The development of NASA’s next-generation crew launch vehicle, the Ares I rocket, took another step forward Thursday as Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, successfully tested a critical piece. ATK conducted a full-scale separation test of the forward skirt extension for the Ares I-X flight test at its facility in Promontory, Utah. The Ares I-X test launch [...]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced that the Small Demonstration Satellite-1 (SDS-1) was moved to the initial functional verification operation after completing its critical operationon January 27, 2009 (Japan Standard Time, JST). The SDS-1 was launched as a piggyback satellite with the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite “IBUKI” (GOSAT) by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No.15 at [...]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency confirmed that the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite “IBUKI” (GOSAT) is now ready for the initial functional verification operation after shifting its attitude control system to the regular mode. Therefore, the critical phase operation of the IBUKI was completed at 5:15 p.m. on January 24, 2009 (Japan Standard Time, JST.) The [...]