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		Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers. Station news briefing International Space Station program manager Bill Gerstenmaier holds a news conference Sept. 24 to discuss problems with the oxygen generation system and Expedition 10 launch preparations. (44min 06sec file) Play audio Galaxy clusters collide Scientists describe a cosmic hurricane in this news conference from Sept. 23, explaining how two merging galaxy clusters churn high-pressure shock waves that leave thousands of galaxies strewn in the wake. (53min 24sec file) Play audio Meet next station crew The three men to launch aboard the next Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station -- Expedition 10 commander Leroy Chiao, flight engineer Salizhan Sharipov and Russian taxi cosmonaut Yuri Shargin -- hold a pre-flight news conference near Moscow on Sept. 23. (43min 05sec file) Play video Life on the station Former International Space Station commander Mike Foale radioed current ISS science officer Mike Fincke on Sept. 22 to discuss actvities and work aboard the outpost. (5min 01sec file) Play video Station chat with kids Expedition 9 commander Gennedy Padalka and flight engineer Mike Fincke talk about life aboard the International Space Station during an in-flight educational event with students at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. (19min 00sec file) Play video ISS educational event The International Space Station's Expedition 9 crew hold an educational talk with students and members of the National Guard Bureau in Charleston, West Virginia. (19min 53sec file) Play video NASA chief visits KSC NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe tours the hurricane damage at Kennedy Space Center. (5min 50sec file) Play video Become a subscriber More video

Sunday: September 26, 2004		0001 GMT

Cape prays as Jeanne hits Florida Already battered by Hurricane Frances earlier this month, Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral are bracing for another tropical blast. The spaceport has been closed as powerful Hurricane Jeanne tracks toward a Sunday morning landfall along Florida's east coast. FULL STORY

Chandra watches a glowing cloud dubbed the Mouse Astronomers have used an X-ray image to make the first detailed study of the behavior of high-energy particles around a fast moving pulsar. The image, from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, shows the shock wave created as a pulsar plows supersonically through interstellar space. FULL STORY

NASA: Increased thinning of West Antarctic glaciers Glaciers in West Antarctica are shrinking at a rate substantially higher than observed in the 1990s. They are losing 60 percent more ice into the Amundsen Sea than they accumulate from inland snowfall. FULL STORY

OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today

NASA is showing in a theater near you -- As moviegoers wait in line to purchase tickets at Regal Entertainment Group (REG) theatres across the country, they will also get a lesson in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as NASA becomes part of the movie preview line up. REG theatres include Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres nationwide.

Saturday: September 25, 2004		0353 GMT

Hubble's view approaches the dawn of galaxies Detailed analyses of mankind's deepest optical view of the universe by several expert teams have at last identified what may turn out to be some of the earliest star-forming galaxies. Astronomers are now debating whether the hottest stars in these early galaxies may have provided enough radiation to "lift a curtain" of cold, primordial hydrogen that cooled after the big bang. FULL STORY

Friday: September 24, 2004		0112 GMT

Here comes Jeanne Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral are within the target of yet another powerful hurricane as Jeanne churns toward a potential direct hit to the spaceport on Sunday with 120 mph winds. FULL STORY

Massive merger of galaxies is most powerful on record An international team of scientists announced Thursday they observed a nearby head-on collision of two galaxy clusters. The clusters smashed together thousands of galaxies and trillions of stars. It is one of the most powerful events ever witnessed. Such collisions are second only to the Big Bang in total energy output. FULL STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: AUDIO: LISTEN TO NEWS BRIEFING ANNOUNCING THIS DISCOVERY QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Genesis team ships first recovered sample The Genesis team has shipped its first scientific sample from the mission's specially constructed cleanroom at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Dugway, Utah. The sample, containing what are known as "lid foils," was attached to the interior lid of the Genesis sample return capsule. FULL STORY

OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today

AirTV signs with Arianespace -- AirTV has signed a launch services agreement with Arianespace to orbit its first broadband spacecraft, which will deliver a new level of in-flight entertainment and connectivity for airlines worldwide.

Thursday: September 23, 2004		0435 GMT

Space telescope will watch powerful cosmic blasts An agile gamma-ray observatory with a focus on the most intense explosions in the cosmos -- cataclysmic blasts occurring every day throughout the universe that seemingly foreshadow the creation of black holes -- will be launched into space October 26. FULL STORY

High energy mystery lurks at the galactic center A mystery lurking at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy -- an object radiating high-energy gamma rays -- has been detected by a team of astronomers. The research was carried out using an array of four telescopes in Africa. FULL STORY

OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today

X-43A captive carry flight reset -- The captive carry flight of NASA's X-43A hypersonic research aircraft originally scheduled earlier this month has been reset for Sept. 27. The captive carry flight is a "dress rehearsal" for the planned free flight later this fall. PanAmSat selects Sea Launch for Galaxy 16 mission -- Sea Launch has been selected to launch PanAmSat's Galaxy 16 communication satellite. The agreement provides for Sea Launch to lift the 4,700-kg spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit in 2006.

Wednesday: September 22, 2004		0142 GMT

Mars rovers renewed As NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers resumed reliable contact with Earth, after a period when Mars passed nearly behind the Sun, the space agency extended funding for an additional six months of rover operations, as long as they keep working. FULL STORY MARS ROVER ARCHIVE

Sugar in space provides clue to origin of life Astronomers have discovered a frigid reservoir of simple sugar molecules in a cloud of gas and dust some 26,000 light-years away, near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The discovery suggests how the molecular building blocks necessary for the creation of life could first form in interstellar space. FULL STORY

What Genesis solar particles can tell us The recent crash of NASA's Genesis space probe may have looked like bad news for scientists, but its cargo of particles captured from the sun should still yield useful information, according to Qing-Zhu Yin, a planetary scientist at University of California-Davis. FULL STORY

Tuesday: September 21, 2004		0331 GMT

India launches educational satellite using GSLV rocket Following two developmental test launches, India's GSLV rocket successfully flew its first operational mission Monday, boosting into orbit a communications satellite that will be used for interactive educational services in remote locations. FULL STORY

A new clue from Mars? Recent analyses of ESA's Mars Express data reveal that concentrations of water vapour and methane in the atmosphere of Mars significantly overlap. This result gives a boost to understanding of geological and atmospheric processes on Mars, and provides important new hints to evaluate the hypothesis of life present on the Red Planet. FULL STORY

NASA picks contractor for first Prometheus mission NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology as the contractor for co-designing the proposed Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft. The contract award is for approximately $400 million, covering work through mid-2008. FULL STORY

OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today

Alcatel signs a new contract for Express AM33 and AM44 payloads -- Alcatel has announced the signature of a new contract with the Russian Satellite Communications Company to develop and deliver the payloads for the Express AM33 and AM44 communications satellites.

NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet

Boeing countersues Lockheed in rocket launch case -- (Reuters) Boeing Co. has filed a counter lawsuit against Lockheed Martin Corp. seeking unspecified damages for what it called a "smear campaign" in an alleged corporate espionage case that has already cost Boeing about $1 billion in government orders. Boeing goes on the offensive against Lockheed -- (Financial Times) Boeing has gone on the offensive in its ongoing legal battle with Lockheed Martin by accusing the aerospace company of seeking to "inflict reputational and competitive harm against Boeing", by making false statements about a controversial satellite launch contract it lost in 1998.

Monday: September 20, 2004		0111 GMT

Foreseeing the Sun's fate For more than 400 years, astronomers both professional and amateur have taken a special interest in observing Mira stars, a class of variable red giants famous for pulsations that last for 80-1,000 days and cause their apparent brightness to vary by a factor of ten times or more during a cycle. FULL STORY

Huygens test successful The European Space Agency's Huygens probe, now orbiting Saturn onboard the Cassini spacecraft, is in good health and successfully passed its fifteenth 'In-Flight Checkout' last week. This test procedure was the last but one planned before separation of the Huygens probe from Cassini in December. FULL STORY

News Archive
Sept. 13-19: Cape continues hurricane recovery, damage checks; Galactic contortionists captured in amazing image; Cassini orbiter snaps Saturn's family portrait; Radical Antarctic telescope 'would outdo Hubble'.

Sept. 6-12: Genesis space capsule crashes back to Earth; Cape battered by Hurricane Frances; Cassini discovers ring and one, maybe two, objects; Mars may have had large sea near rover landing site.

Aug. 30-Sept. 5: Atlas 2 rocket retires with remarkable record; Scientists discover a new class of extrasolar planets; Brightest supernova in a decade captured by Hubble; Space station residents complete spacewalk.

Aug. 23-29: History-making Titan 4 rocket put on the pad; South polar storms on Saturn spotted by Cassini; Boeing's Delta 4-Heavy rocket is revealed; Tiny 'David' telescope finds 'Goliath' planet.

Aug. 16-22: Out from the shadows: Two new Saturnian moons; Latest color pictures from Cassini look like artwork; Bedrock in Mars' Gusev Crater hints at watery past; How old is the Milky Way?; Disk shows signs of planets; Final engine test-fired for shuttle return to flight.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

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

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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.

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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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Mars Rover mission patch

A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is available from our online.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Mars rover poster

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

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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.

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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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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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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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