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Sunday:
August 20, 2000 | |
0242 GMT |
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Optical scientist develops window for space station
The first astronaut to view Earth from the International Space Station will be looking through a glass porthole developed by The Aerospace Corporation. From the U.S. laboratory, the 20-inch-diameter window will provide a view of more than 75 percent of Earth's surface.
 FULL STORY
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Ball picked for NASA space shuttle upgrade study
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has won a $200,000 contract from United Space Alliance for the NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter Cockpit Avionics Upgrade Program, Phase 1.
FULL STORY
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Saturday:
August 19, 2000 | |
0501 GMT |
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Space agency delays Discovery's hangar rollout
NASA managers are re-assessing the agency's hurricane protection strategy while troubleshooting a possible problem with stabilizing gyroscopes bound for the international space station in October, officials said Friday.
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Puzzling concentrations of water in cosmic clouds
The amount of water and molecular oxygen detected in interstellar space by NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite has astronomers running hot and cold.
FULL STORY
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An architect of manned space flight dies
Dr. Robert Rowe Gilruth, an aerospace scientist, engineer, and a pioneer of the American space program during the glory days of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, is dead after a lengthy illness. He was 86.
FULL STORY
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Friday:
August 18, 2000 | |
0337 GMT |
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U.S. Air Force Titan 4 rocket lofts spy satellite
A Titan 4B rocket successfully launched Thursday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a $1.4 billion mission, reportedly carrying a radar-imaging spy satellite into orbit. It was the 1,800th launch from Vandenberg.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
VIDEO: TITAN LIFTS OFF
VIDEO: ROCKET TURNS ON COURSE
VIDEO: INFRARED VIEW OF STAGING
PREVIEW STORY
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NASA shortens shuttle launch windows
The five-minute launch windows typical of shuttle missions to the international space station likely will be shortened to as little as two-and-a-half minutes for all upcoming flights to improve safety and the odds of carrying out a successful mission.
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Arianespace makes successful 2-satellite launch
An Ariane 44LP rocket lifted off from its jungle launch
pad in South America Thursday evening, successfully delivering Brazilian and Egyptian communications satellites into Earth orbit.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Shuttle crew practice countdown -- Seven astronauts boarded space shuttle Atlantis today at launch complex 39B for a simulated countdown. See our Mission Status Center for continuous coverage of preflight preparations.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news stories elsewhere on the internet.
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Astronauts Enthused About Mars - But Cautious About Human Factors (Spaceref) -- Despite nearly 100 shuttle missions, years of extended stays on Mir, and trips to the Moon, we still do not have all the answers when it comes to sending humans to Mars - safely.
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Thursday:
August 17, 2000 | |
0415 GMT |
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Titan 4 rocket 'go' for spy satellite launch today
With a faulty piece of ground support equipment replaced, the U.S. Air Force has cleared a Titan 4B rocket for liftoff today on a $1.4 billion mission carrying what is believed to be a radar-imaging spy satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
LAUNCH PREVIEW STORY
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Arianespace readies for today's dual-satellite launch
An Ariane 44LP rocket is undergoing final preparations at its jungle launch pad in South America for launch this evening. The rocket is supposed to deliver Brazilian and Egyptian communications satellites into Earth orbit.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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New evidence shows galaxies formed early
Astronomers have found new evidence that large numbers of galaxies were in existence at even earlier times than previously thought. Data shows they were already in existence about 10 billion years ago, when the universe was six times smaller than it is now.
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Superbubbles bespeak toil and trouble in space
Like children blowing bubbles on the front porch steps, the merging Antennae Galaxies in constellation Corvus are producing massive bubbles of expanding X-ray-emitting gas at such astonishing rates that they are bumping into each other, forming "superbubbles."
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Wednesday:
August 16, 2000 | |
1512 GMT |
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Spy satellite launch delayed by electronics glitch
A $1.4 billion mission to launch a spy satellite atop a Titan 4 rocket has been postponed by 24 hours due to a problem with electronics in ground support equipment. The mighty rocket is thought to be carrying a radar imaging satellite.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
LAUNCH PREVIEW STORY
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Ice mountains on Saturn's moon Titan?
University of Arizona scientists and their colleagues say a mysterious, bright feature discovered several years ago near the equator of Saturn's moon Titan may be a very large range of ice mountains continually eroding under methane rain.
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Deep Space 1 spacecraft keeps going... and going...
It has the little engine that could, and the pint-sized power plant on board NASA's Deep Space 1 probe has been doing it longer and more efficiently than anything ever launched. The spacecraft, designed to test new technologies, has run its unique propulsion system for more than 200 days.
FULL STORY
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Delta 3 payload subject of space-based studies
Boeing, the U.S. Air Force and the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) at the University of Colorado will utilize the simulated payload from the next Delta III launch to conduct a variety of post-launch missions and studies.
FULL STORY
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Tuesday:
August 15, 2000 | |
0421 GMT |
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Mighty Titan 4 rocket to launch Wednesday
The countdown is scheduled to get underway this afternoon at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base for Wednesday's planned launch of a Titan 4B rocket carrying a top-secret U.S. national security spacecraft.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Cluster satellite quartet congregate in polar orbit
After major orbital manoeuvres, the second pair of Cluster satellites have been successfully inserted into their operational polar orbits. The long-awaited rendezvous of Rumba and Tango with their companions, Salsa and Samba, means that the Cluster quartet is now dancing around the Earth in close formation.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Radio astronomers catch a glimpse of Sun's future -- As the Sun approaches the end of its life in a few billion years it will become a much more violent object than it is now. It will begin to grow quite rapidly until it swells to fill the inner part of our Solar System, swallowing the Earth and the other inner planets.
Satellite passengers join Ariane 4 rocket for launch this week -- With the Ariane 44LP launch vehicle fully assembled on its launch pad in the jungles of the South American country of French Guiana, Arianespace officials are making final preparations for Flight 131, the 130th Ariane launch since the inaugural launch of the Ariane family back in 1979.
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Monday:
August 14, 2000 | |
0142 GMT |
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New system provides better tracking for space shuttles
EMS Technologies reports the first flight of a new star tracker aboard the last space shuttle mission was successful, providing critical navigation functions for the astronauts.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Space station search and rescue drill scheduled -- Members of the U.S. Alaskan Command, Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska Army National Guard, Canadian air forces and Russian air forces will conduct a combined arctic search and rescue exercise in Russia this week, training for emergency landing of a future International Space Station crew.
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