November 15 News Items

Ariane 5 Launches Two Satellites (Source: SpaceToday.net)
After two technical delays, an Ariane 5 finally launched a pair of communications satellites for the British military and Brazil on Wednesday evening. The Ariane 5 lifted off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana and placed the SKynet 5B and Star Once C1 satellites into orbit. Skynet 5B is a Eurostar 3000 spacecraft built by EADS Astrium to provide communications services for the British Ministry of Defence. Star One C1 is a Thales Alenia spacecraft built for Brazilian satellite operator Star One to provide communications services throughout South America. The launch, the fifth of six Ariane 5 missions planned for this year, also set a record for the heaviest overall mass launched to GEO.

Redesign Expected to Take Oklahoma Rocket Efforts in Upward Direction (Source: Journal Record)
The race for commercial space may be back on firm ground for officials in Oklahoma as a redesign of the spacecraft being built by Rocketplane Global is expected to give the Oklahoma City-based company an advantage over its competitors. The redesigned spacecraft has three major changes, officials announced during Wednesday’s regular meeting of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. The Rocketplane XP will now have the ability to carry up to five passengers, which is an upgrade from the three-passenger original design. Also modified was the inclusion of afterburning GE J85 turbojets as well as a custom-made fuselage.

Orion Brings Space One Step Closer to Southern New Mexico (Source: Alamogordo Daily News)
A New Mexico ground-breaking ceremony Wednesday officially launched the NASA Orion Project, which will ultimately replace the space shuttle program by as early as 2015. "We are pleased to offer White Sands Missile Range and our restricted air space for the Orion Test Project," said an Army official.

NASA Wallops Flight Facility Aids Hawaii Rocket Launch (Source: DelMarVaNow.com)
A NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) team from NASA Wallops Flight Facility participated in the launch of two ARAV-A (Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicles -- Class A) on Nov. 6 from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. In support of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, NSROC mission manager Tracy Gibb and a team of highly skilled NSROC engineers and technicians have been in Hawaii since the first of September providing payload engineering, airframe manufacturing, flight performance analysis, motor services, environmental testing, launcher calibration and support, and vehicle management for these vehicles.