Contact with Chandrayaan-1 Lost

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has lost radio contact with Chandrayaan-1 today, August 29, at 1:30 a.m. Indian Standard Time. The Chandrayaan-1 mission was declared over at this time.

Chandrayaan-1 was India's first mission to the Moon, and included an orbiter and an impactor. The impactor made India only the fourth country to place its flag on the Moon, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan. Chandrayaan-1 has also been a great boost to India's space program, and has provided invaluable information about the Moon. The orbiter completed 312 days in orbit, and in that time, completed more than 3400 orbits around the Moon. The mission has been cut short of the intended two year time period.

Images: ISRO


Astronomy and Space Celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.

400 Years of Astronomical Outreach

Today marks a very important anniversary for the International Year of Astronomy 2009. As you may know, the International Year of Astronomy 2009 is being celebrated to promote astronomy on the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observations of the sky with a telescope and the publication of Kepler's Astronomica Nova.

On August 25, 1609, Galileo conducted what is now considered the first astronomical outreach activity. He invited the Venetian Republic's lawmakers and policy makers to the St. Mark's Square bell tower, and showed off his simple but revolutionary telescope design. The telescope only gave a magnification of eight times, but that ability was still very invaluable. The visitors marveled at what the telescope allowed them to see, and rewarded Galileo with a life tenure at the University of Padua and a double in his salary (making him become one of the highest paid at the university).

The astronomical outreach event was a very important event for astronomy. Not only did Galileo promote the telescope's technology, but astronomy as well. In the same way, astronomical outreach events today help promote astronomy to the public, and this is one of the goals of the International Year of Astronomy.

Additionally, Google has made a Google Doodle for their homepage to honor today's important anniversary.

More information is available at the International Year of Astronomy 2009's website, while a film, 400 Years of the Telescope, details Galileo's telescope among other astronomical topics in a wonderful documentary.

Image (Galileo): IYA2009; Image (Google Doodle): Google


Astronomy and Space Celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.

STS-128 Launch

Update 4: NASA has decided to attempt launching at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, August 28. This is to allow more time for the engineers to analyze the problem that had occurred.

Update 3: During the 48 hour scrub, NASA will try to analyze the problem. Currently, a launch time of 12:22 a.m. on Friday, August 28 (EDT) has been set, but that may change as more details are found out about the problem.

Update 2: The launch attempt for Wednesday morning has been scrubbed, due to a problem with the fill-and-drain valve inside the shuttle's aft compartment. No date for a further launch attempt has been set at this time.

Update: The Tuesday morning launch was cancelled due to weather. The next attempt will take place at 1:10 a.m., Wednesday morning (Eastern Time).

On Tuesday (August 25), at 1:36 a.m. (Eastern Time), the space shuttle Discovery is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral, for STS-128's flight to the International Space Station. This launch is one of the few last space shuttle launches remaining for the aging space vehicle due for retiring in 2010. There are currently expected to be only six more flights after STS-128. Additionally, this flight is expected to have the last launch conducted completely during the night. This results in a spectacular view of the launch.

If you're in the Southeastern United States, near Florida and Cape Canaveral, you can very easily see the launch because of the brightness from the solid rocket boosters. People in other parts of the Eastern United States may be able to see the shuttle due to its main engines, after the boosters are released, until Main Engine Cut Off. However for people in the North, the shuttle will appear very low near the horizon and may be blocked by trees or buildings.

You can find out more information about the launch and how to view it from this article on SPACE.com, and get facts about the mission from this NASA page.

Image: NASA


Astronomy and Space Celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009.