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One of the biggest Indonesia's cellular services operator, PT Indosat Tbk states that PALAPA-D satellite was successfully placed in the normal position of its Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), after launched on Monday, August 31, 2009 at 17:28 pm Xichang time, or 16:28 pm western Indonesia time.

A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is an intermediate orbit used to reach geosynchronous or geostationary orbit. It is a highly elliptical earth orbit with apogee at about 35,700 km, geostationary (GEO) altitude, and an argument of perigee such that apogee occurs on or near the equator.

Gradually the PALAPA-D satellite will be controlled to move into the Geostationary Syncronous Orbit expected to be reached in mid-September 2009. Next, will be done an "in orbit test" for all functions and parameters of the satellite, so it can immediately replace Palapa-C2. Currently, the Earth Station Jatiluhur also been able to monitor the condition of PALAPA-D satellite in normal conditions.

Palapa-D satellite, also known as Palapa D1, is an Indonesian geostationary communications satellite, operated by Indosat. It was built by Thales Alenia Space, based on the Spacebus-4000B3 satellite bus, and carries thirty five G/H band and five J band transponders (US IEEE C and Ku bands respectively).

It is intended to be positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 113º East, where it will replaced the Palapa C2 satellite.

Indosat ordered Palapa-D from Thales Alenia Space in 2007. The satellite was built without using American components, and is therefore not restricted by US International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which allowed the China Great Wall Industry Corporation to be selected as a launch service provider.

A Long March 3B rocket, flying from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre was used to launch it. A partial launch failure initially left it in a low orbit. The satellite was then placed into the proper orbit after three boost maneuvers.

South Korea to prepare the launch of its first rocket to space. Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 / KSLV-1, the identity of the rocket, scheduled to be done to day at around 14:20 and 16:20 Western Indonesia Time.

As reported by BBC, two rocket developed on the Russian assistance will be launched at the Naro Space Complex, located 475 kilometers to the south of Seoul, Wednesday (19 / 8). Rocket named Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) plans to place a 100 kg satellite in orbit. KSLV-1 are designed to place satellite for earth observation in the final orbit.

The events will be observed by North Korea (Korut), that has gained international attention because has its own rocket launch programs. Earlier this year, North Korea announced that it had successfully orbited a satellite; but the claim was dismissed by the US, Japan and South Korea who called the April flight a cover for a test of ballistic missile technology.
[ Please Read: North Korea Rocket Launch ]

KSLV-1 Rocket has a length of 33 meters and weight of approximately 140 tons. The first Russian liquid-fuelled first-stage rocket has a thrust of 1700 kilonewton, while the second rocket, which is made in South Korea is estimated to have a thrust of 80 kilonewton.

South Korea plans to develop the space program to rival other Asian countries such as China, Japan, and India. During this time, as many as 10 domestic-made rocket was launched.

April last year, South Korea has sent its first astronaut, Yi So-Yeon into space with the Russian-made rocket, Soyuz. Yi spent eleven days on the International Space Station (ISS), and successfully brought some experiment things for the government and industry.

Forty years have passed since we got shocked by the controversial news of successful Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. Is it true that astronauts Neil Armstrong was the first man on history of human kind had set foot on the Earth's satellite? Questions continue to accompany the story of the Apollo 11 mission and its landing on the surface of the Moon on 20 July 1969.

The Apollo 11 mission was the first mission conducted by U.S that to land human on the Moon surface. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon. It was also the second all-veteran crew in manned spaceflight history.

Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

Then, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin walking on the surface of the Moon. Video depicts Armstrong put the U.S. flag and jump around. This action emphasizes the human success of landing on the Moon.

Several parties dispute the landing. The video clip stated as full of curiosity. Some said that the video was not made on the Moon, but in a special place in the vicinity of the State of Arizona, USA.

Astronom Phil Plait, gave an explanation on the radio program "Are We Alone", which is managed by SETI Institute, a non-profit organization in California U.S., which focus on the explanation of the existence of the other beings in the universe.

Plait said, there are some parties skeptically questioning pictures, photos, images of Armstrong and Aldrin that shows the sky without stars. "There is no atmosphere on the moon so the stars should look brighter than on earth."

The skeptical question is also about the U.S. flag in the video snippets that appear to flapped, the moon does not have air. They also propose a theory that the astronauts may have been seared by radiation when penetrate the Van Allen belt and could not have survived the trip because of exposure to radiation from the galactic ambient radiation in travel to the Moon.

Matter of fact, belief in the moon landing was already weakened in the last few years. This issue emerged again when in 2001 Fox TV broadcast a program titled "Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?"

The Fox TV show, said Dr. Tony Philips, on the Science@NASA site, describing how the US's NASA is not more than simply "the moronic film producer."

All doubt was often answered Directly by Armstrong, Apollo 11 mission commander. Armstrong who was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, 5 August 1930, with the astronauts Buzz Aldrin admitted enjoying the surface of the Moon for 2.5 hours.

On the moon, they both drive in the U.S. flag and a banner reads "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."

Not only Americans are proponents of the hoax theory. A 2000 poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Fund found that 28 percent do not believe that American astronauts have been on the Moon and this percentage is roughly equal in all social-demographic groups.

A 2009 poll conducted by the British Engineering & Technology magazine found that 25 percent do not believe that man has walked on the Moon. For the U.S., Apollo 11 landing on the Moon is a great achievement that made the U.S. seems to excel it's main competitor, the Soviet Union, in the space program.

One of the competitors for the U.S. at this time, Russia thought, the conspiracy theory and Apollo Moon Landing hoax in 1969 is becoming increasingly popular. Russia even has created a number of sites and documentary films on television to deliver the Apollo Moon Landing hoax.

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was launched into space aboard the Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963, she was becoming the first woman who visited outer space. Valentina Tereshkova spent three days aloft before returning safely to earth. The outer space flight made Tereshkova a national hero and she was awarded the high honor of the Order of Lenin.

Her flight was considered a scientific coup for the Soviet Union, which also had the first man (Yuri Gagarin) and the first dog (Laika) in space. Before her flight Tereshkova had been an avid amateur skydiver, which led to her selection for the cosmonaut corps.

Tereshkova married fellow cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev in 1963; they had one daughter together but later separated. She was president of the Committee of Soviet Women (1968–86) and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1971).

* Name: Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova
* Born: 6 March 1937
* Birthplace: Maslennikovo, Russia
* Best Known As: The first woman in space

Finally, on sunday may 24, at 11:39 a.m.EDT, space shuttle Atlantis with the STS-125 astronauts landed safely on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, closing its bold mission to perform routine repairs and replace key instruments of the Hubble Space Telescope for the final time.

Previously, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials have postponed the space shuttle Atlantis landing until Saturday due to bad weather concerns. On its official web site, NASA mentioned that The first opportunity to land the Atlantis space shuttle at Florida's Kennedy Space Center will be at 9:16 a.m. ET Saturday 23 / 5 / 2009.

Space shuttle Atlantis launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11. During the 13-day mission, astronauts performed five challenging spacewalks over five consecutive days, improving Hubble's discovery power and extending the 19-year-old observatory's lifespan by at least five more years.

According to the NASA statement, the Hubble Space Telescope was rejuvenated with new instruments designed to make some improvements of its capabilities by as much as 70 times, while extending its lifetime through at least 2014.

Ed Weiler, associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters, said in the statement, "This is not the end of the story but the beginning of another chapter of discovery by Hubble, Hubble will be more powerful than ever, continue to surprise, enlighten and inspire us all, and pave the way for the next generation of observatories."

Hubble, which has been in space for nearly two decades, can capture clear images that telescopes on Earth cannot, partly because it does not have to gaze through murky atmospheres.