Spaceflight Now

Sunday: October 5, 2003		0307 GMT

Hubble makes mosaic of majestic Sombrero Galaxy NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has trained its razor-sharp eye on one of the universe's most stately and photogenic galaxies, the Sombrero galaxy. The galaxy's hallmark is a brilliant white, bulbous core encircled by the thick dust lanes comprising the spiral structure of the galaxy. FULL STORY

Odyssey orbiter continues to share Mars adventure NASA's Mars Odyssey team has released another significant installment of science data for the public and science community to review and analyze. FULL STORY

Saturday: October 4, 2003		0001 GMT

NASA moves shuttle target; formally adds new flight As expected, NASA on Friday set a new, more realistic target date for launch of the next shuttle mission -- between September 12 and October 10, 2004 -- and announced a new flight that will be inserted into the launch manifest to complete tasks originally planned for the first mission. FULL STORY RETURN-TO-FLIGHT COVERAGE

Friday: October 3, 2003		0123 GMT

Evidence for hydrocarbon lakes on Titan found The smog-shrouded atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has been parted by Earth-based radar to reveal the first evidence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes on its surface. FULL STORY

Saturn-bound spacecraft tests Einstein's theory An experiment by Italian scientists using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, currently en route to Saturn, confirms Einstein's theory of general relativity with a precision that is 50 times greater than previous measurements. FULL STORY

Thursday: October 2, 2003		0352 GMT

Galaxy far, far away eyed by Hawaiian telescopes A galaxy far beyond our own Milky Way, with a monstrous, churning black hole in its center, has been observed by two optical telescopes working in unison as an interferometer. These observations reveal the finest level of detail in a galaxy ever produced at infrared wavelengths. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Cablevision's Rainbow DBS to introduce world's first comprehensive HDTV service -- Rainbow DBS, the satellite service division of Cablevision Systems Corporation, announced that it would introduce, on October 15, the first service to offer a comprehensive array of HDTV programming to customers across the continental United States. The state-of-the-art Rainbow 1 telecommunications satellite, launched in July from Cape Canaveral, will begin broadcasting to beta-test homes on October 1. Loral to build two high-power satellites for DIRECTV -- Space Systems/Loral announced Wednesday that it will design and construct the DIRECTV 8 and DIRECTV 9S direct-to-home television broadcast satellites.

Wednesday: October 1, 2003		1707 GMT

SMART 1 fires up its ion engine for first time The ion engine aboard the European Space Agency's newly-launched SMART 1 lunar probe was successfully ignited high above Earth on Tuesday. FULL STORY LAUNCH STORY

Communications satellite launched from Pacific Ocean The Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 spacecraft boosted into space Wednesday aboard a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket promises to relay High-Definition Television services across the United States as part of its joint American and Japanese ownership. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Boeing's Delta 4 rocket wins NRO launch order The Air Force has awarded Boeing a contract to purchase one Delta 4 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle to launch a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Vandenberg Air Force, California in 2005. FULL STORY

DigitalGlobe awarded $500 million NIMA contract DigitalGlobe announced it has won a contract in excess of $500 million issued by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency to assure the availability of imagery from the next-generation, commercial high-resolution imaging satellites. FULL STORY

Tuesday: September 30, 2003		0438 GMT

Sea Launch ready for next satellite deployment tonight From a platform in the Pacific Ocean, a Ukrainian-Russian rocket stands ready for blastoff tonight carrying a commercial communications satellite jointly owned by U.S. and Japanese firms. The Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket is scheduled to fly at 0403 GMT (12:03 a.m. EDT). MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!

ESA awards the first Aurora mission design contracts A major milestone in ESA's long-term Aurora program of Solar System exploration has been passed with the announcement of the winners of competitive contracts for two of the key robotic missions -- ExoMars, an exobiology mission to Mars, and the Earth re-entry Vehicle Demonstrator that will serve as a test for Mars sample return. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Lockheed, Northrop Grumman join forces for NASA's OSP -- Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have agreed to establish a teaming arrangement to compete for the full-scale development of NASA's Orbital Space Plane. Lockheed Martin will lead the new team as the system prime contractor while Northrop Grumman will serve as Lockheed Martin's principal teammate and subcontractor. NASA expects to select a prime contractor team for the full-scale OSP development by August 2004. Two Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission ideas to be studied -- In the first step of a two-step process, NASA has selected two teams to conduct concept studies for the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. The proposals address the scientific objective of the MMS mission, to explore and understand fundamental plasma-physics processes of magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration and turbulence in the Earth's magnetosphere.

Monday: September 29, 2003		0652 GMT

History flashback: Space shuttle return-to-flight On this day 15 years ago, Americans triumphantly returned to space with the launch of shuttle Discovery. It had been 32 months since the Challenger tragedy grounded the shuttle fleet and all U.S. human spaceflights. We are marking this anniversary with a package of mission STS-26 video clips for our Spaceflight Now Plus service subscribers.

Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: THE FIVE ASTRONAUTS HAVE PRE-LAUNCH BREAKFAST QT VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON THEIR ORANGE SPACESUITS QT VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD QT VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF CREW ARRIVING AT PAD QT VIDEO: COMPILATION OF CREW ENTERING ORBITER QT VIDEO: LAUNCH OF DISCOVERY! QT VIDEO: TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE PREPPED QT VIDEO: SCENES OF ASTRONAUTS READYING FOR TDRS DEPLOY QT VIDEO: THE TDRS SPACECRAFT IS LAUNCHED FROM DISCOVERY QT VIDEO: CREW PAYS TRIBUTE TO FALLEN CHALLENGER ASTRONAUTS QT VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS STRUGGLE TO DON SUITS IN MICROGRAVITY QT VIDEO: A MASSIVE CROWD FLOCKS TO CALIFORNIA LANDING SITE QT VIDEO: DISCOVERY LANDS AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE QT VIDEO: VICE PRESIDENT BUSH GREETS ASTRONAUTS ON RUNWAY QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
U.S. military looks forward to weather satellite launch The U.S. Air Force is targeting October 15 for the long-delayed launch of its next polar-orbiting weather satellite atop a refurbished Titan 2 missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. FULL STORY

Ozone hole approaches, but falls short of record This year's Antarctic ozone hole is the second largest ever observed, according to scientists from NASA, NOAA and the Naval Research Laboratory. The Antarctic ozone hole is defined as thinning of the ozone layer over the continent to levels significantly below pre-1979 levels. FULL STORY

News Archive
Sept. 22-28: Galileo spacecraft crashes into Jupiter; Ariane trifecta: Moon probe, two other craft launched; Hubble uncovers Uranus' smallest moons yet seen; NASA completes Orbital Space Plane design review; Sharpest ever color view of Mars captured by Hubble; 'Planet-swallowing' giant star identified.

Sept. 15-21: NASA mission management team gets major revamp; First supernovae seeded universe with stuff of life; Prevailing theory about cosmic explosions opposed; Distant star bursts provide key to the origin of galaxies; Problem shuts down Telstar 4 communications satellite.

Sept. 8-14: Titan 4 rocket launches cargo cloaked in secrecy; Farthest, faintest solar system objects found; The slant on Saturn's rings; Sunlight makes asteroids spin in strange ways; MIT researchers reassess asteroid hazards.

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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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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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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Soviet Space

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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

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Gemini 12

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Current Shuttle Mission Patch

The official embroidered patch for shuttle Atlantis' flight to deliver critical spare equipment to the space station.

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Ares 1-X Patch

The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.

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Apollo Collage

This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.

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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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