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Sunday:
January 28, 2001 | |
0525 GMT |
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15 years after Challenger
On a bitterly cold January morning 15 years ago today, space shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew made a fateful voyage into history. Spaceflight Now marks the anniversary with a comprehensive timeline of the events of that day.
 CHALLENGER TIMELINE
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Ulysses solar explorer detects magnetic shift
An intriguing change in the Sun's magnetic field has been spotted by the solar probe Ulysses. Although the shift had been previously known by scientists, this is the first time the event has been detected by a spacecraft out of the elliptic plane of the solar system, where all planets but Pluto orbit.
FULL STORY
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Companies join forces to create 2nd generation RLV
Kelly Space and Vought Aircraft Industries jointly announced this week that the two companies had signed a teaming agreement and submitted proposals to develop, in cooperation with NASA, a 2nd Generation Reusable Space Launch Vehicle.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Delta 2 rocket 'go' for blastoff Tuesday -- Boeing and the U.S. Air Force completed launch readiness reviews Saturday as the Delta 2 rocket and NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block 2R-7 spacecraft remain set for liftoff Tuesday at 2:43 a.m. EST (0743 GMT).
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Saturday:
January 27, 2001 | |
0555 GMT |
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Deorbiting tug arrives at space station Mir
After a three-day chase, an unmanned cargo ship successfully reached Russia's space station Mir today, becoming most likely the last arrival from Earth to the outpost. The Progress M1-5 spacecraft, carrying propellant for Mir's deorbiting, docked to the station at 0534 GMT (12:34 a.m. EST).
FULL STORY
MIR BURIAL MISSION LAUNCHED
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Technical snag hits NASA's Mars Global Surveyor
One of the orientation-controlling reaction wheels has failed aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet, the space agency says.
FULL STORY
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Atlantis returns to pad after booster checks
Space shuttle Atlantis is back on its seaside launch pad for the first human spaceflight of 2001. The shuttle was rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Friday after precautionary cable inspections on the spaceship's twin solid rocket boosters.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Boeing's Delta 2 rocket to fly Tuesday -- The first Delta rocket launch of 2001 is scheduled for early Tuesday from Cape Canaveral with a replacement Global Positioning System military navigation satellite onboard.
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Friday:
January 26, 2001 | |
0147 GMT |
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World's largest human gathering seen from space
Space Imaging's Ikonos satellite has taken a detailed color photograph of the largest human gathering in the history of the world, the Maha Kumbh Mela, a spiritual event held every 144 years in Northern India.
FULL STORY
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NASA settles on new space shuttle launch schedule
As expected, NASA managers Thursday agreed on a revised near-term shuttle launch schedule, delaying the next flight one day to Feb. 7 and the flight after that from March 1 to March 8. Other downstream flights face delays of several weeks and two space station crew rotation missions are under review.
FULL STORY
UPDATED MISSION FLIGHT PLAN
AVAILABLE LAUNCH WINDOWS
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Old cargo ship leaves Mir to make way for new one
The Progress M43 cargo ship departed the Mir space station Thursday. The craft, which joined Mir last October, left from the Kvant-1 module to free up the docking port for arrival of Mir's deorbiting tug launched Wednesday.
FULL STORY
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NASA craft reveals Earth's invisible magnetic tail
The first large-scale pictures of the hidden machinations of the Earth's magnetic force-field are now available, including confirmation of a suspected but previously invisible "tail" of electrified gas.
FULL STORY
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Europe's satellites track climate changes
In July an Ariane 5 launcher will send into orbit Europe's big new environmental satellite, Envisat. Scientists will expect fresh insights into how the world is changing from the 8-tonne spacecraft.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Scientists rush to propose Pluto mission -- On December 20, NASA announced that it would be soliciting proposals for a mission to the Pluto-Charon system and the Kuiper Belt beyond to arrive at Pluto by 2015. The formal announcement of opportunity was released January 19. Proposals are due on March 21.
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Thursday:
January 25, 2001 | |
0514 GMT |
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Rocks may be key in search for Mars and Venus water
Scientists seeking to understand how much water might have once existed on Mars and Venus may find answers locked up in the rocks on those planets, according to research published this week.
FULL STORY
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Alpha astronauts busy but comfortable on station
Despite a relentless work schedule, the Alpha astronauts say life on board the international space station is improving and while they miss the comforts of home, all three crew members say they would be happy to extend their stay if necessary.
FULL STORY
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Asteroid orbiter begins series of low passes
NASA's NEAR Shoemaker probe orbiting an asteroid is on track for a series of close approaches to the space rock, bringing the craft closer to Eros than ever before.
FULL STORY
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Cassini sees the invisible during Jupiter flyby
Cassini's recent pictures of Jupiter are providing scientists with
never-before-seen images of the giant planet's magnetosphere and underlying
dynamics. Researchers using the Cassini flyby of Jupiter to try out some of the craft's advanced instrumentation are reaping scientific rewards.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Clarification to Titan 2 countdown -- The U.S. Air Force has provided clarification and updated information concerning Sunday's somewhat confusing countdown of the Titan 2 rocket with the DMSP F16 military weather satellite.
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Wednesday:
January 24, 2001 | |
0520 GMT |
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Mir deorbiter tug launched
An unmanned freighter destined to drive Russia's abandoned space station Mir into a suicidal plunge back to Earth was launched into orbit today atop a Soyuz rocket. Liftoff occurred at 0428:42 GMT from Central Asia.
FULL STORY
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U.S. weather satellite grounded till at least April
Efforts to understand and correct a mysterious problem that could have doomed the $430 million mission of a U.S. military weather satellite while work to service the craft's ride to orbit -- a Titan 2 rocket -- will delay launch until at least mid-April, the Air Force said Tuesday.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Cassini sees Jovian lightning storms, moons
A new batch of Jupiter images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft includes an amazing view of Io, clouds on the planet, lightning storms and the best view yet of the small moon Himalia.
FULL STORY
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Space shuttle launch schedule under review
NASA managers are assessing a revised shuttle launch schedule that delays two space station assembly flights by several weeks and pushes one flight by the veteran shuttle Columbia into next year.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Instrument problems could delay INTEGRAL launch -- European Space Agency officials reported this week that problems with several instruments intended for the INTEGRAL spacecraft have put pressure on next year's planned launch of the gamma-ray observatory.
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Tuesday:
January 23, 2001 | |
0207 GMT |
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Titan 2 rocket launch delayed a month or more
Erratic behavior of the guidance computer aboard a $193 million U.S. military weather satellite will force the craft's planned Tuesday launch aboard a Titan 2 rocket to be postponed indefinitely.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Shuttle Atlantis' booster wiring appears OK
No major problems were found with suspect electrical wiring in the shuttle Atlantis' twin solid-fuel boosters during weekend inspections, NASA officials said Monday. Assuming no other issues crop up, Atlantis will be hauled back to pad 39A Thursday for launch on a space station assembly mission Feb. 6.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Mir nursed back to life, Progress set for launch
Flight controllers have reactivated Mir's main computer which has been off-line since a power failure last week. Although attempts to reactivate the station's gyrodines failed, launch preparations have resumed for the cargo craft that will deorbit the station.
FULL STORY
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Boeing combines its Delta rocket programs into one
The Boeing Company's Delta 2, Delta 3 and Delta 4 rocket programs have been merged into a single organization to be led by Dan Collins, formerly vice president of the EELV/Delta 4 program, company officials announced Monday.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Galileo wrapping up Jovian magnetosphere study -- This week, Galileo nears the end of a 14-week collaboration with the Cassini spacecraft to study the influence of the solar wind on the Jovian magnetosphere. Galileo's contribution to the study comes in the form of a low-resolution survey being performed by six instruments.
ILS awarded two launches of Astra satellites in 2001 -- International Launch Services and Societe Europeenne des Satellites of Luxembourg have contracted for the launch this year of the Astra 2C and Astra 1K spacecraft on ILS' Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
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Monday:
January 22, 2001 | |
0200 GMT |
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Titan 2 delayed to Tuesday
After a day of two aborted countdowns and detection of hazardous fuel leaking at the launch pad, the U.S. Air Force decided late Sunday there wasn't enough time to prepare for another liftoff attempt of the Titan 2 rocket on Monday. The rocket needs to fly Tuesday or else face a two-month delay.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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'Dawn' mission would study two large asteroids
A University of Arizona astronomer is one big step closer to two asteroids
that have recorded what the early solar system was like when the terrestrial
planets formed.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Johnson Space Center names 10 new flight directors -- The Mission Operations Directorate at Johnson Space Center has named 10 new flight directors. It is the largest such class ever selected, and brings to 28 the number of current U.S. flight directors.
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The Hubble Space Telescope's majestic view of the Eskimo Nebula. This spectacular poster is available now from the Astronomy Now Store.