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German radar spy satellite launches into space BY STEPHEN CLARK SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: December 19, 2006 The first of a fleet of five identical all-weather German spy satellites was launched Tuesday aboard a Russian rocket to collect high-resolution images of the ground 24 hours a day. Called SAR-Lupe 1, the 1,587-pound craft is Germany's first reconnaissance satellite. It is fitted with a large radar dish antenna that can pierce darkness and thick clouds to resolve targets. The radar data can be analyzed and turned into images. The spacecraft launched atop a Kosmos 3M rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in far northern Russia a few seconds after 1400 GMT (9:00 a.m. EST) Tuesday. The rocket released SAR-Lupe 1 into a 300-mile high Sun-synchronous orbit about a half-hour later, ending the launch in success. A ground station received the first radio signals from the satellite about an hour after liftoff, confirming SAR-Lupe 1 was healthy after its ride into orbit. The craft was built for the German Federal Ministry of Defense by OHB-System AG, an aerospace company based in Bremen, Germany. Control of the satellite will be handed over to the German military in mid-January to begin its 10-year reconnaissance mission. SAR-Lupe 1 will then begin gathering operational synthetic aperture radar images. Four more SAR-Lupe spacecraft are scheduled for launch at intervals of four to six months until the constellation is completed around 2008. The fleet will orbit about 300 miles above Earth in three orbital planes to maximize the number of passes over potential targets. The SAR-Lupe program is also a key element of a joint reconnaissance initiative signed between Germany and France four years ago. In the treaty, the two nations agreed to share data from each country's reconnaissance satellite system. France will be allowed access to German SAR-Lupe imagery, while French optical and infrared data from the Helios 2 system will be shared with Germany, according to the agreement. Tuesday's launch was the 60th space mission to successfully reach orbit this year. |
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 Current Shuttle Mission Patch  The official embroidered patch for shuttle Atlantis' flight to deliver critical spare equipment to the space station. U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREAres 1-X Patch  The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREApollo Collage  This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STORE Project Orion  The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.U.S. STOREFallen Heroes Patch Collection  The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STORE |
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Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-104 mission in July 2001 delivered the $164 million Joint Airlock to the International Space Station. The module, named Quest, gave the outpost a new doorway for American and Russian spacewalks. The five Atlantis astronauts narrate the highlights of their mission in this post-flight film.
The space shuttle Discovery astronauts visit Kennedy Space Center for a practice countdown and emergency training drills. Watch some highlights from the activities.
The Boeing Delta 2 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Nov. 17 on another mission to replenish the satellite constellation for the Global Positioning System.
The space shuttle Discovery is rolled to pad 39B for the STS-116 launch to the space station.
The objectives of the just-approved final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission are detailed and the anticipated science from the new instruments to be installed are detailed in this briefing from Goddard Space Flight Center.
The crew for the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission will be led by Scott Altman, with pilot Greg C. Johnson, robot arm operator Megan McArthur and spacewalkers Andrew Feustel, Mike Good, John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino. The astronauts meet the press in this news briefing from Johnson Space Center.