Universe Today - November 11, 1999 |
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the U N I V E R S E T O D A Y Space Exploration News From Around the Internet, Updated Every Weekday. November 11th, 1999 - Issue #123 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER". An HTML version of this Newsletter is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html ************************************** Space News from SpaceDaily.com for today X-43 Breathes Air Into Hyperplanes http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/rlv-99zb.html Have Laptop, Will Travel http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/nasa-99j.html X-33 Hydrogen Tank Damaged http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/rlv-99za.html NASA And Thiokol Team For Land Mine Removal http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/nasa-99k.html Your Guide To Satellite Riches http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/satellite-99b.html ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Surveyor Captures Images of Martian Impact Crater * Hubble Captures Images of the Trifid Nebula * Distant Kuiper Belt Object Discovered * Hubble Mission Delayed... Again * Problems with the Mars Polar Lander Uncovered * Launch Ban Could Delay Space Station * Mars Climate Orbiter Releases its Findings * Pioneer Gets Additional Funding SURVEYOR CAPTURES IMAGES OF MARTIAN IMPACT CRATER ------------------------ During a recent flyby, the Mars Global Surveyor snapped detailed photographs of a Martian impact crater in the Nepenthes Mensae region. Three times the size of the Meteor Crater in Arizona, the images show dunes inside and outside of the crater, and boulders dislodged from the rim. http://www.astronomynow.com/breaking/9911/08mgscrater/index.html HUBBLE CAPTURES IMAGES OF THE TRIFID NEBULA ------------------------ Images taken two years ago by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Trifid Nebula show a stellar nursery under the radioactive glare of a nearby, massive star. Within 10,000 years it's expected the glare of the central star will erode the nebula and destroy the nacent star field. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_512000/512582.stm http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9911/09/trifid.nebula/index.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/333215.asp DISTANT KUIPER BELT OBJECT DISCOVERED ------------------------ Astronomers at the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Physics have discovered the most distant object ever seen in our solar system. Located in the Kuiper Belt, over 60 AUs away from the Earth, the object is thought to be a ball of ice 100 km across. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_511000/511911.stm HUBBLE MISSION DELAYED... AGAIN ------------------------ NASA has set a new date for the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on a mission to repair the damaged Hubble Space Telescope - Dec. 6th. This latest delay was caused when engineers decided to replace a damaged cable which is part of the shuttle's destruct system. http://www.astronomynow.com/breaking/9911/09shuttle/index.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_512000/512481.stm http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9911/09/shuttle.problem.01.ap/index.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/327444.asp http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/11/09b.html PROBLEMS WITH THE MARS POLAR LANDER UNCOVERED ------------------------ The NASA-appointed panel working to discover what caused the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter discovered a potential problem with the upcoming Mars Polar Lander. Concerned that the landing thrusters may misfire in the cold temperatures, they've developed a process to pre-warm the thrusters before the spacecraft enters Mars' atmosphere. http://www.astronomynow.com/breaking/9911/09mpl/index.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/304520.asp http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/11/08c.html LAUNCH BAN COULD DELAY SPACE STATION ------------------------ The Kazakhstan government recently announced that its current launch ban from the Baikonur cosmodrome could possibly delay the launch of the Zvezda living module - the next component of the International Space Station. The Kazakhstan government has taken this stance because Zvezda will be launched on board a Proton rocket, the same type that crashed recently. http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9911/09/space.kazakhstan.russia.reut/index.html http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/11/08a.html MARS CLIMATE ORBITER RELEASES ITS FINDINGS ------------------------ After a detailed review of the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter, the special investigation team, led by Arthur Stephenson discovered a series of problems, which they presented to management - and the press - earlier today. As suspected, the root cause was the mistake converting Imperial into metric, but they also discovered a series of management issues that allowed the error to remain in the system. http://www.astronomynow.com/mars/mco/991110findings/index.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_514000/514763.stm http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9911/10/orbiter.03/index.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/310187.asp http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/11/10b.html PIONEER GETS ADDITIONAL FUNDING ------------------------ Although it was launched back in 1972, the Pioneer 10 spacecraft is still providing scientists with useful data. NASA has decided to continue funding the program that monitors the distant spacecraft, now over 74 AUs away. http://www.spaceviews.com/1999/11/09c.html To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER". All contents copyright (c) 1999 Universe Today |