Spaceflight Now

Sunday: April 6, 2003		0410 GMT

Titan 4 to launch final Milstar spacecraft today A 10,000-pound, $800 million satellite that will serve as an orbiting switchboard for secure communications between senior U.S. leaders and military forces around the world is slated for launch at 9:51 a.m. EDT today atop a Titan 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE PREVIEW STORY

Europe's Ariane 5 rocket given OK for return to flight Officials in control of the final steps prior to Tuesday's flight of an Ariane 5 rocket have cleared the vehicle and its two payloads for liftoff in a launch readiness review. A meeting Saturday ended with a "go" to continue operations for the launch. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates PREVIEW STORY LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE ARCHIVED ARIANE COVERAGE

Galactic wind of low-energy cosmic rays claimed A bit of Earth-bound chemistry has led scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, to conclude that there is an unsuspected wind of low-energy cosmic ray particles blowing through the galaxy. FULL STORY

Saturday: April 5, 2003		0218 GMT

Splashing down on oceans of Saturn's moon Titan Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a mysterious place. Its thick atmosphere is rich in organic compounds. Some of them would be signs of life if they were on our planet. How do they form on Titan? Will they help us to discover how life began on Earth? FULL STORY

20th century climate not so hot, study shows A review of more than 200 climate studies led by researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has determined that the 20th century is neither the warmest century nor the century with the most extreme weather of the past 1000 years. FULL STORY

Friday: April 4, 2003		0517 GMT

Ariane 5 program looks for successful return to flight Arianespace is setting up for a crucial flight next week of the Ariane 5 rocket that promises to be widely watched throughout the aerospace industry after the last mission of the heavy-lift booster ended in failure and prompted a program-wide review. FULL STORY LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE ARCHIVED ARIANE COVERAGE

Hubble's rainbow image of a dusty star Resembling a rippling pool illuminated by underwater lights, the Egg Nebula offers astronomers a special look at the normally invisible dust shells swaddling an aging star. These dust layers, extending over one-tenth of a light-year from the star, have an onionskin structure that forms concentric rings around the star. FULL STORY

Giant cosmic lens reveals secrets of distant galaxy Using a radio telescope and helped by a gigantic cosmic lens conveniently provided by nature, an international team of astronomers has discovered that a young galaxy had a central disk of gas in which hundreds of new stars were being born every year -- at a time when the Universe was only a fraction of its current age. FULL STORY

Thursday: April 3, 2003		0020 GMT

Final Milstar spacecraft to launch Sunday A 10,000-pound, $800 million satellite that will serve as an orbiting switchboard for secure communications between senior U.S. leaders and military forces around the world is slated for launch Sunday atop a Titan 4 rocket. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates

Launch industry doldrums unlikely to end soon The current depression in the commercial launch market that has hurt launch vehicle operators in the United States and Europe will continue for the foreseeable future, with government support becoming vital to sustain the industry, a panel of experts recently concluded. FULL STORY

NASA researchers put new spin on relativity theory Albert Einstein might be astonished to learn that NASA physicists have applied his relativity theory to a concept he introduced but later disliked namely that two particles that interact could maintain a connection even if separated by a vast distance. Researchers often refer to this connection as "entanglement." FULL STORY

Europe studies missions to safeguard the Earth Early on the morning of June 30, 1908, the vast forest of western Siberia was illuminated by a strange apparition: an alien object streaking across the cloudless sky. White hot from its headlong plunge into the Earth's atmosphere, the intruder exploded about 8 km above the ground, flattening trees over a vast area. FULL STORY

Wednesday: April 2, 2003		0701 GMT

Mystery object shed in orbit possibly a carrier panel The radar signature of an object floating away from the shuttle Columbia on the second day of its mission matches up well with a wing leading edge carrier panel, members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board revealed Tuesday. If Columbia began its ill-fated re-entry with a missing carrier panel, enough heat could have entered the left wing to trigger the catastrophic chain of events that led to the shuttle's destruction. FULL STORY

Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: TUESDAY'S ACCIDENT BOARD NEWS BRIEFING QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
NASA formally announces Expedition 7 station crew Veteran Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and veteran NASA astronaut Ed Lu have been named as the primary crew for the planned April 26 launch of a Russian Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft to the International Space Station. FULL STORY

One of closest and brightest gamma ray bursts detected The Universe clearly works weekends; delivering one of the brightest and closest gamma ray bursts yet on Saturday. NASA's High-Energy Transient Explorer (HETE) detected the burst, signaling the birth of a black hole, in the constellation Leo. FULL STORY

Military spacecraft launched by Russian forces Russia successfully launched a military cargo into orbit today from its northern cosmodrome. The Molniya M booster carried a Molniya-type military communications satellite into a highly-inclined, egg-shaped orbit.

Tuesday: April 1, 2003		0524 GMT

Delta doesn't disappoint in successful GPS launch A new satellite to replenish the U.S. military's preeminent space-based navigation network roared off the planet Monday, destined to circle 11,000 miles above the globe to guide soldiers in the battlefield and civilians around the world. FULL STORY LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: THE DELTA 2 ROCKET LAUNCHES WITH GPS 2R-9 QT VIDEO: ALTERNATE VIEW OF LIFTOFF FROM NORTH OF PAD QT VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH LAUNCH SQUADRON COMMANDER QT VIDEO: INSIGHT ABOUT GPS FROM GULF WAR VETERAN QT VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH COMMENTS FROM BLS PRESIDENT QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Gehman calls recorder data a 'treasure trove' Ongoing analysis of a "treasure trove" of data from a recorder recovered in the wreckage of the shuttle Columbia shows a deadly plume of super-heated air first began eating its way into the ship's left wing just five minutes after the orbiter fell into the discernible atmosphere. The sudden temperature increase, in a cavity behind the U-shaped panels making up the leading edge of the left wing, came a full three minutes earlier than previous telemetry indicated the start of unusual heating. FULL STORY

More internal NASA emails released to public NASA has posted nearly 30 megabytes of internal email traffic and attachments regarding the potential threat of foam debris striking the shuttle Columbia's left wing; concerns about corrosion that could interfere with proper operation of the ship's body flap during entry; and discussions regarding Columbia's heavier-than-usual landing weight. FULL STORY

Monday: March 31, 2003		0015 GMT

Temperature rose in wing earlier than known A data recorder recovered in the wreckage of the shuttle Columbia shows hot gas entered the leading edge of the spacecraft's left wing within 16 seconds of the point when the orbiter entered the region of maximum aerodynamic heating during re-entry Feb. 1. Temperature sensors located behind two leading edge panels, both just outboard of the point where engineers believe a deadly breach occurred, showed a sudden rapid spike, or increase, before the sensors failed and dropped off line. FULL STORY - updated with more details
See more coverage here:

News Archive
March 24-30: Plan calls for shuttles to be imaged by spy satellites; Expert says NASA lost sight of safety margin; Japan enters spy satellite arena with rocket launch; Rocket troubles delay pair of ESA research projects; Stunning Hubble images of mysterious erupting star; New class of hot-tempered black holes bucks trends.

March 17-23: Columbia data recorder recovered; could hold key insights; Hearing focuses on debris, breakup mechanics; NASA's Columbia mishap team reorganized; Weighing a black hole at the edge of the universe; Race to gamma ray burst reveals gigantic explosion.

March 10-16: Board studies wing edge, wind shear, foam repair; Debris may strengthen breach scenario; Readdy says 'no rationale' for spy satellite inspection of Columbia; Data shows autopilot on through last transmission; Delta 4 rocket successfully begins military service; Hubble discovers an evaporating planet.

March 3-9: Investigators begin public hearings into accident; Plume may have entered wheel well from within wing; Delta 4's first Air Force launch scrubbed; China reportedly planning lunar exploration; Team pegs brightness of history's brightest star.

Feb. 24-March 2: Video shows Columbia crew unaware of impending disaster; Flight controllers downplay emails about Columbia; Europe pushes ahead with its new Vega rocket; Massive gas cloud around Jupiter revealed; Pioneer 10 sends last signal; Remnants of ancient stars found in Earth's atmosphere.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

Columbia Report

A reproduction of the official accident investigation report into the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Mars Panorama

DISCOUNTED! This 360 degree image was taken by the Mars Pathfinder, which landed on the Red Planet in July 1997. The Sojourner Rover is visible in the image.

Choose your store:
U.S.

Apollo 11 Mission Report

Apollo 11 - The NASA Mission Reports Vol. 3 is the first comprehensive study of man's first mission to another world is revealed in all of its startling complexity. Includes DVD!

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Rocket DVD

If you've ever watched a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg Air Force Base or even Kodiak Island Alaska, there's no better way to describe what you witnessed than with this DVD.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Apollo 11 special patch

Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K.

Apollo 11 special patch

Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Inside Apollo mission control

An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.

Choose your store:
U.S.

The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD

This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Next ISS crew

Own a little piece of history with this official patch for the International Space Station's Expedition 11 crew. We'll ship yours today!

Choose your store:
U.S.

Get e-mail updates
Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose).

Gemini 7

Gemini 7: The NASA Mission Reports covers this 14-day mission by Borman and Lovell as they demonstrated some of the more essential facts of space flight. Includes CD-ROM.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Apollo patches

The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Mars Rover mission patch

A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is available from our online.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Apollo 9 DVD

On the road to the moon, the mission of Apollo 9 stands as an important gateway in experience and procedures. This 2-DVD collection presents the crucial mission on the voyage to the moon.

Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Expedition 18 patch & pin

The official embroidered patch and lapel pin for the International Space Station Expedition 18 crew is now available to from our stores.

U.S. STORE: PATCH | PIN

WORLD STORE: PATCH | PIN

Columbus mission patch

The official astronaut embroidered patch of Atlantis' STS-122 mission that launched the Columbus science lab in February is available to U.S. customers from our store.

U.S. STORE

Project Orion

The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.

U.S. STORE

Apollo patches

The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.
U.S. STORE

Contact us
If you have a comment or question for Spaceflight Now, just send us an e-mail.

INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE
ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE

ADVERTISE