Spaceflight Now

Sunday: May 11, 2003		0412 GMT

Stephan's Quintet: Intruder shocks tightly-knit group The hurly-burly interactions in the compact group of galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet are shown where a Chandra X-ray Observatory image is superimposed on a Digitized Sky Survey optical image. Shock-heated gas, visible only with an X-ray telescope, appears as a bright blue cloud oriented vertically in the middle of the image and has a temperature of about 6 million degrees Celsius. FULL STORY

Meteorites rained on Earth after massive breakup Using fossil meteorites and ancient limestone unearthed throughout southern Sweden, marine geologists at Rice University have discovered that a colossal collision in the asteroid belt some 500 million years ago led to intense meteorite strikes over the Earth's surface. FULL STORY

Saturday: May 10, 2003		0633 GMT

Parsons named shuttle program manager NASA has named William Parsons, director of the agency's Stennis Space Center, as the new manager of the space shuttle program, replacing Ronald Dittemore who announced his retirement late last month. Parsons, who began his NASA career at the Kennedy Space Center in 1990, will take over from Dittemore sometime this summer, after an on-the-job training transition period. FULL STORY

Iridescent glory of nearby nebula showcased In one of the largest and most detailed celestial images ever made, the coil-shaped Helix Nebula is being unveiled in celebration of Astronomy Day. The composite picture is a seamless blend of ultra-sharp Hubble Space Telescope images combined with the wide view from the Kitt Peak National Observatory. FULL STORY

Friday: May 9, 2003		1245 GMT

Japan launches asteroid sample return mission A compact Japanese space probe embarked on an ambitious mission today bound for a series of close encounters with an almost equally small asteroid to gather samples for return to Earth. FULL STORY

Atlas 5 to launch Greek craft during second flight Looking to make it two successes in a row, Lockheed Martin's next-generation Atlas 5 rocket will take its second flight Monday, blasting off from Florida's east coast carrying a commercial telecommunications satellite. FULL STORY LAUNCH WEATHER FORECAST ATLAS 5 VIDEO COLLECTION

Initial foam tests cause only minor damage to tiles Researchers have begun initial test runs firing external fuel tank foam insulation at a shuttle landing gear door in a bid to calibrate damage prediction software and to assess how much damage high-speed impacts might actually do to a shuttle's heat-shield tiles. Engineers ultimately plan to fire foam debris at a mockup of the shuttle's wing leading edge system, the location of the breach that doomed Columbia. FULL STORY

NASA to name next shuttle program manager NASA plans to name a new space shuttle program manager Friday to replace Ronald Dittemore, the widely-respected man in charge during the Columbia disaster who announced his retirement late last month, sources say. FULL STORY

Thursday: May 8, 2003		1230 GMT

India launches second GSLV rocket India's largest rocket soared skyward Thursday on its second test flight, carrying with it an experimental satellite and plans for indigenous access to space for a wide range of payloads. FULL STORY

Deepest view of space yields young stars in halo Relying on the deepest visible-light images ever taken in space, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have reliably measured the age of the spherical halo of stars surrounding the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. FULL STORY

Advanced radioisotope-power R&D teams selected NASA selected several radioisotope-based power-conversion technologies for research and development. The awards are the first competitive technology procurement funded wholly by NASA's Project Prometheus. FULL STORY

Video flashback: Endeavour's maiden voyage Eleven years ago Wednesday, space shuttle Endeavour set sail on its inaugural voyage. The STS-49 shuttle mission was a daring one -- the capture and relaunch of the wayward Intelsat 603 communications spacecraft. COMPLETE VIDEO LISTING

Wednesday: May 7, 2003		0451 GMT

CAIB accepts, agrees with NASA failure scenario For the first time, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board has endorsed a detailed failure scenario developed by NASA and contractor engineers that traces the shuttle's destruction to a breach in the ship's left wing at or near leading edge panels 8 and 9. FULL STORY
See more coverage here:
Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: TESTIMONY ON LAUNCH FILM AND VIDEO ANALYSIS QT VIDEO: LATEST REVISION OF ACCIDENT TIMELINE PRESENTED QT VIDEO: HEARING PANEL DISCUSSES 'FLIGHT DAY 2' OBJECT QT VIDEO: PRESENTATIONS ON DEBRIS SEARCH AND RECOVERY QT VIDEO: THIS WEEK'S COLUMBIA BOARD NEWS CONFERENCE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
GALEX cover opened The protective cover on the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's telescope was successfully opened at 4:32 a.m. EDT (0832 GMT) Tuesday morning as ground controllers guide the craft through its early life in space. MISSION STATUS CENTER FULL GALEX VIDEO COVERAGE

'Cosmic dandruff' mystery solved, scientists say Using the Parkes radio telescope in eastern Australia, Dr. Mary Putman of the University of Colorado and her colleagues appear to have settled a decades-old controversy about the nature of gas clouds that surround the Milky Way Galaxy. FULL STORY

Tuesday: May 6, 2003		0451 GMT

Europe's mission to the Red Planet nearing launch The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission to the Red Planet has passed its flight readiness review in preparation for launch June 2 atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central Asia. FULL STORY

SIRTF observatory launch rescheduled for August 27 With its launch stalled four months, NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility has been removed from atop its rocket at Cape Canaveral's pad 17B and returned to a processing clean room for the unplanned wait to fly. FULL STORY

McCulley to replace Turner as USA president and CEO USA Chief Operating Officer Mike McCulley has been named to succeed Russ Turner as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Space Alliance, effective May 15. Boeing Vice President and Deputy General Manager of NASA Systems, Brewster Shaw, has been selected to replace McCulley as USA COO, later this spring. FULL STORY

Monday: May 5, 2003		0001 GMT

Expedition 6 crew members meet with officials Space station commander Kenneth Bowersox, looking relaxed if tired after five-and-a-half months in space and a grueling re-entry, said Sunday he and his crewmates' "eyes got very wide" when computer displays showed their Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft was going to land well off course. FULL STORY

Video coverage for subscribers only: VIDEO: POST-LANDING INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER BOWERSOX QT VIDEO: ISS MANAGER SAYS LANDING PROBLEM TO BE EXAMINED QT VIDEO: NASA'S DIRECTOR OF FLIGHT CREW OPERATIONS QT COMPLETE VIDEO LISTING SUBSCRIBE NOW

News Archive
April 28-May 4: Columbia could not be saved, NASA study shows; Off-target Soyuz with outgoing station crew found after hours of searching; Satellite launched to trace the evolution of galaxies; BeppoSAX takes the plunge; Freewheeling galaxies collide in blaze of star birth; Hubble gyroscope fails.

April 21-27: Space station caretaker crew blasts off on Soyuz; NASA, CAIB investigators compare notes on disaster; Dittemore to leave after accident probe complete; Glowing hot transiting exoplanet discovered; Spectacular photos unveil mysterious nebulae; Titan reveals a surface dominated by icy bedrock.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

Apollo 12 tribute DVD set

New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail.

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Fallen Heroes special patch

This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.

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Women in Space

Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.

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Mars rover poster

This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

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Apollo 11 special patch

Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.

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Soviet Space

For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.

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Viking patch

This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.

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Apollo 7 DVD

For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.

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Gemini 12

Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.

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Columbia Report

A reproduction of the official accident investigation report into the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven.

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Mars Panorama

DISCOUNTED! This 360 degree image was taken by the Mars Pathfinder, which landed on the Red Planet in July 1997. The Sojourner Rover is visible in the image.

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Apollo 11 Mission Report

Apollo 11 - The NASA Mission Reports Vol. 3 is the first comprehensive study of man's first mission to another world is revealed in all of its startling complexity. Includes DVD!

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Rocket DVD

If you've ever watched a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg Air Force Base or even Kodiak Island Alaska, there's no better way to describe what you witnessed than with this DVD.

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Final Shuttle Mission Patch

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The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!

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STS-134 Patch

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The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!

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Ares 1-X Patch

The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.

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Apollo Collage

This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.

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Project Orion

The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.

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Fallen Heroes Patch Collection

The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.

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