Sunday: April 1, 2001   0219 GMT Exotic CO2 process may have carved Martian gullies Liquid carbon dioxide breakouts rather than water probably created the martian gullies discovered last summer in high-resolution images from the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter camera, some scientists say.    FULL STORY Jupiter radiation belts harsher than expected New measurements from NASA's Cassini spacecraft indicate that any future spacecraft venturing very near Jupiter would be zapped by the radiation belts there even more severely than had been previously estimated.    FULL STORY Saturday: March 31, 2001   0537 GMT Alpha crew promises warm welcome for Tito The space station's crew will welcome U.S. millionaire Dennis Tito aboard Alpha next month if the Russians proceed with plans to launch him - over NASA's objections - as part of mission to deliver a fresh Soyuz lifeboat.    FULL STORY More mission coverage here:       Largest sunspot in 10 years blazes away with eruptions A huge sunspot over a dozen times larger than the surface area of the Earth and growing, has now rotated with the Sun to face our planet. The sunspot, which is the largest of the current solar cycle, is also the largest to appear in a decade.    FULL STORY First black hole discovered in Galactic Halo A professor at the University of Southampton is part of an international team which has discovered a stellar mass black hole -- the first ever found in our galactic halo. This region of space lies above and below the main spiral arms of our galaxy, thousands of light years above the Milky Way galactic plane.    FULL STORY Friday: March 30, 2001   0723 GMT A new Martian odyssey is about to begin With memories of recent back-to-back failures still painfully fresh, NASA is leaving no stone unturned to make sure the $305 million Mars Odyssey probe makes it safely into orbit around the Red Planet later this year. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch April 7 atop a Boeing Delta 2 rocket.    FULL STORY Air Force Milstar 2 satellite begins on-orbit testing A combined MILSATCOM Joint Program Office/Lockheed Martin team has begun on-orbit testing of the first U.S. Air Force Milstar 2 communications satellite following the successful February 27 launch and activation of critical spacecraft systems.    FULL STORY Boeing books Astra satellite to ride Ariane 5 rocket Arianespace, Boeing Satellite Systems and Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES) have announced the signing of a contract to launch the Astra 3A telecommunications spacecraft on an Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today SBIRS facility opens in Colorado -- The Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command and Lockheed Martin took a giant step toward building greater unity and teamwork as the Space Based Infrared Systems Combined Task Force opened Thursday at a ceremony in Boulder, Colo. Thursday: March 29, 2001   0537 GMT Iridium system completes its miracle resurrection Back from the brink of impending destruction, the reborn Iridium telephone satellite system relaunched commercial service Wednesday as the network's new owners prepare to debut data relay services via the orbiting constellation in June.    FULL STORY Massive infant stars rock their cradle A new Hubble image has helped to decipher the complex interplay of gas and radiation of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy. The image graphically illustrates just how these massive stars sculpt their environment by generating powerful winds that alter the shape of the parent gaseous nebula.    FULL STORY New Skies selects Boeing satellite to expand fleet New Skies Satellites N.V. has ordered from Boeing a power-house communications spacecraft with 88 transponders that will provide a wide-range of television, internet and multi-media services across the Americas. Sea Launch has been tapped to loft the craft in 2003.    FULL STORY Boeing satellite arm picks Sea Launch for Spaceway Boeing Satellite Systems on Wednesday announced that a pair of Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rockets will carry the two Spaceway broadband communications spacecraft into orbit in 2002 and 2003.    FULL STORY Scientists unravel the kinks in solar waves Kinks in the Sun's magnetic field have puzzled scientists since they first started studying the solar wind, and now researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found the reason: they are caused by the evolution of a type of magnetic wave called Alfven waves.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today After lofting Destiny, astronauts visit West Wing -- It was a Texas reunion of sorts at the White House Wednesday as the crew of STS-98 and their families got an opportunity to spend some time with the President of the United States. Wednesday: March 28, 2001   1230 GMT Last-second abort grounds first flight of Indian rocket India's newest rocket was one second away from launch Wednesday on its inaugural flight when computers detected a malfunctioning engine and aborted the liftoff.    FULL STORY - updated! Two space probes see giant plumes on volcanic moon Io Two tall volcanic plumes and the rings of red material they have deposited onto surrounding surface areas appear in images taken of Jupiter's moon Io by NASA's Galileo and Cassini spacecraft in late December 2000 and early January 2001.    FULL STORY Colliding solar eruptions pack powerful punch Fast-moving solar eruptions apparently overtake and often devour their slower kin. This discovery was made by a team of astronomers working with tandem NASA spacecraft.    FULL STORY SBIRS High payload successfully passes key test Senior leaders from the Air Force recently observed a key test sequence of hardware for the next-generation missile warning satellite system known as SBIRS at the Lockheed Martin Sunnyvale facility.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Hormone may prevent bone being lost in space -- The reality of long-term space travel is raising questions about how to deal with the impact of long-term weightlessness on the body. Researchers say that one of the destructive results -- accelerated and significant loss of bone density -- may be thwarted by a hormone secreted by the gut to help the body use food as fuel. Tuesday: March 27, 2001   0549 GMT NASA and military continue search for Mars lander NASA said Monday that it would begin a joint review with a military mapping agency to investigate images that may have pinpointed the location for the lost Mars Polar Lander spacecraft.    FULL STORY U.S. Navy satellite to launch atop Atlas 3 rocket Lockheed Martin's Atlas 3 rocket will be used to loft the U.S. Navy's eleventh satellite for the UHF Follow-On communications network, officials announced Monday. Scheduled for blastoff in 2003 from Cape Canaveral, the commercial mission will be managed under the auspices of International Launch Services.    FULL STORY Final crew members named to Hubble overhaul mission Three astronauts have been named to complete the STS-109 crew already in training for a mission that will feature five spacewalks to upgrade NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in late 2001.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today TRW to conduct GOES-R weather satellite study -- TRW's weather systems business took another step forward with the award of a contract to study how to accommodate advanced sensors onto the next series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, starting with GOES-R, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Monday: March 26, 2001   0603 GMT Space telescope using membranes studied Lockheed Martin has been contracted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to conduct a study on a low-mass membrane telescope for NASA's New Millennium Program. The telescope concept would allow construction of an orbiting observatory with reduced weight and cost.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today New NASA 'traffic light' accelerates computers -- A new "traffic light" for computers, originally developed by NASA scientists, offers the potential to increase their speed and efficiency by prioritizing computer programs. The Portable Batch System enables system administrators to specify the order in which individual programs should be processed.				Earlier news March 19-25: Mir dives into Pacific safely; NASA blocks Dennis Tito training; Discovery departs space station; Station pioneers back on Earth after historic voyage; First XM radio satellite launched; Blinking star explains mystery aboard Galileo. March 12-18: Exchange of space station crew completed; Galileo gets final reprieve before crash into Jupiter; Volcanoes on Jovian moon Io try erasing their age; Volcanoes may have played role in Martian life; Deep X-rays show universe teeming with black holes. March 5-11: Discovery launches to space station for crew exchange; Supermassive black hole found in nearby galaxy; Checking on an old and active cometary friend; Russia offers module, extra Soyuz capsule to partners; First Ariane 5 rocket of 2001. More news  See our weekly archive of space news. Contact us If you have a comment or question for Spaceflight Now, just send us an e-mail. Hubble poster The Hubble Space Telescope's majestic view of the Eskimo Nebula. 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