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Sunday:
November 2, 2003 | |
0429 GMT |
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NASA testing K9 rover in quarry for future missions
NASA scientists and engineers are testing new technologies using the K9 rover in a granite quarry near Watsonville, California, in preparation for future missions to Mars. Scientists hope to utilize new robotic technologies during NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission anticipated in 2009.
 FULL STORY
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NASA orders Pegasus and Taurus rockets from Orbital
Orbital Sciences has announced that two Pegasus and two Taurus rockets will launch NASA scientific satellites over a two-year period beginning in 2006. The Pegasus vehicles will be used to loft NASA's Space Technology-8 and Small Explorer-10 spacecraft; Taurus vehicles will carry the GLORY and Orbiting Carbon Observer satellites.
FULL STORY
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Saturday:
November 1, 2003 | |
0106 GMT |
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Hope of salvaging Japanese satellite fades
Japanese space officials acknowledged Friday that chances of recovering a wayward Earth observing satellite were "extremely slim" after nearly a week of trying to restore communications with the $587 million craft.
FULL STORY
EARLIER STORY
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NASA adapts miniature biological lab for space use
NASA is adapting tiny laboratories embedded in compact discs to conduct biological tests aboard the International Space Station and to eventually look for life on other planets.
FULL STORY
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Friday:
October 31, 2003 | |
0201 GMT |
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Megastar-birth cluster is biggest, hottest ever seen
A mysterious arc of light found behind a distant cluster of galaxies has turned out to be the biggest, brightest and hottest star-forming region ever seen in space. The so-called Lynx arc is 1 million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical star-birth region visible with small telescopes.
FULL STORY
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We're going to get hit again
Just when we thought we were through the worst of it, a second gigantic solar flare has erupted, sending another coronal mass ejection directly towards Earth. "It's like the Earth is looking right down the barrel of a giant gun pointed at us by the Sun...and it's taken two big shots at us," says a solar astrophysicist.
FULL STORY
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DIRECTV moved from Arianespace to Sea Launch
Arianespace announced Thursday that it has secured a first quarter 2004 launch slot with Sea Launch for the DIRECTV 7S satellite. Arianespace was able to provide DIRECTV with total mission assurance for the DIRECTV 7S launch through a cooperative agreement with Boeing Launch Services and Sea Launch Company, LLC, under the newly formed launch services alliance.
FULL STORY
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Experimental Japanese satellite launched into space
Japan's newest satellite was sent into orbit Thursday from Russia's chilly far north on a mission to test a number of cutting edge space technologies. Liftoff of the Rockot launch vehicle was at 1343 GMT (8:43 a.m. EST) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The mission was delayed 24 hours due to high winds.
FULL STORY
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Thursday:
October 30, 2003 | |
1126 GMT |
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Another solar explosion after Tuesday's flare
Since Tuesday, explosive events originating from the Sun have been bathing the Earth and its surroundings in high energy radiation. On Wednesday it appeared that radiation levels were decreasing. However, a second flare overnight has caused a further sharp increase in radiation levels. Here on Earth, the disruption continues today with a further coronal mass ejection expected to reach the Earth tomorrow in time for Halloween.
FULL STORY
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Infrared flares seen from black hole at galactic center
An international team of astronomers has discovered powerful infrared flares from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. The signals, rapidly flickering on a scale of minutes, must come from hot gas falling into the black hole, just before it disappears below the "event horizon" of the monster. The new observations strongly suggest that the galactic center black hole rotates rapidly.
FULL STORY
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Chandra observatory reveals what lies beneath
A series of Chandra observations of the spiral galaxy NGC 1637 has provided a dramatic view of a violent, restless nature that belies its serene optical image. Over a span of 21 months, intense neutron star and black hole X-ray sources flashed on and off, giving the galaxy the appearance of a cosmic Christmas tree.
FULL STORY
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Wednesday:
October 29, 2003 | |
0351 GMT |
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3D map bolsters case for dark energy, dark matter
Astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have made the most precise measurement to date of the cosmic clustering of galaxies and dark matter, refining our understanding of the structure and evolution of the Universe.
FULL STORY
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Columbia crew added to Space Mirror memorial
The names of Columbia's seven fallen astronauts from the STS-107 mission have been added to the Space Mirror at Kennedy Space Center. The monument pays tribute to those space heroes who gave their lives for the U.S. space program. Tuesday's 45-minute ceremony is available to Spaceflight Now Plus users:
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: SPACE MIRROR CEREMONY AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER QT
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Tuesday:
October 28, 2003 | |
1634 GMT |
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'Perfect solar storm' to strike Earth
The third most powerful solar flare ever recorded erupted from the Sun on Tuesday morning, and scientists say Earth could feel the effects with communications disruptions and loss of power.
FULL STORY
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Russian capsule safely ferries station crew to Earth
After six months of circling the Earth inside the International Space Station, Expedition 7 crewmembers Yuri Malenchenko and Ed Lu returned home Monday night aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. They were joined by European researcher Pedro Duque. Landing in Kazakhstan occurred as planned.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live coverage
PREVIEW STORY
ENTRY AND LANDING OVERVIEW
MAP OF THE SOYUZ LANDING ZONE
NASA MONITORS SOLAR ACTIVITY
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: WATCH THE CEREMONIAL CHANGE-OF-COMMAND QT
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 7 CREW BIDS FAREWELL AND BOARDS SOYUZ QT
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF SOYUZ UNDOCKING AND RETURN TO EARTH QT
VIDEO: MONDAY'S UNDOCKING OF SOYUZ FROM THE STATION QT
VIDEO: 5-MINUTE REPLAY OF UNDOCKING FROM SOYUZ CAMERA QT
VIDEO: SOYUZ LANDS IN KAZAKHSTAN AS SEEN FROM HELICOPTER QT
VIDEO: SCENES OF THE CREW AFTER EXITING THE SOYUZ QT
VIDEO: VIEWS OF THE SOYUZ RESTING ON THE GROUND QT
VIDEO: CAPSULE'S PARACHUTE DRAPED ACROSS DESERT FLOOR QT
VIDEO: POST-TOUCHDOWN STATUS REPORT FROM NASA QT
VIDEO: NASA PROVIDES STATUS OF THE CREW QT
VIDEO: POST-LANDING INTERVIEW WITH NASA'S ISS MANAGER QT
VIDEO: ASTRONAUT TALKS ABOUT LANDING AND THE FUTURE QT
VIDEO: 8-MINUTE NARRATED LOOK BACK AT EXPEDITION 7 QT
VIDEO: PROFILES OF YURI MALENCHENKO AND ED LU QT
VIDEO: PROFILE OF SPANISH ASTRONAUT DUQUE QT
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Facility will help protect space crews from radiation
Imagine a human spacecraft crew voyaging through space. A satellite sends a warning; energetic particles are being accelerated from the sun's corona, sending dangerous radiation toward their spacecraft, but the crew isn't worried. Long before their journey, researchers on Earth conducted experiments to accurately measure the hazards of space radiation and developed new materials and countermeasures to protect them.
FULL STORY
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IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today
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NASA announces research grants in fundamental physics -- NASA has selected 15 researchers to receive grants totaling more than $6.4 million over four years, to conduct space fundamental physics research. This research is expected to expand our understanding of space, time and matter.
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Monday:
October 27, 2003 | |
0001 GMT |
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Station's Expedition 7 crew returns to Earth tonight
After six months of circling the Earth inside the International Space Station, Expedition 7 commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA science officer Ed Lu are preparing to return home tonight aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. They will be joined by European researcher Pedro Duque.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
PREVIEW STORY
ENTRY AND LANDING OVERVIEW
MAP OF THE SOYUZ LANDING ZONE
NASA MONITORS SOLAR ACTIVITY
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: WATCH THE CEREMONIAL CHANGE-OF-COMMAND QT
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 7 CREW BIDS FAREWELL AND BOARDS SOYUZ QT
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF SOYUZ UNDOCKING AND RETURN TO EARTH QT
VIDEO: 8-MINUTE NARRATED LOOK BACK AT EXPEDITION 7 QT
VIDEO: PROFILES OF YURI MALENCHENKO AND ED LU QT
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IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today
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Scientists to study lake's primitive life to learn about Mars -- Scientists from NASA, the SETI Institute and other institutions will study microscopic life forms in some of the highest lakes on Earth atop a South American volcano to learn what life may have been like on early Mars.
Researchers unveil superconductor-based light detector -- A new and improved way to measure light has been unveiled by physicists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, both in Pasadena, Calif. The technology exploits the strange but predictable characteristics of superconductivity, and has a number of properties that should lead to uses in a variety of fields, from medicine to astrophysics.
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