Space News for March 25, 1999

Sea Launch Prepares For First Blastoff

Floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Sea Launch (an oil rig in a previous life) is preparing for its first test launch on Saturday. Positioned precisely at the Earth’s equator, the Sea Launch will take maximum advantage of the Earth’s spin to decrease fuel costs.

BBC News

Global Surveyor Reveals Impressive Features on Mars

Finally in orbit around the Red Planet, the Mars Global Surveyor is starting to send back stunning images from the surface, including craters, strings of elliptical pits, and volcanoes.

Official NASA page
BBC News

Rocket Launches Causing Damage to the Atmosphere

Alexei Yablokov, head of the Center for Environmental Policy in Moscow has recently stated that up to 50% of Ozone Layer damage could be caused by rocket launches, which could lead to an environmental catastrophe in the next 20-30 years.

CNN Space

Scientists Challenge Big Bang Theory

Australian scientists have developed a technique they believe will help them find stars flung out of galaxies by gravitational interactions. They’ve already found 160 so far, and suspect that this number indicates that there may be an equal number of stars outside of galaxies as those that lie within them.

exoScience