Universe Today - August 23, 1999

the
U N I V E R S E
T O D A Y

Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday.
August 23rd, 1999 - Issue #86
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-- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY --

* NASA Working on New Constellation of Probes
* Spacecraft Could Harness Solar Winds to Leave Solar System
* Shuttle Mission Considered to Rescue Wayward Satellite
* New Brown Dwarf Discovered


NASA WORKING ON NEW CONSTELLATION OF PROBES
------------------------
NASA engineers are developing a new series of spaceprobes, each the
size of a birthday cake. The fifth in NASA's New Millennium program,
the spacecraft are designed to launch as a bundle, and then separate
and fly in formation gathering scientific data. An initial launch of
three satellites is planned, but a future bundle of 100 is in the
works for a launch in 2010.

http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9908/20/nanosatellites/index.html
http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/08/20b.html


SPACECRAFT COULD HARNESS SOLAR WINDS TO LEAVE SOLAR SYSTEM
------------------------
Thanks to a $500,000 grant from NASA, researchers at the University of
Washington are developing a new propulsion system called M2P2 (Mini-
Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion), which would allow spacecraft to travel
almost 300,000 kph. The theory is based on creating an electromagnetic
field around a spacecraft, which would interact with the solar wind,
accelerating it away from the sun.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/302468.asp


SHUTTLE MISSION CONSIDERED TO RESCUE WAYWARD SATELLITE
------------------------
NASA is considering a shuttle mission to rescue the stranded Orion 3
telecommunications satellite. Launched into a useless orbit in May,
Orion 3 is still completely functional, and could be relocated into
a higher orbit by attaching a new rocket motor. Shuttle launches cost
$450 million, however, and NASA is considering the overall cost-benefit
of such a rescue.

http://www.flatoday.com/space/explore/stories/1999b/082199d.htm
http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/08/22a.html


NEW BROWN DWARF DISCOVERED
------------------------
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's New Technology
Telescope (NTT) have discovered a faint brown dwarf - named NTTDF
J1205-0744. The object is the faintest and most distant brown dwarf
ever discovered, and it walks a very fine line between star and planet,
with a surface temperature of only 700 degrees celsius.

http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/08/21b.html

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