Sunday:
September 5, 2004 | |
0001 GMT |
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Brightest supernova in a decade captured by Hubble
A University of California, Berkeley, astronomer has turned the NASA Hubble Space Telescope on the brightest and nearest supernova of the past decade, capturing a massive stellar explosion blazing with the light of 200 million suns.
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Envisat witnesses return of the South Polar ozone hole
The smudges of dark blue on this Envisat-derived ozone forecast trace the start of what has unfortunately become an annual event: the opening of the ozone hole above the South Pole.
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Saturday:
September 4, 2004 | |
0225 GMT |
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Space station residents complete spacewalk
Space station commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Michael Fincke staged a five-hour 21-minute spacewalk Friday, successfully installing a new coolant system component and three antennas that unmanned European cargo craft will use for future dockings.
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Helios mishap report issued by NASA officials
The board that investigated the loss of the remotely operated Helios Prototype aircraft during a test flight last summer released its final report Friday.
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Friday:
September 3, 2004 | |
0210 GMT |
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Space station residents complete spacewalk
Space station commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Michael Fincke staged a five-hour 21-minute spacewalk Friday, successfully installing a new coolant system component and three antennas that unmanned European cargo craft will use for future dockings.
FULL STORY
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Helios mishap report issued by NASA officials
The board that investigated the loss of the remotely operated Helios Prototype aircraft during a test flight last summer released its final report Friday.
FULL STORY
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Friday:
September 2, 2004 | |
0001 GMT |
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Cape Canaveral braces for impact from Frances
Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are now closed to all personnel as the spaceport braces for Hurricane Frances. Emergency management officials will return to KSC and CCAFS after the storm passes to reactivate the operations center.
HURRICANE UPDATES
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Cassini craft reveals Saturn's cool rings
The Cassini spacecraft has taken the most detailed temperature measurements to date of Saturn's rings. Data taken by the composite infrared spectrometer instrument on the spacecraft while entering Saturn's orbit show the cool and relatively warm regions of the rings.
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Thursday:
September 1, 2004 | |
0331 GMT |
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Cape Canaveral spaceport worried about hurricane
Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral are bracing for Hurricane Frances as the powerful Category 4 storm churns toward Florida's east coast. The spaceport is part of the hurricane warning issued along the coast.
HURRICANE UPDATES
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Mars rover's stuck rock cutting tool fixed
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has resumed using its rock abrasion tool after a pebble fell out that had jammed the tool's rotors two weeks ago.
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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NASA selects contractors for exploration studies -- NASA has awarded the first contracts to conduct preliminary concept studies for human lunar exploration and the development of the crew exploration vehicle. Eleven companies were selected.
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Wednesday:
August 31, 2004 | |
0630 GMT |
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Atlas 2 rocket retires with remarkable record
Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2 family of boosters rocketed into retirement Tuesday, placing a classified U.S. national security satellite into space following a sunset sendoff from Cape Canaveral.
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MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Launch team salutes Cape's pad 36A after final liftoff
It was the starting point for dozens of commercial communications satellites, military spacecraft and pioneering space probes, including the first man-made object to journey outside our solar system. But after 42 years of Atlas rocket launches, pad 36A saw its final blastoff Tuesday night.
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Scientists discover a new class of extrasolar planets
Astronomers have announced the first discovery of a new class of planets beyond our solar system about 10 to 20 times the size of Earth - far smaller than any previously detected. The planets make up a class of Neptune-sized extrasolar planets.
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Tuesday:
August 30, 2004 | |
0227 GMT |
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Weather scrubs Atlas rocket launch again
The fourth time was not the charm for Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS rocket Monday as stormy weather over Cape Canaveral scrubbed the booster's final flight. A fifth consecutive launch attempt is scheduled for Tuesday. Check the status center for updates.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
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ATLAS 2AS LAUNCH RECORD
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Guinness recognizes X-43A world speed record
Guinness World Records has recognized the world speed record set by NASA's hypersonic X-43A aircraft in an experimental flight over the Pacific Ocean earlier this year. The unpiloted, 12- foot-long aircraft achieved Mach 6.83 -- almost seven times the speed of sound -- or nearly 5,000 mph, while its supersonic-combustion ramjet (scramjet) engine propelled the craft for 11 seconds during the flight on March 27.
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Smallest ever extra-solar planet discovered
A European team of astronomers has discovered the lightest known planet orbiting a star other than the sun. The new exoplanet orbits the bright star mu Arae located in the southern constellation of the Altar. It is the second planet discovered around this star and completes a full revolution in 9.5 days.
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Monday:
August 30, 2004 | |
0227 GMT |
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Atlas rocket delayed for third consecutive day
Worries about thunderstorm clouds over Cape Canaveral kept Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS rocket on the launch pad Sunday, delaying the booster's mission to loft a national security satellite into orbit until Monday. Check the status center for updates.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
GROUND TRACK MAP
ATLAS 2AS LAUNCH RECORD
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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Major extra-solar discovery announcement Tuesday -- A team of planet-hunters will announce their discovery of a new class of planets beyond our solar system at a NASA Science Update at 1 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Experts hired to launch cosmology program -- The University of California-Irvine Department of Physics and Astronomy has established a research program in modern cosmology - an entirely new field of research at the university.
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