LIVE: Delta 4 launch tonight / Spacewalkers install battery 6-pack

NEWSALERT: Friday, May 21, 2010 @ 2228 GMT
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The latest news from Spaceflight Now


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DELTA 4 ROCKET READY TO LAUNCH NEW ERA FOR GPS
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The first satellite in a new generation for the Global Positioning System,
years in the making and built with enhancements users eagerly want, awaits
blastoff into orbit atop a Delta 4 rocket. Tonight's liftoff time from
Cape Canaveral is 11:25 p.m. EDT.

LIVE COVERAGE:
http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/status.html


SPACEWALKERS GIVE STATION NEW SIX-PACK OF BATTERIES
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Astronauts Mike Good and Garrett Reisman performed the final spacewalk of
shuttle Atlantis' mission today, finishing the laborious job of replacing
the International Space Station's decade-old solar array batteries with a
half-dozen fresh power packs.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts132/status.html

SEE OUR MISSION ARCHIVE:
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts132/


ARIANE 5 ROCKET LAUNCHES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE DECEMBER
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Europe's workhorse commercial launcher blasted off at 2201 GMT (6:01 p.m.
EDT) for the first time since December. Arianespace halted launches of the
Ariane 5 rocket to conduct quality control reviews after last-minute
glitches plagued recent missions.

http://spaceflightnow.com


LAUNCH SENDS JAPANESE ORBITER ON THE WAY TO VENUS
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A $275 million robotic mission to Venus launched from southern Japan
aboard an H-2A rocket at 2158 GMT (5:58 p.m. EDT), kicking off a six-month
journey through the inner solar system. The Akatsuki orbiter will study
the Venusian atmosphere when it arrives in December.

http://spaceflightnow.com/h2a/akatsuki/status.html


MARS ROVERS SURPASS RED PLANET ENDURANCE RECORD
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The Opportunity rover broke a 28-year-old Mars duration record Thursday,
surpassing the Viking 1 lander to become the longest-lived spacecraft to
ever operate on the Red Planet, at least until the identical Spirit rover
awakes from a winter snooze.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1005/20marsrecord/


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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
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Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
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Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra