Spaceflight Now

NewsAlert

		Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop. Enter your e-mail address: Privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose.

Spaceflight Now +

		Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers. Atlas launches AMC-11 The Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carryin the AMC-11 communications satellite. (4min 30sec file) Play video More clips! History Flashback This retrospective looks to the daring inaugural flight of space shuttle Endeavour in May 1992 as three spacewalking astronauts rescued the wayward Intelsat communications satellite. Full report Become a subscriber More video

Sunday: May 23, 2004		0001 GMT

Theory proposes new view of Sun and Earth's creation Like most creation stories, this one is dramatic: we began, not as a mere glimmer buried in an obscure cloud, but instead amidst the glare and turmoil of restless giants. FULL STORY

Asteroids reveal their age in color, astronomers say In an article published in the journal Nature, a team led by Robert Jedicke of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy provides convincing evidence that asteroids change color as they age. FULL STORY

Saturday: May 22, 2004		0323 GMT

Cassini peers closer at Titan The Cassini orbiter continues its observations of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, stealing another early peek at the haze-enshrouded surface. Cassini's view of Titan now surpasses Earth-based observations in its ability to show detail. FULL STORY

Asteroid with the smallest orbit discovered The ongoing search for near-Earth asteroids at Lowell Observatory has yielded another interesting object. Designated 2004 JG6, this asteroid is located between Earth and Venus and goes around the Sun in just six months, making it the asteroid with the shortest known orbital period. FULL STORY

Latest station crew marks one month in orbit Aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition 9 crew is closing out its first month in space with a busy week of spacewalk preparations that included a spacesuit dress rehearsal. The suit checkout was conducted in preparation for a spacewalk to replace a failed power controller on the station's truss, now scheduled for no earlier than June 16. FULL STORY

Friday: May 21, 2004		0519 GMT

Taurus XL rocket launches Taiwan's new orbiting eye The first Taurus XL rocket, a beefed up model of Orbital Sciences' small satellite launcher, darted into polar orbit Thursday, deploying a Taiwanese spacecraft and potentially attracting customers for future missions. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

First shuttle Columbia debris loaned for research The first pieces of space shuttle Columbia debris, loaned to a non-governmental agency for testing and research, are on their way from Kennedy Space Center to The Aerospace Corporation in California. FULL STORY

NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet

NASA hasn't given up on Mars -- (Houston Chronicle) President Bush's top science adviser said Thursday that NASA will continue pressing for a manned mission to Mars despite Congress' recoil from the price tag. Moon missions could be step to Mars -- (USA Today) Astronauts could go to the moon for as long as 90 days in the first step toward reaching President Bush's goal of sending a man to Mars, NASA says. NASA to launch robot aircraft program -- (AP) NASA said Thursday it is launching a program that could place robot planes and aircraft flown by human pilots in the same airspace by 2008.

Photo gallery: Launch of Atlas 2AS rocket Wednesday's spectacular late afternoon liftoff of Lockheed Martin's next-to-last Atlas 2AS rocket from Cape Canaveral is captured in this gallery of photos. OPEN GALLERY

Photo gallery: Mobile Service Tower rollback This collection of images shows the retraction of launch pad 36A's mobile service tower from around the Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket during Wednesday's countdown. OPEN GALLERY

Thursday: May 20, 2004		0452 GMT

Next-to-last Atlas 2AS rocket lofts TV satellite With its retirement looming on the horizon, Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS rocket kept its flawless success record alive and well Wednesday with the launch of a broadcasting satellite that will aid the expansion of high-definition TV programming across the United States. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: ATLAS 2AS ROCKET LAUNCHES AMC-11 QT VIDEO: CAMERA ON LAUNCH PAD TOWER PROVIDES DRAMATIC VIEW QT VIDEO: PAYLOAD IS SUCCESSFULLY RELEASED FROM UPPER STAGE QT VIDEO: OFFICIALS MAKE CELEBRATORY SPEECHES AFTER LAUNCH QT VIDEO: SATELLITE AND ROCKET PRE-LAUNCH ACTIVITIES QT VIDEO: WATCH TUESDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE QT VIDEO: NARRATED ATLAS/AMC-11 LAUNCH PREVIEW QT VIDEO: LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AMC-11 SATELLITE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Taurus rocket to launch satellite for Taiwan today A new, more powerful version of Orbital Sciences' Taurus rocket makes its maiden flight today carrying a research spacecraft designed to study the environment around Taiwan. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Station crew troubleshoots spacesuit problems Space station astronauts Gennady Padalka and Mike Fincke were forced to interrupt a planned seven-hour rehearsal Wednesday for an upcoming spacewalk when they ran into a series of cooling problems with their NASA spacesuits. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Eutelsat's W3A brought into full service without a hitch -- Eutelsat has announced that its new W3A satellite was successfully brought into full commercial service at 7 degrees East during the nights of May 15-16 and May 16-17, with the seamless transfer of all traffic to the new satellite from W3.

Wednesday: May 19, 2004		0330 GMT

Atlas rocket to launch cable TV satellite Wednesday The next-to-last Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket is ready for liftoff at 5:52 p.m. EDT (2152 GMT) today from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The booster will propel a U.S. cable TV satellite into Earth orbit. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates LAUNCH TIMELINE GROUND TRACK MAP

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: WATCH TUESDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE QT VIDEO: NARRATED ATLAS/AMC-11 LAUNCH PREVIEW QT VIDEO: LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AMC-11 SATELLITE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Chandra opens new dark energy investigation Astronomers have detected and probed dark energy by applying a powerful, new method that uses images of galaxy clusters made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The results trace the transition of the expansion of the universe from a decelerating to an accelerating phase several billion years ago. FULL STORY

NASA's Terra satellite tracks global pollution Data from NASA's Terra satellite is adding to our understanding of how pollution spreads around the globe. The information will help scientists protect and understand the Earth. FULL STORY

Tuesday: May 18, 2004		0340 GMT

Mars rover inspects stone ejected from crater NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has begun sampling rocks blasted out from a stadium-sized impact crater the rover is circling, and the very first one may extend our understanding about the region's wet past. FULL STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH ROVER PROJECT SCIENTIST QT VIDEO: NARRATED PRESENTATION OF CRATER PANORAMA QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Scientists look to Saturn moon in search for life While the Cassini spacecraft has been flying toward Saturn, chemists on Earth have been making plastic pollution like that raining through the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan. Scientists suspect that organic solids have been falling from Titan's sky for billions of years and might be compounds that set the stage for the next chemical step toward life. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Florida Air Guard receives new space-launch tracking system -- For nearly half a century, Florida has been at the forefront of space-launch technology, and recently the state's Air National Guard acquired new equipment to help maintain that distinction.

Monday: May 17, 2004		0410 GMT

Penultimate Atlas 2AS rocket poised for flight Three months after its twin successfully rocketed into space, a U.S. cable TV satellite called AMC-11 is awaiting launch this week aboard the next-to-last Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS booster. MISSION STATUS CENTER LAUNCH TIMELINE GROUND TRACK MAP

News Archive
May 10-16: The Eventual Eleven: Meet the astronaut class of '04; Dying star sculpts rungs of gas and dust; New launch added to this year's Atlas 5 schedule; Boeing manager charged in trade secrets case; 'Smoking gun' evidence of giant meteor collision; Theory clues may be visible in Big Bang aftermath.

May 3-9: Opportunity rover poised on rim of 'spectacular' crater; Study may cast doubt on '96 report of past Mars life; Two extremely hot exoplanets caught in transit; New satellite for DirecTV users launched from sea.

April 26-May 2: Soyuz capsule brings Expedition 8 crew back to Earth; All future shuttle missions geared to space station; Rocket options examined for moon-Mars initiative; Astronaut Hall of Fame inducts 2004 class; Hubble telescope shows demise in ice and fire; Mars Express radar deployment postponed.

April 19-25: Soyuz delivers Expedition 9 residents to space station; NASA mulls new problem with station gyroscopes; Spacecraft launched to test Albert Einstein's theories; Intermediate mass black hole mystery resolved; Researcher predicts Jupiter spots will disappear.

April 12-18: Hubble observes planetoid Sedna as mystery deepens; Invisible giants exposed in new Spitzer image; Japanese Superbird soars to space atop Atlas launcher; Cassini spots Saturn moons; Mars rover finds rock like meteorites on Earth; SOHO sees its 750th comet.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

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.

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

Choose your store:
U.S.

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.

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

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.

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

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 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.

Current Shuttle Mission Patch

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

U.S. STORE

WORLDWIDE STORE

Ares 1-X Patch

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

U.S. STORE

WORLDWIDE STORE

Apollo Collage

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

U.S. STORE

WORLDWIDE STORE

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.

U.S. STORE

Fallen Heroes Patch Collection

The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.

U.S. STORE

WORLDWIDE 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