Spaceflight Now

Sunday: August 17, 2003		0415 GMT

Hot spots on Mars give hunt for life new target Giant hollow towers of ice formed by steaming volcanic vents on Ross Island, Antarctica are providing clues about where to hunt for life on Mars. FULL STORY

Saturday: August 16, 2003		0140 GMT

Biggest explosions may propel fastest cosmic rays The most powerful explosions in the universe, gamma-ray bursts, may generate the most energetic particles in the universe, known as the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, according to a new analysis of observations from NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. FULL STORY

Horseshoe nebula flows with 'X-ray champagne' A new image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals hot gas flowing away from massive young stars in the center of the Horseshoe Nebula, a.k.a. M17 or the Omega Nebula. A group of massive young stars responsible for the activity in the nebula is located in the bright pink region near the center of the image. FULL STORY

Friday: August 15, 2003		0417 GMT

What to do with Hubble? Telescope's future debated A report was released Thursday from the independent panel charged with evaluating options for the Hubble Space Telescope's twilight years of life and how to transition scientific research to the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope during the next decade. FULL STORY READ THE PANEL'S REPORT END OF MISSION OPTIONS FOR HUBBLE ASTRONAUT'S PERSPECTIVE ON SERVICING HST

Titan 4 rocket launch rescheduled for August 20 Work to clean up the nitrogen tetroxide spill at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 has been completed, the Air Force said Thursday, but liftoff of the Titan 4 rocket has been pushed back one additional day. FULL STORY EARLIER STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

IN OTHER NEWS Additional stories making news today

Space Imaging to conduct wildland fire risk analysis -- Space Imaging's Wildland Fire Risk Assessment System approach has been selected by the Southern Group of State Foresters to support ongoing fire management planning and wildland fire risk analysis in each community, county, congressional district and fire response zone of the organization's states. Davis named safety and mission assurance director -- Dr. Jan Davis has been named director of the Safety and Mission Assurance organization at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Davis, a former astronaut who joined NASA in 1979, had been serving as director of the Flight Projects Directorate at the Marshall Center.

NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet

Kalpana inspires South African Indian's space institute -- (Hindustan Times) Kalpana Chawla, the India-born astronaut who died in a space shuttle tragedy, has inspired a South African Indian to launch an academy for youths interested in aeronautics. SpaceDev reports financial results for second quarter of 2003 -- (SpaceDev) SpaceDev, Inc., a leading provider of microsatellites and hybrid propulsion technology, reported financial results for the second quarter of 2003.

Thursday: August 14, 2003		0539 GMT

Titan 4 rocket launch delayed at least one day Workers at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad are replacing a faulty pump in ground support equipment that caused Tuesday's nitrogen tetroxide leak during fueling of Lockheed Martin's Titan 4B rocket. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Infamous satellite returns to pad for third launch try A hard-luck military weather satellite has taken its place on the launch pad for the third time in nearly three years. This time, officials and workers alike hope the mission will finally blast skyward next month. FULL STORY

Amateur locates powerful stellar explosion before pros Armed with a 12-inch telescope, a computer, and a NASA email alert, Berto Monard of South Africa has become the first amateur astronomer to discover an afterglow of a gamma-ray burst, the most powerful explosion known in the Universe. FULL STORY

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1th Circuit Court grants stay to EchoStar -- (EchoStar) In a major victory for satellite TV subscribers, EchoStar Communications Corporation reported Wednesday that the U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta granted EchoStar's motion to stay a District Court's injunction, pending appeal. EchoStar reports second quarter 2003 financial results -- (EchoStar) EchoStar Communications Corporation reported that its DISH Network satellite television service added approximately 270,000 net new subscribers during the second quarter of 2003. DISH Network had approximately 8.8 million subscribers as of June 30, 2003. Globalstar reports results for second quarter of 2003 -- (Globalstar) Globalstar, the world's most widely-used handheld satellite telephone service, Wednesday announced its results for the quarter ended June 30, 2003. Growth in both usage and subscriber levels received a substantial boost during the quarter with the initiation of service in Iraq, and the company further expanded its sales potential with the introduction of new products and pricing plans for the aviation market.

Wednesday: August 13, 2003		0631 GMT

Canada's ozone research project launched into space A Canadian endeavor to study the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere and the fragile ozone layer was successfully propelled into space Tuesday night by an air-launched rocket. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

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Titan 4 suffers fuel leak While fueling the Lockheed Martin Titan 4B rocket at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad Tuesday, about 50 gallons of toxic nitrogen tetroxide propellant was leaked. Air Force officials say the status of the upcoming launch is unknown. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Asteroid has a 'bite' out of it If someone sneaks a bite of your chocolate chip cookie, they leave behind evidence of their pilferage in the form of a crescent of missing cookie. The same is true in our solar system, where an impact can take a bite out of a planet or moon, leaving behind evidence in the form of a crater. By combining modern technology with a historical telescope, astronomers have discovered that the asteroid Juno has a bite out of it. FULL STORY

Russian military launches satellite on Soyuz rocket A Russian Soyuz booster successfully lofted a classified military satellite into orbit Tuesday, marking the 35th orbital launch of 2003. The payload for the launch was a secret satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defence. FULL STORY

NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet

Boeing's sanctions may hurt progress of X-37 at Marshall -- (The Huntsville Times) A Huntsville-led NASA program to test new space-plane technology could be affected by Boeing Co.'s inability to compete in government launch contracts, Marshall Space Flight Center's X-37 program manager said. Board orders consideration of Mauna Kea telescope plan -- (Honolulu Advertiser) A contested case hearing on a plan to add up to six new telescopes to the W.M. Keck Observatory will be reopened, under a new order by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. Up to 200 Russian specialists to build Kourou launching pad -- (Itar-Tass) Up to 200 Russian specialists will help build a new launching pad for Soyuz carriers on the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana, a high-ranking official said. Rosaviakosmos plans no changes to cosmonauts' code of conduct -- (Itar-Tass) The "space wedding" of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and his U.S. fiancee Yekaterina Dmitriev will not bring about any changes in the code of conduct aboard the International Space Station, Russian air and space agency Rosaviakosmos spokesman Sergei Gorbunov told Tass.

Tuesday: August 12, 2003		0401 GMT

Galaxy torn apart in dark matter halo For the first time, astronomers have found direct evidence of a phenomenon long thought to play an important role in the formation of giant galaxies: the ongoing disruption of a small galaxy as it orbits within the dark matter halo of a much larger galaxy. FULL STORY

Pegasus rocket to loft ozone research satellite A Canadian science satellite designed to monitor Earth's ozone layer will soar into Earth orbit Tuesday night aboard an air-launched Pegasus XL rocket dropped from a carrier jet off the coast of California. MISSION STATUS CENTER

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Antarctic lake water will fizz like a soda Water released from Lake Vostok, deep beneath the south polar ice sheet, could gush like a popped can of soda if not contained, opening the lake to possible contamination and posing a potential health hazard to NASA and university researchers. FULL STORY

Monday: August 11, 2003		0037 GMT

Ulysses spacecraft sees galactic dust on the rise Since early 1992, Ulysses has been monitoring the stream of stardust flowing through our Solar System. The stardust is embedded in the local galactic cloud through which the Sun is moving at a speed of 26 kilometres every second. As a result of this relative motion, a single dust grain takes twenty years to traverse the Solar System. FULL STORY

News Archive
Aug. 4-10: Shuttle return-to-flight task group outlines plans; Asteroids dedicated to fallen Columbia astronauts; 'Phoenix' lander headed for Martian North Pole; Sea Launch rocket lofts communications satellite; Gravity variations predict earthquake behavior.

July 28-Aug. 3: New maps of Mars water; Columbia board: NASA needs better imaging; Ion engine records nearly five years of firing time; Wind and reflections from supermassive black hole; Troubles strike Landsat 7.

July 21-27: Pentagon strips 7 launches from Boeing Delta 4 rocket; Columbia management team hardly discussed foam strike; Two options emerge for NASA's Orbital Space Plane; Space entrepreneurs seek regulatory relief; Giant gas cloud made of atoms formed in first stars.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

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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Gemini 12

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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 12 tribute DVD set

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U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

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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U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

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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U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

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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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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