GOES-15

GOES-15NOAA’s GOES-15 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral into geosynchronous orbit to monitor weather patterns over the United States. In accordance with NOAA’s policy of having standby weather satellites already in orbit before their predecessors are decommissioned, GOES-15 is held in reserve until late 2011, when it will become the primary GOES-WEST satellite. It remains in orbit on active weather-watching duty.

Caprica: Know Thy Enemy

CapricaThe sixth episode of the Battlestar Galactica spinoff series Caprica, a non-space-based tale of the creation of the Cylons over half a century before the events seen in Galactica, premieres on cable channel Syfy. James Marsters (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel) and Patton Oswalt guest star. Read more

Spirit signs off

SpiritNASA’s Spirit Mars rover makes its last contact with ground controllers on Earth. With the Martian winter fast approaching, and the rover’s wheels leaving it stuck in an unfavorable position to keep its solar panels angled toward the sun, Spirit gradually loses power until it shuts off, its mission having lasted nearly seven and a half years – almost 30 times its original design and mission lifespan of 90 days. Spirit’s ground controllers are reassigned to either Opportunity (which is still mobile and operating) or the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover mission.

Caprica: End Of Line

CapricaThe ninth episode of the Battlestar Galactica spinoff series Caprica, a non-space-based tale of the creation of the Cylons over half a century before the events seen in Galactica, premieres on cable channel Syfy. James Marsters (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel) guest stars. Read more

Doctor Who: The Lost Stories: Paradise 5

Doctor Who UnboundBig Finish Productions releases the fifth Doctor Who: The Lost Stories audio drama, a limited series of audio versions of scripts that were intended for, but never produced by, Doctor Who on television. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant star in a story originally intended for the 1986 season of Doctor Who. Read more

Soyuz TMA-18

Soyuz TMA-18Part of the 23rd full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-18. Aleksandr Skvortsov, Mikhail Korniyenko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson take up residence on the ISS for 164 days, becoming part of the Expedition 23/24 crews. All three return to Earth in September 2010 aboard the same vehicle.

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour

Doctor WhoThe 759th episode of Doctor Who (the 61st since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. This is the first full episode to feature Matt Smith as the eleventh Doctor, and introduces Karen Gillan as new companion Amy Pond (and Steven Moffat as the series’ showrunner). Arthur Darvill makes his first appearance as Rory; astronomer Sir Patrick Moore guest stars as himself. Read more

STS-131

Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle Discovery is launched on the 131st shuttle flight, a 15-day resupply mission to the International Space Station. Equipment and experiment packages are transferred to the station from a logistics module in the shuttle cargo bay. The joint portion of the flight features the largest female astronaut contingent in orbit at any one time to date, with three of Discovery’s six crewmembers plus station astronaut Tracy Dyson. Aboard Discovery for her 38th flight are Commander Alan Poindexter, Pilot James Dutton, and mission specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Naoko Yamazaki, Clayton Anderson and Stephanie Wilson.

X-37B OTV-1

X-37BIn a launch simply designated USA-212, the U.S. Air Force launches the Boeing-built X-37B unmanned vehicle into Earth orbit. Resembling a scaled-down Space Shuttle, the X-37B is launched via an Atlas V rocket, though during launch it is fully surrounded by an aerodynamic shell rather than being side-mounted to its booster like the manned Shuttle. The X-37B does not return until December, using a landing profile similar to that of the Shuttle (but automated), and the details of the mission remain classified.