PALUBA

Russian cosmonaut calls Moon race 'best competition in space'
20/07/2009 14:15

MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov praised on Monday the U.S.-U.S.S.R. race to the Moon in the 1960s as the "best competition ever in space."

The United States celebrates on Monday the 40th anniversary of the historic first moon walk.

"In my opinion it was the best competition in space ever held in the history of humanity. The moon race between the Soviet Union and the United States is the highest achievement of science and technology," said Leonov, who in 1965 became the first human to conduct a space walk.

Members of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped down from the lunar lander onto the Moon's Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969.

The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s.

"It was a very smart step taken by a great politician - he united the whole American nation in the accomplishment of this task," Leonov said.

Russia had its own moon program at the time, which had been underway for over two years by 1969.

"But the Americans had to win the moon race following the success of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first human in outer space and the first to orbit the Earth," Leonov said.

An estimated 500 million people on Earth watched on TV the first landing of U.S. astronauts on the Moon. However, governments in the Soviet Union and China banned the transmission from space for ideological reasons.

"The reports on U.S. missions to the Moon were televised around the world, and only two countries, the USSR and China, refused to show these historic images to their people," the veteran cosmonaut said.

"I always believed it was a big mistake, we simply robbed our own people, because the flight to the Moon was the achievement and the heritage of the whole of humanity," Leonov said.

MOSCOW, Aug 11, 2009 (AFP) - Russia is developing new missiles to counter space-based missile systems that could soon be deployed by the United States, Russia's air force commander was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"We are building new missiles that will be capable of defending not only against air-defence systems but space-based systems," General Alexander Zelin said, quoted by Russian news agencies.

The United States and other countries will have deployed such satellite-based missile systems capable of striking any target in Russia by 2030, he said.

"Foreign air forces, above of all the United States, will acquire the capability to deal time-synchronized precision strikes on a global scale at virtually any target on Russia territory," Zelin said.

The threat "is not virtual, but real," he added.

To counter such potential, Russia has begun work on the S-500 surface-to-air missile system that would have ballistic missile tracking capabilities and aim at a range of up to 3,500 kilometers, according to defence reports.

"The S-500 system is capable of defeating all manner of ballistic missiles and supersonic air devices," Zelin said.

Moscow vehemently opposes US plans to site a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe and has reacted warily to plans under the previous US administration it claimed had accelerated the militarisation of outer space.

Washington insists its shield plan is not directed against Russia but threats from "rogue states" such as Iran.

Last year, when the US military was planning to shoot down a rogue US spy satellite, Russia's defence ministry said the plans looked like a veiled weapons test and an "attempt to move the arms race into space."

Both Russia and China have proposed a new treaty banning the use of weapons in space, but the idea was rejected by the White House.

AFP

South Korea: The Korea Space Launch Vehicle
Stratfor Today » August 16, 2009 | 1352 GMT

Summary
The South Korean Naro Space Center on the country’s southern coast is preparing to launch the first Korea Space Launch Vehicle later this month. The launch window opens Aug. 19. This will be the first satellite launch from South Korean territory (until now, Seoul has relied on Russia for access to space). The occasion is the product of decades of work in missile development and heralds further effort and expansion.

Analysis

South Korea is preparing to launch its Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-1) on Aug. 19 from the new Naro Space Center on the southern coast of the peninsula. The KSLV-1 is an early South Korean attempt to field an actual satellite launch vehicle. The program has experienced a number of delays — and Aug. 19 is only the beginning of the launch window in any event — but it is clear that Seoul’s long, deliberate foray into rocketry is coming closer to fruition.

Missile technology was something the United States did not want to share with South Korea in the decades following the Korean War. For much of the Cold War, Washington was as concerned about Seoul instigating a conflict with Pyongyang — one that would drag the United States into another major war on the Korean Peninsula (and one that it was not prepared for and did not want) — as it was about a North Korean invasion of South Korea. Thus, the Pentagon shaped the command and force structure of the South Korean military and determined what missions and roles it was capable of. The idea was that the U.S. military would use its own forces to provide the hitting power for a successful campaign. Ballistic missiles were precisely the sort of capability Washington wanted to keep solely in the hands of its own troops. As a consequence, the United States refused to cooperate on any sort of indigenous South Korean missile development. Even interaction between the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and NASA was limited.

This did not stop Seoul from pursuing rocketry on its own. In the 1960s and 1970s, South Korean engineers worked to modify Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missiles to function as short-range ballistic missiles. The results were the NHK-1 and NHK-2. Even the more advanced NHK-2 had a range of only a little more than 110 miles and a small payload — hardly enough to support a deep, sustained incursion into North Korea and barely sufficient to reach Pyongyang. But it was certainly enough to make the United States nervous, especially since Washington was also aware that Seoul was toying with nuclear weapons technology. By 1979, the United States convinced South Korea to sign a memorandum of understanding limiting its indigenous work on missile development.

However, South Korea’s work continued apace. In addition to the Hyon Mu (another Nike-Hercules-based effort also known as the NHK-A), a series of Korea Sounding Rockets (KSRs) were developed. These sounding rockets were important developmental test beds for refining propulsion and guidance systems. That effort culminated in the test of the KSR-III in 2002, the year after Seoul acceded to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Washington had actually been blocking South Korea’s membership in the MTCR since 1987, when the MTCR was initially signed, for fear that South Korea might acquire technology relevant to missile development from other countries once it was governed by the MTCR.

By 2003, Seoul had also begun to move closer to Russia as a partner. In 2006, South Korea’s first completely indigenous satellite was launched atop a Russian carrier rocket. Two years later, Russia carried the first South Korean astronaut into orbit.

Russia is playing an important role in the KSLV-1 program. The first stage of the small satellite launch vehicle is a modified version of the Russian Angara carrier rocket, which is still under development. The liquid-fueled first stage has a different motor than the Angara, which may also be evidence of Russia’s sensitivity and concern about South Korea stealing the technology. But in any event, the Russian first stage is fitted to a solid-fuel second stage developed indigenously by South Korea. The 300,000-pound launch vehicle is designed to lift a 220-pound payload into low Earth orbit — a very small capacity.

While no small amount of coordination is necessary to mate two stages built by very different countries, Moscow is also reportedly attempting to keep Seoul’s engineers as far from the first stage as possible for fear that they will learn enough to build their own copy. This fear is not groundless; STRATFOR sources have suggested that despite Russia’s attempts to keep the first stage under wraps, that South Korean engineers have indeed been able to learn much from it.

Though there is still a great deal for South Korean engineers to master, a successful launch of the KSLV-1 promises to mark a significant milestone in South Korea’s progress toward indigenous access to space — and even a failure can be expected to teach South Korean engineers a great deal. There is little doubt, however, that Seoul sees this only as an intermediate step toward a more robust launch capacity. South Korea’s sophomore effort (call it the KSLV-2) is likely to be significantly more — if not entirely — indigenously designed and built, even if the first stage happens to bear considerable similarity to the KSLV-1 first stage.

In short, Seoul is focused on closing the gap with the Chinese and Japanese space programs. Though both of those programs have their own challenges, the pace and intensity of the competition in the region can only heat up in the coming decade — and South Korea is the latecomer to the game. However, because both Beijing and Tokyo could be facing more intense internal problems, Seoul may find itself with the capacity to cover much of that gap in the next 10 years.

Much remains to be seen, but improved spy satellites (and thus situational awareness) as well as infrared missile launch detection, communications and other strategic capabilities are all now on the table for the region. But for South Korea, strategic concerns run far beyond keeping an eye on North Korea. The Korean Peninsula is situated squarely between China and Japan, the two regional heavyweights. The former, despite domestic economic problems, is becoming much more active and aggressive regionally, particularly in its attempts to add heft to its claims of maritime resources and territories. Meanwhile, the latter may be facing domestic political uncertainties and continues to suffer from more than a decade of economic stagnation, but is also embarking on its own attempts to explore and reinforce its claims to disputed waters.

This leaves South Korea once again in the middle of two powers that may be on a collision course, at least in intent. Seoul cannot rely on shared satellite information from the United States when assessing its strategic position. This is not only because Washington is selective about what it shares (even when North Korea was the primary concern, Washington was still somewhat stingy in sharing). But Tokyo is also a close and important American ally: South Korea has zero access to U.S. imagery of Japanese military installations.

Getting eyes in the sky is not the only concern. South Korean defense development requires a wide spectrum of space-based capabilities. The country is pushing the strategic expansion of its own aerospace sector for more than just its own domestic needs. Seoul sees this sector as one of the next major engines of technological and economic growth. The space program is a key component of this, from satellite fabrication and launch services to new technologies in metals and materials science, propulsion and other applications. And this also places South Korea on a collision course with China, which has sought to enhance its own aerospace industry. Both are deliberately pushing to become competitive global suppliers of defense equipment on par with U.S. and European corporations.

Taken as a whole, the end of the first decade of the 21st century is seeing the foundations being laid for a broad-spectrum aerospace competition in East Asia — from actual assets orbiting Earth to the terrestrial industry that underlies them. This competition is now beginning to heat up, and will be an important characteristic of the second decade of the century.

Launch Team Targets Aug. 28 Launch
Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:23:35 AM GMT+0200

NASA is targeting space shuttle Discovery for a launch attempt Friday morning at 12:22 a.m., mission management team Chairman Mike Moses said. Engineers will evaluate a liquid hydrogen valve that developed problems during tanking operations Tuesday evening. Detailed test data about the valve will be examined before Discovery’s fuel tank is loaded with propellant ahead of Friday morning’s launch attempt.

Discovery Docks, Joint Operations Begin

Space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 8:54 p.m. EDT Saturday delivering more than seven tons of cargo and a new crew member to the International Space Station and its Expedition 20 crew.

The shuttle and station crews opened hatches at 9:33 p.m. and greeted one another beginning a week’s worth of joint operations that includes three spacewalks and transfer of 15,000 pounds of supplies and logistics to sustain the six-person crew on the station.

Astronauts Nicole Stott and Tom Kopra swapped Soyuz seat liners after hatch opening. Stott will handle flight engineer duties aboard the station until her return home aboard Atlantis following the STS-129 mission in November. Kopra is scheduled to return aboard Discovery Sept. 10 after 57 days in space.

Before docking to the station, Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Kevin Ford performed a few final corrective jet firings to refine the orbiter’s path for a rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM). While Sturckow performed the RPM, Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Mike Barratt took photos from the station. Their photos will be reviewed by experts on the ground for evidence of damage to the shuttle tiles.

Naučnici NASA kažu da bi pronalazak vode na Mesecu mogao da olakša uspostavljanje baza za astronaute. Takođe je saopšteno da je eksperiment otkrio važne podatke o prisustvu drugih materija na strani Meseca koja je stalno u mraku.

А која је то страна Месеца стално у мраку?

Minister: South Korea rocket apparently blew up

(CNN) -- A South Korean rocket apparently blew up just over two minutes after launch, a government minister said Thursday.

The Naro-1 space rocket apparently exploded 137 seconds after it lifted off from a space center on the country's south coast, said Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute earlier said it lost contact with the rocket eight minutes after liftoff.

But the science minister said "an inboard camera detected a bright flash of light at 137 seconds into the flight, which coincides exactly with the loss of communication with the two-stage rocket," according to Yonhap. The rocket was carrying a satellite to study climate change.

South Korea is talking to the Russians who made the first-stage rocket in an effort to determine why it exploded, he said. South Korea made the second-stage rocket and the satellite, according to Yonhap.

Thursday's failed launch was the second attempt. A Naro-1 launch in August went as planned, but did not put a satellite into orbit because of a malfunction.

"Talks are underway for a third launch of the rocket," Ahn added, saying that the original contract provided for a third try if the first two failed to put a satellite into orbit.

Thursday's launch at the Naro Space Center, 465 kilometers (about 300 miles) south of Seoul, was the country's second from its own soil.

The launch was initially scheduled for Wednesday, but was scrapped after the firefighting equipment in the rocket malfunctioned.

Neko neupućen bi, čitajući ovu vijest, pomislio da su Rusi samo putnici na MKS. Platili kartu, ukrcali se i, eto tako, vozikaju se ljudi okolo.

MOže li neko malo detaljnije da objasni vest da je ''nepoznata sila povukla Pionir-10 unazad, ka Suncu''? Je li to znači, da se sada ta letelica vraća nazad prema sunčevom sistemu ili joj je samo usporena brzina udaljavanja? 

  Nisam baš pratio. Zar je Sojuz Šatl ?

26 February 2011 Last updated at 12:46 GMT
Russia launches satellite for global navigation system
Russia has launched a satellite needed to create its own global navigation system, intended to rival America's Global Positioning System (GPS).
The Glonass-K satellite was carried into orbit on a Soyuz rocket from a cosmodrome in northern Russia.
In December, an attempt to put the final three satellites into space failed when they crashed into the sea.
More launches are planned with the aim of finishing the system this year.
'Sovereignty'
The Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, has said the Glonass system will give the country satellite navigation sovereignty.
The BBC's Sean Fanning says that, for commercial and military reasons, Russia does not want to be dependent on America's GPS, which can theoretically be switched off at any time.
This latest launch brings Russia close to the 24 operational satellites it needs for Glonass to cover the entire globe, our reporter says.
Russia had already successfully launched a number of the Glonass satellites last year and had hoped to have the system finished by 2011.
However, the rocket carrying the three satellites needed to complete it veered off course in December after being launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Russian aerospace experts said the Glonass spacecraft and the upper-stage booster carrying them probably fell into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

A rugali su se Sojuzu...

Kazu da satelit vredi vise stotina miliona $....eh, kad bi pao u moje dvoriste.  ;D ;D ;D