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Sunday:
October 19, 2003 | |
0401 GMT |
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Weather satellite finally escapes grasp of hard luck
Leaving behind three difficult years of delays and disappointments, a seemingly jinxed U.S. military weather satellite finally enjoyed a reversal of fortune Saturday as it successfully soared into space atop the final Titan 2 rocket.
 FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
TITAN 2 FINALE
A LOOK BACK AT MISSION'S SAGA
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Hidden black holes discovered by Integral
Integral, the European Space Agency's powerful gamma-ray space telescope, has discovered what seems
to be a new class of astronomical objects. These are binary systems, probably including a black hole or a neutron star, embedded in a thick cocoon of cold gas.
FULL STORY
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Saturday:
October 18, 2003 | |
0831 GMT |
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New crew launches to space station
American, Russian and Spanish astronauts set sail to the International Space Station this morning, safely rocketing into Earth orbit atop a Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central Asia.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
PRE-LAUNCH STORY
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: SOYUZ LIFTS OFF QT
VIDEO: INSIDE THE CAPSULE AT ENGINE CUTOFF QT
VIDEO: CLOSE UP LAUNCH REPLAY QT
VIDEO: THE LAUNCH AS SEEN FROM BAIKONUR VIEWING SITE QT
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH NASA ADMINISTRATOR QT
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH NASA SPACEFLIGHT CHIEF QT
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DEP. STATION MANAGER QT
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE FROM BAIKONUR QT
VIDEO: FINAL ASSEMBLY OF SOYUZ ROCKET QT
VIDEO: SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLS TO PAD THURSDAY QT
VIDEO: ROCKET ERECTED ON THE LAUNCH PAD QT
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 8 MISSION PREVIEW BRIEFING QT
VIDEO: CREW NEWS CONFERENCE WITH U.S. REPORTERS QT
VIDEO: CREW NEWS CONFERENCE WITH RUSSIAN REPORTERS QT
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 6 POST-FLIGHT SCIENCE RESULTS QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW
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Photo gallery: Sunrise rollout of Soyuz rocket
The Russian Soyuz rocket was moved from the processing facility to the launch pad on Thursday in preparation to carry the Expedition 8 crew to the International Space Station. This photo gallery illustrates the rocket's trek.
ENTER GALLERY
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Titan 2 rocket cleared for launch Saturday
Ready for its fifth countdown in 33 months, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F16 spacecraft and the final Titan 2 rocket will try again Saturday to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Liftoff is scheduled for 1617 GMT (12:17 p.m. EDT). Check our status center for ongoing coverage.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
TITAN 2 FINALE
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
COUNTDOWN STARTS
EARLIER STORY
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Friday:
October 17, 2003 | |
0721 GMT |
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New crew poised to keep human presence on station
The Expedition 8 crew blasts off early Saturday aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket to keep the International Space Station staffed with full-time "caretakers" while construction of the orbiting lab remains suspended by NASA's grounded space shuttle fleet. Launch is scheduled for 0538 GMT (1:38 a.m. EDT).
FULL STORY
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: FINAL ASSEMBLY OF SOYUZ ROCKET QT
VIDEO: SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLS TO PAD THURSDAY QT
VIDEO: ROCKET ERECTED ON THE LAUNCH PAD QT
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 8 MISSION PREVIEW BRIEFING QT
VIDEO: CREW NEWS CONFERENCE WITH U.S. REPORTERS QT
VIDEO: CREW NEWS CONFERENCE WITH RUSSIAN REPORTERS QT
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 6 POST-FLIGHT SCIENCE RESULTS QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW
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India successfully launches remote sensing satellite
A new Earth-observing satellite rocketed into space today for India, giving the nation a new eye in the sky to monitor civilian activities and their impact on the environment.
FULL STORY
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Last Titan 2 rocket could launch this weekend
Launch of the Titan 2 launch has been pushed back until at least Saturday while engineers perform additional analysis on the rocket's Inertial Measurement Unit guidance computer. A glitch was noted during Thursday's countdown, prompting officials to scrub the day's launch attempt. Check our status center for ongoing coverage.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
TITAN 2 FINALE
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
COUNTDOWN STARTS
EARLIER STORY
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Thursday:
October 16, 2003 | |
0207 GMT |
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Shenzhou safely returns to Earth
Wrapping up a historic day in space, the Shenzhou 5 return capsule parachuted to a soft touchdown late Wednesday, bringing to an end China's first manned voyage into space and opening the door for a wide variety of future plans in the final frontier.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Titan 2 rocket to launch military satellite Thursday
The final Titan 2 rocket will try again Thursday to launch the long-delayed Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F16 spacecraft on a $450 million mission to monitor weather conditions around the globe for U.S. military forces. Wednesday's launch attempt from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was scrubbed. Check our status center for ongoing coverage.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
TITAN 2 FINALE
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
COUNTDOWN STARTS
EARLIER STORY
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CONTOUR mishap board completes investigation
NASA's Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) investigation board has identified four possible causes for the failure of the comet-rendezvous mission launched in July 2002. The Board concluded the probable proximate cause for this accident was structural failure of the spacecraft due to plume heating during the embedded solid-rocket motor burn.
FULL STORY
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IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today
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Einstein was right, experimenters find -- Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity states that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. In some highly specialized "fast-light" media, however, some experimental physicists believe they have seen light travel faster.
Loral selected by PanAmSat to build new satellite -- Space Systems/Loral announced Wednesday that PanAmSat has agreed to the design and construction of a new satellite. Revenue for the construction of the satellite will be in excess of $100 million. The Galaxy 16 satellite, a C- and Ku-band spacecraft with 48 transponders, is to be delivered December 31, 2005.
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Wednesday:
October 15, 2003 | |
0331 GMT |
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CHINA ORBITS MAN
Over a decade in the making and four decades behind the Soviet Union and United States, China became only the third nation on the planet to mount a manned space mission Wednesday when a single crewman vaulted into space inside a capsule for a one-day flight.
FULL STORY
EARLIER STORY
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Titan 2 poised for finale
When the Titan 2 rocket blasts off today, it will bring to conclusion the decades-long program that began as a missile in the United States' arsenal against the Soviet Union, launched NASA's Gemini astronauts and in recent years carried smaller satellites into space. Launch is scheduled for 1617 GMT (12:17 p.m. EDT).
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
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Clocks counting down to last Titan 2 rocket launch
The countdown is underway for Wednesday's launch of the final Titan 2 rocket on a long-delayed mission carrying a military weather satellite.
FULL STORY
EARLIER STORY
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Orbital Sciences joins Lockheed's OSP team
Orbital Sciences will join the Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman team that is competing for full-scale development of NASA's Orbital Space Plane. NASA is expected to choose a prime contractor team by August 2004 for full-scale development of an OSP.
FULL STORY
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Tuesday:
October 14, 2003 | |
0517 GMT |
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China ready for history-making human spaceflight
If all goes according to plan, China will join one of the most exclusive international clubs this week when the country's much-awaited inaugural manned flight is expected to blast off from its space base in a remote part of the communist nation. Launch could occur as early as tonight.
FULL STORY
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SIRTF focused on universe
The Space Infrared Telescope Facility, NASA's fourth and final Great Observatory, has been successfully focused. This crucial milestone which will enable the observatory's infrared eyes to see the cosmos in clear detail was achieved after a series of delicate adjustments were made to the telescope's secondary mirror.
FULL STORY
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Countdown clocks to begin ticking for Titan 2 launch
The Titan 2 rocket's 26-hour launch countdown begins this morning at Vandenberg Air Force Base for Wednesday's liftoff carrying a military weather satellite.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
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Monday:
October 13, 2003 | |
0146 GMT |
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Long, surreal road for infamous satellite launch
It is a rocket launch like no other. On the launch pad three times in the past three years, getting as close as 30 seconds from liftoff in early 2001, a $450 million military weather satellite mission could finally fly this week from California. This story recaps the saga of the DMSP F16 satellite and the series of problems that have kept it grounded.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
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