** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **

China is getting ready to launch Tiangong 1 later this week from the Gobi desert. This will be a “docking demo”. Tiangong 1 is aboard a Long March 2F rocket. Later this year a Shenzhou 8 craft will launched for an automated rendezvous and docking with Tiangong 1. The demo is a proving run as part of China’s plan to design/build a space station by 2020.

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China will launch an unmanned module next week, paving the way for a planned space station, a spokesman for the space program said on Tuesday.

Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace 1", will blast off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province between Sept 27 and 30, the spokesman said.

The 8.5-ton module, and the Long March II-F rocket that will carry it skyward, were positioned onto the launch pad on Tuesday, signaling that the project has entered the final preparation stage.

Information provided by cctv.com Thank you http://www.cctv.com
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An Orbital Minotaur IV+ rocket was launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska earlier today carrying an experimental TacSat-4 communications satellite for the United States Navy and Operationally Responsive Space Office.

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The Minotaur's first stage is a decommissioned SR118 Peacekeeper missile motor.
 
This is one day we will look back upon, 4th October 1957. The day the space race began when the first artificial satellite was put into Earth's orbit. That satellite was Sputnik 1:

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Sputnik 1

On Oct. 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 successfully launched and entered Earth's orbit. Thus, began the space age. The successful launch shocked the world, giving the former Soviet Union the distinction of putting the first human-made object into space. The word 'Sputnik' originally meant 'fellow traveler,' but has become synonymous with 'satellite' in modern Russian.

This historic image shows a technician putting the finishing touches on Sputnik 1, humanity's first artificial satellite. The pressurized sphere made of aluminum alloy had five primary scientific objectives: Test the method of placing an artificial satellite into Earth orbit; provide information on the density of the atmosphere by calculating its lifetime in orbit; test radio and optical methods of orbital tracking; determine the effects of radio wave propagation though the atmosphere; and, check principles of pressurization used on the satellites.

Image Credit: NASA/Asif A. Siddiqi
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1
 
PermaBanned said:
Is the capsule itself actually the whole spacecraft? Even with advances in technology i doubt they could completely get rid of the bulky unpressurised service module of Apollo (and Gemini)...
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The exploration vehicle consists of three parts:

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Launch Abort System

The launch abort system (LAS), positioned on a tower atop the crew module, activates within milliseconds to propel the crew module to safety in the event of an emergency during launch or climb to orbit. The system also protects the crew module from dangerous atmospheric loads and heating, then jettisons after the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is through the initial mission phase of ascent to orbit.

Crew Module

The crew module is the transportation capsule that provides a safe habitat for the crew, provides storage for consumables and research instruments, and serves as the docking port for crew transfers. The crew module is the only part of the MPCV that returns to Earth after each mission.

Service Module

The service module supports the crew module from launch through separation prior to reentry. It provides in-space propulsion capability for orbital transfer, attitude control, and high altitude ascent aborts. When mated with the crew module, it provides the water, oxygen and nitrogen needed for a habitable environment, generates and stores electrical power while on-orbit, and maintains the temperature of the vehicle's systems and components.

This module can also transport unpressurized cargo and scientific payloads.
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http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv/index.html
 
We are back on track with missions to the ISS. NASA has told congress that it agrees with Russia’s findings on the failure of a Soyuz rocket's third stage in August during a Progress launch to the ISS. Subject to a successful Soyuz launch on October 30th, the next mission to ISS, Expedition 29 should launch on November 14th. :)
 
Galileo:

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The first operational satellites of Europe’s own global navigation satellite system Galileo will be launched next week. This will happen be the first Soyuz rocket to launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Launch is scheduled for Thursday, 20 October at 11:34 BST (12:34 CEST, 07:34 local time).

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We have another launch. The ViaSat 1 broadband communications satellite on board a Russian Proton rocket is due to be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday 19th, at 19:48 BST (22:48 local time). The rocket and its payload arrived by train at the pad on Sunday:

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