OrbitalHub

Credits: SpaceX

The first test launch attempt for the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is set for Friday, June 4, 2010. A second launch may be attempted on Saturday, June 5, 2010.

From the SpaceX press release:
“It’s important to note that since this is a test launch, our primary goal is to collect as much data as possible, with success being measured as a percentage of how many flight milestones we are able to complete in this first attempt. It would be a great day if we reach orbital velocity, but still a good day if the first stage functions correctly, even if the second stage malfunctions. It would be a bad day if something happens on the launch pad itself and we’re not able to gain any flight data.”

Rocket science is hard.

A webcast of the event will be available starting 20 minutes prior to the opening of the launch window, which is at 11:00 AM Eastern. A user guide of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is available here.

I wish you the best of luck, SpaceX! I will keep my fingers crossed…

Credits: ESA – S. Corvaja

After a successful simulated Mars mission that lasted for only 150 days, the Mars 500 experiment will go to the next level: the 520-day mission. The hatch of the facility hosted at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow will be sealed again tomorrow, on June 3, 2010.

There are six crewmembers selected plus a Russian backup: Diego Urbina, Romain Charles, Sukhrob Kamolov, Alexey Sitev, Alexandr Smoleevskiy, Mikhail Sinelnikov, and Wang Yue. The crew will live and work for 520 days inside the sealed facility in the same way astronauts live and work on the International Space Station (minus the zero-g environment, of course).

You can find more information about the Mars 500 project on the dedicated page on ESA’s website.