Universe Today - June 13, 2001 |
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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. June 13, 2001 - Issue #443 http://www.universetoday.com info@universetoday.com An HTML version including pictures is available at: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/today.html For information on unsubscribing or changing your email address, check the bottom of this newsletter. ************************************** A note from Fraser... Have you just changed email addresses, or are you about to? Just drop me an email and let me know what your old address is and what you're changing it to, and I'll be sure to make sure you're updated in the system. Fraser Cain Publisher Universe Today ************************************** -- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY -- * New Spacecraft Will Be Going to Mercury * Intelsat Launches on Ariane Rocket * Solar Sail Repaired, Ready for Flight * Mars Nearing its Closest Point NEW SPACECRAFT WILL BE GOING TO MERCURY ------------------------- NASA has approved the first mission to visit Mercury in 35 years. Messenger, which is short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging will launch in 2004 and reach the sun-blasted planet in 2008. Once in orbit around Mercury, Messenger will determine the origin of the planet's high density, the composition of its crust, and the nature of its polar caps using a set of seven scientific instruments. Original Source: http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/010607.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/000/511krnma.asp http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1382000/1382849.stm http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20010611/mercury.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/nasa.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/missions.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/mercury.html INTELSAT LAUNCHES ON ARIANE ROCKET ------------------------- An Ariane 44L rocket with 4 strap-on liquid boosters placed and Intelsat communications satellite into space on the weekend. Originally scheduled to launch on Friday, high winds delayed the launch to Saturday, when it successfully launched at 0645 GMT - separation occurred 20 minutes later. The Intelsat 901 will provide telecommunications and television services to the Americas, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Original Source: http://www.arianespace.com/us/news/pressrelleas/presrel01_16.html Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/06/11/space.ariane.reut/index.html http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/ariane4_launch_0103609.html http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v141/ Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/ariane.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/satellites.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/satellites.html SOLAR SAIL REPAIRED, READY FOR FLIGHT ------------------------- A solar sail built by the Planetary Society has been repaired, after it was damaged during pre-flight tests in April. Engineers now expect to launch the windmill-shaped sail on a short, suborbital trial on a missile launched from a Russian submarine as early as July. Once in space, the sail should unfurl and then get pushed by streams of photons coming from the sun. Original Source: http://www.planetary.org/solarsail/Media.htm Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/06/12/solar.sail/index.html http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/13solarsail/ Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/amateur.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/spaceexploration.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/spaceexploration.html MARS NEARING ITS CLOSEST POINT ------------------------- The planet Mars is still getting nearer to Earth every day, and will reach its closest point on June 21st at a distance of only 67.3 million kilometres away. As it reaches this point, hard-to-see-details, such as the planet's polar ice caps and clouds may be visible in even small 4- and 6- inch telescopes. Internet Coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/06/13/mars/index.html http://dsc.discovery.com/news/reu/20010611/mars.html Similar Stories: http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/mars.html Related Sites: http://www.universetoday.com/html/directory/astronomy.html Related Books: http://www.universetoday.com/html/books/mars.html ------------------------- To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just reply with only the subject line "UNSUBSCRIBE !*EMAIL*!". If you just want to change your address, just reply to this email with a quick note on what your old and new email addresses are. It's actually a bit of a manual process. :-) All contents copyright (c) 2001 Universe Today |