Sunday: March 28, 2004  0539 GMT
Scramjet experiment soars off California coast
NASA's experimental X-43A hypersonic research vehicle was successfully launched Saturday, demonstrating for the first time an airbreathing scramjet-powered aircraft while soaring 95,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean at seven times the speed of sound.
   FULL STORY
Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: THE X-43A IS SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED SATURDAY QT
VIDEO: EXTENDED CLIP OF LAUNCH AS SEEN LIVE QT
VIDEO: SUCCESS DECLARED AT POST-LAUNCH PRESS BRIEFING QT

VIDEO: TECHNICIANS PUT FINAL TOUCHES ON X-43A QT
VIDEO: B-52 CARRIER AIRCRAFT ROLLS TO THE RUNWAY QT
VIDEO: THE B-52 TAKES OFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE QT
VIDEO: X-43A AEROSUFACES TESTED IN THE AIR QT
VIDEO: PEGASUS FINS CHECKED BEFORE LAUNCH QT
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION SHOWING X-43A LAUNCH QT
VIDEO: B-52 SAFELY LANDS FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH QT
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE FROM MARCH 24 QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW

First Eurostar E3000 reaches geostationary orbit
The W3A spacecraft, designed and built by EADS Astrium for EUTELSAT and launched by Proton on March 16, successfully performed early operations and is now in geostationary orbit.
   FULL STORY
Land cover changes affect U.S. summer climate
While climate may be impacted by carbon dioxide emissions, aerosols and other factors, a new study offers further evidence land surface changes may also play a significant role.
   FULL STORY
Russia launches military spacecraft atop Proton
A Proton K rocket successfully launched a classified satellite for the Russian Defense Ministry Saturday. Liftoff occurred at 0330 GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The spacecraft has been named Kosmos 2406.
Saturday: March 27, 2004  0519 GMT
New phase of exploration beginning for Mars rovers
NASA's Spirit will begin trekking toward hills on its eastern horizon in the next few days, entering a new phase of the rover's exploration of Mars just before its prime three-month mission ends and its extended mission begins, rover team members said Friday.
   FULL STORY
Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: WATCH FRIDAY'S MARS ROVER NEWS CONFERENCE QT
VIDEO: FUTURE PLANS FOR SPIRIT ARE EXPLAINED QT
VIDEO: IMAGERY OF COLUMBIA HILLS WITH NARRATION QT
VIDEO: NARRATED IMAGES OF SPIRIT'S ARM IN ACTION QT
VIDEO: PANORAMA FROM INSIDE OPPORTUNITY'S CRATER QT
VIDEO: OPPORTUNITY'S PANORAMA FROM OUTSIDE CRATER QT
SUBSCRIBE NOW

IN OTHER NEWS  Additional stories making news today
Space station status -- The oxygen-producing Elektron unit aboard the International Space Station continues to function well, as it has since it was restarted early last Saturday. Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri spent two days last week replacing a liquids unit and a water flow system of the Russian Elektron, in the Zvezda Service Module.

New member states at ESA -- In the course of its meeting in Kiruna,Sweden on March 24 and 25, the European Space Agency Council approved the accession of Greece and Luxembourg to the ESA Convention.
Friday: March 26, 2004  0450 GMT
10-week launch delay adds 2 years to Mercury journey
The already-long voyage from Earth to Mercury for the MESSENGER spacecraft got even longer this week when NASA delayed the probe's launch to a time that will require a more circuitous route.
   FULL STORY
Martian mystery explained
The spiral troughs of Mars' polar ice caps have been called the most enigmatic landforms in the solar system. The deep canyons spiraling out from the Red Planet's North and South poles cover hundreds of miles. No other planet has such structures.
   FULL STORY
Thursday: March 25, 2004  0408 GMT
White dwarf explodes inside circumstellar disk
By measuring polarized light from an unusual exploding star, an international team of astrophysicists and astronomers has worked out the first detailed picture of a Type Ia supernova and the distinctive star system in which it exploded.
   FULL STORY
Galaxy debris the smoking gun for dark matter?
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs, speeding at 670,000 mph on a "highway" in space may be raining onto Earth -- a phenomenon that might prove the existence of "dark matter" that makes up most our galaxy and one-fourth of the universe, says a study co-authored by a University of Utah physicist.
   FULL STORY
Wednesday: March 24, 2004  0326 GMT
Rover finds evidence of ancient sea on Mars
Three weeks ago, NASA announced definitive evidence that Mars once featured an abundance of water supporting a habitable environment. But major questions remained. Tuesday, scientists unveiled photographs from NASA's Opportunity rover showing cross-bedded sedimentary rocks indicating that at least at one point on the martian surface - Meridiani Planum - a shallow, salty sea once ebbed and flowed.
   FULL STORY
   MISSION STATUS CENTER
Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: WATCH NEWS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING THIS DISCOVERY QT
AUDIO: LISTEN TO THE NEWS CONFERENCE ON YOUR iPOD MP3
SUBSCRIBE NOW

A new star is born
A timely discovery by American amateur astronomer Jay McNeil, followed immediately by observations at the Gemini Observatory, has provided a rare glimpse into the slow, yet violent birth of a star about 1,500 light-years away. The resulting findings reveal some of the strongest stellar winds ever detected around an embryonic Sun-like star.
   FULL STORY
New commercial Earth imaging satellite planned
DigitalGlobe has unveiled details of the company's next-generation imaging satellite, WorldView. The new satellite, set to launch no later than 2006, will be the world's highest resolution commercial imaging satellite with better agility, accuracy and collection capacity than any other known commercial system.
   FULL STORY
Tuesday: March 23, 2004  0602 GMT
New Mars rover discovery to be unveiled today
Another "major scientific finding" from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity mission will be announced today during a NASA news conference that begins at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT).
   FULL STORY
Opportunity rover bids farewell to crater home
Two months after scoring an "interplanetary hole in one" by landing inside a crater on Mars, the rover Opportunity drove out of the bowl-shaped crater Monday and sent back images of the remarkably smooth, flat terrain at Meridiani Planum.
   FULL STORY
Shuttle workers find critical parts installed backward
Space shuttle program manager Bill Parsons spoke with reporters Monday to discuss problems found with the actuators in the orbiters' rudder/speed brakes. He also gave updates on efforts to find suitable ways to repair damaged wing-leading edge panels in space and develop inspection equipment.
Spaceflight Now Plus
Coverage for subscribers only:
   AUDIO: PARSONS GIVES 7-MINUTE OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM QT
   AUDIO: ACTUATOR FAILURE WOULD DOOM SHUTTLE AND CREW QT
   AUDIO: NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT TO SHUTTLE LAUNCH SCHEDULE QT
   AUDIO: THE CHALLENGES TO GETTING SHUTTLES FLYING AGAIN QT
   AUDIO: GOOD PROGRESS IN WING RCC PANEL REPAIR OPTIONS QT
   AUDIO: PARSONS GIVES UPDATE ON SHUTTLE INSPECTION BOOM QT
   SUBSCRIBE NOW

Monday: March 22, 2004  0231 GMT
Space program explains 'Dust Bowl' drought
NASA scientists have an explanation for one of the worst climatic events in the history of the United States, the "Dust Bowl" drought, which devastated the Great Plains and all but dried up an already depressed American economy in the 1930's.
   FULL STORY
IN OTHER NEWS  Additional stories making news today
Steam micro-propulsion demonstrated in space -- Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd has demonstrated in-orbit the use of a steam propulsion system onboard the UK-DMC satellite. The novel experiment used 2.06 grams of water as propellant.

Loral delivers MTSAT-1R satellite to Japan -- Space Systems/Loral says that it has completed integration and testing of the MTSAT-1R satellite and has shipped the spacecraft to Japan's space center in Tanegashima, Japan, where it will await launch on a H-2A rocket.
News Archive
March 15-21: Most distant object in Solar System discovered; Mineral in Mars 'berries' adds to water story; Newest GPS spacecraft successfully soars into orbit; New imagery of comet released from Stardust; Satellite solves 30-year gamma-ray mystery; W3A communications satellite put into orbit by Proton.

March 8-14: Hubble's deepest view ever unveils earliest galaxies; Rovers watch solar eclipses by Martian moons; The great 'bunny' chase at Mars rover landing site; Atlas launches mobile communications satellite for Asia; Clumps in Saturn's rings; Gehman's initial review of Hubble mission released.

March 1-7: Rover confirms past liquid water on Mars; Rosetta soars on ambitious comet intercept mission; Hubble picture of space phenomenon imitates art; Enigmatic X-rays may point to new class of black holes.

Feb. 23-29: Rover shows sunset on Mars; Cassini captures stunning view of Saturn; Nearest, youngest star with planet nursery found; Two simultaneous 'naked-eye' comets expected; Suit problem forces early end to station spacewalk; Scientists watch neutron star explosion in real time.

More news  See our weekly archive of space news.








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