Launch of the Falcon 9 (Image:SpaceX)
Welcome to the GeekDad Space Report for the week of June 7, 2010! We had a busy week of launches last week and all of them, with the exception of the Cartosat-2B successfully made it to orbit. The Cartosat-2B launch has been delayed with a new launch time still to-be-determined. There was also a launch that was not on the schedule for last week. China successfully launched a Beidou navigation satellite aboard a Long March 3C (Chang Zheng 3C) from the Xichang Launch Facility.
Launches (Sources: Spaceflight Now World Launch Schedule, Wallops Flight Facility Daily Range Schedule)
Wednesday, June 9
Launch Site: Naro Space Center, South Korea (Map View)
Launch Vehicle: Naro-1
Payload: STSAT-2B
Launch Time: 08:00 GMT
Notes: South Korean mission to study the Earth’s atmosphere. Second launch attempt of the Naro-1 launch vehicle. The first attempt, in August of 2009, was intended to launch the STSAT-2A but half of the payload fairing failed to separate.
Interesting Hubble Observations
In many ways, all of the Hubble observations are interesting, but here is a list of some of the standouts in the coming week. A more complete list can be found at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) This Week On HST Website.
Investigations of the Pluto System
Instrument(s): WFC3
Optical and Ultraviolet Photometry of Isolated Neutron Stars
Instrument(s): ACS
A Quasar Light Echo in the Local Universe?
This is a small list of the overall observations. You may also see some of these observations popping up in other weeks as many observation programs consist of several observations over time.
Falcon 9
The SpaceX corporation successfully launched the Falcon 9 vehicle this week, marking a major advancement in the idea of commercial launch services to carry payloads to the International Space Station. SpaceX has a video of the launch that I highly recommend viewing. Always a beautiful site to see.
Manned Spaceflight
This week, three members of the Expedition-23 crew returned from the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz capsule. Among the crew that returned is Soichi Noguchi (@Astro_Soichi), who has had some remarkable tweets from the ISS, including many captivating images.
Have a great week everyone!
