Spaceflight Now

Sunday: July 27, 2003		0520 GMT

Space entrepreneurs seek regulatory relief Entrepreneurs creating new commercial space companies as well as those interested in investing in those companies said this past week that Congress needs to take several steps to improve regulations to allow those companies to flourish. FULL STORY

Next International Space Station crew named Veteran NASA astronaut Michael Foale and seasoned Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri are set to be the eighth crew to live aboard the International Space Station. They're scheduled to begin their mission in October, when they launch into space aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. FULL STORY

Saturday: July 26, 2003		0433 GMT

Giant gas cloud made of atoms formed in first stars Astronomers studying the most distant quasar yet found in the Universe have discovered a massive reservoir of gas containing atoms made in the cores of some of the first stars ever formed. FULL STORY

Canadian team maps halos around galaxies Two University of Toronto astronomers and a U.S. colleague have made the first measurements of the size and shape of massive dark matter halos that surround galaxies. FULL STORY

Friday: July 25, 2003		0601 GMT

Pentagon strips 7 launches from Boeing Delta 4 rocket The U.S. Air Force has revoked $1 billion of launches from Boeing's Delta 4 rocket program, handing them to rival Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket, as punishment for corporate mischief during the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle development. FULL STORY READ AIR FORCE ANNOUNCEMENT RESPONSE FROM BOEING

China could begin manned spaceflight soon China's clandestine manned space program could be just a few months away from its first human journey into orbit, a feat the nation has been striving toward for over a decade. FULL STORY

Thursday: July 24, 2003		0409 GMT

Two options emerge for NASA's Orbital Space Plane Advocates for two differing generic designs for NASA's proposed Orbital Space Plane, a winged vehicle versus a capsule, made their cases for their preferred concepts during a Washington forum this week, debating the merits of advanced technology versus low-cost designs. FULL STORY

Pluto explorer to launch atop Atlas 5 rocket NASA has tapped Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket to launch the world's first robotic expedition to the planet Pluto. The New Horizons mission is scheduled for launch in January 2006. FULL STORY

Investigators release report on X-43A launch failure The NASA mishap investigation board, charged to review the loss of the X-43A Hyper-X program research vehicle during its June 2, 2001 launch, concluded no single factor or potential contributing factor caused the mishap. The flight failed because the vehicle's control system design was deficient in several analytical modeling areas, which overestimated the system's margins. FULL STORY

Wednesday: July 23, 2003		0156 GMT

Ham overcome by emotion when describing anguish In an emotion-charged meeting with reporters, Linda Ham, chairman of NASA's mission management team and a lightning rod for criticism of decisions made - or not made - during the shuttle Columbia's ill-fated voyage, spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday, defending NASA's management practices but agreeing major changes are needed. FULL STORY

A pancake shapes distant galactic center While a person's shape can be affected by pancakes, especially if you eat too many, you may not expect the same to be true on a cosmic scale. As it turns out, at least for the Circinus spiral galaxy, a pancake can shape an entire galactic nucleus. FULL STORY

Orbiting eyes help track hot fires on Earth below NASA satellites' "eyes" above Earth are providing scientists and fire managers with powerful monitoring tools. NASA is providing the "big picture" needed to understand how fires behave before, during, and after damage has been done. A suite of NASA satellites, flying in coordinated fashion, offers the unparalleled insight only possible from space. FULL STORY

Tuesday: July 22, 2003		1205 GMT

Management team hardly discussed foam strike Transcripts of meetings by senior NASA managers during the shuttle Columbia's ill-fated flight show mission management team chairman Linda Ham and other top officials, despite a dearth of technical data, simply did not believe falling insulation from the ship's external fuel tank could cause a catastrophic breach in the ship's left wing. FULL STORY STS-107 STORY DIRECTORY

Audio coverage for subscribers only: AUDIO: STS-107 MMT Meeting January 17 QT AUDIO: STS-107 MMT Meeting January 21 QT AUDIO: STS-107 MMT Meeting January 24 QT AUDIO: STS-107 MMT Meeting January 27 QT AUDIO: STS-107 MMT Meeting January 30 QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
'Stunning' stat for parent stars of extrasolar planets A comparison of 754 nearby stars like our Sun -- some with planets and some without -- shows definitively that the more iron and other metals there are in a star, the greater the chance it has a companion planet. FULL STORY

Team gives FUSE spacecraft triple brain transplant NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite was given a new lease on life following the successful implementation of new software in three computers that work together to control the precision pointing of the telescope. FULL STORY

Monday: July 21, 2003		0640 GMT

Microflares on Sun could play major role in corona The Sun's big, bright, explosive flares are the attention grabbers, but tiny, more numerous microflares may have nearly as much influence on the solar atmosphere, according to new data from the University of California, Berkeley's RHESSI satellite. FULL STORY

One step closer to next-generation spaceflight The kerosene-fueled RS-84 engine, one of several technologies competing to power NASA's next generation of launch vehicles, has successfully completed its preliminary design review. The RS-84 engine development is part of NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology program. FULL STORY

SpaceDev wins small launch vehicle contract SpaceDev has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory to design and begin the development of the SpaceDev Streaker small launch vehicle. SpaceDev Streaker will be designed to responsively and affordably lift up to 1,000 pounds to Low Earth Orbit. FULL STORY

News Archive
July 14-20: Enhanced version of Atlas 5 rocket debuts successfully; Columbia crew module likely survived shuttle breakup; Detailed maps reveal early Universe galaxy distribution; Hubble tracks down a galaxy cluster's dark matter.

July 7-13: Earth's Opportunity rover launched to Mars; Foam impact test blows hole in shuttle wing panel; Detailed failure scenario released by Columbia board; Shuttle team to attempt recovery of Atlas 5 boosters; Farthest and oldest known planet confirmed; Pluto's atmosphere is expanding, researchers say.

June 30-July 6: Foam strike email to shuttle commander released; Shuttle program announces personnel changes; Launch of Mars rover Opportunity delayed; Celestial fireworks; Solar system 'most similar' to our own discovered; Minimal data loss expected from SOHO problem; Rockot booster launches 9 payloads.

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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Columbia Report

The official accident investigation report into the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven. Includes CD-ROM.

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Soviet Space

For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.

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Viking patch

This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.

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Apollo 7 DVD

For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.

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Gemini 12

Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.

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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

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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.

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Ares patch

The Ares Project will develop two new rockets to launch astronauts back to the Moon under NASA's Vision for Exploration. The Ares 1 will employ a single space shuttle solid rocket booster to loft the Orion crew capsule. The gigantic Ares 5 will haul the equipment and cargo needed for such lunar voyages. This is the Ares emblem.

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Apollo patches

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

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