Sunday: October 20, 2002  0300 GMT
Clouds found floating high above Milky Way
New studies have revealed a previously unknown population of discrete hydrogen clouds in the gaseous halo that surrounds the Milky Way Galaxy. These clouds were discovered in the transition zone between the Milky Way and intergalactic space, and provide tantalizing evidence that supernova-powered "galactic fountains" continually blast superheated hydrogen gas into our galactic suburbs.
   FULL STORY
Milky Way
At that star, turn left!
Our bodies contain proteins that are made of smaller molecules that can be either left- or right-handed, depending upon their structure. Regardless of which hand we use to write, however, all human beings are 'left-handed' at the molecular level. Life on Earth uses the left-handed variety and no one knows how this preference crept into living systems. In 2012, ESA's Rosetta lander will land on a comet to investigate, among other things, if the origin of this preference lies in the stars.
   FULL STORY
Rosetta
Saturday: October 19, 2002  0445 GMT
Atlantis is home; Soyuz launch to station in question
The shuttle Atlantis dropped out of a beautiful fall sky Friday and settled to a slightly windy touchdown on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center to close out an 11-day space station assembly mission spanning 170 orbits and 4.5 million miles since blastoff Oct. 7.
   FULL STORY - updated!
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
   PREVIEW STORY
   ENTRY AND LANDING TIMELINE
   MASTER FLIGHT PLAN
   NASA TV SCHEDULE
Atlantis

See more coverage here:

    
Spaceflight Now Plus
Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: LANDING AS SEEN LIVE WITH FULL AUDIO QT or RV
   VIDEO: TRACKER FOLLOWS ATLANTIS IN HAC TURN QT or RV
   VIDEO: REPLAY FROM CAMERA AT RUNWAY MID-POINT QT or RV
   VIDEO: CAMERA ANGLE WITH LAUNCH PADS IN BACKGROUND QT or RV
   VIDEO: VIEW OF LANDING FROM VAB ROOF QT or RV
   VIDEO: SIDE VIEW OF ATLANTIS' TOUCHDOWN QT or RV
   VIDEO: VIEW FROM NORTH END OF THE RUNWAY QT or RV
   VIDEO: TOUCHDOWN FROM SOUTH END OF RUNWAY QT or RV
   VIDEO: RUNWAY COMMENTS FROM THE COMMANDER QT or RV
   VIDEO: CREW POST-LANDING NEWS CONFERENCE QT or RV
   VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE QT or RV
   MORE: SEE A FULL LISTING OF STS-112 VIDEO
   SUBSCRIBE NOW

NASA extends first pitch tradition into space
When Chief Umpire Jerry Crawford calls for the traditional ceremonial first pitch in the first game of the World Series Saturday, the ball will "virtually" travel more than 240 miles, all the way from the space station to Anaheim, California.
   FULL STORY
Whitson
Friday: October 18, 2002  0400 GMT
Skid marks in the galaxy
Radio galaxies are amongst the most luminous celestial objects -- however, they mainly emit radio waves, not light. These occur when electrically charged particles travelling at almost the speed of light are slowed down, thereby losing energy. Until recently it was not known exactly where the particles reach such high speeds.
   FULL STORY
Galaxies
First light for new Palomar infrared camera
Astronomers itch to detect the very faint galaxies that were created close to the beginning of the Universe. Now a panoramic infrared camera, one with the largest field of view for a large telescope, has been installed on the Palomar Observatory's Hale 200-inch telescope. This much-awaited instrument promises to yield many new insights for deep-space astronomy.
   FULL STORY
Palomar
Thursday: October 17, 2002  0700 GMT
European gamma ray observatory launched
A new space-based observatory is in orbit today to give the clearest view of the most energetic explosions in the Universe. The European Space Agency's Integral satellite was successfully launched by a Russian Proton rocket at 0441 GMT (12:41 a.m. EDT) this morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
   FULL STORY
   LAUNCH PREVIEW STORY
Proton
The planet that wasn't there
To date, astronomers have announced their "discovery" of more than 100 planets orbiting nearby stars. But do all these planets really exist? Not always, according to studies performed at Mount Wilson Observatory's 100-inch telescope.
   FULL STORY
Art
Stardust will fly by asteroid Annefrank next month
Stardust will take advantage of flying near a small asteroid next month to test many procedures the spacecraft will use 14 months later during its encounter with its primary science target, comet Wild-2.
   FULL STORY
Stardust
Shuttle Atlantis undocks from space station
Atlantis departed the international space station Wednesday after a 7-day visit that began the outward expansion of the outpost's truss backbone with delivery of the S1 segment. Atlantis is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center on Friday.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
   PREVIEW STORY
   UNDOCKING TIMELINE
   MASTER FLIGHT PLAN
   NASA TV SCHEDULE
Atlantis

See more coverage here:

    
Spaceflight Now Plus
Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: TEARFUL FAREWELL CEREMONY QT or RV
   VIDEO: DOCKING TARGET ATTACHED TO STATION HATCH QT or RV
   VIDEO: HATCHWAY CLOSED FOR UNDOCKING QT or RV
   VIDEO: UNDOCKING AS SEEN FROM STATION'S NEW CAMERA QT or RV
   VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING QT or RV
   MORE: SEE A FULL LISTING OF STS-112 VIDEO
   SUBSCRIBE NOW

Wednesday: October 16, 2002  0630 GMT
Soldier killed in Soyuz explosion
An unmanned Soyuz rocket suffered a catastrophic malfunction seconds after liftoff from northern Russia Tuesday, plunging back to Earth where it killed one and injured eight others, local news reports said today.
   FULL STORY
Soyuz
European gamma ray observatory awaits blastoff
Russian and European teams are gearing up for the Thursday launch of a space observatory designed to view the most powerful radiation and explosions in the Universe. Liftoff from Baikonur Cosmodrome is scheduled for 0441 GMT (12:41 a.m. EDT).
   FULL STORY
Proton
Galaxy merger leaves behind telltale blue arc
Astronomers have identified the vivid scar of a cosmic catastrophe: a blue arc thousands of light years long produced when a galaxy pulled in a smaller satellite galaxy and tore it apart.
   FULL STORY
Arc
Tuesday: October 15, 2002  0621 GMT
New Delta 4 rocket fires engine on the launch pad
Belching flame and roaring like a lion, Boeing's inaugural Delta 4 rocket did everything but lift off during a successful countdown rehearsal Monday that was capped by a dramatic engine firing on Cape Canaveral's launch pad 37B.
   FULL STORY
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
Delta 4
Spaceflight Now Plus
Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: DELTA 4 MAIN ENGINE FIRED ON LAUNCH PAD QT or RV
   VIDEO: 2-MINUTE CLIP OF FINAL COUNT THOUGH SAFING QT or RV
   VIDEO: CLOSE UP VIEW OF ROCKET'S BASE QT or RV
   VIDEO: OUR VIEW FROM THE CAPE PRESS SITE QT or RV
   VIDEO: DIFFERENT PAD CAMERA OF THE FIRING QT or RV
   VIDEO: ANGLE SHOWING PAD'S FLAME TRENCH QT or RV
   SUBSCRIBE NOW

NASA developing tools to track, predict West Nile
NASA researchers are conducting Earth Science research that may one day allow public health officials to better track and predict the spread of West Nile Virus. NASA's goal is to provide people on the front lines of public health with innovative technologies, data and a unique vantage point from space through satellites, all tailored into useful tools and databases for streamlining efforts to combat the disease.
   FULL STORY
NASA
Third spacewalk of shuttle Atlantis' mission completed
David Wolf and Piers Sellers embarked on the third and final spacewalk of Atlantis' mission Monday. The two men performed the final outfitting and configuring of the new S1 truss and released a stuck bolt on the station's mobile railcar during the 6 1/2-hour excursion. Earlier in the day a 75-foot radiator was deployed from the truss.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
EVA
Spaceflight Now Plus
Video coverage for subscribers only:
   VIDEO: STUNNING VIEW OF SHUTTLE AT SUNRISE QT or RV
   VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS WORK TO REMOVE KEEL PIN QT or RV
   VIDEO: THE SPACEWALKERS WAVE AT EACH OTHER QT or RV
   VIDEO: CLIMBING BACK INTO AIRLOCK QT or RV
   VIDEO: RADIATOR PANEL DEPLOYMENT QT or RV
   VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING QT or RV
   MORE: SEE A FULL LISTING OF STS-112 VIDEO
   SUBSCRIBE NOW

Monday: October 14, 2002  0210 GMT
Launch pad engine firing for Delta 4 rocket Monday
Boeing's first Delta 4 rocket won't blast off Monday but its brand new liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine will fire to life for a few seconds on Cape Canaveral's rebuilt pad 37B at the culmination of a crucial countdown rehearsal. Ignition is scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT).
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
Delta 4
Station resident Whitson describes life in orbit
Astronaut Peggy Whitson, 130 days into a planned 167-day stay in space, says getting callouses on the tops of her feet, relying on her Russian commander to cut her hair and losing her taste for her favorite Earth food - shrimp - are par for the course when it comes to living in space. All in all, Whitson said today, she's having a blast.
   FULL STORY
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
   MASTER FLIGHT PLAN
   NASA TV SCHEDULE
Whitson

See more coverage here:

    
News Archive
Oct. 7-13: 'Shuttlecam' captures never before seen view of launch; Station backbone grows with new truss segment; Hubble spots an icy world far beyond Pluto; Chaos seen in movement of ring-herding Saturn moons; Titan's bizarre landscape shaped by internal heat?; First planet found orbiting close-in binary star; Global warming on Pluto.

Sept. 30-Oct. 6: Hurricane delays launch of Atlantis; Camera eyes dusty spirals in Milky Way center; Chandra discovers history of black hole X-ray jets; Odd couple widely separated by time, space; Astronomers put quasars in their place; Boeing tests changes to Delta 4 countdown software.

Sept. 23-29: Atlantis to launch outward extension of station truss; Climate model for Earth also describes changes on Mars; Air Force grounds weather satellite launch again; New Russian resupply ship en route to space station; Avoiding the fate of the dinosaurs.

More news  See our weekly archive of space news.


The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD
This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.
 U.S. STORE
 U.K. WORLDWIDE STORE






Contact us
If you have a comment or question for Spaceflight Now, just send us an e-mail.