Dates for your diary. '05

[flynn]

Follow the link,<br /><br />http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMS45Q3K3E_index_0.html<br /><br />Middle of the year seems a little thin of interest. but October, November & December look like fun, hopefully they won't slip.<br /><br />October<br />t.b.c. Vega launcher firing test in Sardinia, Italy <br />t.b.c. Soyuz flight from Baikonur for long-duration mission on the ISS <br />17-21 IAF 2005, Fukuoka, Japan <br />t.b.c. 41st ESA parabolic flight campaign, Bordeaux <br />t.b.c. Launch of 'Jules Verne' ATV on Ariane-5 from Kourou <br /><br />November<br />t.b.c. First Galileo launch from Baikonur <br />t.b.c. Launch of Venus Express on Soyuz/Fregat from Baikonur <br /><br />December<br />t.b.c. Launch of new version of Soyuz, qualification flight from Baikonur <br />t.b.c. ESA Council meeting at ministerial level in Berlin. <br /><br />Please post any other keydates you can find. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

<br />NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Missions<br /><br />Date/2005 Mission Vehicle Pad <br /><br />Jan. 12 Deep Impact<br />NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory<br />Launch Time: 1:47:08 p.m. EST Delta II<br />Boeing 17-B<br />CCAFS <br /><br />March 2 NET* DART<br />NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center<br /> Pegasus XL<br />Orbital Sciences VAFB <br /><br />March 19 NOAA-N <br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center / NOAA <br />Launch Time: 2:22 a.m. PST Delta II<br />Boeing SLC-2<br />VAFB <br /><br />April GOES-N<br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center / NOAA<br /> Delta IV<br />Boeing 37<br />CCAFS <br /><br />2nd Quarter STS-114<br />Return to Flight Mission<br />Launch Planning Window: May 12 to June 3 Space Shuttle<br />Discovery 39B<br />KSC <br /><br />May 26 Cloudsat/Calipso<br />NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Goddard SpaceFlight Center Delta II<br />Boeing SLC-2<br />VAFB <br /><br />Aug. 10 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter<br />NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory Atlas V<br />Lockheed Martin 41<br />CCAFS <br /><br />December GOES-O<br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center / NOAA Delta IV<br />Boeing 37<br />CCAFS <br /><br /><br />Date/2006 Mission Vehicle Pad <br /><br />Jan. 11 Pluto New Horizons<br />NASA/Applied Physics Lab Atlas V<br />Lockheed Martin 41<br />CCAFS <br /><br />Feb. 11 STEREO<br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center Delta II<br />Boeing 17<br />CCAFS <br /><br />Feb. 28 SpaceTech 5<br />NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory<br /> Pegasus XL<br />Orbital Sciences CCAFS<br /> <br />June 17 Dawn<br />NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory Delta II<br />Boeing 17<br />CCAFS <br /><br />Aug. 22 Themis<br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center Delta II<br />Boeing 17<br />CCAFS <br /><br />Sept. 29 AIM<br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center Pegasus XL<br />Orbital Sciences VAFB <br /><br />October NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP)<br />NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center / NOAA<br /> Delta II<br />Boeing SLC-2<br />VAFB <br /><br />*No Earlier Than<br /> <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Fantastic! It's going to be another exciting year for space! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[remcook]

more ...<br /><br />http://www.spaceflightcalendar.com/

 

[hansolo0]

I think the VLT finally goes online this year. If you don't know, stands for very large telescope. Controlled by the EU , built in Chile because of the dry climate and clear skies, and touted as having resolution good enough to see an astronaut on the moon from earth.

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>and touted as having resolution good enough to see an astronaut on the moon from earth.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />And possibly even planets around another star.....<br /><br />Very cool! I didn't know VLT was going online this year. That'll be awesome! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[backspace]

Uhm... all I've been able to find suggests the VLT has been online since 2001....<br /><br />http://www.eso.org/outreach/ut1fl/

 

[najab]

I think it has been online in a 'reduced capabilty' mode.

 

[backspace]

Ahhh. Ok, I get it.<br /><br />Their website is a bit... poor in terms of information about the array.

 

[mrmorris]

This is a better URL on their website for this info. The site has four 8m telescopes and three 1.8 m 'moveable' telescopes. To date they've been operating largely independently, but will soon be fully combined as an optical interferometer. When this occurs -- they'll be able to resolve images as if they were a single 200m mirror (although the light-gathering capacity will obviously be a tiny fraction of such a monster).

 

[flynn]

March <br /><br />ESAs Mars Express should deploy MARSIS, the ground penetrating radar that has so far not been deployed due to fears it radar mast would damage other instruments. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>