Space Exploration news

NRL's MISSE7 launched aboard STS-129

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

16 minutes ago | not rated yet | 0

The Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) 7, designed and built by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), launched aboard STS-129 on November, 16, for transport to the International ...

Virgin Galactic unveils commercial spaceship

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

3 hours ago | 5 / 5 (5) | 1

(AP) -- A spacecraft designed to rocket wealthy tourists into space as early as 2011 was unveiled Monday in what backers of the venture hope will signal a new era in aviation history.

Japan's 'space beer' sparkles among drinkers

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

8 hours ago | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 0

A Japanese brewer has come up with a beer that's truly out of this world -- one made with barley grown from a line of seeds that once orbited the Earth aboard the International Space Station.

Virgin Galactic readies maiden suborbital flight

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 06, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (19) | 9

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson will unveil a craft on Monday that could soon carry tourists on an out-of-this-world trip into space -- for a mere 200,000 dollars.

Sandtrapped Rover Makes a Big Discovery

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 03, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (52) | 11

Homer's Iliad tells the story of Troy, a city besieged by the Greeks in the Trojan War. Today, a lone robot sits besieged in the sands of Troy while engineers and scientists plot its escape.

Rocket launches Air Force satellite from Fla.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

23 hours ago | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- A rocket carrying an Air Force satellite that will be used by the military has launched from Cape Canaveral.

NASA puzzled why parachutes failed in rocket test

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 03, 2009 | 3.4 / 5 (5) | 4

(AP) -- NASA still isn't sure why two parachutes failed during a test flight of its prototype moon rocket just over a month ago.

Spitzer Unveils Biggest Milky Way View at Adler Planetarium

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 04, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's largest image of our Milky Way galaxy, taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, went on display this week at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

NASA Uses Twin Processes to Develop New Tank Dome Technology

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 02, 2009 | 4 / 5 (3) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colo., and MT Aerospace in Augsburg, Germany, to successfully manufacture the first full-scale friction stir welded and spun ...

Keeping Mars Contained

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 04, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 1

When robotic spacecraft bring a sample of Mars back to Earth, scientists will need specially-designed facilities to study the samples and prevent them from escaping to the outside world.

STAR TRAK for December: Geminid meteors flash in December skies

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 03, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The annual Geminid meteor shower, which will reach its maximum on the night of Dec. 13-14, usually offers the best show of the year, outperforming even the Perseid shower of August. This year ...

Superior Super Earths

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Nov 30, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (54) | 14

Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets - which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses - could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an answer to ...

Steering the Ares Rockets on a Straight Path

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 04, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Ares I-X rocket stood more than 325 feet tall on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Spectators watched in awe as its massive solid rocket motor blazed to life with a thunderous ...

WISE Launch Scheduled for Dec. 11

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 04, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Launch of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is scheduled for Dec. 11.

Mars Odyssey Orbiter Puts Itself Into Safe Standby

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Dec 01, 2009 | 5 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter put itself into a safe standby mode on Saturday, Nov. 28, and the team operating the spacecraft has begun implementing careful steps designed to resume Odyssey's ...