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Sunday:
August 27, 2000 | |
0431 GMT |
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For latest news on space-time curvature, tune to AM
This just in: Scientists have uncovered sets of oscillating X-ray signals from three neutron stars that may tell the story of the bending of the very fabric of space around these objects, broadcast to us from the stars much like the details of a science talk show buried within oscillating AM radio waves.
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Space research may ease dependency on petroleum
Are cheaper gasoline and other forms of energy in America's future? NASA and industry are funding research to study zeolites -- crystals with the potential to reduce the cost and pollution associated with producing gasoline and other petroleum products.
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Saturday:
August 26, 2000 | |
0237 GMT |
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Possible water world under Europa's icy crust
NASA researchers have the strongest evidence yet that one of Jupiter's most mysterious moons hides an ocean of water underneath its icy coat. This evidence comes from magnetic readings by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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NASA, Johns Hopkins to build fiber-optic laser -- Mounted inside a satellite high above the Earth, a powerful fiber-optic laser system, no larger than a laptop computer, fires an ultraviolet beam toward the planet. The beam strikes gas molecules such as ozone, sulfur and carbon dioxide, then bounces back to the satellite, carrying critical information about the health of the atmosphere.
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Friday:
August 25, 2000 | |
0333 GMT |
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Little black hole works overtime
Astronomers have found a relatively tiny "supermassive" black hole pulling in as much matter and radiating as many X rays as its larger, lazier cousins. The observation may imply that the central engine behind the dimmer sample of the Universe's brightest galaxies might often be a smaller black hole giving it all it's got, instead of a larger black hole accreting matter at a slower rate.
FULL STORY
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Russian Dnepr-1 rocket silo blastoff scrubbed today
A former Soviet Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was awaiting launch today from a silo in Kazakhstan carrying five microsatellites for a variety of countries and organizations, but the mission was scrubbed.
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Future launch systems could provide space station access -- NASA has awarded four small businesses 90-day contracts totaling $902,000 to develop concepts and requirements to provide access to the International Space Station on emerging launch systems.
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Thursday:
August 24, 2000 | |
2100 GMT |
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Boeing Delta 3 rocket falls short of planned orbit
Boeing engineers are investigating why the Delta 3 rocket launched Wednesday missed its target orbit by three thousand miles. The $85 million booster lofted a satellite mockup in the demonstration launch aimed at proving the reliability of the Delta 3 after two earlier failures.
FULL STORY
LAUNCH STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
VIDEO: DELTA 3 ROCKET LIFTS OFF
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Debby no threat to shuttle, storm policy under review
With Hurricane Debby no longer a threat, work continues to ready shuttle Atlantis for blastoff Sept. 8 on a space station outfitting mission. But NASA is debating its hurricane policy as it prepares to roll Discovery to the launch pad. Meanwhile, a gyro problem with Discovery's station cargo has been resolved.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Hubble gets head count of elusive brown dwarf stars
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have taken attendance in a class of brown dwarfs and found indications that these odd and elusive objects also tend to be loners. The census provides new and compelling evidence that stars and planets form in different ways.
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Satellite finds debris from Chinese rocket explosion
The space dust instrument aboard a U.S. Air Force satellite has spotted a cloud of tiny debris particles that was scattered into space when the upper stage of a Chinese Long March 4 rocket exploded earlier this year.
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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First Citizen Explorer enters training for Mir trip -- MirCorp has marked another space milestone as its first Citizen Explorer, businessmen Dennis Tito, entered training at Russia's Star City for his commercial flight to the Mir space station next year.
Cluster 2 satellites to begin the scientific commissioning -- The Cluster quartet, Salsa, Samba, Rumba and Tango, now flying in their final orbit around the Earth in tetrahedral formation, are ready to enter the scientific commissioning and operation phase. Thus Cluster is at last joining the SOHO spacecraft and making the first cornerstone of ESA's "Horizons 2000" programme a reality.
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Wednesday:
August 23, 2000 | |
1540 GMT |
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Boeing Delta 3 makes successful test launch
The Delta 3 rocket showed the world what it's made of today by successfully blasting into space on a crucial demonstration launch after two consecutive failures. Riding an arc of blindingly bright golden flame, the Boeing-built rocket soared into a picturesque Florida summer sunrise at Cape Canaveral.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
VIDEO: DELTA 3 ROCKET LIFTS OFF
VIDEO: SOLID ROCKET MOTORS SEPARATE
VIDEO: AIR-LIT SOLID MOTORS JETTISONED
VIDEO: SECOND STAGE ONBOARD CAMERA
VIDEO: BOEING'S WITZLING COMMENTS
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Storm: NASA decides to wait and see
Debby -- now a tropical storm -- is not going to chase shuttle Atlantis off its seaside launch pad just yet. With the storm slowing and possibly taking a course more to the west-north-west, shuttle managers said they would probably wait until Thursday morning to decide if any action was necessary.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Honeymoon continues as Chandra turns 1 year old
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory celebrates its initial year in orbit with an impressive list of firsts. Through Chandra's unique X-ray vision, scientists have seen for the first time the full impact of a blast wave from an exploding star, a flare from a brown dwarf, and a small galaxy being cannibalized by a larger one.
FULL STORY
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All systems 'go' on new GOES weather satellite
The nation's newest geostationary weather satellite, GOES-11, has successfully completed testing and is ready to replace one of the country's older weather satellites when needed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has announced.
FULL STORY
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Tuesday:
August 22, 2000 | |
0358 GMT |
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Tropical Storm Debby poses threat for Delta 3 launch
Boeing has begun final pre-flight preparations for Wednesday's crucial test launch of its new Delta 3 rocket from Cape Canaveral, but Tropical Storm Debby could delay the mission by closing a required tracking station.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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No time to rest for West Coast Titan launch team
With the clandestine launch of an Air Force Titan 4B rocket last week from Vandenberg Air Force Base now just a recent memory, crews have turned their attention to readying a modified Titan 2 missile for liftoff next month carrying a U.S. weather satellite.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Galileo shares experience of Ganymede encounter -- Many observations are returned this week as the Galileo spacecraft continues to play back science data acquired during its May flyby of Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon.
Scientists cut through clouds to see shifting Arctic ice -- NASA researchers have new insights into the mysteries of Arctic sea ice, thanks to the unique abilities of Canada's Radarsat satellite. The Arctic is the smallest of the world's four oceans, but it may play a large role in helping scientists monitor Earth's climate shifts.
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Monday:
August 21, 2000 | |
0350 GMT |
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New Titan 4 launch movies
Today we present two new video clips from last week's spectacular Titan 4B rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The QuickTime movies show the Titan's thunderous liftoff through the eyes of ground and aerial cameras.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
VIDEO: TITAN ROCKET LIFTS OFF
VIDEO: VIEW OF BOOSTER SEPARATION
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Wake-up call sounded on light, radio pollution of skies
Mankind will lose its view of the stars altogether -- unless we learn very soon to shine our light onto the ground, where we need, instead of into the night sky. Astronomers have sounded a wake-up call for everyone on the planet.
FULL STORY
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DAILY BRIEFING Other stories making news today
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Efforts underway to help protect satellites from upsets -- Teams from The Aerospace Corporation are working with the Air Force to develop an early warning system for satellite operators at a time when solar storms will be increasing.
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