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Sunday:
August 29, 2004 | |
0357 GMT |
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Valve error delays Atlas rocket launch to Sunday
A mis-configured valve in launch pad plumbing caused about 10,000 gallons of liquid oxygen to escape through a dump valve during fueling operations Saturday, forcing officials to scrub the flight of Lockheed Martin's last Atlas 2AS rocket. Launch is rescheduled for 6:57 p.m. EDT (2257 GMT) Sunday.
 MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
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SATURDAY'S COUNTDOWN IS SCRUBBED QT
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Hurricane Frances seen from the space station
These photos of Hurricane Frances were taken by Astronaut Mike Fincke aboard the International Space Station as he flew 230 statute miles above the storm.
FULL STORY
THIS WEEK'S ISS STATUS REPORT
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Saturday:
August 28, 2004 | |
0303 GMT |
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Precautionary battery check scrubs Atlas launch
Launch of the final Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket was delayed until Saturday evening so engineers could conduct extra tests on the booster's batteries. Once launched from Cape Canaveral, the rocket will carry a secret U.S. national security satellite into Earth orbit.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
GROUND TRACK MAP
ATLAS 2AS LAUNCH RECORD
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South polar storms on Saturn spotted by Cassini
This Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera view of Saturn's southern polar region features a bright white spot, or storm, surrounded by faint, darker swirls of clouds.
FULL STORY
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Friday:
August 27, 2004 | |
0200 GMT |
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Final Atlas 2AS to launch Friday, weather permitting
Mother Nature could play a pivotal role in Friday's countdown to launch of Lockheed Martin's last Atlas 2AS rocket carrying a secret national security satellite, but officials have a few tricks up their sleeves to avoid delays during pre-flight preparations at Cape Canaveral's pad 36A.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
GROUND TRACK MAP
ATLAS 2AS LAUNCH RECORD
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Boeing's Delta 4-Heavy rocket is revealed
Boeing's 23-story tall Delta 4-Heavy rocket is fully assembled atop Cape Canaveral's pad 37B. The powerful booster is scheduled for launch this fall on a demonstration flight. This collection of images taken by photographer Carleton Bailie includes aerial views from a helicopter and from various vantage points around the pad.
ENTER PHOTO GALLERY
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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MESSENGER completes first trajectory correction maneuver -- MESSENGER has performed its first planned maneuver when the Mercury-bound probe's thrusters ignited to correct trajectory inaccuracies associated with launch.
Scientists meet to review Envisat results -- From September 6 to 10 in Salzburg, Austria, over 700 scientists from 50 countries worldwide will meet to review and discuss the early results of the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite mission.
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Thursday:
August 26, 2004 | |
0040 GMT |
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History-making Titan 4 rocket put on the pad
By the time the sun rose over Cape Canaveral Wednesday a bittersweet moment had finally arrived for hundreds of workers as the final Titan 4 rocket to fly from the Florida spaceport reached its launch pad.
FULL STORY
SEE OUR TITAN ARCHIVE
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Odyssey begins overtime after successful mission
NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter began working overtime Wednesday after completing a prime mission that discovered vast supplies of frozen water, ran a safety check for future astronauts, and mapped surface textures and minerals all over Mars, among other feats.
FULL STORY
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Radar test may help space shuttle return
Radar tracking data gathered during the Delta 2 launch of the MESSENGER spacecraft earlier this month has provided promising results that may benefit NASA's space shuttle program and Discovery's return to flight.
FULL STORY
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Wednesday:
August 25, 2004 | |
0431 GMT |
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Tiny 'David' telescope finds 'Goliath' planet
Fifteen years ago, the largest telescopes in the world had yet to locate a planet orbiting another star. Today telescopes no larger than those available in department stores are proving capable of spotting previously unknown worlds. A newfound planet detected by a small, 4-inch-diameter telescope demonstrates that we are at the cusp of a new age of planet discovery.
FULL STORY
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Meteorites supplied Earth life with phosphorus
University of Arizona scientists have discovered that meteorites, particularly iron meteorites, may have been critical to the evolution of life on Earth.
FULL STORY
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Tuesday:
August 24, 2004 | |
1600 GMT |
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Thunderstorms are main concern for Atlas launch
Air Force meteorologists today issued their first weather forecast for Friday evening's scheduled launch of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS rocket carrying a classified national security spacecraft.
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Cassini conducts major orbit adjustment maneuver
The Cassini spacecraft successfully completed a 51-minute engine burn that will raise its next closest approach distance to Saturn by nearly 186,000 miles. The maneuver was necessary to keep the spacecraft from passing through the rings and to put it on target for its first close encounter with Saturn's moon Titan on Oct. 26.
FULL STORY
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Deepest image of exploded star uncovers bipolar jets
A spectacular new image of Cassiopeia A released Monday from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has nearly 200 times more data than the "First Light" Chandra image of this object made five years ago. The new image reveals clues that the initial explosion, caused by the collapse of a massive star, was far more complicated than suspected.
FULL STORY
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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Telstar 18 enters full commercial service over Asia -- Telstar 18, a powerful and flexible satellite designed to provide communication services across Asia, has completed its in-orbit testing and is now fully operational. The craft reached a lower than planned orbit during launch in June, but controllers were able to raise the satellite to its proper orbital position at 138 degrees East longitude.
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Monday:
August 23, 2004 | |
0112 GMT |
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Streaking away from Dione
Saturn's crescent moon Dione hangs before the Cassini spacecraft in this magnified image. The icy moon shows a hint of the bright, wispy features that mark its surface.
FULL STORY
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A galaxy's fatal plunge
These images offer a dramatic look at C153, a galaxy being ripped apart as it races at 4.5 million miles per hour through a distant cluster of galaxies. The infalling galaxy's gas is being stripped by the pressure of 20-million-degree Celsius gas that permeates the cluster.
FULL STORY
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Preview the launch of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS rocket carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft with this narrated animation package. (2min 22sec file)
Unacceptable weather conditions force the Atlas rocket's countdown to be stopped at T-minus 90 seconds on August 29. (1min 36sec file)
A shortage of liquid oxygen caused by a mis-configured valve prompts Lockheed Martin to scrub the August 28 attempt to launch the final Atlas 2AS rocket from Cape Canaveral. (1min 26sec file)
NASA's William Readdy, Space Operations associate administrator and Bill Parsons, space shuttle program manager, provide a status report on returning the shuttles to flight in this teleconference with reporters held on the one-year anniversary since the CAIB report was issued. (37min 35sec file)
To mark one year since the publication of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board final report, William Gerstenmaier, International Space Station program
manager, updates the news media on the status of the project. (42min 41sec file)
The Titan 4 rocket emerges from the Solid Motor Assembly and Readiness Facility at Cape Canaveral at about 5:45 a.m. August 25 for rollout to the Complex 40 pad. (3min 58sec file)
Riding on its mobile launching platform, the Titan 4 rocket arrives at the pad just before sunrise. (5min 22sec file)
As dawn breaks over Cape Canaveral, these daylight scenes show the Titan 4 on Complex 40 in preparation for the final Florida launch of this heavy-lift rocket. (2min 11sec file)
NASA's Genesis spacecraft will return to Earth on Sept. 8 with a capsule containing samples collected of solar wind. Officials preview the dramatic homecoming in this news conference. (50min 50sec file)