May 8th, 2008
NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the AresI and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA’s Constellation Program.
Posted in Constellation Program
May 8th, 2008
Following a successful launch on 27 April, GIOVE-B began transmitting navigation signals today. This is a truly historic step for satellite navigation since GIOVE-B is now, for the first time, transmitting the GPS-Galileo common signal using a specific optimised waveform, MBOC (multiplexed binary offset carrier), in accordance with the agreement drawn up in July 2007 by the EU and the US for their respective systems, Galileo and the future GPS III.
Posted in Unmanned Exploration
May 8th, 2008
NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) intend to conduct joint research on sonic boom modeling.
Posted in JAXA, NASA
May 8th, 2008
As part of NASA’s 50th anniversary celebration, the Digital Learning Network will host a series of live webcasts with students across the country May 13-21. The series will highlight the contributions of each NASA center to a specific topic in NASA history. The webcasts also will focus NASA’s present and future efforts in space exploration.
Posted in NASA
May 8th, 2008
Four federal contractors working to decommission a nuclear reactor near Sandusky in northern Ohio have been charged with fraudulently billing the government.
Posted in NASA
May 8th, 2008
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center has awarded a contract to Hensel Phelps of Orlando, Fla., for the construction of the Ares I mobile launcher for the Constellation Program. Ares I is the rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The contract includes an option for an additional Ares I mobile launcher. It is a firm fixed-price contract with a value of $263,735,000, if all options are exercised.
Posted in Manned Spaceflight
May 8th, 2008
Flight has obtained details of proposed changes to Rocket and Space Corporation Energia’s Soyuz spacecraft to address the likely cause of Soyuz TMA-11’s 19 April ballistic re-entry, the improper separation of its descent and equipment modules.
Posted in ISS, RSA, NASA
May 8th, 2008
NASA’s shuttle Discovery is on track to ferry seven astronauts and a large Japanese laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS) later this month.
Shuttle commander Mark Kelly told reporters Thursday that Discovery’s preparations are going extremely smoothly for its planned May 31 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Posted in Space Shuttle
May 8th, 2008
A student at the University of Mississippi will leap into the final frontier of the legal system Saturday when he receives the first-ever space law certificate in the United States.
Posted in News
May 8th, 2008
NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman squeezed in some laughs amid his busy day aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday during an orbital call from comedian Stephen Colbert.
Posted in Space Shuttle, Manned Spaceflight
May 8th, 2008
One day each year, astronomy clubs, planetariums, and other groups of sky lovers band together to expose the general public to the wonders and excitement of astronomy. Officially, Astronomy Day is celebrated “to promote the forerunner of all scientific endeavors and to provide information, resources, and encouragement in all facets of astronomy.” But showing that astronomy is fun is really what it’s all about.
Posted in News
May 8th, 2008
A miniature detector could pick out magnetic rocks on Mars that might harbour telltale signs of ancient life.
The instrument could select rocks that contain a magnetic compound – magnetite – that is also produced by bacteria on Earth. The rocks could then be brought back to Earth for closer examination.
Posted in Mars Explorers
May 8th, 2008
Scientists have long wondered about how a planet as small as Mercury could have kept its iron core fluid enough to account for the planet’s magnetic field. Physics would seem to dictate that the core cooled and solidified long ago.
Posted in Mercury
May 8th, 2008
The UK’s longstanding opposition to human spaceflight will be no bar to its citizens becoming astronauts, the European Space Agency (Esa) says.
Officials made it clear at the start of a recruitment drive in London that Britons were very welcome to apply.
Posted in Manned Spaceflight
May 8th, 2008
The European Space Agency has launched a lively campaign to recruit talented new astronauts for future missions to the International Space Station, the Moon and possibly beyond.
Posted in Manned Spaceflight
May 8th, 2008
NASA, Intel Corp., and SGI today announced the signing of an agreement establishing intentions to collaborate on significantly increasing the space agency’s supercomputer performance and capacity.
Posted in NASA
May 8th, 2008
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have awarded the 2008 Karl G. Jansky Lectureship to Dr. Arthur M. Wolfe of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The Jansky Lectureship is an honor established by the trustees of AUI to recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement of radio astronomy.
Posted in Observational Astronomy
May 8th, 2008
See that satellite up there? No, I guess you can’t. But Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation GeoEye (Nasdaq: GEOY) owns it. Meanwhile, back at Ground Control, the company is all set to announce its third-ever earnings report tomorrow. Will the results clear the horizon?
Posted in Unmanned Exploration
May 8th, 2008
IN a move aimed at bolstering the Island’s space and technology industries, the government has established a programme to sponsor executives from Manx companies to attend courses at the International Space University (ISU).
Posted in Manned Spaceflight
May 8th, 2008
Since opening in 1990 outside the gate to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame has honored America’s early space pioneers through the exhibition of their personal memorabilia. The displays told the story of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo veterans, all of whom were enshrined in the Hall.
Posted in Space Shuttle