Universe Today - October 17, 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 17, 2000 - Issue #324 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 apologize for the spotty updates in the last couple of days. I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment here in Vancouver, and the process has been a complete disaster from a communications point of view (hint, I use a high-speed provider in Canada, and it's not my phone company), so I'm now working on plan B, which is to scrounge up access from my friends and attach my working files for Universe Today to their computer like a space parasite. The ironic thing, though, is that while I'm waiting for the service provider to call me back (for the third time; although, I know they won't, and I'll have to call them again), I've been reading Dragonfly, by Bryan Burrough. It's a detailed account of the disasters that occurred on the Mir spacestation during 1997. (And I thought I had it tough.) Imagine what would happen if the problems on Apollo 13 lasted for 8 months, instead of 5 days - with the crew unsure of their survival from one day to the next. The action and mishaps build up to the terrifying collision between a Progress supply vessel and the Spektr module. And unlike Apollo 13, the crew in space didn't get along with each other, or their ground controllers. Watch the sparks fly. It's an absolutely gripping read. Click this link, buy the book from Amazon.com. You won't be disappointed (yes, I'll get a commission on the sale if you buy the book, but that will just help me buy Jerry Lineger's book, Off the Planet - he was up there during the whole thing.) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060932694/universetoday Perhaps the applicants for Destination Mir would like read these too. Survivor in space. Hmmmmm. Fraser "Furious" Cain ************************************** -- 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 |