US Space Program: NASA News, Search, & Links new page: Orion CEV, Ares I & V LVs, & LSAM Lunar Lander Shuttle Replacement Spacecraft   Chinese Space Program     (Sep 28, 2008) A Long March II-F lifted off from China's Jiuquan launch center on September 25, 2008 carrying Shenzhou VII, China's third manned orbital spacecraft (video) . Three astronauts were on board. China's first EVA "space walk" (video 1 - video 2 - photos) began at 4:30pm (China time) on Sept. 27, lasting 20 minutes, and Shenzhou VII returned to Earth on Sept. 28 (video) after a 68-hour mission.     China now intends to launch "a simple space lab" in 2011, and begin building a full space station in 2020. China Daily: Shenzhou VII - Xinhua: Shenzhou VII China Daily: China's Moon Exploration Program     China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e I, was assembled, launched, and placed in lunar orbit in Oct., 2007. The launch vehicle was a Long March IIIA. A companion robotic lunar rover will designed, and possibly be launched by 2012.     China is slated to launch 10 satellites in 2008. China is also planning to spend 7 to 8 years developing an more powerful launch vehicle called the Long March V, to be used "for launching a space station" (and for lunar missions?).     (Oct 12, 2005) China's second manned space flight, Shenzhou VI, was launched by a Long March II F launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9am on Wednesday, October 12, 2005. Shenzhou VI, carrying astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, remained in orbit for five days, landing in Inner Mongolia at 4:32am on Monday, Oct 16 (2032 GMT Sunday Oct 15). About 500 million Chinese watched the launch live on TV (advertisers paid up to $1.05 million (8.56 million yuan) for a 30-second spot). People's Daily Special Report: Shenzhou VI Xinhua News Agency Special Report: Shenzhou VI Xinhua Shenzhou VI photo gallery Encyclopedia Astronautica: Shenzhou Encyclopedia Astronautica: Chinese Space Program Space.com: China Prepares for Shenzhou 6     China launched their 1st manned space flight, Shenzhou V, on Oct. 15, 2003. 14 orbits were planned and executed for this 1st manned mission, lasting about 21 hours. Although the vehicle, based on the Russian Soyuz, could carry up to 3 people, just 1 astronaut (or "taikonaut" or "yuhangyuan") flew in the Shenzhou V, his name is Yang Liwei. Shenzhou V landed as planned in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Oct. 16, 2003 (at 2223 GMT Weds, Oct. 15). The Voice of Russia reported that the Shenzhou 5 mission cost $120 million (US dollars), and that China has spent $2.2 billion on their manned spaceflight program over the last 11 years. People's Daily: (Oct 2005) China's space plans: 2007: space walks    2017: unmanned lunar sample return (Oct 2003) China's First Manned Space Flight (Dec 2002) China Launches Unmanned 'Shenzhou IV' Go Taikonauts! is a website devoted to the Chinese space program, with news, links, and info on Chinese launch vehicles and the Soyuz-derived Shenzhou spacecraft. DragonSpace is China space news from Space Daily. The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) site has very little current info, but it is their official site. FAS: Chinese Space Activities   Russian Space Program In 2004 Rosaviakosmos (the Russian Space Agency) was reformed as the Russian Federal Space Agency. Their official site is in Russian, with no onsite English translation. Click on this link to get an English translation via AltaVista Babelfish. Russian Space Web is loaded with news and articles and photos covering the Russian space program, Russian designers, cosmonauts, launchers, spacecraft, and launch centers. The Russian Space Agency page from NASA has much info about the "RSA", in english, of course, but has not been updated in years. KBTM: Design Bureau of Transport Machinery is the Russian organization in charge of space launch complexes, including the complexes at Plesetsk which include 9 launch pads for Soyuz, Molniya, Cosmos-3M, Cyclone-3, and Rockot launch vehicles. Russian Space Science Research Institute National Space Agency of Ukraine   European Space Program     The European Space Agency (ESA) site covers ESA programs and establishments, displays ESA press releases, has info on jobs and training at ESA, and links to ESA Videos and the ESA Image Gallery.     ESA also has a separate ESA Science & Technology website which some might prefer over their general website, and the science site has its own searchable image and video gallery. Current ESA programs include:     Venus Express an orbiter to study the Venusian atmosphere, was launched on a Soyuz-Fregat from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in Oct 2005 and entered Venus orbit on Apr 11, 2006     Mars Express, launched on June 6, 2003, entered Martian orbit in late December and has returned many high-resolution images.     Smart-1, a lunar orbiter, was launched on Sept. 27, 2003 and used its high-specific-impulse ion drive to gradually raise its orbit until it was captured by the moon's gravity field     Rosetta was launched on March 2, 2004, and will rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in Nov. 2014     Huygens was launched with the US Cassini Saturn Orbiter in 1997, and landed on Saturn's moon Titan in Jan. 2005     Bepi-Colombo, a mission to Mercury to launch in 2011 or 2012     Arianespace is the European consortium that builds and launches the Ariane V launch vehicle. Their site includes info about the Ariane launchers, "Europe's Spaceport" in French Guiana, and upcoming launches.   Japanese Space Program     The Japanese space agency JAXA was formed on October 1, 2003, merging their former space agency NASDA with the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), now known as the Institute of Space Technology and Aeronautics (ISTA).     The JAXA site includes information on all parts of the Japanese space program, including the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) for the International Space Station, the H-IIA launch vehicle, the HOPE-X prototype space plane, and many others (site map). JAXA's pop Cosmic Information Center includes a space encyclopedia, a tour of the Tanegashima Space Center, the JAXA Photo Library, and world space news. JAXA Earth Observation Center. Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission; is to return samples in 2010 SELENE lunar orbiter; to launch in 2007   Private Orbital Space Programs     In August, 2006, NASA awarded Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contracts to two companies: $278 million to SpaceX and $207 million to Rocketplane Kistler     In February, 2008, when Rocketplane Kistler failed to secure enough financing to meet contract obligations, the remainder of their part of the COTS contract was transferred to Orbital Sciences, a company which already has proven its capabilities with dozens of payloads launched to orbit.     The COTS program, the cost of which is about the same as a single Space Shuttle flight, calls for the companies to demonstrate their capability to service the International Space Station (ISS) after the current Space Shuttles are retired in 2010.     Orbital Sciences has conducted over 50 space launch missions since 1990, using solid fueled vehicles.     For NASA's COTS program, Orbital intends to develop the medium-lift Taurus II solid-fueled launch vehicle, and a cargo spacecraft called Cygnus, using interchangeable modules for pressurized and unpressurized cargo. The Taurus II/Cygnus combo is to deliver up to 2,300 kg of cargo to the ISS, and return 1,200 kg of cargo to Earth. Taurus II/Cygnus artists renderings     Orbital's Pegasus XL, air-launched from an L-1011 aircraft at an altitude of about 40,000 feet, can carry satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds to low earth orbit. Pegasus XL is a winged, three-stage, solid rocket booster that weighs approximately 23,130 kg (51,000 lbs), and measures 16.9 m (55.4 ft) in length and 1.27 m (50 in.) in diameter, and has a wing span of 6.7 m (22 ft). Pegasus fact sheet, .pdf - Pegasus user guide, .pdf     Orbital has also developed a ground-launched derivative of the Pegasus, called the Taurus. The four-stage Taurus can deliver a 1,350-kilogram (3,000-pound) satellite to low-Earth orbit. Taurus fact sheet, .pdf - Taurus user guide, .pdf     The Minotaur I utilizes a combination of decommissioned Minuteman II ICBM motors and Orbital's own stages and avionics. Minotaur fact sheet, 1.9MB .pdf - Minotaur user guide, 6.6MB .pdf     Orbital is currently developing the Minotaur IV, which will use a combination of decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBM motors and Orbital's own stages and avionics. Minotaur IV fact sheet, 903KB .pdf - Minotaur IV user guide, 5.5MB .pdf     Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies, aka SpaceX, founded in 2002 by PayPal cofounder Elon Musk, had 400 employees as of November, 2007. SpaceX is developing their Dragon spacecraft in both manned and unmanned versions to recrew and resupply the International Space Station.     SpaceX also is developing two launch vehicles, the Falcon 1 and the Falcon 9, both of which use LOX/kerosene burning engines. The Falcon 9 is slated to lift the Dragon spacecraft on flights to the ISS. It is hoped that the Falcon 9-Dragon combination will be able to go into operation by the time the current Space Shuttles are retired in 2010, filling the gap before NASA's new Orion spacecraft is ready.     During the 1st test flight of the Falcon 1, in March, 2006, a fuel leak due to a corroded aluminum nut lead to failure of the 1st stage engine and loss of the vehicle. On the 2nd flight, in March, 2007, during stage separation the first stage bumped into the 2nd stage, leading to the premature shutdown of the 2nd stage 7 min 30 sec. into the flight.     The 4th test of the Falcon 1, with 364lb test payload, launched from the Reagan Test Site on Omelek Island, Kwajalein Atoll, on Sep 28, 2008, was a success, becoming the first privately developed launch vehicle ever to reach orbit (500 km by 700 km, 9.2 degrees inclination, "exactly as targeted"). videos - photos

Taikonaut Zhai Zhigang outside the Shenzhou VII spacecraft on Sept 27, 2008, the 1st Chinese EVA "space walk." MISSIONS: NASA - ESA - JAXA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: Shuttle Countdown Online KSC Video Feeds webcams galore NASA TV LIVE: RealVideo - Windows Media alternate RealVideo - sound only RealAudio POSTION TRACKING: Shuttle - ISS - ESA LAUNCH SCHEDULES: KSC - SpaceflightNow Space.com - Space-Launcher.com SPACE & ASTRONOMY: JPL Space Calendar See also: Science Gifts, NASA, Space Shuttle, Space Station, Planets, Mars, and Aviation   Space News, Space Science News China's Shenzhou VI spacecraft during launch preparations at the Jiuquan satellite launch center in Gansu Province. Space Exploration Search: SpaceRef.com is space portal site with news (including a version for your palmtop), an events calendar, guides to the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, and more, including this space website search engine. find this: search in: Space NewsSpace WebsitesAstrobiologyScience Archives Space Search: The DMOZ Open Directory searches for keywords in website titles and descriptions (not page content). You can limit your search to the specific space website categories, or search all science links. find this: in: All Space Space Shuttle Space Station Space Missions NASA Sites Launch Vehicles Spacecraft Design Astronomy All Science Google Usenet Newsgroups sci.space sci.space.news gov.us.fed.nasa.announce Buzz Aldrin on the moon, photographed by Neil Armstrong (visible in faceplate reflection) on Apollo 11. A 24"x36" poster for $24.99.

    Oklahoma City-based Rocketplane Kistler was formed in February, 2006 by the merger of Kistler Aerospace and Pioneer Rocketplane. Their 2-stage vehicle was to use LOX/kerosene burning engines made by Aerojet, and be capable of placing over 4,000 lbs into orbit from launch sites near Woomera, Australia, and Las Vegas, Nevada. First launch of RPK’s K-1 launch vehicle was planned for late 2008.

    Interorbital Systems (IOS) "is currently developing two orbital launch vehicles, each utilizing the unique Stage-And-A-Half-To-Orbit (SAAHTO) configuration... The manned Neptune SAAHTO will be used in Interorbital Systems' orbital tourism operations..." IOS plans to use "aerospike" type engines (with an expansion ramp instead of a nozzle) which are pressure-fed (no turbopumps).
Kelly Space & Technology - Starcraft Boosters, Inc.
Reusable Launch Vehicle News Blog

  Current Major Launch Vehicles

Table: Comparison of Current and Historic Launch Vehicles by Richard Welty

    International Launch Services was formed as a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, formed to market the Lockheed Martin Atlas and Krunichev Proton launch vehicles.
    In October 2006, privately held Space Transport Inc. acquired Lockheed Martin's shares in ILS. Thus, ILS now provides launch services only on Proton. ILS will also market Khrunichev's next-generation Angara launch vehicle when it becomes available.
    Atlas documents at ILS have disappeared, and the Protons URLs, which were changed, have been corrected below.
    The complete Proton Launch System Mission Planner's Guide is a 408 page .pdf, but "only" a 19 MB download. Proton Launch System History, a 2.3MB .pdf file, is one of the sections that can be downloaded separately. For the very short form, get the Proton Fact Sheet .pdf. You might be asked to register (free and easy) to download these documents.

    Lockheed Martin now handles Atlas V launches via its own Commercial Launch Services. The Lockheed Martin CLS Atlas V Mission Planner's Guide is now a 32.6MB .pdf. Smaller info .pdfs include the Atlas V Fact Sheet, the Atlas/Centaur History Fact Sheet, and the Atlas V Propulsion Brochure.

    Delta Launch Vehicles are built by Boeing, who also offers .pdf Payload Planner's Guides, for both the Delta II (21MB, plus a 600KB 2003 update) and the Delta IV (also 21MB, plus a 11MB 2002 update) launch vehicles. Smaller downloads of interest are the Delta IV Technical Summary and the Delta II Technical Summary, both of which are 6-page .pdf files, less than 2MB each.
    Boeing Launch Services offers the Delta II and Delta IV, plus the Russian-built Zenit-3SL, which can be launched from land or from an oceangoing platform, the Sea Launch system, which permits launches to any orbital inclination (they also market land-based Zenit launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome). When Sea Launch was founded, Boeing provided 40% of the capital and S.P.Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia provided 25%. The two Ukrainian companies which build the first two stages of the Zenit LV, Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmashzavod, put up 15%, and a Norwegian holding company, Kvaerner, the remaining 20%. Kvaerner controls Kvaerner Maritime, which modified an off-shore oil drilling rig into the launch platform, and built the Sea Launch assembly and command ship.
    Zenit-3SL User's Guides are available in both Sea Launch and Land Launch versions, but you must register (for free) before you can proceed to download them.

    Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin Atlas launches for the US Government are now conducted by the Boeing-LockMart joint venture United Launch Alliance, which also links to mission planner .pdfs from their website.

    Arianespace is the European consortium that builds and operates the (primarily French) Ariane 5 launch vehicle; they also market Russian-built Soyuz, and the forthcoming (primarily Italian) Vega launchers. The Ariane 5 User's Guide .pdf is a 17 MB download, and includes extensive info about the Guiana Launch Centre as well as the vehicle. You might prefer to download the Ariane 5 Technical Information Booklet .pdf, which is only 12 pages totaling 823 KB, but has much less info.
    As of April, 2007, Soyuz launch vehicles have flown 1719 times. The June 2006 edition of the Soyuz User's Manual is available in two versions, one for launches from Guiana Space Center (a 6.9MB .pdf), and the other for launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (a 8.6MB .pdf). This document is loaded with good info and photos of the current Soyuz launch vehicle, which is the direct descendant of the original R-7A that carried the first Sputnik into orbit in 1957. The Soyuz LV is built by Starsem, and you can also download the same Baikonur Cosmodrome version of the Soyuz User's Manual from their website as well.
    The updated Vega Users Manual .pdf is now a 10 MB download.

    The H-IIA is the major launch vehicle of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency; it has a LH2/LOX 1st stage, and can launch about a satellite of about 2-tons to geosynchronous orbit. The H-IIA first flew in 2001, and in Dec 2006 the eleventh H-IIA was launched. The JAXA H-IIA Pamphlet is a 5MB .pdf.
    The upgraded H-IIB is under development; the H-IIB Pamphlet is a 1.04MB .pdf.

Aero.org: Space Launch Vehicle Reliability by I-Shih Chang

  Private Suborbital Programs

    On Jun 21, 2004 SpaceShipOne became the first private vehicle to reach an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles). The craft was built by Scaled Composites, whose founder and CEO Burt Rutan also designed the world-circling Voyager airplane.
    On Sep 29, 2004, SpaceShipOne made a second flight to over 100 km. Then, just 5 days later, on Oct 4, 2004, SpaceShipOne made a third trip to over 100 km. For reaching over 100 km twice within 2 weeks, SpaceShipOne won the X-Prize, a $10 million award to the first private group to do so. SpaceShipOne photo gallery - SpaceShipOne videos
    The Spaceship Company, a joint venture of Scaled Composites and Sir Richard Branson, are now developing SpaceShipTwo, which will carry 2 pilots and 6 passengers. Branson's Virgin Galactic will sell tickets for tourists to take a suborbital joy ride on this craft to an altitude of about 68 miles. The tickets will initially sell for about $200,000; it is expected that the price would eventually drop to around $20,000.

Starchaser (UK)

  Other Space Resources

Encyclopedia Astronautica is the most complete space reference on the Internet, listing spacecraft, launch vehicles, engines, astronauts, flights, and more, with stats and photos.

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is a massive website of thousands of pages, including many pictures and links, and the "Nine Planets" virtual solar system.

Jonathan McDowell's Space Report lists all objects ever orbited, and over 20,000 rocket launches.

Space.com is a very elaborate and comprehensive site, including extensive image galleries.

Space and Tech has news and an extensive database on launch vehicles and spacecraft.

The Space Daily puts their extensive daily news right up front, so you can see more news more quickly.

Space Online has daily space news, particularly about launches from Kennedy Space Center, from FloridaToday.com.

Orlando Sentinel aerospace editor Michael Cabbage's Space Blog.

Heavens Above provides the info you need to watch the Space Station, Space Shuttle, and other satellites flying overhead.

Astronautics and Spacecraft Design, by Mike Gruntman of the U. of Southern California's Aerospace Engineering Dept., provides many links to sites relating to spacecraft propulsion and communications, ground and launch systems, and the history of space exploration (and general space sites). Also, there is a large bibliography of related textbooks.

How to Design, Build and Test Small Liquid-Fuel Rocket Engines (1967) by Leroy J. Krzycki is a full-text online book from Rocketlab at China Lake, California, which should provide some insight into how the large engines work.

Gunter Kreb's Space Page has info on launch vehicles and spacecraft of all nations.

My Little Space Museum has some nice exhibits, including cutaway images of the Apollo Lunar Module and spacesuit.

GlobalSecurity: Reusable Launch Vehicles overview
SpaceAndTech: Reusable Launch Vehicles overview

Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century is a full-text online book, consisting of papers from a NASA-sponsored, public symposium hosted by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., Oct. 29-31, 1984. Authors include James Beggs, T. A. Heppenheimer, and Edward Teller.

    The 1967 TIME Magazine article excerpt on the Apollo 204 fire, previously located here, has been moved to the STS-107 Columbia Breakup page.