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Spacecraft
hideA spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers. Spacecraft used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft that leave the vicinity of the planetary body are space probes. Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around the planetary body are artificial satellites. Starships, which are built for interstellar travel, are so far a theoretical concept only (aside from a handful of interstellar probes such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager, and New Horizons).
Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and space tourism. Spacecraft and space travel are common themes in works of science fiction.
For more information about Spacecraft, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with spacecraft
Station Prepares For New Spacecraft, Monitors Debris
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 06, 2009 |
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The station crew prepared Friday for the arrival of the Russian Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2) which is scheduled for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Nov. 10. The MRM2 will arrive at the ...
Rosetta approach on schedule
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- After the trajectory correction manoeuvre on 22 October, Rosetta has lined up on a near-perfect Earth approach path. The manoeuvre was so precise that mission controllers decided not to use ...
Successful Flight Through Enceladus Plume (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Cassini has started sending data back from its Nov. 2 flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Rosetta's final Earth boost
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 04, 2009 |
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ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on 13 November to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations ...
X-ray named top achievement by British museum
Nov 04, 2009 |
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The X-ray was named the most important modern scientific achievement Wednesday in a poll conducted for Britain's Science Museum, beating Apollo spacecraft and DNA.
Fantastic Voyage
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 02, 2009 |
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By travelling to the outer solar system, the two Voyager spacecraft allowed us to see amazing details of far-distant planets and moons.
Scientists explain mystery of observed turbulent density fluctuations in interplanetary space
Oct 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville have developed a three-dimensional simulation model to understand behavior of interplanetary charged particles in space.
Robot Armada Might Scale New Worlds
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An armada of robots may one day fly above the mountain tops of Saturn's moon Titan, cross its vast dunes and sail in its liquid lakes.
Students demonstrate flux pinning in low gravity
Oct 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Cornell researchers recently tested their work on the mysterious physical phenomenon of flux pinning aboard a near-zero gravity aircraft.
A long night falls over Saturn's rings
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 24, 2009 |
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As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire ...
New from NASA, an iPhone application
Oct 23, 2009 |
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NASA is coming to the iPhone. The US space agency announced on Friday that it has created a free NASA application for the popular Apple smartphone and the iPod Touch.
Galileo's Jupiter Journey Began Two Decades Ago
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Galileo spacecraft began what would become a 14-year odyssey of exploration 20 years ago this Sunday, Oct. 18. Galileo was humanity's first emissary to orbit a planet in the outer solar ...
Nanosatellites expected to benefit from advanced propulsion technology
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
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A University of Michigan professor is developing an electric rocket thruster, NanoFET, that uses nanoparticle electric propulsion and enables spacecraft to travel faster and with less propellant than previous ...
GOES-P satellite preparing for launch in March 2010
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 16, 2009 |
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Just two months after the successful launch of the GOES-O spacecraft, now called GOES-14 in orbit, the NASA team removed the GOES-P spacecraft from storage and commenced its post storage testing. GOES-P is ...
Cassini Data Help Redraw Shape of Solar System (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 16, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Images from the Ion and Neutral Camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggest that the heliosphere, the region of the sun's influence, may not have the comet-like shape predicted by existing ...
