Astronomy
NASA Rules Out Asteroid Collision in 2019
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| Image credit: NASA |
Astronomers announced earlier last week that they had found an asteroid that could strike the Earth in 2019. More astronomers brought their equipment to bear on Asteroid NT7, however, and were able to provide enough trajectory data that NASA has eliminated the possibility of a collision in 2019; although, 2060 could still be a possible impact year (astronomers will probably rule that out eventually too). The asteroid is 2km across, so if it does ever strike the planet, it could cause significant damage.
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Jul 28, 2002, 10:05pm
Space Flight
NASA Could Have a Solution to Get Shuttle Flying Again
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| Image credit: NASA |
NASA announced on Friday that they're very close to deciding how they'll fix the tiny cracks discovered in fuel lines of the entire space shuttle fleet. If the plan is approved, workers could begin welding the cracks as early as next week. Although the cracks apparently formed quite a while ago, NASA engineers are concerned that bits of metal could break off from the fuel lines and cause catastrophic damage to the shuttle's engines. If all goes well, the first shuttle could launch as early as September 26.
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Jul 26, 2002, 10:19pm
Space Flight
Proton Rocket Lofts Russian Satellite
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| Image credit: ILS |
A Russian Proton-K lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Thursday, carrying a Kosmos 2392 satellite into an elliptical orbit. Although the satellite is believed to be an Arkon-class military satellite, space officials told the Russian press that it would also be used to collect data on the land and oceans.
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Jul 25, 2002, 10:34pm
Space Flight
Cassini Camera Working Fine Again
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| Image credit: NASA |
Controllers for the Cassini spacecraft received some good news last week when the latest set of test images came through showing no distortion in its camera system. They became worried last year when haze appeared on the camera after it was heated briefly in a maintenance operation - the haze diffused 70% of the light reaching the camera. Controllers slowly heated and cooled the spacecraft several times, and now the distortion is down to 5%. Cassini will begin orbiting Saturn on July 1, 2004 and it will deliver the piggybacked Huygens probe into the atmosphere of Titan.
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Jul 23, 2002, 11:01pm
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