Spaceflight Now

Sunday: March 21, 2004		0646 GMT

Newest GPS spacecraft successfully soars into orbit As the 50th Global Positioning System satellite rose to space Saturday, it celebrated the man who championed the concept of orbiting spacecraft serving as "lighthouses in the sky" to guide mankind with precision navigation information. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

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Pad to be refurbished for time-critical launch For the Delta launch team at Cape Canaveral, there is little time to spare following Saturday's successful mission as workers refurbish pad 17B for its next mission. FULL STORY

'Fab five' make rare appearance in night sky Like a busy urban family, planets rarely get together all at once. Later this month, however, the five so-called naked-eye planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - will reunite in the night sky, giving spectators a unique chance to see Earth's closest companions in one easy sitting. FULL STORY

Saturday: March 20, 2004		0358 GMT

Delta 2 rocket to launch GPS satellite Saturday The 50th Global Positioning System satellite will be launched Saturday to sustain the space-based navigation constellation. Liftoff atop Boeing's Delta 2 rocket is scheduled for 12:39 p.m. EST (1739 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates PREVIEW STORY

Analysts get glory for Global Position System work As the world anticipated the war in Iraq in early 2003, two navigation analysts at Schriever Air Force Base began to conjure up ways to improve Global Position System accuracy. FULL STORY

New imagery of comet released from Stardust NASA's Stardust spacecraft successfully survived flying through the dust and gas cloud surrounding comet Wild 2 in January. During the flyby, the highest resolution images ever taken of a comet's nucleus were obtained and have been the subject of intense study since the flyby. FULL STORY

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Pentagon spurs spy satellite business -- (Reuters) The Pentagon said on Friday it will seek commercial bids for a new contract worth roughly $500 million to supply spy-quality pictures from space.

Friday: March 19, 2004		0257 GMT

Mineral in Mars 'berries' adds to water story A major ingredient in small mineral spheres analyzed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity furthers understanding of past water at Opportunity's landing site and points to a way of determining whether the vast plains surrounding the site also have a wet history. FULL STORY

Water at Martian south pole Thanks to Europe's Mars Express, we now know that Mars has vast fields of perennial water ice, stretching out from the south pole of the Red Planet. Astronomers have known for years that Mars possessed polar ice caps, but early attempts at chemical analysis suggested only that the northern cap could be composed of water ice, and the southern cap was thought to be carbon dioxide ice. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

General Dynamics to acquire Spectrum Astro -- General Dynamics announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gilbert, Ariz.-based Spectrum Astro, Inc., a privately held space systems integrator for the U.S. government.

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Astronauts try to save Hubble telescope -- (Associated Press) They risked their lives for the Hubble Space Telescope and did so gladly. Now, many of the astronauts who worked on Hubble hundreds of miles above Earth are dismayed, bewildered or both by NASA's decision to pull the plug on the mighty observatory.

Thursday: March 18, 2004		1515 GMT

U.S. military ready to launch its 50th GPS satellite Serving mankind as a "lighthouse in the sky," the 50th Global Positioning System satellite launches Saturday to sustain the space-based navigation constellation. Liftoff atop Boeing's Delta 2 rocket is scheduled for 12:39 p.m. EST (1739 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. LAUNCH PREVIEW STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Satellite solves 30-year gamma-ray mystery ESA's Integral gamma-ray observatory has resolved the diffuse glow of gamma rays in the center of our galaxy and has shown that most of it is produced by a hundred individual sources. Integral detected these celestial objects where all other telescopes, for more than thirty years, had seen nothing but a mysterious, blurry fog of gamma rays. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Intelsat completes acquisition of Loral satellites -- Intelsat announced Wednesday that it has completed its acquisition of the North American satellites and related customer contracts of Loral Space & Communications Corporation. The Telstar satellites have been renamed "Intelsat Americas."

NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet

100-foot asteroid to make closest pass -- (Associated Press) As far as flying space rocks go, it's as close an encounter as mankind has ever had. A 100-foot diameter asteroid will pass within 26,500 miles of Earth on Thursday evening, the closest-ever brush on record by a space rock, NASA astronomers said. Space program leaders blamed for Brazil accident -- (Associated Press) Poor funding and lax management contributed to the accidental explosion of a rocket that killed 21 engineers and technicians three days before launch last year, a report on the disaster said Tuesday. Mars mission criticized by spending group -- (Associated Press) A public spending watchdog criticized scientists behind the doomed Beagle 2 mission to Mars Tuesday for neglecting to highlight the chances of mission failure when they applied for British government funding.

Wednesday: March 17, 2004		0437 GMT

SOHO spacecraft snaps spectacular Sun shot Last Friday the Sun ejected a spectacular "eruptive prominence" into the heliosphere. SOHO, the ESA/NASA solar watchdog observatory, faithfully recorded the event. FULL STORY

Satellite finds warming 'relative' to humidity A NASA-funded study found some climate models might be overestimating the amount of water vapor entering the atmosphere as the Earth warms. Since water vapor is the most important heat-trapping greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, some climate forecasts may be overestimating future temperature increases. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Boeing establishes new space offices -- To better support the President's new space exploration policy, Boeing has established the Space Exploration Systems office and the Earth Science Applications office. UAV completes first operational flights -- A small, unmanned airplane recently conducted flights along the Virginia coast showing its capability to support NASA science missions.

Tuesday: March 16, 2004		1124 GMT

Most distant object in Solar System discovered NASA-funded researchers have discovered the most distant object orbiting Earth's Sun. The object is a mysterious planet-like body three times farther from Earth than Pluto. FULL STORY

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Spirit rover reveals Bonneville Crater in color The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has returned a stunning panorama from the rim of Bonneville Crater. The 180-degree mosaic shows the crater's interior and surrounding terrain. The heat shield that protected Spirit during the fiery descent through the Martian atmosphere is seen sitting on the opposite side of the crater. FULL STORY

Communications satellite put into orbit by Proton With its six-engine first stage providing a powerful punch, a Russian Proton rocket roared off the planet Monday night carrying an advanced satellite that will relay telecommunications services across Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and sub-Saharan Africa. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

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Six-terabyte sky catalog released to public One of the largest astronomy catalogs ever compiled was released to the public Monday by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With photometric and spectroscopic observations of the sky gathered during the last two years, this second data release offers six terabytes of images and catalogs, including two terabytes in an easy to use searchable database. FULL STORY

Monday: March 15, 2004		0258 GMT

NASA releases paper detailing Hubble decision As the controversy continues to swirl around NASA's decision to kill the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, the space agency has responded with a paper explaining the decision. You can read it here: FULL STORY

Proton to fly marathon launch with W3A satellite A powerful telecommunications spacecraft to serve Europe, the Middle East and Africa will be lofted into orbit Monday night by a Russian Proton rocket. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Discovery of unusual solar object to be revealed Uncovering the most distant object ever detected orbiting the sun will be the subject of a NASA news conference on Monday at 1 p.m. EST. Dr. Michael Brown, associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology will present his discovery of this mysterious object in our solar system.

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Celebrating the legacy of Challenger astronaut -- Ceremonial events of remembrance and celebration of the legacy of Challenger astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair will be held Monday in McNair's hometown, Lake City, S.C. Lake City recently relocated McNair's remains to the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park. The city is hosting a series of special events to mark the 18th anniversary year of the Challenger accident and to acknowledge the new resting place. Major donation for cosmology institute -- The University of Chicago will devote $7.5 million in donations from Fred Kavli and the Kavli Foundation of Oxnard, Calif., to studying some of the most puzzling scientific questions about the origin and evolution of the universe and the laws that govern it.

News Archive
March 8-14: Hubble's deepest view ever unveils earliest galaxies; Rovers watch solar eclipses by Martian moons; The great 'bunny' chase at Mars rover landing site; Atlas launches mobile communications satellite for Asia; Clumps in Saturn's rings; Gehman's initial review of Hubble mission released.

March 1-7: Rover confirms past liquid water on Mars; Rosetta soars on ambitious comet intercept mission; Hubble picture of space phenomenon imitates art; Enigmatic X-rays may point to new class of black holes.

Feb. 23-29: Rover shows sunset on Mars; Cassini captures stunning view of Saturn; Nearest, youngest star with planet nursery found; Two simultaneous 'naked-eye' comets expected; Suit problem forces early end to station spacewalk; Scientists watch neutron star explosion in real time.

Feb. 16-22: Next shuttle flight delayed as rescue scenario formed; Shuttle tank modifications more complex than expected; Planetoid found in Kuiper Belt, maybe the biggest yet; Prime mission half over, Spirit looks for bonus time; Farthest known galaxy in the Universe discovered; Was Einstein right about dark energy after all?

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

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Inside Apollo mission control

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

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Next ISS crew

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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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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

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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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Current Shuttle Mission Patch

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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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One Giant Leap

Hosted by Corbin Bernsen, this award winning documentary marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. space agency and features exclusive interviews with veteran astronauts.

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