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Sunday:
January 2, 2000 | |
0001 GMT |
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Orbital awarded NASA satellite production contract
Orbital Sciences has been awarded by NASA a five-year contract for design, production and testing of small- and medium-class satellites. The new craft will be used in space science, Earth science and advanced technology missions.
FULL STORY
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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U.S. praises Y2K effort, though glitches did occur -- (Washington Post) The most significant Y2K glitch appeared to involve a Defense Department intelligence satellite system, though the problem was with a ground processing station and not the orbiting spacecraft.
At Intelsat, all systems go for satellites aloft -- (Washington Post) Intelsat spent three years trying to dispel its Y2K nightmare. Any problem with the date rollover could threaten the telephone, broadcast and Internet services Intelsat's 17 satellites provide to 200 countries.
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Saturday:
January 1, 2000 | |
0446 GMT |
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Prediction of 2000's top five space stories
On this first day of 2000, Spaceflight Now attempts to predict the top five stories that will make headlines in space news this year. This forecast is based purely on the opinions of our staff.
FULL STORY
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Friday:
December 31, 1999 | |
1736 GMT |
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The top ten space stories of the year
Spaceflight Now and its sister-site Astronomy Now have chronicled the ups and downs of the space program in 1999. Here is our selection of the top stories of the year.
FULL STORY
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NASA reports no sign of Y2K space trouble
The U.S. Space Agency reports that its tracking stations at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; Canberra, Australia; and Guam are operating normally after the transition to the year 2000 in those time zones. Flight controllers in Moscow report no problems with the International Space Station or its ground stations.
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Thursday:
December 30, 1999 | |
0530 GMT |
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Stardust probe adjusts course on voyage to comet
NASA's Stardust spacecraft destined to capture samples of Comet Wild-2 and return them to Earth has successfully completed its first course correction.
FULL STORY
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NASA's Terra spacecraft ends week-long safe hold
Operations of NASA's newly launched Terra satellite resumed with the Spacecraft Controls Computer on Tuesday after a week spent in "safe-hold" due to a software problem.
FULL STORY
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Wednesday:
December 29, 1999 | |
0037 GMT |
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Checkout complete for new ORBCOMM satellites
ORBCOMM reports the seven data and messaging communications satellites launched earlier this month have have successfully completed initial on-orbit check-out procedures and are undergoing more comprehensive tests. They should begin full commercial operations next month.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 4]
LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY [Dec. 4]
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This week on Galileo
Galileo continues to playback data acquired during the spacecraft's November 24 flyby of Io. The November encounter also afforded the spacecraft a unique view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Russian rocket launches spy satellite -- A Molnia M rocket successfully launched the Cosmos 2368 reconnassiance satellite for the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday, Itar-Tass reported.
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Tuesday:
December 28, 1999 | |
0024 GMT |
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Discovery returns home after fixing Hubble
The final human spaceflight of the century ended safely at 0001 GMT today (7:01 p.m. EST Monday) with landing of shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center. The landing was delayed one orbit by gusty crosswinds. See our 'Mission Status Center' for complete coverage.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Monday:
December 27, 1999 | |
0140 GMT |
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Discovery prepares for landing today
Space shuttle Discovery is due home today at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Landing is planned for 2218 GMT (5:18 p.m. EST), ending a successful eight-day mission that repaired the Hubble Space Telescope's broken pointing system and replaced aging electronics aboard the observatory. See our 'Mission Status Center' for the very latest news on the flight.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
MISSION PREVIEW
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Pieces of failed Japanese rocket may have been found
The deep-sea search for wreckage of last month's failed Japanese H-2 rocket has turned up what could be key engine plumbing, the Kyodo news agency reports. Clues to determining why the rocket's main engine malfunctioned might be contained in the debris.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Russian military launches satellite -- A Tsiklon rocket successfully launched the Cosmos 2367 reconnassiance satellite for the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Are failed Mars probes the price of cost-cutting? -- (LA Times) NASA has sought to fly 'faster, better, cheaper' missions, but even the space agency's private contractors say they may have cut too many corners in trying to explore Red Planet.
Global Surveyor seeks lost lander -- (ABC News) Mars Global Surveyor, in orbit around the Red Planet, is looking right now for the missing Mars Polar Lander spacecraft. NASA probably won't find it.
Bradbury foretold Polar Lander's fate -- (San Francisco Chronicle) It is clear now that the Polar Lander will not be sending back signals from Mars, the red planet. Something has gone wrong. The scientists don't know what happened to the spacecraft, but a lot of us do know. The Martians got it.
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