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| Image credit: INPE |
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| Brazilian Launch Facility is Ready to Go |
| Aug 22, 2003 - Brazil is set to become the first Latin American country to join the space age when its Alcantara launch base sends up its first rocket shortly. Launching rockets has been a dream for the Brazilian government for over 25 years - rockets had to be destroyed after liftoff in 1997 and 1999 when they experienced technical glitches. The rocket is called the "Satellite Launch Vehicle", and it's carrying two small satellites to help demonstrate the capabilities of the system. If successful, Alcantara could become a serious contender because it's located closer to the Earth's equator than any other launch facility and can take advantage of the Earth's rotation to help get payloads into space. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Columbia Report Will Be Released August 26 |
| Aug 22, 2003 - The Columbia Accident Investigation Board will hold a press briefing on August 26 and discuss its final 250-page report on the cause of the space shuttle Columbia's destruction on February 1, 2003. The report will be made available from the CAIB's website at 1400 GMT (10:00 am EDT) and a live webcast will begin at 1500 GMT (11:00 am EDT). The 13-member board has already concluded that foam dislodged from the shuttle's fuel tank struck the left wing on takeoff and create a crack that allowed hot gas to enter the wing on re-entry. |
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| Image credit: NASA |
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| Maybe There Wasn't Water on Mars in the Past |
| Aug 22, 2003 - Since it arrived at Mars in 1997, the Mars Global Surveyor has been searching the surface of the Red Planet for carbonate minerals. Large quantities of this substance would be evidence that the planet was once warm and wet, with large oceans and seas on the surface. Surveyor has found trace quantities of the mineral spread evenly in the dust of the planet, but no deposits, indicating that the planet was probably always icy and cold. |
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