NASA

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Astronauts Look at Endeavour's Tummy Trouble

NASA examines gouge as flying foam invokes memories of Columbia

(Newser) - Endeavor’s crew gave NASA a better look at a wound on the space shuttle’s belly today, CNN reports. Astronauts used a robotic arm to photograph the three-inch gouge on the shuttle’s heat shield, a ding caused by a flying piece of foam during liftoff. NASA hopes the...

NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage
NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage
Aug 11, 2007 4:01 PM CDT

NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage

Engineers say ice chunk hit shuttle's underbelly, could endanger re-entry

(Newser) - Endeavour's astronauts finished their first spacewalk today by installing a 2-ton beam on the back of the international space station, the AP reports. Meanwhile NASA engineers inspected troubling images of a gash in shuttle Endeavour’s heat shield caused, they believe, by an ice chunk that flew off the fuel...

Comet Dust Will Light Sky
Comet Dust Will Light Sky
Aug 11, 2007 1:46 PM CDT

Comet Dust Will Light Sky

(Newser) - Comet debris will light up the sky tomorrow night and Monday morning with shooting stars as Earth passes through the Perseid meteor shower. For the best view, pick a dark spot away from city lights and look east, says the Discovery Channel. "It's going to be a great show,...

Shuttle to Dock With Station
Shuttle to Dock With Station
Aug 10, 2007 8:18 AM CDT

Shuttle to Dock With Station

First, the station's camera will inspect Endeavour for damage

(Newser) - The crew of the Endeavour spent most of yesterday checking their vessel for damage from insulation that broke off the fuel tank during the launch; today they will dock the shuttle with the International Space Station. First, the shuttle will flip around in front of the ISS so that the...

First Teacher Rockets to Space
First Teacher Rockets to Space
Aug 9, 2007 4:42 AM CDT

First Teacher Rockets to Space

Endeavour launches without a hitch 21 years after McAuliffe tragedy

(Newser) - Former schoolteacher Barbara Morgan safely reached space last night when the shuttle Endeavour rocketed through a problem-free launch. Ten minutes after its evening blastoff, the shuttle was orbiting 140 miles above the Earth in preparation for docking with the International Space Station tomorrow. Morgan is the first astronaut teacher since...

All Systems Go for Teacher
All Systems Go for Teacher
Aug 8, 2007 1:48 PM CDT

All Systems Go for Teacher

Long wait for Morgan, Endeavour set to end with evening launch

(Newser) - Countdown is continuing in Florida toward blastoff for the space shuttle Endeavour, the Orlando Sentinel reports, with an 80% chance of favorable conditions at tonight's scheduled launch time of 6:36pm Eastern. Teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, a backup to the educator killed in the 1986 Challenger disaster, has brought national attention...

US Teacher Headed for Space
US Teacher Headed
for Space
Aug 6, 2007 8:02 AM CDT

US Teacher Headed for Space

NASA readies educator 21 years after Challenger disaster

(Newser) - NASA is sending another schoolteacher into space, 21 years after the Challenger disaster killed educator Christa McAuliffe. Barbara Morgan, a former Idaho schoolteacher and now a fully trained astronaut, will spend most of the trip transferring cargo to the International Space Station and about six hours on educational pursuits. When...

Robot Geologist Heads to Mars
Robot Geologist Heads to Mars
Aug 4, 2007 7:05 AM CDT

Robot Geologist Heads to Mars

NASA launches lander with years-long mission to red planet

(Newser) - An unmanned rocket carrying a robotic excavation machine is on its way to Mars following a successful launch from Cape Canaveral this morning. The AP reports that the Phoenix Mars Lander should arrive on Mars in May, 2008, when it will collect and analyze soil and ice in search of...

NASA Admits Sabotage, Drunk Astronauts

Agency says hard stuff not right stuff, vows to launch action

(Newser) - NASA promised immediate action today on embarrassing reports of an intentionally damaged computer and inebriated astronauts. An administrator said an internal safety review, staff briefing on new policy, and official 12-hour pre-flight ban on alcohol would follow an independent panel’s finding of “heavy” alcohol use by astronauts before...

Astronauts Drunk on the Job: Panel
Astronauts Drunk on the Job: Panel
Jul 26, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

Astronauts Drunk on the Job: Panel

Space travelers' IDs, fates still up in the air

(Newser) - NASA astronauts were permitted to fly while intoxicated on at least two occasions, an independent review has found. A aerospace trade journal published the findings on its website, revealing that astronauts engaged in "heavy use of alcohol" within the prohibited 12-hour "bottle to throttle" time before launch.

Citizens Book Tickets to Moon
Citizens Book Tickets to Moon
Jul 26, 2007 3:03 PM CDT

Citizens Book Tickets to Moon

Would-be astronauts fund growth industry

(Newser) - A citizen spaceflight company has two passengers willing to pay $100 million each for a flight around the moon. Tickets aboard Virgin’s future suborbital flights are flying out the door. The civilian aeronautics industry finds itself better funded every day, as would-be astronauts and  backers alike are rushing to...

MIT Slims Down the Space Suit
MIT Slims Down the Space Suit
Jul 24, 2007 1:05 PM CDT

MIT Slims Down the Space Suit

BioSuit is astronauts' sexy new get-up

(Newser) - When NASA astronauts are suited up for space heroics they're more Marshmallow Man than Spider-Man, but that could change with a sleek new space suit designed by MIT aeronautics professor Dava Newman. The revolutionary BioSuit is lightweight and form-fitting, allowing physical feats not possible in the current bulky gear.

Astronaut Takes Out the Trash, Into Space

Discarded equipment expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere

(Newser) - A NASA astronaut hurled two large pieces of space junk—a 1,400-pound reservoir filled with ammonia and a 212-pound piece of video equipment—off the International Space Station and into the Earth's orbit today. NASA does not approve of space littering, Reuters reports, but the agency had no other...

Martian Dust Imperils Rover Mission
Martian Dust Imperils
Rover Mission
Jul 22, 2007 9:20 AM CDT

Martian Dust Imperils Rover Mission

After 3 weeks with no solar power, fears of permanent damage

(Newser) - The violent dust storm that has immobilized NASA's Mars rovers for three weeks shows no signs of letting up, and is now threatening the future of the mission. "This is by far the worst storm the rovers have ever seen,"  the rovers project manager told reporters. ...

Meet Frank, Saturn's 60th Moon
Meet Frank, Saturn's 60th Moon
Jul 20, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

Meet Frank, Saturn's 60th Moon

Planet's latest addition sparks search for more

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered Saturn’s 60th moon, and are hinting that more could exist. In May, cameras aboard the Cassini spacecraft captured the “extremely faint object,” which scientists have officially designated a moon and tentatively named Frank. Composed mostly of ice and rock, Frank is about a mile...

Planet with Water Discovered
Planet with Water Discovered
Jul 11, 2007 3:57 PM CDT

Planet with Water Discovered

HD 189733b holds superheated water vapor but is too hot for aliens

(Newser) - Astronomers located the first planet beyond our solar system that hosts water—a giant gas ball bigger than Jupiter and named HD 189733b. Its sizzling climate, which can reach upwards of 3,600 degrees, renders it uninhabitable to any extraterrestrials, but the discovery shows that water is more common in...

Atlantis Hitches Ride to Florida
Atlantis Hitches Ride to Florida
Jul 1, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

Atlantis Hitches Ride to Florida

Shuttle leaves California for home, mounted on a 747

(Newser) - The space shuttle Atlantis set off to return to Florida from its emergency landing site in California today—strapped to a jumbo jet. The Boeing 747 carrying Atlantis departed from the Mojave Desert Air Base and will stop to refuel along its trip at undisclosed locations. It's expected to arrive...

Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.
Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.
Jun 22, 2007 7:28 PM CDT

Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.

Space shuttle, 7 astronauts return after Fla. weather forces change of plans

(Newser) - The Atlantis space shuttle landed in California this afternoon, touching down at Edwards Air Force Base after weather forced a 1-day delay and a detour from Florida. The craft's signature twin sonic booms reverberated from San Diego to Los Angeles before the shuttle glided to a stop in the Mojave...

Space Station Computers Fail, Air Supply Threatened

Crew not in immediate danger; shuttle may have to head home early

(Newser) - The Russian computers that control the international space station's air supply, water and orientation are down, the AP reports. The unprecedented failure could lengthen the current shuttle mission, or, at worst, force the crew to come home early, but there is no immediate danger. "We have plenty of resources,...

Shuttle Docks at Space Station
Shuttle Docks at Space Station
Jun 11, 2007 5:31 AM CDT

Shuttle Docks at Space Station

(Newser) - The Atlantis docked with the international space station today, bringing with it a segment to be added to the station and the newest member of its crew. The arrival was marred by concern about a piece of thermal blanket on the shuttle that peeled back during launch;  ground control...

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