NASA

Read the latest NASA news today on Newser.com

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Discovery Headed for Earth
Discovery Headed for Earth
Nov 5, 2007 2:12 PM CST

Discovery Headed for Earth

After tearful goodbye and record mission, space shuttle sets sights on home

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery pushed off from the International Space Station today and, after flying around the station to admire its crew's handiwork, set course for Earth. The crew will perform a routine inspection of the Discovery’s underbelly tomorrow—a measure enacted after 2003’s Columbia disaster—and should...

Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs
Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs
Nov 3, 2007 8:33 AM CDT

Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs

Astronauts get to work on risky spacewalk

(Newser) - A pair of Discovery astronauts embarked this morning on repairs to a ripped solar panel on the International Space Station in one of the most dangerous and challenging spacewalks ever undertaken, the AP reports. Astronaut Scott Parazynski took a 45-minute trip on a modified robotic arm to the station's far...

Judge Tosses Evidence in Nowak Case

Ex-astronaut's statement, contents of her car inadmissible

(Newser) - The case against Lisa Nowak, the former astronaut accused of stalking and pepper spraying a rival in a fit of jealousy, took a hit yesterday when a Florida judge threw out evidence recovered from her car and recorded statements she made to the police. The judge ruled that Nowak, facing...

NASA Buys Time for Dangerous Spacewalk

Engineers work around the clock to make mission safer

(Newser) - NASA has pushed back until tomorrow a spacewalk to repair a key solar panel, allowing engineers as much prep time as possible for the risky mission. An astronaut will perch alone on the station’s 80-foot robotic arm to work on the electrified panel. "It's a real test of...

NASA Reconsiders, Will Release Scary Air Survey

Director regrets appearance of putting airline profits before safety

(Newser) - NASA's director reversed course today in testimony before Congress, saying the agency will release data showing that near air accidents are more common than previously realized. NASA feared releasing the information would upset travelers and hurt airline profits. "I regret any impression that NASA was in any way trying...

Repairs Throw Wrench Into Spacewalk Plan

Ripped solar wing affects space station, shuttle schedules

(Newser) - A ripped solar wing on the international space station has fouled NASA's spacewalk plans for the crew of its shuttle Discovery—and could send ripples through schedules for future shuttle missions and hinder station construction. Today's scheduled spacewalk has been canceled; one scheduled for Thursday to inspect a broken rotary...

Black Hole Smashes Record
Black Hole Smashes Record
Oct 31, 2007 6:38 AM CDT

Black Hole Smashes Record

Astronomers puzzled by all-time heaviest 'small' black hole

(Newser) - A newly discovered stellar-mass black hole shatters the weight record for holes formed from dying stars—and defies explanation by current theories. Faced with its mysterious heft,  astrophysicists can only conclude that stellar-mass black holes "can be much larger than we had realized," Space.com reports.

Space Station's Solar Panel Rips
Space Station's Solar Panel Rips
Oct 30, 2007 4:31 PM CDT

Space Station's Solar Panel Rips

Spacewalking astronauts discover large tear

(Newser) - A critical solar panel on the International Space Station tore today as Mission Control was unfurling it remotely. The station's power supply was already wobbly because of damage to another panel discovered Sunday, the Houston Chronicle reports, and the rip worsens the problem. Astronauts beamed photos of the panel to...

Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel
Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel
Oct 29, 2007 2:10 PM CDT

Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel

Damage on solar wings raises stakes on installation tomorrow

(Newser) - Astronauts continued work on the space station today, using a robot arm to move a huge 17.5-ton solar panel into position for installation during a spacewalk tomorrow—to some musical accompaniment. "It's a heck of a lot more fun flying the arm with some Huey Lewis in the...

Astronauts Find Station Damage
Astronauts Find Station Damage
Oct 28, 2007 3:17 PM CDT

Astronauts Find Station Damage

Metal shavings plague solar panel rotators

(Newser) - The International Space Station’s power system is damaged, astronauts discovered today on the second of five scheduled spacewalks. Investigating the vibrations and electrical spikes that have wracked the solar tower, they found metal shavings clinging to the rotating joint. "There’s metal-to-metal scraping, and it’s widespread,"...

Astronauts Link Harmony to ISS
Astronauts Link Harmony to ISS
Oct 26, 2007 2:35 PM CDT

Astronauts Link Harmony to ISS

'Great day in outer space' sums up lead spacewalker

(Newser) - Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery today successfully attached the 16-ton Harmony addition to the International Space Station, expanding the station's living and working space by more than 2,500 cubic feet. The 6-hour project, moving the Harmony and retrieving a broken antenna from the station, was the first of...

Asian Space Race Stirs Friction, Pride

Moon shots spark suspicion about military plans in space

(Newser) - With China, India and Japan all launching civilian moon missions, the Christian Science Monitor examines the  Asian space race, driven by what one expert calls "techno-nationalism."  They "generate pride domestically and they demonstrate prowess internationally," but they're also inflaming security concerns and suspicions, as all...

Discovery Docks at Space Station
Discovery Docks at Space Station
Oct 25, 2007 1:29 PM CDT

Discovery Docks at Space Station

Shuttle crew readies outpost for European, Japanese arrivals

(Newser) - The shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station this morning, after a two-day journey from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Station commander Peggy Whitson rang a ship's bell to welcome the shuttle crew, which will over the next 10 days prepare the station for European and Japanese researchers, Reuters reports.

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe
China Launches 1st Lunar Probe
Oct 24, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Plans to land astronaut on lunar surface by 2020

(Newser) - China launched its first lunar mission today, beginning its gambit to be the third country to put a man in space. The Chang'e-I probe fired into space unmanned, but the lunar orbiter should earn China’s space program respect—and lucrative contracts, Bloomberg reports. China next plans to land a...

Discovery Blasts Off Safely
Discovery Blasts Off Safely
Oct 23, 2007 1:51 PM CDT

Discovery Blasts Off Safely

(Newser) - Despite dubious weather, ice buildup, and wing cracks, Discovery successfully launched from Cape Canaveral this morning. The spacecraft carries a crew of seven—including Pamela Melroy, only the second female shuttle commander—to a daunting construction job on the International Space Station, the AP reports. The "to do" list...

NASA Quashes Air-Safety Statistics
NASA Quashes Air-Safety Statistics
Oct 22, 2007 5:22 PM CDT

NASA Quashes Air-Safety Statistics

Feds sit on survey of pilots that reveals danger in the skies

(Newser) - Safety problems and close calls such as near-collisions and bird strikes are much more common on US flights than previously realized, says a NASA survey leaked to the AP by an anonymous tipster. The agency says it is not releasing the results of the comprehensive air safety survey because it...

Launch Tomorrow a Go: NASA
Launch Tomorrow a Go: NASA
Oct 22, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

Launch Tomorrow a Go: NASA

Safety board concerns are an 'acceptable risk'

(Newser) - With one eye on potentially disastrous weather, NASA is preparing to launch its most ambitious space mission ever tomorrow, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The launch is a go despite an independent safety board's recommendation to delay because of hairline cracks in Discovery's wing panels. NASA says the cracks lie within...

Teams Fail to Build Elevator to Heaven

Contestants still struggling to realize Willy Wonka fantasy

(Newser) - The race was on and the wind was up, which was something of a problem because contestants in the second annual Space Elevator Games in Utah yesterday were vying to send a vehicle 400 feet up a vertical cable attached to a crane. The prize of $500,000 in NASA...

Orbiting Telescope Will Retire
Orbiting Telescope Will Retire
Oct 17, 2007 7:18 PM CDT

Orbiting Telescope Will Retire

(Newser) - An orbiting telescope whose findings were the basis of over 1,200 research papers will be shut down tomorrow, after an unexpectedly productive eight-year run, The Discovery Channel reports. The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) detected a bubble of gas surrounding the Milky Way, located remains of exploded stars, and...

Scientists Prototype Moon House
Scientists Prototype Moon House
Oct 11, 2007 11:43 AM CDT

Scientists Prototype Moon House

Self-sufficient space hab designed for future Moon base

(Newser) - While scientists in the '60s raced to put a man on the moon, modern scientists want to put a dozen there for three years in 90%-95% self-sufficiency. An Australian team is prototyping Luna Gaia, a space habitat that would use biological systems to recycle materials and grow food, although bored...

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