Sunday:
May 2, 2004 | |
0322 GMT |
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Astronaut Hall of Fame inducts 2004 class
The shuttle commander killed in the Challenger explosion, the first American woman to walk in space, the first American to live aboard Russian's space station Mir, the first African-American to command a space mission and the commander of the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on Saturday.
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
INDUCTION OF NORM THAGARD QT
VIDEO:
INDUCTION OF DICK SCOBEE QT
VIDEO:
INDUCTION OF KATHRYN SULLIVAN QT
VIDEO:
INDUCTION OF FRED GREGORY QT
VIDEO:
INDUCTION OF RICHARD COVEY QT
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Scientists announce cosmic ray theory breakthrough
University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have proposed a new theory to explain the movement of vast energy fields in giant radio galaxies (GRGs). The theory could be the basis for a whole new understanding of the ways in which cosmic rays -- and their signature radio waves -- propagate and travel through intergalactic space.
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Saturday:
May 1, 2004 | |
0531 GMT |
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All future shuttle missions geared to space station
NASA's latest return-to-flight implementation plan for the first time codifies an earlier decision by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe ruling out any non-space station flights, like one to save the Hubble Space Telescope, after shuttle flights resume next spring.
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Hubble telescope shows demise in ice and fire
The Bug Nebula is one of the brightest and most extreme planetary nebulae known. At its center lies a superhot, dying star smothered in a blanket of hailstones. A new Hubble image reveals fresh detail in the wings of this cosmic butterfly.
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Paper probes pulsar pair
The only known gravitationally bound pair of pulsars -- extremely dense, spinning stars that beam radio waves -- may be pirouetting around each other in an intricate dance.
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Friday:
April 30, 2004 | |
0738 GMT |
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Soyuz capsule brings station crew back to Earth
The Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three departing space station astronauts landed in Kazakhstan at 0012 GMT Thursday night, capping the 195-day mission by the Expedition 8 crew of Michael Foale and Alexander Kaleri and the 11-day voyage by Dutch researcher Andre Kuipers.
LANDING STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
UNDOCKING STORY
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THURSDAY'S FAREWELL CEREMONY BEFORE UNDOCKING QT
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CREW MEMBERS BOARD SOYUZ AND CLOSE THE HATCH QT
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SOYUZ CAPSULE UNDOCKS FROM THE SPACE STATION QT
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CAPSULE FIRES THRUSTERS TO INCREASE SEPARATION SPEED QT
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CREWMATES WELCOMED IN KUSTANAI, KAZAKHSTAN QT
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THE CREW SPEAKS ABOUT THEIR RETURN TO EARTH QT
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POST-LANDING INTERVIEW WITH CHIEF NASA ASTRONAUT QT
VIDEO:
POST-LANDING INTERVIEW WITH EXPEDITION 10 COMMANDER QT

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PREVIEW THE EXPEDITION 9 MISSION QT
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MEET THE NEW STATION CREW IN THIS NARRATED MOVIE QT
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Mars Express radar deployment postponed
The European Space Agency has delayed deployment of the MARSIS radar instrument on board Mars Express, scheduled for this week. New and improved computer models suggest that, during deployment, the radar booms may swing back and forth with larger amplitudes than previously expected. If this happened, the booms might come too close to delicate components of the spacecraft body.
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Cassini snaps its final full view of Saturn and rings
Saturn and its rings completely fill the field of view of Cassini's narrow angle camera in this natural color image. It is the last single "eyeful" of Saturn and its rings achievable with the camera on approach to the planet. From now until orbit insertion, Saturn and its rings will be larger than the field of view of the camera.
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Thursday:
April 29, 2004 | |
0525 GMT |
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Rocket options examined for moon-Mars initiative
It's too soon to say what sort of rocket, or family or rockets, might be needed to support NASA's new moon-Mars initiative, officials said Wednesday. But engineers across the nation are studying a variety of options, including use of upgraded Atlas and Delta rockets, development of new, "clean sheet" designs and use of existing shuttle hardware and infrastructure.
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Station's Expedition 8 crew set for landing today
There will be a changing of the guard aboard the International Space Station today as the Expedition 8 crew bids farewell to the orbiting complex and heads home after six months circling 250 miles above Earth. Meanwhile, the newly-arrived Expedition 9 crew takes control of the station for its half-year tour-of-duty.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Comprehensive space station video coverage
Hours of video capturing launch of the new International Space Station resident crew, known as Expedition 9, and preparations for the Expedition 8's return to Earth after a half-year in orbit is provided to Spaceflight Now Plus users:
FULL REPORT
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NASA's Gravity Probe in its science mission orbit
In its first week on orbit, Gravity Probe B has achieved many successes that will ensure a smooth transition into the science phase of the mission and the best possible experimental accuracy. The spacecraft has already achieved a science mission orbit, within the plane of the Guide Star, IM Pegasi, and its inclination error is six times better than expected.
FULL STORY
LAUNCH COVERAGE
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IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today
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EADS Astrium to build Anik F3 satellite -- EADS Astrium has been selected by Canadian-based operator Telesat to build the company's new Anik F3 satellite. Planned to enter into service in 2006, Anik F3 will provide satellite communications services in C, Ku and Ka-bands over a large area covering North America.

ILS Proton rocket selected to launch Anik F3 -- International Launch Services and Telesat are teaming up once again to launch a satellite on a Russian rocket. Telesat announced Wednesday that it has chosen an ILS Proton/Breeze M launch vehicle for the Anik F3 mission in 2006.
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Wednesday:
April 28, 2004 | |
0352 GMT |
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Clouds from aircraft exhaust may warm climate
NASA scientists have found that cirrus clouds, formed by contrails from aircraft engine exhaust, are capable of increasing average surface temperatures enough to account for a warming trend in the United States that occurred between 1975 and 1994.
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Japanese-Korean venture accepts advanced satellite
The MBSAT broadcast communications satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Mobile Broadcasting Corporation (MBCO) of Japan and SK Telecom of Korea, has successfully completed its in-orbit testing and was officially delivered on-orbit Tuesday. The satellite was formally accepted during a signing ceremony at MBCO's Tokyo headquarters.
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NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet
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Boeing probe widened, sanctions end seen delayed -- (Reuters) U.S. federal prosecutors have expanded a criminal investigation into Boeing Co.'s rocket launch contracts to examine whether Boeing used a rival's documents to bid for NASA work, industry officials and sources familiar with the probe said on Tuesday.

China 'shocked' at U.S. cold shoulder in space -- (Reuters) The Chinese, who launched their first astronaut into space last year, are "shocked" the United States has not welcomed them into the tight-knit community of space-faring nations, a leading U.S. expert said on Tuesday.
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Tuesday:
April 27, 2004 | |
1518 GMT |
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Spaceflight Now interviews station astronauts
The two American astronauts aboard the International Space Station -- Expedition 8 commander Michael Foale and Expedition 9 flight engineer Michael Fincke -- took a few minutes to talk with Spaceflight Now's Justin Ray on Tuesday. The live interview is presented here in its entirety.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW [1MB QuickTime file]
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Scientist leading Einstein mission has amazing tale
In 1960, Francis Everitt ventured from his home country of Great Britain for "two or three years" to conduct physics research in the United States. More than 40 years later, he's still here. And when Gravity Probe-B was launched April 20, it represented the culmination of decades of his career Everitt devoted to help make it happen.
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Russian communications satellite launched on Proton
The newest Russian communications satellite was successfully launched Monday as a Proton rocket boosted the Express-AM11 craft into geostationary orbit.
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IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today
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Arctic ozone loss more sensitive to climate change than thought -- A cooperative study involving NASA scientists quantifies, for the first time, the relationship between Arctic ozone loss and changes in the temperature of Earth's stratosphere.

Arctic sea ice study may stir up climate models -- Contrary to historical observations, sea ice in the high Arctic undergoes very small, back and forth movements twice a day, even in the dead of winter. It was once believed ice deformation at such a scale was almost non-existent.
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Monday:
April 26, 2004 | |
0343 GMT |
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Spying the surface of Titan
New images of unsurpassed clarity have been obtained with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope of formations on the surface of Titan, the largest moon in the Saturnian system.
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