Universe Today - October 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. October 20, 2000 - Issue #327 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 ************************************** If you tried to watch the Sea Launch last night, you know that it was scrubbed. So, let's try that again. Sea Launch will be launching at 5:15am GMT Saturday morning (that's 1:15am EDT, and 10:15pm Friday night PDT). http://www.sea-launch.com/special/sea-launch/current_index_webcast.html Fraser ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * Discovery Pulls Away from the Station * New Clues About Titan's Weather * Air Force Launches Military Satellite * Orionid Meteor Shower this Weekend DISCOVERY PULLS AWAY FROM THE STATION ------------------------- The space shuttle Discovery pulled away from the International Space Station earlier this morning, completing the bulk of its 11-day mission to install the Z1 truss. Before they left the station, astronaut Jeff Wisoff put on his long gloves and cleared a clogged toilet - "Jeff is more of a hero than I think most people will appreciate," one of his comrades noted. Discovery is scheduled to land on Sunday. Original Source: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/stsstat/current.htm Internet Coverage: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/shuttle_discovery001020.html http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/10/20/shuttle.01.ap/index.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001020/sp_ap_shuttle.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/101900/shuttle.sml 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 NEW CLUES ABOUT TITAN'S WEATHER ------------------------- New research on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, indicates that it may have very Earthlike weather conditions, including rain; of course, at -180C the rain would be liquid methane. Astronomers detected light clouds of methane in the atmosphere that lasted only a couple of hours and then disappeared, raining back onto the surface. The Cassini spacecraft is carrying a probe which will drop onto Titan's surface in 2004, and will help determine the weather conditions for sure. Internet Coverage: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/titan001020.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_980000/980088.stm http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001019/sp_titan.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/cassini.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/missions.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/saturn.html AIR FORCE LAUNCHES MILITARY SATELLITE ------------------------- The US Air Force launched a $200 million Defense Systems Communications Satellite (DSCS) on board an Atlas 2A rocket yesterday. Liftoff occurred at 12:40am GMT, with separation just under 30 minutes after launch. This satellite joined 11 others in the DSCS network, which allow US soldiers in the field to communicate with commanders across the planet. Original Source: http://www.ilslaunch.com/press_room/news/2000/001019nr_a.html Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/10/20/us.rocketlaunch.ap/index.html http://www.spaceviews.com/2000/10/19c.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 ORIONID METEOR SHOWER THIS WEEKEND ------------------------- Keep your eyes to the sky this weekend, because the annual Orionid meteor shower is likely to put on a nice show. The shower occurs when the Earth passes through the trail left by Halley's comet, and particles leave a streak in the sky as they burn up. The shower's peak will occur Saturday evening, but meteors will still be visible until Monday. Observers will be able to see meteors anywhere in the sky, but they will originate in the direction of the constellation of Orion. Original Source: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast18oct_1.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001020/sp_meteor.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/astronomy.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/meteorshowers.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/meteorshowers.html ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". All contents copyright (c) 2000 Universe Today |