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Launches and Orbital Operations

Lincoln, UK  
2010 Sep 3, UTC  
Friday  
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Go For Launch!

Launch schedule and list of activities for the current six months, plus on-orbit and re-entry or landing events of satellites and spacecraft.

Entries are revised as updates become available so may be different from previous visits. Information comes from many sources such as space agencies, launch vehicle operators, satellite manufacturer, news agencies and satellite owners/operators. There are often conflicts so accuracy is not guaranteed.

Soon after events occur, they are transferred to the Zarya Diaries that can be found by following the link in the right hand menu.

zarya.info on TwitterFollowers of the Zarya_Info Twitter feed will get reminders as events are due.

Date Time (UTC) Event
2010 Sep 1
ESA Marks Ten Years of the Cluster Mission
ESOC, Darmstadt
Formation of satellites, each named after a latin-american dance, continuously monitoring the solar wind and its effects on the magnetosphere.

Original group of satellites lost 1996 through explosion of the first Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Replacements launched in pairs - 2000 July 16 and Aug 9 respectively, by Soyuz LV from Baikonur.

Spacetrack:
2000-041A/26410 - Salsa (Cluster II FM6)
2000-041B/26411 - Samba (Cluster II FM7)
2000-045A/26463 - Rumba (Cluster II FM5)
2000-045B/26464 - Tango (Cluster II FM8)


See: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Operations/SEMP00BO3DG_0.html

2010 Sep 2
00:53
Cosmos 2464-2466 Launch (3 satellites)
Proton-M/DM-2, Baikonur LC-81
GLONASS-MSuccessful launch of three GLONASS-M navigation satellites. They separated from the Proton rocket one at a time over the period 04:26 - 05:12 UTC.

Precise launch time: 00:53:50 UTC

There are now 26 fully-operable GLONASS satellites in orbit. Twenty four are needed to provide global service but two existing satellites and one of the new ones are on-orbit spares. The system requires 18 satellites for continuous navigation over Russia.

Spacetrack:
2010-041A/37137 - Cosmos 2464
2010-041B/37138 - Cosmos 2465
2010-041C/37139 - Cosmos 2466


2010 Sep 6
12:25
Progress M-06M Destructive Re-entry
ISS
Approximate time.

2010 Sep 7
Chinasat-6A Launch
CZ-3B, Xichang SC
Chinese national communications and broadcasting satellite for geosynchronous orbit at 125 deg east. Replacement for Chinasat 5C.

Launch may occur one day earlier in UTC as the date is in Beijing Time (UTC + 8 hours).

2010 Sep 8
03:30
Gonets-M and Strela (x2) Launch
Rockot/Briz-KM, Plesetsk
Store/dump communications - one satellite for the civilian system and two for the military/government system.

2010 Sep 8
11:11
Progress M-07M Launch
Soyuz-U, Baikonur SC LC-31
Supplies to ISS.

Frequencies: 121.75 MHz (TORU if used), 166.000 MHz (+/-128 kHz), 922.763 MHz.

Approximate time.

Explanation of ISS radio frequencies: http://www.zarya.info/Frequencies/FrequenciesISS.php

2010 Sep 10
12:40
Progress M-07M docking
ISS
Docking port to be advised.

2010 Sep 11
Michibiki Launch
H-IIA (F-18), Tanegashima SC - Yoshinobu launch complex
Navigation satellite providing positioning service to Japan in areas where the topography works against GPS reception. Inclined, eccentric orbit provides long 'stay time' above Japan.

59 minute launch window.

Originally scheduled for 2008 Aug 2. On Jun 23 - JAXA announced that there was a quality concern raised by the manufacturer of the reaction wheels used for stabilsation and orientation and the launch was postponed.

See: http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f18/index_e.html

2010 Sep 15
Minuteman Launch
Minuteman III, Vandenberg AFB
Pre-planned test launch. Time will probably be announced after the event.

2010 Sep 20
03:29
NROL-41 Launch
Atlas V, VAFB LC-3E
Launch window for government or military reconnaissance satellite.

Sixty minute launch window.

2010 Sep 24
Soyuz TMA-18 Return to Earth
ISS
Location to be advised.

2010 Sep 25
04:41
SBSS Launch
Vandenberg AFB, USA
Space-Based Space Surveillance spacecraft, aimed at 540km sun-synchronous orbit.

See: http://www.ballaerospace.com/page.jsp?page=189

Approximate date - 14 minute launch window.

Launch originally planned for 2010 April then put back to 2010 Jul with an eventual choice of Jul 8 as the date.

Launch the further postponed pending resolution of a software programming error, affecting all Minotaur launch vehicles, discovered in the vehicle for the September STP launch.

2010 Oct 1
Chang'e 2 Launch
Long March 3A, Xichang
Lunar exploration - as of 2009 November, scheduled for October 2010.

Upgrade of the backup vehicle for Chang'e 1.

Likely frequency: 2234.52 MHz.

2010 Oct 1
COTS Demo 1 (Dragon C1) Launch
Falcon 9, CCAFS LC-40
Prototype Dragon spacecraft on a three-orbit test flight followed by re-entry, and recovery by parachute.

Estimated date.

Moved back several times from spring 2010 in tandem with the Falcon 9 (Spacetrack: 2010-026A/36595) test launch timetable. Date subject to further change as the rocket/spacecraft stack is built at CCAFS.

2010 Oct 1
OKO Launch
Molniya-M, Plesetsk SC
Missile early warning satellite for HEO. Will receive a Cosmos designation when in orbit.

Date very approximate.

2010 Oct 7
23:11
Soyuz TMA-01M Launch
Soyuz, Baikonur
Crew to ISS - Scott Kelly (Commander Expedition 26), Aleksandr Kaleri, Oleg Skripochka.

Approximate time.

Frequencies: 121.75, 166.0, 922.763 MHz.

Explanation of ISS radio frequencies: http://www.zarya.info/Frequencies/FrequenciesISS.php

2010 Oct 8
GSat 5 Launch
GSLV, Sriharikota SC
Indian communications satellite for geosynchronous orbit at 82 deg east longitude.

Approximate date.

2010 Oct 11
00:20
Soyuz TMA-01M Docking
ISS
Docking port to be advised.

Estimated time.

2010 Oct 14
Sirius XM-5 Launch
Proton-M/Briz-M, Baikonur SC
Direct radio broadcasting to US from geosynchronous orbit at 82.5 deg west.

Approximate Date - launch may occur as early as Oct 5.

2010 Oct 15
ResourceSat-2 Launch
PSLV, Striharikota SC
Indian remote sensing satellite for sun-synchronous orbit. Also carries two small auxiliary satellites - X-Sat and YouthSat.

Approximate date.

2010 Oct 16
ISS EVA - Russian Segment
ISS
Approximate date.

Skripochka, Yurchikhin

2010 Oct 19
Globalstar 2 Launch (6 satellites)
Soyuz-2-1A/Fregat, Baikonur LC-31
LEO comsats. Launch to be conducted by Arianespace.

2010 Oct 20
NROL 32 Launch
Delta-4, CCAFS LC-37B
Approximate date - payload details unknown but probably aimed at GEO.

2010 Oct 20
21:00
Eutelsat W3B & BSat 3b Launch
Ariane 5ECA (V-197), CSG
Dual launch to geosynchronous transfer orbit of Eutelsat W3B and Japanese BSAT 3b high definition direct broadcasting satellites.

Intended geosynchronous locations: Eutelsat W3B - 16 deg east, BSat 3b - 110 deg east.

Planned launch Sep 15 postponed as of Aug 16 due to manufacturing issue with Eutelsat W3B.

Date and time are estimated.

2010 Oct 26
Progress M-05M Undocking
ISS
Followed by destructive re-entry.

2010 Oct 27
15:00
Progress M-08M Launch
Soyuz, Baikonur
Supplies to ISS.

Approximate time.

Frequencies: 121.75 MHz (TORU if used), 166.000 MHz (+/-128 kHz), 922.763 MHz.

Explanation of ISS radio frequencies: http://www.zarya.info/Frequencies/FrequenciesISS.php

2010 Oct 29
16:15
Progress M-08M Docking
ISS
Docking port to be advised.

Estimated time.

2010 Oct 30
02:21
CosmoSkyMed 4
Delta, VAFB LC-2W
Radar imaging.

Thirteen minute launch window.

2010 Oct 31
18:30
Rasad 1 Launch
Safir LV or Simorgh LV, Iran
Military/government remote sensing satellite. Rasad means 'Observation' in English.

This may be the satellite referred to as AUT SAT, designed by students of the Amir-Kabir University of Technology. Construction of AUT SAT began 2010 Jan.

Originally scheduled for period Aug 24-30, a postponement was announced on Aug 16 - the announcement referred to launch by the end of the current Iranian year (2011 Mar 20), and hinted at delays due to testing: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8905251362

Both date and time are estimates.

Frequency: 435 MHz or 465.000 MHz?

2010 Nov 1
20:40
STS-133 Launch
STS Discovery, KSC LC-39A
To ISS with supplies and equipment.

Probable delay announced 2010 Jun 23 and confirmed July 1 - mission slipped from Sep 16 to give engineers more time to work on payloads planning.

Approximate time - middle of ten minute launch window.

Frequencies: 259.7 MHz, 2217.5 MHz

2010 Nov 3
16:10
STS-133 Docking
ISS
Estimated time.

2010 Nov 4
Deep Impact Encounter with Comet Hartley 2
Heliocentric Orbit
Imaging, using two telescopes with digital color cameras and an infrared spectrometer.

2010 Nov 10
ISS EVA - Russian Segment
ISS
26th Russian EVA from ISS.

2010 Nov 10
STS-133 Undocking
ISS
Date and ime to be confirmed

2010 Nov 12
STS-133 Landing
Kennedy SC Runway
Date and time to be confirmed

2010 Nov 15
GEO-IK-2 Launch
Rockot/Briz-KM, Plesetsk SC
Geodetic satellite with payload including radar altimeter, laser retro reflectors plus GLONASS and GPS receivers.

Approximate date.


2010 Nov 17
Navstar GPS 2F SV-2 Launch
Atlas V 401, CCAFS LC-41
GPS Navsat.

Approximate date.

2010 Nov 18
ISS EVA - Russian Segment
ISS
27th Russian EVA from ISS.

2010 Nov 19
12:53
STP S26 Multi-Satellite Launch
Minotaur 4, Kodiak, Alaska
STPSat 2, FASTSAT (Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite), FASTRAC (two satellites for the University of Texas), the USAF FalconSat 5, and OREOS (NASA CubeSat).

160 minute launch window.

Orbit - 650km circular, 72° inclination.

see: http://www.ballaerospace.com/page.jsp?page=126

Delayed from 2010 May 28 then delayed from Sep1, then from Sep 5 (as a knock-on of software issue affecting the SBSS launch).

2010 Nov 22
10:09
Glory Launch (incl three auxiliary satellites)
Taurus, VAFB LC-576E
Earth Energy Balance studies - NASA satellite.

Launch vehicle will carry three other small satellites - Explorer 1 Prime for Montana State University (measuring the radiation belts as discovered by the original Explorer 1), Hermes for the University of Colorado, and KySat-1 for the Kentucky Space Consortium.

Time is near the middle of a ten minute launch window.

See: http://glory.gsfc.nasa.gov/

2010 Nov 25
Eutelsat KA-Sat Launch
Proton-M/Briz-M, Baikonur SC
Comsat for geosynchronous orbit at 9 deg east longitude. To provide broadband internet services.

2010 Nov 26
Soyuz TMA-19 Undocking
ISS
Followed by re-entry and landing.

2010 Dec 1
ATV 2 Launch
Ariane 5, CSG ELA-3
Vehicle named Johannes Kepler - after the German astronomer and mathematician.

Previous ATV launch - Jules Verne, 2008 March.

Supplies to ISS plus disposal of rubbish/trash. Approximate date

2010 Dec 1
SBIRS F-2 Launch
Atlas V, CCAFS
Space Based Infrared System - missile detection satellite for GEO. One SBIRS payload is already in orbit on board the multi-tasking USA-200 (2008-010A/32706).

Date has slipped many times and is very likely to slip further - currently listed as "No Earlier Than".

2010 Dec 1
Spektr-R launch
Zenit-2/Fregat-SB, Baikonur SC
Approximate date - moved back from "the middle of 2010".

Astrophysics research.

2010 Dec 1
Tacsat 4 Launch
Minotaur 4, Kodiak Island
Experimental reconnaissance and communications satellite for the US Air Force.

Date very approximate.

2010 Dec 7
Akatsuki Arrival at Venus
Venus
Arrival is Dec 7 Japan Standard Time (GMT + 9hrs) but the precise time has not been announced so it may be Dec 6 UTC.

2010 Dec 10
ORS-1 Launch
Minotaur 1, Wallops FC LC-OB
Small satellite for battlefield reconnaissance - sensors are based on those being demonstrated by TacSat-3 (2009-028A/35001 launched 2009 May 19). ORS-1 stands for "Operational Responsive Space-1".

Date may slip - currently listed a "No Earlier Than".

2010 Dec 14
19:25
Soyuz TMA-20 Launch
Soyuz, Baikonur
Crew to ISS - Kondratyev (Expedition 27 Commander), Coleman, Nespoli.

Approximate time. Delayed from Sep 9.

Frequencies: 121.75, 166.0, 922.763 MHz.

2010 Dec 15
GLONASS-K Launch
Soyuz 2-1A, Plesetsk SC
GLONASS-MNavigation satellite. GLONASS-K is a new version of the vehicle.

First GLONASS not to have been manifested as part of a triple payload on a Proton rocket, first GLONASS to be launched from Plesetsk. Russia decided to shift GLONASS launches to Plesetsk for strategic reasons to reduce reliance on other countries (Baikonur is in Kazakhstan).

Approximate Date.

2010 Dec 15
SkyTerra 1 Launch
Proton-M/Briz-M, Baikonur SC
Mobile broadband communications from geosynchronous orbit - 101.3 deg west.

Commercial launch provided by International Launch Services.

Jul 22 - announced Aug 17 launch would not take place after satellite manufacturer Boeing started troubleshooting a technical problem.

Date is approximate - could be as late as 2011 January.

2010 Dec 16
Sich 2 Launch
Dnepr, Dombarovsky SC
Remote sensing/meteorology.

Also several small sub-satellites.

Approximate Date.

2010 Dec 16
20:35
Soyuz TMA-20 Docking
ISS
Rassvet docking port.

Estimated time.

2010 Dec 17
ATV-2 Docking
ISS
Rear port of Zvezda.

2010 Dec 20
Progress M-07M Undocking
ISS
Delayed from Dec 15 due to conflict with Soyuz arrival.

Followed by destructive re-entry.

2010 Dec 25
GLONASS-M Launch (3 satellites)
Proton, Baikonur LC-200
Navigation satellites.

Approximate Date.

2010 Dec 26
Progress M-08M Undocking
ISS
Followed by destructive re-entry.

2010 Dec 31
Resurs P Launch
Soyuz 2-1B, Baikonur SC
Russian remote sensing satellite.

Sun synchronous orbit - 475km, 97.3 deg.

Approximate date.

2011 Jan 1
Navstar GPS 2F SV-3 Launch
Delta-4, CCAFS LC-37B
GPS Navsat.

This date WILL slip.

2011 Jan 15
NROL 49 Launch
Delta 4 Heavy, VAFB
Possibly a KH-ll reconnaissance satellite. Commercial launch by United Launch Alliance.

This will be the heaviest vehicle ever to lift off from Vandenberg.

Time will be announced nearer to the date.

2011 Jan 20
HTV-2 Launch
H-IIB, Tanegashima SC
Supplies to ISS

2011 Jan 24
Progress M-08M Undocking
ISS
Followed by destructive re-entry.

2011 Jan 28
Progress M-09M Launch
Soyuz U,Baikonur SC
Supplies to ISS.

Delayed from 2010 Dec 27.

Frequencies: 121.75 MHz (TORU if used), 166.000 MHz (+/-128 kHz), 922.763 MHz.

Explanation of ISS radio frequencies: http://www.zarya.info/Frequencies/FrequenciesISS.php

2011 Jan 30
Progress M-09M Docking
ISS
Docking port to be advised.

Estimated time.

2011 Feb 13
COTS Demo 2 (Dragon C2) Launch
Dragon 9, CCAFS LC-39
Second orbital mission for an operational Dragon spacecraft. It is intended to make a demonstration approach to within 10 kilometres of the International Space Station.

Date is approximate and is likely to slip.

2011 Feb 14
Globalstar 2 (6 satellites)
Soyuz-2-1A/Fregat, Baikonur LC-31
LEO Comsats

Approximate date

2011 Feb 15
Canopus V-1 and Baumanets 2 Launch
Soyuz-FG/Fregat, Baikonur SC
Multispectral Remote sensing satellite with secondary payload of Baumanets 2 student-built satellite.

Sun-synchronous orbit - 510km, 98 deg.

Approximate date.

2011 Feb 15
Intelsat 18 Launch
Zenit-3SLB, Baikonur SC
Commercial comsat for geosynchronous orbit at 180 deg west longitude.

Approximate date.

2011 Feb 15
ISS EVA - Russian Segment
ISS
Approximate date.

Skripochka, Yurchikhin

2011 Feb 16
ISS EVA - Russian Segment
ISS
Approximate date.

Skripochka, Kondratiev

2011 Feb 17
AEHF-2 Launch
Atlas V, CCAFS LC-41
Second of a group of three AEHF satellites that will replace the current Milstar constellation, providing secure communications to the US military.

Commercial launch into geosynchronous transfer orbit by United Launch Alliance.

Approximate Date.

2011 Feb 26
21:04
STS-134 Launch
Shuttle Endeavour, LC-39A, Kennedy SC
ISS mission.

Probable delay announced 2010 Jun 23 and confirmed Jul 1 - mission slipped from 2010 Nov because of the STS-133 delay and a further need to avoid launch conflicts with other ISS missions.

2011 Feb 28
17:30
STS-134 Docking
ISS
Estimated time.

2011 Mar 1
Pleiades Launch
Soyuz-2, CSG
Approximate date.

Earth observation. First Soyuz launch from French Guiana

2011 Mar 1
ViaSat 1 Launch
Proton-M/Briz-M, Baikonur SC
Commercial comsat for geosynchronous orbit at 115 deg west longitude.

Approximate date.

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