We all know that NASA has had their issues with weather delaying some of the most recent STS missions, not to mention all kinds of other delays in the past as well... but this next potential delay is not due to any weather or technical issues... but rather good old scheduling issues. We all know that NASA has had their issues with weather delaying some of the most... more
Gravitational corridors could help spacecraft ply the solar system like ships borne on ocean currents, it has been disclosed by scientists investigating space travel.
Scientists in the United States are trying to map the twisting ''tubes'' so they can be used to cut the cost of journeys in space.
Each one acts like a gravitational Gulf Stream, created from the complex interplay of attractive forces between planets and moons.
Depicted by computer graphics, the pathways look like strands of spaghetti that wrap around planetary bodies and snake between them...Gravitational corridors could help spacecraft ply the solar system like ships borne on... more
Photographs of the Space Shuttle Discovery (which flew into space as STS-128) arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, September 21, 2009. A specially modified Boeing 747 known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) is used to transport the orbiter to Florida when it lands elsewhere - in this case Edwards Air Force Base.Photographs of the Space Shuttle Discovery (which flew into space as STS-128) arriving... more
Efforts to free the stuck Spirit rover on Mars have been dragging on since May, and one NASA official now says the robot may never get free.
"We are proceeding very cautiously and exploring all reasonable options," John Callas, NASA project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, said in a status report issued Monday. "There is a very real possibility that Spirit may not be able to get out, and we want to give Spirit the very best chance."
Callas and colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been testing ideas on a twin of Spirit at the California facility, in a pit designed to simulate the surface of Mars. It's tricky though, because of the difference in gravity of the two planets. The rover team is also refining a detailed computer model of rover mobility, calibrated with results from testing and measurements from Mars.Efforts to free the stuck Spirit rover on Mars have been dragging on since May, and... more
U.S. space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday with food, equipment and new lab gear for the orbital outpost.
After nearly two days of traveling following its launch late Friday night, Discovery reached the Space Station at 8:54 p.m. EDT (0054 GMT Monday) as it sailed 225 miles (362 km) over the Atlantic.
"The entire rendezvous and docking was smooth as silk," said NASA mission commentator Rob Navias.
During their nine-day visit, the Discovery astronauts plan to unload more than seven tons of gear packed aboard the shuttle and conduct three spacewalks to help ready the $100 billion outpost for full-time science operations.U.S. space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday with... more
The space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its third attemptThe space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its... more
If you're wondering why the first launch attempt for space shuttle Discovery was scrubbed early Tuesday morning, here's your answer. Yikes! But what a gorgeous picture! And of course, the second launch attempt early Wednesday morning was called off when instrumentation for an 8-inch fill and drain valve on the shuttle's external tank indicated the valve had failed to close. But yesterday, the valve functioned correctly five times during launch pad tests, NASA said. That means NASA will likely go ahead with a launch attempt at 04:22 GMT (12:22 a.m. ET) on Friday. But the anomaly remains unexplained, so it will be up to the mission management team to decide if the shuttle can fly as is, or if engineers need to know more about the issue. The decision won't be made, however until the MMT meets Thursday afternoon, just hours before the scheduled liftoff time. As the saying goes, there's a million parts on the shuttle and if only one is not working….
Discovery's 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. The mission is the 128th in the Space Shuttle Program, the 37th flight of Discovery and the 30th station assembly flight.If you're wondering why the first launch attempt for space shuttle Discovery was... more
NASA will try again to launch the shuttle Discovery to the international space station on Wednesday after having to call it off early Tuesday because of thunderstorms.NASA will try again to launch the shuttle Discovery to the international space station... more
Maybe our latest science fiction film obsessions have been getting us prepared for the CGI in the sky. That is, the natural occurrence of glowing clouds at night, or noctilucent clouds.
Usually appearing up at the polar regions, clouds will sometimes take on a glow where ice meets atmosphere. This summer, the clouds have been glowing at a lower range, very low, as in visible from North Dakota to Poland.
Greenhouse gasses and specifically the greenhouse gas methane could be to blame. As methane increases in the atmosphere, the amount of water that turns to ice in the stratosphere, full of cosmic dust, allows for clouds to glow at a lower level. Methane increases are typically due to farming and population increases. Higher greenhouse gas emissions result in mesosphere (middle atmosphere) cooling, which can cause the clouds to glow as well.
Yet another theory is that the noctilucent clouds are actually the product of Shuttle launches. The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen used as fuel has a by-product of 300 metric tons of water vapor.
A NASA satellite mission is studying the clouds, but information available is inconclusive. The reason being that changes occurring in the atmosphere happen very quickly, making it difficult for scientists to find all the answers. The study is planned to continue for three more years, during which time they hope to determine the exact cause.
Check out some of the following links and our Video thread for more on this sky-fi oddity.
Study finds space shuttle exhaust produces night-shining clouds (Earth Observatory)
Noctilucent clouds over Germany (NASA)
Scientists seek noctilucent cloud enlightenment (The Register)
Photo by mikeyscope.
Video by derickrethans.Maybe our latest science fiction film obsessions have been getting us prepared for the... more
Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth on Friday, completing a long but successful construction job that boosted the size and power of the international space station.Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth on Friday,... more
A Chinese-born engineer in the United States has been found guilty of passing space shuttle technology secrets to China, for more than 30 years. Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 73, is the first person to be found guilty under a federal law, introduced in 1996, to counter economic espionage.
Mr Chung worked for Rockwell International, and then Boeing, until the FBI investigation began in 2006. He will be sentenced in November, and could spend decades in prison.A Chinese-born engineer in the United States has been found guilty of passing space... more
After more than a month's delay, space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts have thundered into orbit in a flight to the international space station, hauling up a veranda for Japan's enormous lab and looking to set a crowd record.
Success came on launch try number 6, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the liftoff of man's first moon landing.
But the mood was dampened somewhat when Nasa managers watched the launch video.
Eight or nine pieces of foam insulation came off the external fuel tank during liftoff, and the shuttle was hit at least two or three times, said Bill Gerstenmaier, Nasa's space operations chief. Some scuff marks were spotted, but that probably is coating loss and considered minor, he said.After more than a month's delay, space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts have... more
"The STS-127 crew began its journey to the International Space Station at 6:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday when space shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The shuttle crew will complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and deliver a new crew member, astronaut Tim Kopra, to the orbital outpost.""The STS-127 crew began its journey to the International Space Station at 6:03 p.m.... more
For the second day in a row, approaching thunderstorms near the Kennedy Space Center forced NASA managers to order another launch delay for the shuttle Endeavour's frustrated crew. Monday marked the fifth delay for the space station assembly mission since a hydrogen leak scuttled the crew's first launch try in June.
-------------------------------------------------------For the second day in a row, approaching thunderstorms near the Kennedy Space Center... more
The On-Orbit Coffee Cup hopes to make it easier for astronauts floating through space sip their morning coffee with ease. Designed by astronaut Donald Pettit, the On-Orbit Coffee Cup uses surface tension to contain liquid in a zero gravity environment.The On-Orbit Coffee Cup hopes to make it easier for astronauts floating through space... more
Photographs of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (which flew as STS-125) departing from Edwards Air Force Base on Monday, June 1, 2009 and arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 2, 2009.Photographs of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (which flew as STS-125) departing from... more
Interesting article and images of the space shuttle Atlantis just before docking with the Hubble telescope as it passes between the Earth and the Sun.Interesting article and images of the space shuttle Atlantis just before docking with... more
The operators of New York's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum already have a Mercury space capsule, a submarine and a Concorde passenger jet. Now they want a space shuttle.The operators of New York's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum already have a Mercury... more
