Sunday: April 13, 2003  0235 GMT
Supermassive black hole at core of skinny galaxy
Scientists have uncovered a supermassive black hole at the core of a svelte, spiral galaxy, a finding that questions a recently devised rule of thumb in which only galaxies with bulging cores have such black holes.
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X-rays chart the wakes of supersonic galaxies
A new observation of the galaxy cluster Abell 160 is giving astronomers important insight into the motion of galaxies as they plough through tenuous gas in space at supersonic speeds. Observations made with the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal the wakes they create behind them.
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Saturday: April 12, 2003  0625 GMT
Atlas 3 rocket gives Asian satellite ride to orbit
An Asian telecommunications spacecraft that will cover over 40 countries from the Middle East to New Zealand was successfully launched Friday night by a Lockheed Martin Atlas 3B rocket from Cape Canaveral.
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   MISSION STATUS CENTER
   ARCHIVED ATLAS COVERAGE
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Friday: April 11, 2003  0621 GMT
Atlas 3 to try again today
A last-minute shift in upper level winds delayed Thursday's launch of a Lockheed Martin Atlas 3B rocket carrying a communications satellite to serve the Asia-Pacific region. Another launch attempt is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. EDT today.
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SIRTF launch delayed
The launch of NASA's final "Great Observatory" -- the Space Infrared Telescope Facility -- is being delayed due to concerns associated with the Boeing Delta 2 rocket that will send $1.2 billion mission into space, sources said on Thursday.
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Far-flung supernovae shed light on dark universe
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys have found two supernovae that exploded so long ago they provide new clues about the accelerating universe and its mysterious "dark energy." The supernovae are approximately 5 and 8 billion light-years from Earth. The farther one exploded so long ago the universe may still have been decelerating under its own gravity.
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Giant solar tadpoles born in explosion
Dark features resembling Earth-sized tadpoles were seen swimming in the atmosphere of the Sun after it was heated to millions of degrees following an enormous explosion, according to scientists who made the observation using NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer spacecraft.
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Thursday: April 10, 2003  0425 GMT
Ariane 5 program resumes flights with a success
Europe's battered Ariane 5 rocket program scored a much needed success Wednesday night, lofting a pair of communications satellites while making strides to repair the heavy-lifting booster's reputation.
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Third Atlas 3 rocket awaits liftoff from Cape today
Just after sunset tonight along Florida's Space Coast, a Lockheed Martin Atlas 3B rocket is expected to fire off the launch pad carrying a telecommunications satellite to serve the Asia-Pacific region.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
   LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
   GROUND TRACK MAP
   ARCHIVED ATLAS COVERAGE
Galileo makes discovery during moon encounter
NASA's Galileo spacecraft serendipitously discovered seven to nine space rocks near Jupiter's inner moon Amalthea when Galileo flew past that moon five months ago.
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Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission moves ahead
The solar system's farthest known planetary outpost is closer to getting its first visitor. This week NASA gave The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute and their partners the go-ahead to start full development of the first mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
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Wednesday: April 9, 2003  0251 GMT
No 'privileged' testimony to be made public
Harold Gehman, chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, said today two interim recommendations will be released late this week or early next and that the panel likely will write its final report in June. Gehman also said "privileged," or confidential testimony from senior shuttle managers, engineers and technicians, will never be made public, either in a public hearing or in final report transcripts.
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Experts recount two decades of debris shedding
The shedding of foam insulation from space shuttle external tanks was never considered a safety-of-flight issue, experts told the Columbia Accident Investigation Board this week. But tank engineers have worried for more than 20 years about potentially catastrophic impacts and a top level program requirement held that any shedding of large, potentially dangerous pieces of debris was forbidden.
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Last Milstar successfully soars to orbital perch
The final member of the U.S. military's most secure satellite communications constellation ascended into the sky Tuesday where it will relay highly sensitive information between the president and the armed forces.
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Titan launch
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Ariane 5 launch postponed
Tuesday's planned return-to-flight launch of the Ariane 5 rocket was delayed at least 24 hours at the request of a mission customer. Arianespace did not disclose which satellite payload atop the rocket -- Insat 3A or Galaxy 12 -- prompted the delay.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
   PREVIEW STORY
   LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
   ARCHIVED ARIANE COVERAGE
Astronauts take spacewalk outside station
Space station commander Kenneth Bowersox and science officer Donald Pettit embarked on a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Tuesday to complete a series of chores before the orbiting complex is turned over to a two-man crew later this month.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
Tuesday: April 8, 2003  0348 GMT
Titan 4 rocket set for another launch try today
A second attempt to launch a Titan 4 rocket carrying the final Milstar spacecraft is scheduled for 9:43 a.m. EDT (1343 GMT) today from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The 10,000-pound, $800 million satellite that will serve as an orbiting switchboard for secure communications between senior U.S. leaders and military forces around the world.
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   LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
   PREVIEW STORY
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   VIDEO: MILSTAR SPACECRAFT SHIPPED TO THE CAPE QT
   VIDEO: SATELLITE ENCAPSULATED BY NOSE CONE QT
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Americans to take spacewalk outside station
Space station commander Kenneth Bowersox and science officer Donald Pettit are gearing up for a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk today to complete a series of chores before the orbiting complex is turned over to a two-man crew later this month.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Ariane 5 to launch today
The crucial return-to-flight of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket is scheduled for 6:49 p.m. EDT (2249 GMT) today from the South American spaceport in Kourou carrying a pair of Indian and American communications satellites.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
   PREVIEW STORY
   LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
   ARCHIVED ARIANE COVERAGE
Weather iffy for Atlas 3
The early weather forecast for Thursday evening's launch of the Lockheed Martin Atlas 3B rocket from Florida calls for a 40 percent chance of conditions prohibiting liftoff. The AsiaSat 4 telecommunications satellite will ride the rocket into orbit. A complete mission preview is coming soon.
   LAUNCH WEATHER FORECAST
Monday: April 7, 2003  0340 GMT
Titan 4 launch scrubbed
After a series of technical and Range issues Sunday, the launch of a Titan 4 rocket was scrubbed until Tuesday. The rocket is to loft a 10,000-pound, $800 million satellite that will serve as an orbiting switchboard for secure communications between senior U.S. leaders and military forces around the world.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
   LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
   PREVIEW STORY
First images from disaster monitoring microsat
An armada of small satellites will soon be circling Earth ready for use as an on-demand imaging system to monitor natural and man-made disasters affecting nations worldwide. Officials released the first images from the disaster monitoring constellation's flagship spacecraft -- AlSat-1 -- last week.
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New Mars Global Surveyor view of dune field
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor in orbit around the Red Planet has captured this view of the Wirtz Crater sand dune field. Scientists say the shape of the dunes indicates that wind has been transporting the sand from the southwest toward the northeast.
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News Archive
March 31-April 6: Gehman calls recorder data a 'treasure trove'; NASA formally announces Expedition 7 station crew; Delta doesn't disappoint in successful GPS launch; Hubble's rainbow image of a dusty star; NASA researchers put new spin on relativity theory.

March 24-30: Plan calls for shuttles to be imaged by spy satellites; Expert says NASA lost sight of safety margin; Japan enters spy satellite arena with rocket launch; Rocket troubles delay pair of ESA research projects; Stunning Hubble images of mysterious erupting star; New class of hot-tempered black holes bucks trends.

More news  See our weekly archive of space news.








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