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Updated: 4 weeks 6 days ago

NASA's Twin Grail Spacecraft Reunite in Lunar Orbit

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 01, 2012
The second of NASA's two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft has successfully completed its planned main engine burn and is now in lunar orbit. Working together, GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the moon as never before. "NASA greets the new year with a new mission of exploration," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The twin GRAIL spacecraft will vastly ex

Mars Rover Opportunity Positioned at Candidate Site for Winter

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 31, 2011
Opportunity is positioned at a candidate site for Mars' southern hemisphere winter. The rover is at the north end of 'Cape York' on the rim of Endeavour Crater, tilted about 15 degrees to the north for favorable solar energy production. Opportunity experienced anomalously high current in the right-front wheel on Sol 2808 (Dec. 17, 2011). Diagnostics on Sols 2810 and 2812 (Dec. 20 and

Raytheon Awarded Airborne Radar Contracts at Year's End Worth $320 Million

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
El Segundo, CA (SPX) Dec 30, 2011
Raytheon Company has booked $320 million this month in new contract awards related to its active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar programs for domestic and international customers. With active electronic beam scanning, which allows the radar beam to be steered at nearly the speed of light, Raytheon AESA radars optimize situational awareness and provide superior air-to-air and air-

Lockheed Martin Helps Nasa Place Two Spacecraft Into Lunar Orbit

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Denver CO (SPX) Jan 01, 2012
Both of NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft were successfully inserted into orbit around the Earth's moon. The mission will analyze the internal structure and gravitational forces of the moon. Lockheed Martin built the twin robotic spacecraft and is conducting flight operations for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The first orbiter, GRAIL-A fired its m

Orbcomm and SpaceX Improve Launch Plans for OG2 Satellites

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Hawthorne, CA (SPX) Dec 30, 2011
Orbcomm Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) today announced the launch schedule for Orbcomm's second generation (OG2) satellites. The updated plan includes launching the first OG2 prototype satellite on the first Cargo Re-supply Services (CRS) mission in mid-2012, followed closely by an additional launch of two OG2 satellites into a high inclination orbit as a secondary payloa

India unveils statue of cosmonaut Gagarin

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Mumbai (UPI) Dec 30, 2011
A statue of the world's first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, was unveiled Friday in Mumbai on the grounds of the Nehru Science Center, center officials said. Dignitaries attending the unveiling ceremony Friday included Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin, Russian General Consul in Mumbai Alexei Novikov and Mumbai Mayor Shraddha Jadhav. "Gagarin is a man who is known and loved

Greying Singapore taps robots, games in rehab

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Singapore (AFP) Jan 1, 2012
Six months ago, Singaporean retiree Soon Eng Sam, 70, suffered a stroke that paralysed the left side of his body. Bedridden for three months, he has regained some limb functions on the affected side through conventional physical therapy but now hopes to hasten his recovery with the help of new gadgets designed to make rehabilitation fun. "This therapy is not so boring, not so painful as

Minister orders Russian space agency security blitz after blogger invasion

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Dec 30, 2011
Russia's space agency Roscosmos has been given until January to rectify security at its plants or face the consequences, after a reported penetration of its rocket plant in northern Moscow. A group of Russian bloggers claimed in a report posted on the Internet that they managed to get inside the Energomash plant in Moscow's Khimki district, which manufactures liquid-propellant engines for

China issues white paper on space exploration

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011
China on Thursday issued a white paper on the development of space industry since 2006 and the major tasks for the next five years. The white paper titled "China's Space Activities in 2011" was the third white paper on the country's space activities issued by the State Council Information Office, following the one in 2000 and another in 2006. The Chinese government has made the space

China to push forward human spaceflight projects in next five years: white paper

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011
China will push forward human spaceflight projects and make new technological breakthroughs, creating a foundation for future human spaceflight, according to a white paper titled "China's Space Activities in 2011" issued Thursday. During the next five years, China will launch the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spaceships and achieve unmanned or manned rendezvous and docking with the in-orbit T

China to launch orbiters for lunar soft landing in next five years: white paper

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011 China will launch orbiters for lunar soft landing, roving and surveying to implement the second stage of lunar exploration in next five years, a white paper said Thursday. China's lunar probe projects are based on the idea of "three steps" - orbiting, landing and returning, said the white paper "China's Space Activities in 2011" issued by the State Council Infor

China makes rapid progress, breakthroughs in space industry: white paper

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011
A white paper published on Thursday said that China has made innovative achievements and breakthroughs in major space projects, and space technology has been upgraded remarkably. The white paper, China's Space Activities in 2011, published by the State Council's Information Office, said that the country's Long March rockets have accomplished 67 successful launches, sending 79 spacecraft in

Chinese Satellite Navigation System Beidou Begin Test Services

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011
China started to run its own satellite positioning system, Beidou, on Tuesday as the country climbed the global tech ladder and challenged the monopoly of the West. Beidou, or Big Dipper, the domestic version of the US Global Positioning System (GPS), started providing navigation, positioning and timing data on a pilot basis to China and the neighboring area for free on Tuesday, Ran Chengq

China to launch Shenzhou-9, Shenzhou-10 spacecraft next year: spokesman

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011
China will launch the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and achieve space rendezvous and docking missions with the orbiting Tiangong-1 vehicle in 2012, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration said Thursday. Spokesman Zhang Wei made the announcement at a press conference held in Beijing for the release of a white paper titled "China's Space Activities in 2011." How

China's satellite navigation system will meet both civil and defense needs

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 14:13
Beijing (XNA) Dec 30, 2011
China's homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System is designed to meet diversified civilian needs, said National Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun Wednesday. "As is known to all, all international navigation satellite systems are designed for dual military and civilian use," said Yang, adding that "some people" have been overly worried. China's development of the Beidou system

Europe prepares new technologies for future launchers

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 13:01
Paris (ESA) Nov 30, 2011
ESA and the DLR German Space Center fired a Texus rocket 263 km into space on 27 November to test a new way of handling propellants on Europe's future rockets. Texus 48 lifted off at 10:10 GMT (11:10 CET) from the Esrange Space Centre near Kiruna in northern Sweden on its 13-minute flight. During the six minutes of weightlessness - mimicking the different stages of a full spaceflight - two

Veteran Mars Researcher Says Curiosity Spacecraft Can Confirm Viking Detected Life

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 13:01
Goodyear AZ (SPX) Nov 30, 2011
NASA has repeatedly stated that its new mission to Mars, Curiosity, carries no life detector. Yet, Gilbert V. Levin, Experimenter on NASA's 1976 Viking Mission, disagrees. He says instruments aboard Curiosity can confirm his published claim that his Labeled Release (LR) experiment detected living microorganisms on Mars. Dr. Levin was Experimenter and Dr. Patricia Ann Straat Co-Experimenter

In The Heart Of Cygnus Fermi Reveals A Cosmic-ray Cocoon

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 13:01
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 30, 2011
The constellation Cygnus, now visible in the western sky as twilight deepens after sunset, hosts one of our galaxy's richest-known stellar construction zones. Astronomers viewing the region at visible wavelengths see only hints of this spectacular activity thanks to a veil of nearby dust clouds forming the Great Rift, a dark lane that splits the Milky Way, a faint band of light marking our galax

Los Alamos instrument to shine light on Mars habitability

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 13:01
Los Alamos, NM (SPX) Nov 30, 2011
With the successful launch of the Mars Science Laboratory on Saturday, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers and scientists from the French space institute IRAP are poised to begin focusing the energy of a million light bulbs on the surface of the Red Planet to help determine whether Mars was or is habitable. The international team of space explorers that launched the Mars Science Lab

New Cosmodome brings new focus on virtual space exploration

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 13:01
Laval, Canada (SPX) Nov 30, 2011
The Cosmodome's transformation will soon be completed, making it a centre that will stimulate interest in space adventure and spark enthusiasm for space. On December 15, it will open the door to a new and unusual concept: a virtual experience of space and methods of space exploration. Unique in Canada, this museum dedicated to astronautics will present three interactive space missions that are s