost vehicle.
  • Navy Takes Delivery of Boeing-Built UHF Follow-On Communications Satellite Boeing 03 Feb 2004 -- The U.S. Navy has accepted delivery of the 11th UHF Follow-On (UFO) spacecraft, built by Boeing [NYSE: BA], following the satellite's successful completion of its in-orbit test program.
  • Minister says lab model of Mesbah satellite to be launched IRNA 03 Feb 2004 -- Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ahmad Motamedi said here on Tuesday that Mesbah miniature satellite is going to be launched into space within the next one year and four months.
  • China to start astronaut training for Shenzhou VI PLA Daily 03 Feb 2004 -- China's astronaut team is to start training in March for the nation's second manned space flight on Shenzhou VI, reported the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday.
  • Lockheed Martin-built AMC-10 satellite ready for launch from Cape aboard Atlas IIAS Lockheed Martin 02 Feb 2004 -- The AMC-10 telecommunications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] for SES AMERICOM of Princeton, NJ, is ready for launch on Feb. 5 from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas IIAS rocket provided by International Launch Services, a Lockheed Martin joint venture.
  • Two U.S. Exploration Rovers Now Operating on Martian Surface Washington File 02 Feb 2004 -- U.S. scientists report that for the first time in history two mobile robots -- the Mars Exploration Rovers Opportunity and Spirit -- roam the surface of another planet at the same time.
  • MARS ROVERS VOA 02 Feb 2004 -- The troubled U-S Mars rover "Spirit" is healthy again after the repair of its computer. The six-wheeled vehicle is finally resuming science operations that were halted almost two weeks ago.
  • Mars rover sees possible water evidence PLA DAily 02 Feb 2004 -- NASA's Mars rover Opportunity spied hints Friday of a mineral that typically forms in water - a finding that could mean the dry and dusty Red Planet was once wetter and more hospitable to life.



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