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Sunday:
February 13, 2000 | |
0553 GMT |
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Earth radar mapping mission sailing along
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is proceeding well aboard Endeavour. Officials released the first image from the mission on Saturday. Follow the flight in our Mission Status Center.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
FIRST SRTM IMAGE
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No signals heard in global search for Mars lander
Initial analysis of data taken on Tuesday by radio telescopes in the Netherlands and Italy has shown no obvious signal from Mars Polar Lander, but exhaustive review of the data is continuing with a final report due next week.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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International Space Station status report -- Battery management aboard the Station's Zarya module continues to occupy the majority of time of flight controllers in Houston and Moscow, with Battery 5 now showing symptoms of pressure irregularities similar to those previously seen on Battery 1.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Faulty gyroscope threatens to doom science satellite -- (The New York Times) The largest American scientific satellite, the 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, is in danger of premature death.
NASA helps Virginia shipbuilder -- (AP/Yahoo!) NASA and a Virginia shipbuilder are forming a partnership in which NASA researchers will study ways to improve hull designs to make ships and submarines more efficient, quieter and faster.
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Saturday:
February 12, 2000 | |
1930 GMT |
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Proton back in business
The Russian Proton rocket successfully returned to flight on Saturday, placing the Garuda 1 cellular telephone satellite into space. The launch was the first for a Proton since a failure last October. Follow the launch in our Mission Status Center.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Friday:
February 11, 2000 | |
1800 GMT |
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Shuttle Endeavour soars!
NASA safely launched space shuttle Endeavour today at 1743 GMT (12:43 p.m. EST) after a brief delay. Endeavour will spend 11 days in space making a high resolution 3D map of the Earth's surface. Follow the flight in our Mission Status Center.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
STS-99 INDEX
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X-ray astronomy takes hit from lost Astro-E probe
A day after a joint Japanese and American X-ray telescope failed to reach orbit because the rocket launching it faltered, the lead NASA scientist expressed disappointment while looking toward future opportunities.
FULL STORY
EARLIER STORY
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Much-delayed station service module set for July
Launch of the International Space Station's next component -- the Zvezda service module -- is scheduled to occur between July 8 and 14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency announced today.
FULL STORY
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X-33 aerospike engine reaches major milestone
The innovative aerospike engine that will power the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator reached a significant milestone at NASA's Stennis Space Center recently with its longest test to date and the first demonstration of the engine's full thrust vector control.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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SOHO bags 102 comets -- The record is to comet-hunting what Mark McGwire's home-run streak is to baseball: In just four years of operation, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft has found 102 comets, making it by far the most successful comet-hunter in history.
NASA, industry complete first part for X-34 tank -- The first major component of an experimental composite liquid oxygen tank for NASA's X-34 rocket plane has completed the curing process in an oversized oven at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Aerospace Safety Panel report -- (NASA) he Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which reports to NASA annually on issues of safety, has released its report for 1999. You can read the report in PDF form by following the above link.
ESA official: Russian space tests a success -- (AFP/Yahoo!) The Russian Soyuz rocket launch that tested a new thruster and revolutionary re-entry system this week was a success, the European Space Agency said Thursday in Moscow.
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Thursday:
February 10, 2000 | |
0700 GMT |
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Astro-E believed lost following botched launch
A Japanese rocket failed to deliver a $105 million X-ray observatory into the correct orbit today, probably sending the international satellite careening back into Earth's atmosphere where it was destroyed.
FULL STORY
EARLIER COVERAGE
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Countdown heads toward Friday launch of Endeavour
NASA says there are no significant problems threatening to delay Friday's planned launch of space shuttle Endeavour. The weather forecast is promising, too. Read updates on the countdown in our Mission Status Center.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
CREW ARRIVAL VIDEO (491k QuickTime file)
STS-99 INDEX
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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First communications established with smallest satellites -- Engineers from The Aerospace Corporation have established effective two-way communications with the smallest satellites ever released into orbit. The two tethered picosatellites were released into space from another craft on Sunday.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Physicists recreate 'Big Bang' conditions -- (Reuters/Yahoo!) For the first time, physicists have created a new form of matter by recreating the conditions thought to have existed 10 microseconds after the Big Bang at the start of the universe, scientists announced.
Jupiter drives its own turbulent weather -- (Reuters/Yahoo!) Jupiter, the giant planet that may hold clues about the evolution of the solar system, has storms similar to Earth's but fuels them from inside itself, not from the Sun, scientists said Wednesday.
Earth dodges asteroid 'threat' -- (AP/Yahoo!) An asteroid initially thought to be on a possible collision course with Earth in 2022 will miss the planet by millions of miles, astronomers said Tuesday after reviewing new data.
Boeing, Spacedev to end NASA moonopoly -- (Reuters/Yahoo!) Imagine watching live on your computer as an unmanned spacecraft flies over the poles of the moon to search for frozen water that could one day provide fuel for deep space voyages or even sustain a human lunar colony.
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Wednesday:
February 9, 2000 | |
1404 GMT |
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Soyuz rocket launches on test flight
A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off at 2320 GMT (6:20 p.m. EST) on Tuesday on a qualification test flight with the new Fregat upper stage. The mission also carried an inflatable reentry system.
FULL STORY (Reuters/Yahoo!)
EARLIER STORY
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Globalstar constellation completed with Delta launch
A Boeing Delta 2 rocket added the final touches to Globalstar's orbiting armada of cellular telephone satellites on Tuesday, delivering the last four spacecraft into orbit. Visit our Mission Status Center for comprehensive launch coverage.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Countdown begins for Friday's shuttle launch -- The second countdown for the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on an Earth radar mapping mission started on Tuesday afternoon.
Astro-E observatory launch scrubbed once again -- Launch of the Japanese-U.S. X-ray spacecraft called Astro-E has been postponed another 24 hours due to tracking station problem, NASA said. Liftoff of the observatory atop an M-5 rocket is rescheduled for 0130 GMT Thursday (8:30 p.m. EST Wednesday).
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Range report released -- (FAA) Report of the Interagency Working Group on "The Future Management and Use of the U.S. Space Launch Bases and Ranges."
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Tuesday:
February 8, 2000 | |
2152 GMT |
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Delta 2 lifts off with four Globalstar satellites
A Boeing Delta 2 rocket lifted off today from Cape Canaveral carrying four Globalstar spacecraft to complete the constellation of cellular telephone relay satellites. Visit our Mission Status Center for continuous launch coverage.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Winds delay launch of Astro-E by one day
Launch of the Japanese-U.S. X-ray spacecraft called Astro-E has been postponed 24 hours due to gusty winds, officials said. Liftoff of the observatory atop an M-5 rocket is rescheduled for 0130 GMT Wednesday (8:30 p.m. EST Tuesday).
FULL COVERAGE
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Endeavour's astronauts return to Florida
The six international astronauts that will fly aboard shuttle Endeavour flew back to Kennedy Space Center Monday in preparation for their planned launch on Friday.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
CREW ARRIVAL VIDEO (491k QuickTime file)
STS-99 INDEX
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International search for Mars Polar Lander continues
Radio telescopes in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and at Stanford University in California are preparing for a second set of observations on Tuesday to continue to listen for a possible signal from Mars Polar Lander.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Dasa ready to test reentry technology -- On February 9, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA, Munich) is scheduled to launch the first test worldwide of a new reentry-technology IRDT (Inflatable Reentry and Descent Technology) on a Soyuz rocket.
This week on Galileo -- The time remaining to play back data stored on Galileo's tape recorder is steadily diminishing as only two weeks remain before the spacecraft returns to inner regions of the Jupiter system and its next satellite encounter.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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NASA's 2001 budget emphasizes R&D -- (NASA) New programs like "Living with a Star" and the Small Aircraft Transportation System highlight NASA's 2001 budget request, unveiled Monday by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin. The new budget stresses research and development, and lessens the Agency's operational involvement.
Kazakhs lift ban on Russian Proton rocket launches -- (Reuters/Yahoo!) Kazakhstan has lifted its ban on launches of Russia's Proton rocket boosters from the Baikonur cosmodrome, clearing the way for a Feb. 12 mission, a senior space official said Monday.
Lunar colony could go up soon -- on Earth -- (Reuters/Yahoo!) The city fathers of a California town plan to build the world's first lunar colony, but they will skip the tricky part of going to the moon to do it.
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Monday:
February 7, 2000 | |
0524 GMT |
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Astro-E to usher in golden era of X-ray astronomy
A Japanese-U.S. X-ray spacecraft called Astro-E is poised for launch at 0130 GMT Tuesday (8:30 p.m. EST tonight). The observatory will be carried into space by a M-5 rocket from Japan. The craft will showcase an entirely new technology in X-ray detection.
FULL STORY
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Delta 2 rocket to fly on Tuesday for Globalstar
The first Boeing Delta rocket launch of 2000, a $110 million mission dedicated to completing Globalstar's space-based cellular telephone system, is planned for Tuesday at Cape Canaveral.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Rosetta model passes acceleration trials -- Environmental tests on the Structural Thermal Model of the Rosetta comet probe are back in full swing after the long break for Christmas and Millennium celebrations.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Space hero to fly again -- (The Moscow Times) -- Russian cosmonaut Yury Gagarin, the first man in space, may be revived as an action hero for Russia's new generation.
Clinton to propose solar explorers program -- (The Washington Post) The Clinton administration will propose designing a new generation of solar explorer spacecraft at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the new federal budget Monday.
Defense, NASA budgets in for easy sailing -- (The Huntsville Times) President Clinton and congressional Republicans probably will be largely free of the budget caps that made last year's bill-paying such a painful chore. This will be good for the Pentagon and NASA.
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