Spaceflight Now

Sunday: December 28, 2003		0655 GMT

Team looks at scenarios to recover the silent Beagle A "tiger team" of engineers has been assembled to investigate why all attempts since Christmas morning have failed to locate the British Beagle 2 lander supposedly sitting on the surface of Mars. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

Israeli satellite rides Russian Soyuz into space A Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket successfully delivered an Israeli communications satellite into orbit Saturday from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The craft will be used to relay television, data and Internet services from the Middle East to the United States' eastern seaboard. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

Saturday: December 27, 2003		1135 GMT

Tiny Beagle lander still hasn't phoned home While remaining steadfast in their belief that the Beagle 2 lander survived its journey to Mars, project officials said this morning that the best shot at hearing from the craft won't occur before January 4. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

Odyssey orbiter's view of the Beagle landing site NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, which is listening for transmissions of the still-missing British Beagle 2 lander, snapped this image of the basin where the tiny craft should have arrived Christmas Day. The photo was taken by the orbiter in advance of Beagle's planned landing. FULL STORY

Friday: December 26, 2003		0500 GMT

Mars Express a success, but no one hears Beagle's bark In what was obviously a bittersweet Christmas Day for planetary scientists around the world, a tiny lander disappeared without a trace while its counterpart successfully glided into orbit around the Red Planet, becoming the first European spacecraft to take up residence at another world. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates! MISSION ARCHIVE

Israeli satellite to launch atop Russian Soyuz booster A Russian Soyuz rocket will serve as a delivery truck for an Israeli telecommunications satellite Saturday, launching the craft high above Earth to relay television, data and Internet services from the Middle East to the United States' eastern seaboard. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Thursday: December 25, 2003		0845 GMT

Europe puts orbiter around Mars; Lander fate unknown The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft successfully entered orbit around the Red Planet early Thursday. But the condition of the highly-ambitious British Beagle 2 lander remains a mystery. The first shot at hearing from Beagle 2, confirming it is alive and well on Mars, has turned up nothing but silence. Check our status center for updates: MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates! BEAGLE 2 MISSION PREVIEW MARS EXPRESS INSTRUMENTS MISSION ARCHIVE

Wednesday: December 24, 2003		0705 GMT

European invasion at Mars The tiny British Beagle 2 lander will be bouncing to the Martian surface at about the same time as the Mars Express spacecraft slides into orbit around the Red Planet tonight at 0300 GMT (10 p.m. EST). We will be providing updates on the events in our status center: MISSION STATUS CENTER BEAGLE 2 MISSION PREVIEW MARS EXPRESS INSTRUMENTS MISSION ARCHIVE

Ion engine passes test A new ion propulsion engine design, one of several candidate propulsion technologies under study by NASA's Project Prometheus for possible use on the proposed Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter mission, has been successfully tested by a team of engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. FULL STORY BOEING STUDY OF JIMO EXTENDED

Sharp images of solar storms As last October's solar flares blossomed into a coronal mass ejections, scientists at the National Solar Observatory used a new set of instruments to record the sharpest-ever images of the heart of the storms. FULL STORY

Tuesday: December 23, 2003		0140 GMT

Last DSCS satellite ready for military service A U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin team has successfully completed on-orbit checkout and testing of the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) spacecraft launched in August from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta 4 rocket. The satellite, the last of 14 DSCS-3 spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, has now begun its controlled drift to its operational location. FULL STORY DSCS 3-B6 SATELLITE LAUNCH COVERAGE

NASA and USA agree to contract adjustment NASA agreed to a $40.2 million modification to the Space Flight Operations Contract with United Space Alliance in support of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU). FULL STORY

Monday: December 22, 2003		0624 GMT

Upgraded satellite en route to GPS constellation With a flash of blinding light, a $45 million replacement craft began its thunderous trek toward the U.S. military's Global Positioning System constellation Sunday morning aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: LIFTOFF AS SEEN FROM CAPE PRESS SITE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
First Mercury orbiter shipped for prelaunch tests Less than six months from its scheduled launch to Mercury, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is set for the next round of tests to prepare it for the first orbital study of the innermost planet. FULL STORY

News Archive
Dec. 15-21: Atlas rocket launches on Centennial of Flight; First images unveiled from SIRTF -- renamed the Spitzer Space Telescope; Boeing Delta 2 rocket soars with GPS satellite; Beagle 2 released to hunt for life on Martian surface.

Dec. 8-14: Spaceflight Now interviews station's resident crew; Japan's star-crossed Mars mission ends in failure; Boeing's big Delta 4 booster journeys to the launch pad; Why astrobiologists look to Saturn's moon Titan; Details of Saturn become visible to Cassini spacecraft; A giant cocoon discovered around massive young star; GALEX observatory captures galaxies galore.

Dec. 1-7: Atlas rocket successfully soars on secret mission; Atlas launch pad at Vandenberg getting extensive facelift; Mars Express snaps its first view of Red Planet; NASA scientists use radar to detect asteroid force; NASA cites progress in earthquake research.

Nov. 24-30: Japanese launch of spy satellites fails; Cheap method developed for solar system hunt; NASA successfully tests futuristic ion engine; Radiation monitoring device fails on Mars spacecraft.

Nov. 17-23: O'Keefe: time is right for new space vision; Shuttle Enterprise arrives at Smithsonian museum; Launch of Einstein's space experiment postponed; Feature story on Heavy-lifting version of Delta 4; Ulysses gives first 3-D observations of sun storms.

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 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

Apollo 12 tribute DVD set

New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail.

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

Fallen Heroes special patch

This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.

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

Women in Space

Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.

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

Mars rover poster

This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

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).

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.

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

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.

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

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

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