Universe Today - September 20, 2000 |
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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. September 20, 2000 - Issue #310 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com An HTML version of this newsletter including pictures is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html ************************************** A storm of controversy? After posting Monday's newsletter, I got a couple of emails back wondering how I could possibly write an article about Moon Estates - the word "scam" was used a lot. I guess the shorter format of Universe Today doesn't really let me present a story more fully. Let me clarify: someone is trying to sell land in space. This is news. I report news. So, do I think that by buying property on the moon through one of these companies actually entitles you to ownership of the extraterrestrial territory. Um no. But, so what? Were you actually planning on living there? Were you planning on mining it? Setting up a pretty Mare-front cottage to summer at? It's silly, it only costs $20, and you get some actual maps and documents about the moon. It they were charging more, I'd join in with the furious, but they're not. That's why the UN isn't really paying any attention to this. Anyway, as they say, possession is 9/10ths of the rule. Get up there and stick your claim in the regolith, and let the UN work out the logistics of it while you enjoy the inhospitable environment all to yourself. Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Atlantis Returns Safely to Earth * Chinese Astronauts Training in Russia * Weather Satellite Delayed ATLANTIS RETURNS SAFELY TO EARTH ------------------------- The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts returned safely to Earth this morning, landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral at 7:56am GMT. During the 12-day mission, the crew transferred several tonnes of supplies into the International Space Station, and worked to prepare it for its first permanent inhabitants. The space shuttle Discovery is already on the launch pad, and is expected to launch on October 5th. Original Source: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_933000/933447.stm http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/09/20/shuttle.landing.02/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20000920/sp_shuttle.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/091900/shuttle.sml http://www.msnbc.com/news/463248.asp http://www.flatoday.com/space/explore/stories/2000b/092000g.htm http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts106/000920eom/ Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/shuttle.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/spaceshuttle.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/spaceshuttle.html CHINESE ASTRONAUTS TRAINING IN RUSSIA ------------------------- Participants on "Destination Mir" may bump into future Chinese astronauts when they do their training at Moscow's space training facilities. According to Chinese state media, a group of "taikonauts" were recently sent to Moscow for training. Speculation has run rampant about a Chinese manned flight after an unmanned capsule orbited the Earth almost a year ago. A Chinese rocket designer noted that the Russians and United States collectively did 28 unmanned tests before sending humans into space - they're in no rush. Original Source: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1921/ Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/09/18/bc.china.space.ap/index.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/463318.asp Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/chinese.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/spaceexploration.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/spaceexploration.html WEATHER SATELLITE DELAYED ------------------------- The launch of a Titan 2 booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying an NOAA-L weather satellite was scrubbed this morning because of an electronics problems. Originally scheduled to launch at 3:22am GMT, several transistors in the booster's electronics were overloaded with current during the pre-launch preparations - what caused this is unknown. The launch has been tentatively rescheduled for the same time on Thursday. Original Source: http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/noaaL/noaal.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.chron.com/cgi-bin/auth/story.mpl/content/interactive/space/news/2000/20000920.html http://spaceflightnow.com/titan/g13/status.html http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/09/20b.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/satellites.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/satellites.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/satellites.html ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |