Site Status

Do to many other things going on, I have been (obviously) unable to keep this space news site current. For now, I will keep it active as an archive. If I find the time, I'll start posting more stories again.

  

ISS Expedition 11 Crew Named

NASA Astronaut John Phillips (Flight Engineer and NASA International Space Station Science Officer) and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev (Station Commander) comprise the International Space Station (ISS) crew for the upcoming Expedition 11, to launch April 2005. The backup crewmembers are astronaut Daniel Tani and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.

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Next ISS Crew On Their Way To Station

The crew of Expedition 10 is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) after yesterday's Soyuz launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov are joined by Russian Space Forces Test Cosmonaut Yuri Shargin who will return to Earth with the crew of Expedition 9 on October 23.

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Former Mercury Astronaut Gordon Cooper Dies

Astronaut Gordon Cooper, jr., one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, died Monday, October 4 at the age of 77.

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Genesis Samples Arrive At JSC

The packages containing the Genesis probe samples arrived at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) late Monday, October 4. Samples will soon be unpackaged and stored in a protective clean room and disseminated to scientists for study.

  

SpaceShipOne Successfully Enters Space For The Second Time In A Week

Although the results are not yet official, it appears that the Scaled Composites team has won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize by successfully completing their second flight into space in less than 7 days. Brian Binnie piloted SpaceShip One to over 360,000 feet.

  

Scientists Prepare To Ship Genesis Samples To NASA's Johnson Space Center

Scientists have recovered samples from the Genesis spacecraft that smashed into the Utah desert earlier this month. They'll soon ship them from the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Dugway, Utah, to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

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Canada Celebrates 20 Years Of Human Spaceflight

Twenty years ago, on October 5, 1984, Marc Garneau became the first Canadian astronaut to travel into space. On October 6, 2004, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will unveil a "specially designed, high-tech, interactive kiosk" to commemorate 20 years of achievement in space.

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NASA Selects ILS To Launch Solar Dynamics Observatory

Lockheed Martin anounced today that NASA has selected Lockheed's Atlas V 401 configuration as the launcher that will lift the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) into space in April 2008. International Launch Services (ILS) will provide the launch service under a contract with NASA.

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Time To Celebrate! Venus Express Complete

To celebrate the completion of the Venus Express spacecraft, Alenia Spazio, Astrium SAS and the European Space Agency (ESA) will host a Venus Express Day in Turin, Italy on 4 October. Venus Express will be the first European probe to visit Venus.

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NASA Seeks Solar System Ambassadors

NASA is seeking volunteers for the Solar System Ambassadors program for 2005. According to Kay Ferrari, national coordinator for the Solar System Ambassadors program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), "Ideal candidates are ambitious and able to actively personalize the space program for their communities,". This outreach program is an important tool for increasing awareness and excitement in math and science among our young people.

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Software From JPL Will Be Adapted For Virtual Medicine

Software used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to share information about our solar system (the Planetary Data System) will be adapted for use as a "virtual pediatric intensive care unit." The software, called Object Oriented Data Technology Software, will allow doctors around the world to share medical expertise.

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ESO Photographs Near-Earth Asteroid, Measures Distance

The La Silla and Paranal observatories, both part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), photographed the near-earth asteroid Toutatis simultaneously allowing scientists to measure the distance from Earth using parallax effect, validating orbital predictions.

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Mars Express Communications Resume After Solar Conjunction

Mission controllers resumed high-speed data communications with the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Mars Express orbiter Sunday. Communications with the craft had been limited for nearly a month due to signal interference cause by solar conjunction.

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SpaceShip One Unofficially Completes First Attempt At The X-Prize

Civilian Astronaut Mike Melvill successfully flew into the fringes of space to complete the first flight of Scaled Composite's attempt at the Ansari X-Prize. The flight attempt has not yet been deemed an official success towards the X-Prize.

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New $50 Million Space Prize Announced

Nevada millionaire Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, announced the America's Space Prize, "a $50 million race to build an orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to seven astronauts to an orbital outpost by the end of the decade."

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