|
Sunday:
June 15, 2003 | |
0452 GMT |
 |
Flattest star ever seen
To a first approximation, planets and stars are round. Think of the Earth we live on. Think of the Sun, the nearest star, and how it looks in the sky. But if you think more about it, you realize that this is not completely true.
 FULL STORY
 | |
|
|
|
Saturday:
June 14, 2003 | |
0003 GMT |
|
Hot news for cold dark matter from Chandra
Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to make the most detailed probe yet of the distribution of dark matter in a massive cluster of galaxies. Their results indicate that about 80 percent of the matter in the universe consists of cold dark matter -- mysterious subatomic particles left over from the dense early universe.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Bridges moves from Kennedy to Langley
Gen. Roy D. Bridges, Center Director for NASA's Kennedy Space Center, has been named Center Director for the agency's Langley Research Center. Bridges, a retired U.S. Air Force Major General and former space shuttle pilot will assume his new duties Aug. 10.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
|
Friday:
June 13, 2003 | |
0205 GMT |
|
Bolt catcher a possible return to flight issue
Accident investigators have stumbled on a potentially catastrophic shortcoming in the explosive bolt attachment system used to latch a space shuttle's boosters to its external fuel tank. While there is no evidence Columbia was struck by falling debris from a faulty "bolt catcher" during its launching Jan. 16, corrective actions almost certainly will be required before shuttle flights resume.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Comets survive plunge through Sun's atmosphere
A run through the jungle is too easy; for the ultimate reality show contest, try a race through the Sun's atmosphere, where two comets recently lost their heads. The tails from a pair of comets survived a close encounter with the Sun, even after the Sun's intense heat and radiation vaporized their heads, an extremely rare event photographed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
|
Thursday:
June 12, 2003 | |
0317 GMT |
|
Ariane 5 rocket launches double cargo with success
A pair of Australian and Japanese telecommunications satellites shared the ride into Earth orbit Wednesday night, blasting off from the jungles of South America aboard Europe's Ariane 5G rocket.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
| |
|
|
First measurement made of a dead star's magnetism
Using the superior sensitivity of ESA's X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, a team of European astronomers has made the first direct measurement of a neutron star's magnetic field. The results provide deep insights into the extreme physics of neutron stars and reveal a new mystery yet to be solved about the end of this star's life.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Cargo-carrying craft docks to space station
A Russian Progress resupply ship made a successful automated docking to the international space station Wednesday, linking up with the orbiting lab complex to deliver vital supplies.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: DOCKING AS SEEN FROM CAMERA ABOARD THE PROGRESS QT
VIDEO: CAMERAS ON STATION SEE APPROACHING SPACECRAFT QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW
|
|
Wednesday:
June 11, 2003 | |
0001 GMT |
|
'Spirit' rover begins seven-month cruise to Mars
NASA kicked off an $800 million mission to Mars Tuesday, launching the first of two golf cart-sized robots that will creep across the red planet's surface looking for the geological traces of a warmer, wetter past and the environmental conditions necessary for the evolution of life.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
ASCENT GROUND TRACK
| |
|
|
Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: MARS ROVER SPIRIT LAUNCHED QT
VIDEO: SPACEFLIGHT NOW LAUNCH VIEW FROM PRESS AREA QT
VIDEO: TRACKING CAMERA VIEW FROM PATRICK AFB QT
VIDEO: POWERFUL TRACKER FOLLOWS THE ROCKET QT
VIDEO: CAPE CANAVERAL PRESS SITE 1 REPLAY QT
VIDEO: VIEW FROM THE SKID STRIP RUNWAY QT
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE QT
VIDEO: NAMING CEREMONY FOR MARS ROVERS QT
VIDEO: WEATHER SCRUBS SUNDAY LAUNCH ATTEMPT QT
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW
|
Sea Launch rocket lofts second Thuraya spacecraft
The Sea Launch consortium has successfully launched its first mission in a year. A Zenit 3SL rocket, carrying a mobile communications satellite, lifted off from a platform in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at 1356 GMT (9:56 a.m. EDT) Tuesday.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
| |
|
|
|
Tuesday:
June 10, 2003 | |
0301 GMT |
|
Mars rover mission ready for another launch attempt
If NASA can catch a break with the weather, the space agency's Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" will depart Earth at 1:58:47 p.m. EDT (1758:47 GMT) Tuesday for the seven-month cruise to the Red Planet. The liftoff was scrubbed for the past two days because of stormy weather conditions at Cape Canaveral launch site.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
TUESDAY'S WEATHER FORECAST
ASCENT GROUND TRACK
| |
|
|
Supernova shock wave paints cosmic portrait
Remnants from a star that exploded thousands of years ago created a celestial abstract portrait, as captured in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Pencil Nebula. Officially known as NGC 2736, the Pencil Nebula is part of the huge Vela supernova remnant.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Comet X-ray emissions simulated in laboratory
Physicists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have produced X-ray emissions in a laboratory setting by recreating the conditions that exist when solar winds collide with gases surrounding comets.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
|
Monday:
June 9, 2003 | |
0150 GMT |
|
Mars rover 'Spirit' poised for blastoff Monday
After stormy weather thwarted Sunday's initial attempt, another try at launching NASA's Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral will be made Monday. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:02 p.m. EDT (1802 GMT), weather permitting.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
MONDAY'S WEATHER FORECAST
ASCENT GROUND TRACK
| |
|
|
Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: MARS ROVER LAUNCH SCRUBBED QT
VIDEO: NAMING CEREMONY FOR MARS ROVERS QT
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW
|
Mars rovers named 'Spirit' and 'Opportunity'
Twin robotic geologists NASA is sending to Mars will embody in their newly chosen names -- Spirit and Opportunity -- two cherished attributes that guide humans to explore.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Russian rocket launches supplies to space station
A cargo freighter packed with vital supples to keep the international space station manned while NASA's space shuttle fleet remains grounded roared away its launch pad in Central Asia Sunday.
FULL STORY
| |
|
|
Sea Launch to loft second Thuraya spacecraft
The Sea Launch consortium plans to conduct its first mission in a year on Tuesday, boosting a mobile communications satellite into orbit atop the Zenit 3SL rocket from the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
| |
|
|
