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		Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers. Stardust briefing Scientist present new findings from the Stardust spacecraft's encounter with Comet Wild 2 in this news conference from NASA Headquarters on June 17. (26min 12sec file) Play video New pictures explained New pictures of Comet Wild 2 from NASA's Stardust spacecraft are shown here with narration by lead mission scientist Donald Brownlee. (3min 06sec file) Play video Stardust's comet flyby Animation depicting Stardust's flyby of Comet Wild 2 and the powerful jets of dust streaming from the comet's surface is presented with narration by scientist Benton Clark. (1min 59sec file) Play video June 15 Mars briefing Mars rover Spirit's arrival at the Columbia Hills, trouble with one of its wheels and Opportunity's descent into Endurance Crater and all of the latest pictures are presented at this briefing from June 15. (30min 27sec file) Play video Ride with Opportunity Cameras on Opportunity provides this "ride-along" view of the rover's risky drive into Endurance Crater. Expert narration by science team member Scott McLennan. (30sec file) Play video Opportunity panorama Another stunning color panorama from the Mars rover Opportunity looking into Endurance Crater and the surrounding plains is presented with expert narration by science team member Scott McLennan. (1min 30sec file) Play video Spirit panorama Spirit has generated this panorama from the base of the Columbia Hills. Expert narration is provided by science team member Larry Soderblom. (1min 15sec file) Play video New Spirit pictures New pictures from Mars rover Spirit showing the "Pot of Gold" rock area and other features are revealed with expert narration by science team member Larry Soderblom. (4min 47sec file) Play video Shuttle booster test fired A full-scale space shuttle solid rocket booster is fired in Utah to conduct 76 test objectives, including a modification that slightly changes the shape of the propellant in a segment of the motor. Full video selection This date in history Space shuttle Columbia lands at 8:39 a.m. local time June 14, 1991 on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, capping a successful 9-day medical research flight featuring the Spacelab Life Sciences laboratory module on mission STS-40. (3min 28sec file) Play video Become a subscriber More video

Sunday: June 20, 2004		0115 GMT

Stormy weather delays Delta launch to Sunday If Mother Nature cooperates, another attempt at launching the Global Positioning System 2R-12 satellite atop a Boeing Delta 2 rocket will be made Sunday evening at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Saturday's countdown was scrubbed by stormy weather. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

Photo gallery: Mobile Service Tower rollback This collection of photos shows the mobile service tower being rolled away from the Delta 2 rocket Saturday. The picture gallery includes shots of a commemorative sign on the pad umbilical tower dedicating this launch to President Reagan. OPEN GALLERY

SpaceShipOne to launch Monday over California Scaled Composites, the aerospace company run by legendary designer Burt Rutan, will attempt the first manned suborbital flight of its SpaceShipOne vehicle on Monday. Takeoff of the carrier jet from the Mojave runway is scheduled for 1330 GMT (9:30 a.m. EDT), with launch of the SpaceShipOne expected an hour later. We will have a mission preview report Sunday and live updates on Monday. EARLIER STORY

Scientists ask if comets once flooded Earth's oceans Did the Earth form with water locked into its rocks, which then gradually leaked out over millions of years? Or did the occasional impacting comet provide Earthąs oceans? The Ptolemy experiment on Europe's Rosetta comet probe may just find out. FULL STORY

Saturday: June 19, 2004		0435 GMT

Delta 2 rocket to launch GPS craft on Saturday A Boeing Delta 2 rocket is poised to launch a replacement satellite for the U.S. military's Global Positioning System navigation network on Saturday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The available launch window extends from 7:10 to 7:37 p.m. EDT (2310-2337 GMT). Weather forecasters are calling for good conditions. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

'Blazar' illuminates era when stars, galaxies formed Astrophysicists at Stanford report spotting a black hole so massive that it's more than 10 billion times the mass of our sun. More important, this heavyweight is so far away that the scientists think it formed when the universe first began to light up with stars and galaxies, so it may provide a window into our cosmological origins. FULL STORY

Saturn in infrared Saturn's bright equatorial band displays an exquisite swirl near the planet's eastern limb. This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft's narrow angle camera from a distance of 14.5 million miles from Saturn. FULL STORY

Friday: June 18, 2004		0401 GMT

Cassini maneuver sets stage for Saturn arrival The Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft's main engine fired for 38 seconds Wednesday, slowing the vehicle by about 8 mph and putting it on course for Saturn orbit insertion the night of June 30, project officials said. FULL STORY CASSINI MISSION REPORT

Stardust reveals surprising anatomy of a comet Findings from a historic encounter between NASA's Stardust spacecraft and a comet have revealed a much stranger world than previously believed. The comet's rigid surface, dotted with towering pinnacles, plunging craters, steep cliffs, and dozens of jets spewing violently, has surprised scientists. FULL STORY

Comet's dust clouds hit probe 'like thunderbolt' Two swarms of microscopic cometary dust blasted NASA's Stardust spacecraft in short but intense bursts as it approached within 150 miles of Comet Wild 2 last January, data from a University of Chicago instrument flying aboard the spacecraft has revealed. FULL STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: NEW FINDINGS FROM STARDUST MISSION ANNNOUNCED QT VIDEO: STARDUST'S PICTURES OF COMET WITH NARRATION QT VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION SHOWS COMET ENCOUNTER QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Thursday: June 17, 2004		1005 GMT

Sweeping changes needed for moon-Mars initiative To successfully send humans back to the moon and eventually on to Mars, NASA must implement sweeping cultural changes, transforming itself into a leaner, more innovative agency that relies much more heavily on private industry and international cooperation, a presidential panel reported Wednesday. FULL STORY DOWNLOAD COMMISSION REPORT (PDF file)

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: COMMISSION HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON QT VIDEO: NASA WORKERS ASK QUESTIONS TO O'KEEFE AND ALDRIDGE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Earth has 'blueberries' just like the Mars rover found Even before marble-shaped pebbles nicknamed "blueberries" were discovered on Mars by the Opportunity rover, University of Utah geologists studied similar rocks in Utah's national parks and predicted such stones would be found on the Red Planet. FULL STORY

Powerful broadcasting satellite goes into orbit Global communications satellite operator Intelsat, which will mark its 40th anniversary later this year, used a Russian Proton M rocket to launch its largest and most powerful spacecraft Wednesday night from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: PROTON ROCKET LIFTS OFF WITH INTELSAT 10-02 QT VIDEO: THE PROTON ROCKET IS ROLLED TO THE LAUNCH PAD QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Delta rocket launch for GPS postponed again The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System 2R-12 satellite launch using the Boeing Delta 2 rocket has been postponed to Saturday. The launch window will extend from 7:10 to 7:37 p.m. EDT (2310-2337 GMT). MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

Wednesday: June 16, 2004		0001 GMT

Spirit, showing signs of old age, reaches Columbia hills After five months on the frigid surface of Mars, one of NASA's hardy rovers is finally beginning to succumb to old age, developing a robotic form of arthritis that could limit its ability to climb steep slopes, officials said Tuesday. FULL STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: RIDE WITH OPPORTUNITY AS IT DRIVES INTO CRATER QT VIDEO: OPPORTUNITY'S NEW COLOR PANORAMA WITH NARRATION QT VIDEO: SPIRIT'S PANORAMA FROM BASE OF THE HILLS QT VIDEO: LATEST SPIRIT PICTURES WITH NARRATION QT VIDEO: WATCH TUESDAY'S MARS ROVER NEWS CONFERENCE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Launch campaign for last Atlas 2AS continues The final Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket passed its countdown dress rehearsal Tuesday as the technicians pumped super-cold fuel into the vehicle and practiced launch day scripts at Cape Canaveral's Complex 36. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Russian Proton rocket launch reset to Wednesday One of the largest commercial communications satellites ever built is now scheduled for launch at 2227 GMT (6:27 p.m. EDT) Wednesday from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Tuesday's planned launch attempt of the Intelsat 10-02 spacecraft aboard a Russian-made Proton rocket was scrubbed. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Saturn's swirl imaged On its approach to Saturn orbit insertion, the narrow angle camera on the Cassini spacecraft snapped this image of a turbulent swirl in the high clouds of Saturn's atmosphere. The disturbance occurs in the southern edge of the equatorial band. FULL STORY CASSINI MISSION REPORT

Tuesday: June 15, 2004		0457 GMT

Phoebe's surface gives scientists clues to its origin Images collected during Cassini's close flyby of Saturn's moon, Phoebe, have yielded strong evidence that the tiny object may contain ice-rich material, overlain with a thin layer of darker material perhaps 300 to 500 meters (980 to 1,600 feet) thick. FULL STORY CASSINI MISSION REPORT

Spitzer telescope reveals what Edwin Hubble missed For centuries, biologists and paleontologists have classified animal species based solely on their appearance and anatomical differences. Astronomers do the same thing when they look at photographs and classify galaxies into the elliptical, lenticular, spiral, and irregular classes. FULL STORY

Russian rocket to launch Intelsat craft Tuesday One of the largest commercial communications satellites ever built will ride a Russian-made Proton rocket into an orbit high above Earth Tuesday. Liftoff is scheduled for 2227 GMT (6:27 p.m. EDT) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. FULL STORY

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Erickson takes rover reins as Cook joins 2009 mission -- At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Jim Erickson becomes project manager for the Mars Exploration Rover Project as his predecessor, Richard Cook, switches to the development of an even more capable Mars rover for launch in 2009.

Monday: June 14, 2004		1705 GMT

Saturn's moon Phoebe revealed in stunning detail Extraordinary new images taken by the Cassini spacecraft during its close encounter with Saturn's mysterious moon Phoebe were released by scientists Sunday. The must-see pictures show in great detail the cratered surface of the tiny moon. FULL STORY

GPS launch aboard Delta rocket delayed once again Officials are now looking at a potential Friday attempt to launch the Delta 2 rocket with the GPS 2R-12 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The mission has been delayed several times due to technical issues. MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!

Jupiter's moon Io is hottest body outside the sun The hottest spot in the solar system is neither Mercury, Venus, nor St. Louis in the summer. Io, one of the four satellites that the Italian astronomer Galileo discovered orbiting Jupiter almost 400 years ago, takes that prize. FULL STORY

News Archive
June 7-13: Cassini preview: 'Flagship mission of our time' nears its destination; Cassini makes close observations of Phoebe; Mars rover Opportunity enters stadium-sized crater; Space shuttle solid rocket motor test fired; Faintest survey of distant galaxies taken by Hubble.

May 31-June 6: Rutan announces manned spaceflight plans; Mars rover Opportunity will drive into Endurance Crater; Great Observatories find black holes, hidden objects; Proof found for gamma-ray burst in Milky Way; Looking to catch stars in the act as planets form; Boeing to study Neptune missions for NASA.

May 24-30: Raw ingredients for life found around young stars; Cassini spacecraft executes crucial rocket firing; Supply ship safely arrives at space station; Suit problems alter station crew's spacewalk plans; Mars lander Beagle 2 was too risky, inquiry concludes; Proposed nuclear-powered Jupiter mission defined; Moon tells of unexpected Earth climate changes.

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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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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.

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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.

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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!

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The official embroidered patch and lapel pin for the International Space Station Expedition 18 crew is now available to from our stores.

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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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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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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.

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