Sunday:
July 23, 2000 | |
0202 GMT |
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Former astronaut recalls historic Apollo-Soyuz link up
Decades before work began on the International Space Station, a rendezvous 140 miles above Earth saw two then-confrontational nations, who were locked in the middle of the Cold War, make history as partners. It has been 25 years since Apollo-Soyuz. FULL STORY
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Researchers seek clues to asteroid Eros in close orbit
Boulders or big dirt piles? Still dust or shifting particles? The NEAR team hopes the high-resolution pictures NEAR Shoemaker sends back from its current 22-mile orbit around Eros can answer the range of questions they have about the asteroid's surface. FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Alenia signs agreement with RSC-Energia for space station -- Alenia Spazio, Finmeccanica, has signed an agreement of industrial collaboration with RSC-Energia under which the supply and docking systems, together with their related control avionics, for the International Space Station's ATV logistics vehicle will be made in Russia.
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Saturday:
July 22, 2000 | |
0800 GMT |
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New moon of Jupiter found
Astronomers with the Spacewatch project at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts have discovered the first new moon of Jupiter in more than a quarter of a century. FULL STORY
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NASA postpones decision on Mars 2003 plans
NASA officials in Washington won't announce on Monday as originally planned whether it will be a robotic orbiter or a lander dispatched to Mars in 2003. FULL STORY
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Cluster 2 satellites 'Salsa' and 'Samba' in perfect step
After one of the most complex series of maneuvers ever carried out by Earth-orbiting spacecraft, the first Cluster pair have successfully reached their final elliptical orbit. Salsa and Samba are now dancing in step between 16,869 and 121,098 km above Earth. FULL STORY
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Zvezda service module link up with space station approaching -- NASA officials report efforts to check systems aboard the Zvezda service module is nearing completion in advance of docking with the international space station on Tuesday night.
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Friday:
July 21, 2000 | |
0720 GMT |
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Classified Titan 4 rocket launch delayed to Aug. 10
Efforts to repair a leaky steering device aboard a Titan 4B rocket has forced the U.S. Air Force to delay the upcoming launch to deliver a top-secret spy satellite into orbit.
FULL STORY
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Novel experiment helps explain levitating moon dust
A small layer of dust suspended several feet above the moon's surface that was first photographed by the Lunar Surveyor spacecraft in the 1960s and later observed by Apollo astronauts has been a puzzle to some planetary scientists. FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Alcatel Space wins major U.S. satellite order -- Alcatel Space, France's space industry leader, has announced that the Company has signed a contract to build four satellites for a U.S. based satellite communications provider.

JPL instrument orbiting aboard German satellite -- A German scientific satellite launched this week carries an instrument designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Officials report that the CHAMP satellite and its instruments are working well five days after the successful launch.
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Thursday:
July 20, 2000 | |
1939 GMT |
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Mars Global Surveyor gets back to work after hiatus
After being out of action for the past few weeks due to a Solar Conjunction, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor has resumed taking images of the Red Planet. The first two high-resolution pictures have been released as seen here. FULL STORY
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Time travel through a trail of comet dust
Scientists believe they may one day be able to travel through time by looking more closely at the dust swirling with a comet as it hurdles through our galaxy. The research also indicates that theories of how comets were formed may need to be revised. FULL STORY
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Minotaur launches Air Force technology testbed craft
A small U.S. Air Force research satellite with a "mighty" name was successfully launched Wednesday by a rocket cobbled together using leftover Minuteman 2 missile sections and new stages from a commercial Pegasus booster. MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Rumors of Jodrell Bank's demise greatly exaggerated
Stories circulating in the media that another of Britain's world-famous astronomical centres is about to follow the Royal Greenwich Observatory into extinction have been denied by the U.K. Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. FULL STORY
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Live webcam at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station -- SpaceRef is sponsoring a live webcam of the assembly of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station at Haughton Crater on Devon Island. The webcam is located on an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) parked near the construction site. Images are then relayed to a satellite dish.
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Wednesday:
July 19, 2000 | |
0421 GMT |
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Black hole winds blow matter away from doom
There's more than one way to escape a black hole. Some matter may be spared eternal doom and blown back into space in supersonic winds generated by an expanding wall of intense ultraviolet light emanating from the vicinity of the black hole. FULL STORY
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Two manned missions to Mir planned for next year
MirCorp's board of directors yesterday approved the permanently-manned operation of Mir beginning next year, marking a major milestone in the company's plan to use this unique facility as the world's first true commercial orbital space station. FULL STORY
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Indian GEO launcher made ready
India's most advanced launch vehicle is being prepared for an end of the year first launch, the head of India's space program said last week at a Washington, D.C. dinner. FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Two rocket engine makers plan to create new company -- Pratt & Whitney and Aerojet-General Corp. have announced their intention to form a new space propulsion company. The two have signed a letter of intent and expect to complete a definitive agreement before the end of the year, subject to government agreements and approvals.
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Tuesday:
July 18, 2000 | |
1200 GMT |
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NASA offered outlandish plan to upgrade Hubble
A volunteer group of scientists, engineers and shuttle experts believe the Hubble Space Telescope could be equipped with an 8-meter primary mirror, giving NASA what amounts to a new space observatory for half the cost of a new spacecraft. FULL STORY
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Minotaur rocket to launch technology testbed craft
A small U.S. Air Force research satellite with a "mighty" name is due for launch on Wednesday atop a rocket cobbled together using leftover Minuteman 2 missile sections and new stages from a commercial Pegasus booster. MISSION STATUS CENTER
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A mystery of Earth's wobble solved: it's the ocean
The century old mystery of Earth's "Chandler wobble" has been solved by a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Chandler wobble, is one of several wobbling motions exhibited by the Earth as it rotates on its axis, much as a top wobbles as it spins. FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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All systems 'go' aboard Zvezda -- NASA says the Zvezda service module is working fine as it remains bound for a docking with the International Space Station on the evening of July 25.

Cluster 2 satellites boost orbits -- The Cluster 2 spacecraft launched Sunday have begun the orbit raising maneuvers, the European Space Agency said today. The complex process will elongate the orbits the satellites.
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Monday:
July 17, 2000 | |
0633 GMT |
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Delta shows what it's like to launch into the night
As a Boeing Delta 2 rocket successfully lofted a new U.S. Air Force navigation satellite on Sunday, two onboard video cameras provided dazzling views of the predawn jaunt into space. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER PREVIOUS ROCKETCAM CLIPS
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First pair of Cluster II satellites soar into orbit
The first pair of Cluster II satellites lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1239 GMT Sunday riding atop a Russian Soyuz rocket. Liftoff was aborted Saturday when a last-minute problem was detected between ground systems and the Soyuz rocket. MISSION STATUS CENTER LAUNCH VIDEO (253k QuickTime file) FULL PREVIEW PACKAGE
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After the gold rush on Earth a 'Helium rush' to the Moon?
For the two days last week, an international conference discussed utilization of the moon. One subject illustrated how valuable the Moon could be to satisfy Earth's energetic needs. "Helium 3" in the Moon's regolith would be worth billions todays' oil prices. FULL STORY
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Research may solve mystery of fainting after space travel -- Fainting after extended bed rest or by astronauts after space flight may be caused by changes in the levels of a molecule known for its role in regulating blood pressure, a University of California-Irvine College of Medicine research team has found.
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