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		Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers. Station supply ship Ride along with the Progress 14P resupply ship as it makes the final approach and docking to the International Space Station on May 27 as seen by a camera mounted on the craft's nose. (9min 02sec file) Play video Results from Spitzer Scientists present new discoveries from the Spitzer Space Telescope, including their findings of raw ingredients for life detected around young stars. (53min 03sec file) Play video Spacewalk previewed The Expedition 9 crew describes their upcoming spacewalk in Russian spacesuits, life aboard the space station and the view of Earth in this interview with Bill Harwood of CBS News. (20min 19sec file) Play video Progress undocking The Progress 13P cargo ship departs the International Space Station on May 24 carrying trash and unneeded items to burn up in the atmosphere. (2min 56sec file) Play video AP interviews the crew The Associated Press interviews the two-man Expedition 9 crew living aboard the International Space Station on May 24. (9min 36sec file) Play video More clips Atlas launches AMC-11 The Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carryin the AMC-11 communications satellite. (4min 30sec file) Play video More clips! Become a subscriber More video

Sunday: May 30, 2004		0010 GMT

Double stars emerge as heavyweight champions About 20,000 light-years from Earth, two massive stars grapple with each other like sumo wrestlers locked in combat. Both giants, each weighing in at around 80 times the mass of our Sun, are the heaviest stars ever. They orbit each other every 3.7 days, nearly touching as they spin on the celestial stage. FULL STORY

Saturday: May 29, 2004		0311 GMT

Moon tells of unexpected Earth climate changes Scientists who monitor Earth's reflectance by measuring the moon's "earthshine" have observed unexpectedly large climate fluctuations during the past two decades. FULL STORY

Making black holes go 'round on the computer Scientists at Penn State have reached a new milestone in the effort to model two orbiting black holes, an event expected to spawn strong gravitational waves. FULL STORY

Friday: May 28, 2004		0347 GMT

Raw ingredients for life found around young stars NASA has announced new findings from the Spitzer Space Telescope, including the discovery of significant amounts of icy organic materials sprinkled throughout several "planetary construction zones," or dusty planet-forming discs, which circle infant stars. FULL STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: WATCH THURSDAY'S SPITZER TELESCOPE NEWS BRIEFING QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Cassini spacecraft executes crucial rocket firing For the first time in nearly five years, the Cassini spacecraft's main engine system ignited Thursday evening for a critical course adjustment that will serve as a dress rehearsal of sorts for Saturn orbit insertion July 1. FULL STORY - updated!

Proposed nuclear-powered Jupiter mission defined NASA has issued its mission design requirements to three industry teams for a proposed mission to Jupiter. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter is a spacecraft with an ambitious proposed mission that would orbit three planet-sized moons of Jupiter -- Callisto, Ganymede and Europa -- that may harbor vast oceans beneath their icy surfaces. The mission would be powered by a nuclear reactor and launched sometime in the next decade. FULL STORY

Thursday: May 27, 2004		1410 GMT

Supply ship safely arrives at space station The International Space Station received its latest resupply ship Thursday as a Russian-made cargo carrier loaded with nearly three tons of fuel, food and equipment successfully docked to the outpost. FULL STORY LAUNCH STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: PROGRESS 14P DOCKS TO STATION THURSDAY QT VIDEO: CREW PREVIEWS UPCOMING SPACEWALK DURING INTERVIEW QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Opportunity rover begins new mode that adds risk NASA's solar-powered Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is beginning on Thursday what controllers expect to be frequent use of an overnight "deep sleep" mode to stretch the robot's power supply. But the new mode increases risk that, without an overnight heater running, one of the six scientific instruments might fail due the cold. FULL STORY ARCHIVED ROVER COVERAGE

Spacecraft near and far are watching Saturn As Saturn grows closer through the eyes of the Cassini spacecraft, which is hurtling toward a rendezvous with the ringed world on June 30, both Cassini and the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope snapped spectacular pictures of the planet and its magnificent rings. FULL STORY

Wednesday: May 26, 2004		0242 GMT

Cosmic powerhouses dwell in humble homes Quasars are the most brilliant of cosmic fireworks, shining out across billions of light-years of space. However, a recent study done at Gemini Observatory shows that they appear to blaze forth from humdrum galaxies in the early universe, and surprisingly, not from the giant or disrupted ones astronomers expected. FULL STORY

Cassini shows rings and shadows at Saturn Saturn's rings cast threadlike shadows on the planet's northern hemisphere in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. The picture was taken at a distance of 16.9 million miles from Saturn. FULL STORY

Close-up view of comet This image of Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) was taken at the Kitt Peak National Observatory earlier this month. The comet will remain visible for several weeks with binoculars and small telescopes just after sunset, high in the western sky. FULL STORY

Space station resupply ship successfully launched A Russian-built cargo freighter loaded with supplies, food, equipment and fuel for the orbiting International Space Station lifted off at 1234 GMT (8:34 a.m. EDT) Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central Asia. FULL STORY PRE-LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

Tuesday: May 25, 2004		0452 GMT

Suit problems alter station crew's spacewalk plans With cooling problems affecting the American spacewalking suits stashed aboard the International Space Station, mission managers on Monday significantly revised plans for next month's critical excursion to replace a failed electronics box in the outpost's orientation system. The station's two-man crew will wear Russian suits and exit through an airlock farther away from the worksite, making the repair job more time-consuming. FULL STORY

Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: OLD PROGRESS CARGO SHIP UNDOCKS MONDAY QT VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEWED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS QT VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PITTSBURGH NEWSPAPER QT SUBSCRIBE NOW
Space station resupply ship set to launch today A Russian-built cargo freighter loaded with supplies, food, equipment and fuel for the orbiting International Space Station is awaiting launch at 1234 GMT (8:34 a.m. EDT) today from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central Asia. FULL STORY PRE-LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

Casssini sees smaller moons of Saturn Two of Saturn's moons -- Prometheus and Pandora -- are seen here shepherding the planet's narrow F-ring in this latest image from the approaching Cassini spacecraft. FULL STORY

Mars lander Beagle 2 was too risky, inquiry concludes The British Beagle 2 spacecraft designed to search for life on the surface of Mars probably failed because of "programmatic and organizational reasons that led to a significantly higher risk" for the mission, investigators determined. The European Space Agency on Monday released the lessons learned and recommendations for future missions. FULL STORY

Monday: May 24, 2004		0001 GMT

Starburst eye of a galaxy produces a cosmic shower Combining images from orbiting and ground-based telescopes, an international team of astronomers has located the eye of a cosmic hurricane: the source of the one million mile-per-hour winds that shower intergalactic space from the galaxy M82. FULL STORY

NEWSWIRE Links to news across the internet

Change at NASA Langley inevitable, crucial -- (Hampton Roads Daily Press) NASA Langley Research Center is playing a royal game of catch-up. About 45 percent of Langley's research is aeronautics, true to its history of being the nation's first civilian aeronautics laboratory. But today, NASA devotes only 6 percent of its budget to aeronautics, with a new presidential push to put humans on the moon and Mars. GAO criticizes NASA's budget 'mismanagement' -- (Houston Chronicle) Congressional auditors continued their criticism of NASA to the U.S. House this past week, saying that confusing accounting is not going to change without a culture shift.

News Archive
May 17-23: Next-to-last Atlas 2AS rocket lofts TV satellite; Taurus XL rocket launches Taiwan's new orbiting eye; Mars rover inspects stone ejected from crater; First shuttle Columbia debris loaned for research; Asteroid with the smallest orbit discovered; Theory proposes new view of Sun and Earth's creation; Cassini peers closer at Titan.

May 10-16: The Eventual Eleven: Meet the astronaut class of '04; Dying star sculpts rungs of gas and dust; New launch added to this year's Atlas 5 schedule; Boeing manager charged in trade secrets case; 'Smoking gun' evidence of giant meteor collision; Theory clues may be visible in Big Bang aftermath.

May 3-9: Opportunity rover poised on rim of 'spectacular' crater; Study may cast doubt on '96 report of past Mars life; Two extremely hot exoplanets caught in transit; New satellite for DirecTV users launched from sea.

April 26-May 2: Soyuz capsule brings Expedition 8 crew back to Earth; All future shuttle missions geared to space station; Rocket options examined for moon-Mars initiative; Astronaut Hall of Fame inducts 2004 class; Hubble telescope shows demise in ice and fire; Mars Express radar deployment postponed.

April 19-25: Soyuz delivers Expedition 9 residents to space station; NASA mulls new problem with station gyroscopes; Spacecraft launched to test Albert Einstein's theories; Intermediate mass black hole mystery resolved; Researcher predicts Jupiter spots will disappear.

April 12-18: Hubble observes planetoid Sedna as mystery deepens; Invisible giants exposed in new Spitzer image; Japanese Superbird soars to space atop Atlas launcher; Cassini spots Saturn moons; Mars rover finds rock like meteorites on Earth; SOHO sees its 750th comet.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

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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Inside Apollo mission control

An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.

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The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD

This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.

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Next ISS crew

Own a little piece of history with this official patch for the International Space Station's Expedition 11 crew. We'll ship yours today!

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An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.

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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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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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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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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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Apollo Collage

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

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STS-133 Patch

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The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!

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Anniversary Shuttle Patch

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This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia's historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.

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Mercury anniversary

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Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard's historic Mercury mission with this collectors' item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.

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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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