Universe Today

Air Force Satellite Launch Delayed by Rain

Still trying to get this launch thing right, the Air Force officials have delayed their latest Titan IV launch due to rain. It seems that water leaked into the protective canopy of the rocket, and dampened the spacecraft. The launch will be delayed until May 23rd at the earliest.

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Clinton Approves Chinese Satellite Launch

Clinton has approved an upcoming launch for the Iridium network by the Chinese Space Agency. Officials have accused China of using space technology to improve the accuracy of its nuclear missle systems. This launch will contain US-built fuel and separation systems.

CNN Space

Amateur Launch Planned

An amateur rocketry association, JP Aerospace, is planning the world’s first amateur space launch. The rocket will be launched from a balloon already floating at an altitude of 20 miles. If it can reach an altitude of 60 miles, it will cross the official threshold of space.

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Clinton Requests Report on Launch Failures

President Clinton has requested an in-depth inquiry into the recent string of launch failures. The request, presented by White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, detailed the failures that occurred over the last week. It’s possible that the request could translate into higher space budgets next year.

Space Daily

Net Vote Targets Hubble

Visitors to the Hubble Space Telescope were invited to vote on what they’d like the telescope to photograph next. The vote’s in, and the target was the “polar ring” galaxy NGC 4650A. Photos of the galaxy were posted to the Hubble website.

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China Launches Two New Satellites

Chinese authorities confirmed the launch of two science satellites from the northern province of Shanxi. The Fengyun 1 weather satellite and the Experiment 5 scientific survey satellite were lofted on a Chinese-built Long March 4B rocket.

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NASA Ignores Safety Requirements

NASA is planning to waive its own safety requirements, and will launch the new Russian-built service module. The module was built without adequate meteorite protection, but NASA can’t wait the three years it will take to complete the shielding, and will risk crewmembers sleeping unprotected.

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NASA Looking for New Telescope Ideas

NASA has asked the space industry to help design a new space-based telescope. This initial contract for the Next Generation Space Telescope is for $12 million, and will feature a mirror capable of gathering 10 times the light of Hubble. NASA has kept the overall specifications open, and is hoping for revolutionary ideas from its potential suppliers.

Space Daily

Incorrect Software Could Have Caused Milstar Failure

A new report from Aviation Week and Space Technology proposes that faulty software loaded onto the Titan IV rocked caused the recent launch failure of the Air Force’s Milstar satellite.

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Brown Dwarfs Could Have Weather

Astronomers believe they’ve found evidence that brown dwarfs have weather conditions, such as clouds and wind. In detecting the change in brightness over these short hours on these failed stars, astronomers believe they’re seeing changing cloud patterns.

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Software Will Allow Galileo to Make Callisto Flyby

NASA engineers have upgraded Galileo’s software to enable it to make a close flyby to Callisto, Jupiter’s moon. Previous attempts to visit Europa were disrupted when glitches in the software forced the spacecraft into safe mode, blinding it as it flew past the moon.

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Balloon to Catch Halley’s Comet Particles

NASA scientists are planning to launch a high-altitude weather balloon to catch particles of Halley’s Comet. The balloon will rise to an altitude of 120,000 ft and deploy its xerogel dust collector, which will capture the particles as they enter the atmosphere.

NASA Science News

Children Will Pilot Rover on Mars

Mars Surveyor 2001 will contain a rover piloted by a group of children on Earth. Over 100 children will be selected for this project, some of whom will be able to pilot the rover, and others who’ll design micro-experiments attached to the outside of the rover.

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Pink Black Holes Discovered

Australian astronomers have discovered a strange category of black holes which appear pink in telescopes. What’s causing this pink glow is unknown, but the astronomers suspect it has something to do with the violent effect black holes have on nearby stars as they suck streams of gas away.

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Controllers Attempting to Recover Orion 3

Stuck in the wrong orbit, Orion 3 is next to useless, and may re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. Ground controllers are attempting to raise the satellite, and put it into a stable (although still useless) orbit. Investigations also continue to determine why the launch failed.

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Russian Service Module Gets a New Name

The Russian Service Module for the International Space Station was recently renamed to Zvezda, which is Russian for “star”. This follows the tradition of colorful names for all the ISS modules, and so Zvezda joins renamed Unity, Zarya, and Kibo.

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Another Asteroid Belt Could be Close

British Astronomers feel that there’s a possibility that there’s another asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Earth. Possibly ejected from the more stable belt between Mars and Jupiter, these could pose a significant threat to our planet.

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Lockheed Martin Orders Inquiry into Launch Failures

Hot on the heels of the official US Air Force investigation into the recent rash of launch failures, Lockheed CEO Peter Teets has ordered wide-ranging review of the company’s launch programs. The names of dozen members of the investigation group will be announced next week.

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Why Isn’t the Universe Anti-Matter?

Scientists around the world are planning a group of experiments to better determine the nature of anti-matter. Particle accelerators in California, Chicago, and Japan will each perform experiments to investigate the key differences between matter and anti-matter, which could answer why the universe is mostly made of matter, and not the reverse.

BBC News

All US Rockets Grounded

After a terrible string of launch failures – six failures in nine months – the US space industry has undertaken a detailed investigation to learn what could be causing the problems. The failures have cost US taxpayers billions of dollars. No further launches will happen until the investigations are complete.

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Space Station Relations Improve

Despite a difference of opinion regarding Yugoslavia, Russia is completely onside with the development of the International Space Station – it just lacks the money. Although it suffered a year-long delay, the station’s living quarters are now complete, and will be launched into space this fall.

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Mercury Salvage Crew Loses Submarine

Rough Atlantic seas snapped a cable to the Mercury salvage team’s remote-controlled submarine, sending it to the bottom with the capsule. Plans are now underway to rescue the submarine first before continuing the salvage of the capsule.

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Dark Globule Found in Milky Way

Astronomers have discovered an extremely dark region of the Milky Way where there are no visible stars. It’s likely to be a dark cloud of gas and dust which astronomers have termed “dark globules”. This particular region is known as Barnard 68.

BBC News

Delta III Launches Incorrectly

The third launch mishap in less than a month, the Orion 3 satellite was placed into an incorrect orbit by the upper stage of its Delta III rocket. This launch was delayed 5 times, and the previous launch ended in disaster when the rocket exploded shortly after takeoff.

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Insurance too Expensive for Russian Module

Although it’s completed the newest component of the International Space Station, Russia can’t afford the $125,000 it will cost to insure it, and plans to launch without insurance. Perhaps not so wise considering the recent rash of mislaunches.

CNN Space

Mexican Satellite Failure

Mexican satellite Solidaridad I developed a problem stopping pager service for clients of the telecommunications company. Pager traffic has been transferred to other satellites while engineers fix the problem.

CNN Space

Getting to Mars on Anti-Matter

NASA scientists are considering this Star Trek fuel for the first manned mission to Mars. Although such a journey is many years away, the scientists believe they’ll have a working system within 2 years. With anti-matter, a single gram of fuel would provide the same boost as 23 Space Shuttle tanks.

Fox News

Moonbase Sites Considered

Searching for the best spot for a future moon base, ESA researchers believe that a spot near the moon’s south pole is ripe for colonization. Potentially located near patches of comet ice, and under near continual sunlight, the spot is a relative oasis.

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Space Central

Mercury Capsule Found!

A Florida salvage operation has found the prize they were searching for: Gus Grissom’s Mercury space capsule. The Liberty Bell 7 was found 3 miles under the ocean, 300 miles off shore. The salvagers will return within a few weeks to raise the capsule to the surface.

Texan Considers Caribbean Spaceport

Texas entrepreneur, Andy Beal, is investigating the potential of developing a remote Caribbean island into a new spaceport, capable of launching rockets as large as the Ariane 5. The plans are controversial; however, as the island is a key nesting ground for Caribbean seabirds.

CNN Space

Titan Mishaps Affecting Other Launches

Because of the three Titan IVB launch disasters, the Air Force has postponed the launch of the Delta III as well. This is because both rockets share the same upper stage engine system, which caused satellites to be placed into incorrect orbits.

Space Daily

Landsat Pictures Arrive

Only newly-launched, Landsat 7 is already delivering high-resolution images of our planet. The satellite has twice the resolution of its predecessors, and will be able to map changes in the environment with great detail.

NASA Space Science News

Surveyor Finds Magnetic Stripes on Mars

Mars Global Surveyor has found formations of magnetic rock on Mars that closely resemble magnetic streaks on Earth. Although it’s now geologically a dead planet, these formations indicate the Mars could have had plate tectonics in the past.

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New Space Shuttle Cockpit Installed

NASA recently unveiled a completely new Space Shuttle cockpit for Atlantis. Similar to a Boeing 777, the instrument panels are now LCD display screens which give the pilots much easier access to the Shuttle’s many functions.

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Milstar Satellite Failure

Officials announced that the latest Air Force launch has ended in complete failure. The Defense Department’s Milstar satellite, launched on a Titan Four-B rocket was stranded in a lopsided orbit, 15,000 miles too low. The $1.2 Billion cost for the satellite and rocket was completely wasted.

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NASA Unveils X-34 Space Plane

NASA’s new X-34 robotic space plane was unveiled on Friday. Designed as a testbed for new technologies, the X-34 will launch from an airliner and travel 8 times the speed of sound, and rise to an altitude of 76 kilometers. There are 27 flights planned for the first year of operations.

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IKONOS Never Made it to Orbit

Telemetry from the recent launch of the IKONOS 1 space imaging satellite indicates that it was never placed into orbit, and likely burned up in the atmosphere, or crashed into the South Pacific Ocean. This is the first unsuccessful launch of an Athena II rocket since they were first operational in 1997.

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Weather Satellite Preparing for Launch

The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GEOS) is being prepared for a May 15th launch from Cape Canaveral. Designed to provide forecasters with advance warning of weather conditions, the satellite will act as a backup for the two GEOS already in orbit.

CNN Space

New Evidence Shows Galactic Collisions More Common

A new imaging technique has allowed astronomers to discover a greater number of galactic collisions than was previously known. Astronomers believe that spiral galaxies with thick bars of stars are formed from these hits (and near misses).

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Congress Considers Launch Insurance Coverage

Commercial launch companies are currently required to pay several hundred million dollars of insurance in case there’s an accident on launch – the government extends this with an additional $1.5 billion of coverage. Congress is considering how long to continue this coverage, if at all.

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