China's launch rate set to surpass United States

NEWSALERT: Monday, December 5, 2011 @ 1508 GMT
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  The latest news from Spaceflight Now


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JUST RELEASED: 2012 ASTRONAUT AUTOGRAPH CLUB!
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Prepared to be launched to space with the Astronaut Scholarship
Foundation's 2012 Astronaut Autograph Club! Join today and receive an
astronaut-signed photo and a personalized letter from a legendary
astronaut for every month of the year. Memberships are limited.

Order by December 15, 2011 and save $50 by using promo code AAC12 at
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CHINA'S LAUNCH RATE SET TO SURPASS UNITED STATES
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For the first time since joining the spacefaring community in 1970, China
is poised to eclipse the number of U.S. space launches in a single year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/04china/


CASSINI RADAR PAINTS NEW PICTURE OF ICY ENCELADUS
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NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured unprecedented radar imagery of Saturn's
icy moon Enceladus last month, uncovering new details of the moon's highly
reflective frozen surface.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/03enceladus/


ESA SHUTTING DOWN PHOBOS-GRUNT LISTENING CAMPAIGN
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The European Space Agency announced Friday it would cease attempts to
contact Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, as hopes diminish of ever
recovering the stranded spacecraft and guiding it toward the red planet.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/02phobosgrunt/


PUT ON YOUR 3D GLASSES AND CHECK OUT ASTEROID VESTA
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NASA released a 3D video of asteroid Vesta this week, showing rifts and
valleys across the 330-mile-wide world sandwiched between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/02vesta/


MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY POSTPONES ADJUSTING COURSE
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The first scheduled opportunity for the Mars Science Laboratory to tweak
its trajectory on the interplanetary cruise from Earth to the red planet
won't be needed for awhile, flight controllers announced Thursday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av028/111201noburn.html

HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO:
http://www.spaceflightnowplus.com/hd/msl/

STANDARD-DEFINITION VIDEO:
http://spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php?k=av-028&s=date


IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY!
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Thursday marked the 12th anniversary of Spaceflight Now's launch onto the
Internet. We have covered hundreds of rocket launches, flyout of the space
shuttle program and robotic expeditions across the solar system. Thanks to
all our readers for visiting the site every day!

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DELTA 4 ROCKET TO PROVIDE LAUNCH SERVICES FOR WGS 5
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As United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 rocket gets ready to launch the next
craft for the U.S. military's backbone communications satellite
constellation in January, the Air Force has awarded the booster the rights
to deploy the subsequent bird as well.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/01wgs5/


GLOBALSTAR SWAPS SATELLITES BEFORE NEXT LAUNCH
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Struggling with recurring problems with satellite momentum wheels,
Globalstar exchanged one of six mobile communications spacecraft set to
launch in December with a spare platform to ensure it does not succumb to
an issue that has knocked one of the company's newest satellites out of
service.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/02globalstar/

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INTRODUCING LATEST ASTRONAUT PATCH!
The International Space Station's Expedition 35 crew patch is now
available from our store. Free shipping to U.S. addresses!
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling

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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
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Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
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Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

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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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Information -- More Info -- And More Info