Space Technology

Nine manned launches occurred in 2009, the most since 1997. STS-119, using , was launched on 15 March. It installed the last set of solar arrays on the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-14, the 100th manned Soyuz launch, delivered the Expedition 19 crew in March. In May, conducted the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. Several days later, Soyuz TMA-15 launched with the ISS Expedition 20 crew, brought the total ISS crew size up to six for the first time. This was also the 100th manned spaceflight of the Soyuz programme, excluding the original Soyuz T-10 mission which failed to reach space. In July, delivered the final component of the Japanese Experiment Module on mission STS-127. STS-128, using ''Discovery'' in August, delivered supplies using the ''Leonardo'' MPLM. September saw the launch of Soyuz TMA-16, with the ISS Expedition 21 crew. This was the 100th manned Soyuz mission reach orbit. In November, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' flew mission STS-129, delivering two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers to the ISS. The final manned flight of the year, Soyuz TMA-17, was launched on 20 December with the ISS Expedition 22 crew.

Although not a spaceflight in its own right, the Ares I-X test flight was conducted on 28 October, with the rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center at 15:30 GMT. The flight was successful and reached an altitude of around , within the upper atmosphere. A parachute failure during descent resulted in some damage to the first stage, which was recovered.


Adapted from the Wikipedia article 2009 in spaceflight, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki