On July 8, 2011, an Arianespace Soyuz 2-1A launch vehicle rolled out from the integration facilities at the Baikonur cosmodrome. The Fregat upper stage will place on orbit six second-generation Globalstar satellites. The satellites, built by Thales Alenia Space, are each equipped with 16 transponders from C- to S-band and 16 receivers from L- to C-band. Arianespace has been contracted to place in orbit a total of 24 second-generation Globalstar satellites.
On July 8, 2011, Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on the final flight of the space shuttle program. STS-135 is a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-135 crew consists of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hutley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.
Read more about the Space Shuttle…
This is a very emotional story of the Space Shuttle, narrated by William Shatner, in praise of the men and women who made the Space Shuttle program a reality.
Some names will stay with us forever:
Francis R. Scobee – Commander
Michael J. Smith – Pilot
Judith A. Resnik – Mission Specialist 1
Ellison Onizuka – Mission Specialist 2
Ronald E. McNair – Mission Specialist 3
Gregory B. Jarvis – Payload Specialist 1
Sharon Christa McAuliffe – Payload Specialist 2
Rick D. Husband – Commander
William C. McCool – Pilot
Michael P. Anderson – Payload Commander
David M. Brown – Mission Specialist 1
Kalpana Chawla – Mission Specialist 2
Laurel Clark – Mission Specialist 3
Ilan Ramon – Payload Specialist 1
Read more about the Space Shuttle…
SpaceX conducted a 60-second test firing of a Merlin Vacuum rocket engine at the SpaceX Test Facility in McGregor, Texas. The Merlin Vacuum engine powers the Falcon 9 second stage, generates 92,500 lb of force in vacuum, and operates with a specific impulse of 342 seconds.
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