Universe Today - October 13, 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. October 13, 2000 - Issue #323 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 quick note. I just checked out the newly redesigned Astronomy.com website - very cool! If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend that you check it out. A lot of people tell me that Universe Today is focused too heavily on space exploration stories, and doesn't have enough astronomy stories (of course, some people tell me to remove the astronomy stuff entirely, so you can please everyone). It's true, I do more coverage of space exploration, but that's mainly because the various space agencies provide really good information to the media - they make my job easier. So, here's a site dedicated to more of the astronomy and observation side of space. I'll probably be adding it as a new source for Universe Today, to help balance out the astronomy/space exploration mix. Until then, though, give it a look: http://www.astronomy.com Fraser ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Discovery Docks With Space Station * Tagish Meteorite Starting to Reveal Secrets * Learning How to Live in Space * Proton Launches Russian Navigation Satellites DISCOVERY DOCKS WITH SPACE STATION ------------------------- Now in orbit, the space shuttle Discovery has caught up to its target: the International Space Station. The shuttle reached the station late this afternoon; unfortunately, the crew had to make the docking without Discovery's main antenna, which began malfunctioning yesterday. This malfunction didn't add risk to the mission, as the crew used backup methods to navigate themselves. They will now spend the next few days transferring supplies and installing the Z-1 truss, which connects the solar panels to the station. Original Source: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/stsstat/current.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.foxnews.com/science/101300/shuttle.sml http://www.msnbc.com/news/471424.asp 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 TAGISH METEORITE STARTING TO REVEAL SECRETS ------------------------- A group of meteorites recovered from a remote lake in Canada's Yukon are starting to reveal secrets about the early formation of the solar system. The meteorites appeared as a fireball above the Yukon early this year, and crashed into Lake Tagish, where they were very well preserved erosion and contamination. The meteorites are carbonaceous chondrites, a rare type that only make up 2% of all discoveries. Original Source: http://phobos.astro.uwo.ca/~pbrown/tagish Internet Coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_968000/968749.stm http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/10/12/meteorite.ap/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001012/sp_meteorite.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/101200/meteorite.sml Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/meteorites.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/meteorites.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/meteorites.html LEARNING HOW TO LIVE IN SPACE ------------------------- A new study conducted by University of California-San Francisco researchers concluded that lopsided crew selection for missions on board Mir led to depression and loneliness. During their Mir missions, a single American astronaut was teamed with two Russians, and this invariably led to the sole American feeling like the odd man out. The research indicates that in future missions, extra effort needs to be taken to balance out a three-person crew's responsibilities and command structure to combat potential depression. Internet Coverage: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/spacedepression001013.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/475940.asp Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/mir.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/spaceexploration.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/mir.html PROTON LAUNCHES RUSSIAN NAVIGATION SATELLITES ------------------------- A Proton rocket launched a group of three Russian navigation satellites earlier today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch occurred at 2:12pm GMT and separation due to occur 4 hours later. The satellites are the latest addition to Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System, which is equivalent to the US-based Global Positioning System. Internet Coverage: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0010/13proton/ http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/10/13b.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/russia.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/russia.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/russia.html ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |