Sunday: September 7, 2003  0418 GMT
'Cannonball pulsar' seen flying across space
Astronomers have captured an image of a pulsar flying through space at 20 times the speed of sound, with radiant twin tails of X-ray light stretching nearly two billion miles from this tiny, dense sphere only about 12 miles across.
   FULL STORY
NASA opens new chapter in supersonic flight
Flight tests completed by NASA, with government and industry partners, may have demonstrated a way to reduce the window-rattling impact of sonic booms.
   FULL STORY
Saturday: September 6, 2003  0424 GMT
Plasma found at black hole
Astronomers report they have detected remarkably stormy conditions in the hot plasma being pulled into the monstrous black hole residing at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, 26,000 light years away.
   FULL STORY
Hubble assists Europe's Rosetta comet mission
Results from the Hubble Space Telescope played a major role in preparing ESA's ambitious Rosetta mission for its new target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Hubble has been the critical tool in measuring precisely the size, shape and rotational period of the comet. Information that is essential if Rosetta is to rendezvous with a comet and then drop down a probe.
   FULL STORY
Weather appears promising for Monday's Titan launch
Delayed from August due to technical issues, a Titan 4 rocket carrying a classified national security payload is scheduled for liftoff Monday night from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The exact launch time is a secret. The weather forecast predicts favorable conditions.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
Friday: September 5, 2003  0410 GMT
Hubble observes celestial composition
Amid a backdrop of far-off galaxies, the majestic dusty spiral, NGC 3370, looms in the foreground in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. Recent observations taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys show intricate spiral arm structure spotted with hot areas of new star formation.
   FULL STORY
Progress ship leaves station for Russian science mission
An unmanned Russian resupply ship, parked at the International Space Station since June, departed the orbiting laboratory complex Thursday for a month-long scientific mission before it reenters the Earth's atmosphere.
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NASA selects commercial ride for tech experiment
NASA has awarded a contract to Team Encounter, LLC for a unique space science mission. NASA will send the agency's first space science technology demonstration experiment into space aboard a commercial mission managed by a private company.
   FULL STORY
ILS Proton rocket to launch Malaysian satellite
International Launch Services has announced a contract with Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. to launch the MEASAT-3 satellite in 2005. The mission will use the Russian-built Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage to loft the satellite to serve Malaysia, Southeast and Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Australia.
   FULL STORY
Thursday: September 4, 2003  0410 GMT
Antimatter factory on Sun yields clues to explosions
The best look yet at how a solar explosion becomes an antimatter factory gave unexpected insights into how the tremendous explosions work. The observation may upset theories about how the explosions, called solar flares, create and destroy antimatter. It also gave surprising details about how they blast subatomic particles to almost the speed of light.
   FULL STORY
Grunsfeld succeeds Lucid as NASA chief scientist
Administrator Sean O'Keefe has announced the selection of veteran astronaut, astronomer, and astrophysicist Dr. John Grunsfeld as the agency's new Chief Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He succeeds Dr. Shannon Lucid, effective immediately. Lucid will return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston to assist the agency's Return to Flight efforts.
   FULL STORY
SIRTF begins snapping test images of Universe
NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility has switched on two of its onboard instruments and captured some preliminary star-studded images. The space observatory was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on August 25.
   FULL STORY
   SIRTF LAUNCH COVERAGE
Wednesday: September 3, 2003  0226 GMT
Mysterious 'giant domes' of Europa could be explained
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study of Jupiter's moon Europa may help explain the origin of the giant ice domes peppering its surface and the implications for discovering evidence of past or present life forms there.
   FULL STORY
New image of Comet Halley out in the cold
Seventeen years after the last passage of Comet Halley, the Very Large Telescope in Chile has captured a unique image of this famous object as it cruises through the outer solar system. It is completely inactive in this cold environment.
   FULL STORY
IN OTHER NEWS  Additional stories making news today
Connexion selects Eutelsat for satellite connectivity -- Connexion by Boeing has signed a contract with leading satellite operator Eutelsat for satellite transponder capacity for Connexion by Boeing's mobile broadband information services. The provision of transponder capacity covering key areas of Europe and Asia provides additional momentum for the full-scale introduction of high-speed connectivity for airlines and passengers seeking real-time access to email, company intranets, the World Wide Web and entertainment content in flight.

NASA honors agency software development -- NASA selected a data analysis system for an Earth observing satellite instrument and a software program used on the International Space Station and Space Shuttle as winners of the agency's 2003 Software of the Year Awards.
Tuesday: September 2, 2003  0224 GMT
Photo gallery: Delta 4's first daylight launch
This collection of images from Friday's launch of the Boeing Delta 4 rocket captures in stunning detail the vehicle being prepped on pad 37B and its daylight liftoff from Cape Canaveral.
   ENTER GALLERY
Monday: September 1, 2003  0557 GMT
Major flares on far-away stars said predictable
For the first time, astronomers are able to predict when major flares-enormous explosions that shoot hot gases into space-will erupt on stars outside our solar system, according to research to be published in the Astrophysical Journal.
   FULL STORY
NASA: Tides control flow of Antarctic ice streams
The moon is often accused of causing lunacy, bringing on labor and transforming werewolves. Now it seems that in reality, the moon, through the tides, is responsible for the pattern of motion exhibited by ice streams in the Antarctic, according to a team of geologists from NASA, Penn State and University of Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.
   FULL STORY
News Archive
Aug. 25-31: CAIB report blasts NASA for Columbia tragedy; 300th Delta rocket launches new window on Universe; Delta 4 rocket delivers last Air Force DSCS satellite; Cargo vessel safely docks to space station; NASA gives Chandra X-ray Observatory life extension.

Aug. 18-24: Brazilian rocket explodes on pad; New findings could dash hopes for past Mars oceans; Titan 4 rocket launch postponed into September; Distance data solves astrophysical mysteries.

Aug. 11-17: What to do with Hubble? Telescope's future debated; Canada's ozone research project launched into space by Pegasus rocket; Hot spots on Mars give hunt for life new target; Horseshoe nebula flows with 'X-ray champagne'; Galaxy torn apart in dark matter halo.

Aug. 4-10: Shuttle return-to-flight task group outlines plans; Asteroids dedicated to fallen Columbia astronauts; 'Phoenix' lander headed for Martian North Pole; Sea Launch rocket lofts communications satellite; Gravity variations predict earthquake behavior.

More news  See our weekly archive of space news.

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.
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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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Mars Rover mission patch
A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is available from our online.
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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.
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Apollo 11 special patch
Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.
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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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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.
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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.
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U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Apollo Collage
This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.
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STS-127 Patch
The official embroidered patch for shuttle Endeavour's flight to finish building Japanese section of the space station.
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Hubble Patch
The official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle's last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase.
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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.
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Fallen Heroes Patch Collection
The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.
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