What is China looking for on the moon?

I just about remember my intense excitement at the moon landings in 1969. Since then I’ve always been conscious of a slight disappointment that we seem to have given up going there. And now President Obama says he can’t find the money for a return to the moon any time soon.

What’s Left For Shuttle After Endeavour’s Mission?

Shuttle Endeavour’s upcoming trip into space is the last major construction mission to the International Space Station.

Abandoning human space flight is shortsighted

Recent news reports have cited “testy” statements “blasting” the president, offering strong “rebukes” and saying that members of Congress are “girding for battle.” Have we opened a new chapter in the healthcare debate? No, this is over the future of human space flight.

Why John Travolta Said No to Outer Space Trip

John Travolta is talking to “Extra” about reports he turned down the opportunity to go to space, courtesy of Sir Richard Branson.
Branson’s Virgin Galactic has plans to fly people into space as tourists.

Where is the greatness JFK sought?

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy set in motion events that would place the first man on the moon before the end of the decade.

Virginia space experts: NASA budget could take year to debate

President Barack Obama’s space spending plan is a potential boon for Hampton’s NASA Langley Research Center, state aerospace experts told General Assembly leaders Thursday.

As we give up space, JFK turns in grave?

He was the first president to recognize that for any country to be No. 1 on Earth it also must be No. 1 in space. That’s why the late President John F. Kennedy may have turned over in his grave this week as President Obama abandoned space to Russia and China.

Who’s Tweeting From The Space Shuttle?

No strangers to technology, NASA astronauts go through months of training to master the workings of the space shuttle and International Space Station.

Utah Sen. Bennett: Ending Constellation space program a ‘really dumb idea’

This week’s decision by the Obama administration to end the Constellation space program, which has strong Top of Utah ties, is a “really dumb idea,” U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett said Thursday, and he hopes the state’s congressional delegation can help save the program.

Solar flares back, but oddly small

After a long silence, the Sun erupted in an unusual pattern of small solar flares, said an Australian astrophysicist, which may provide a unique opportunity to predict when bigger solar flares will erupt.

Last Ever Night Shuttle Launch Visible From Eastern United States

People in the eastern United States will get a great opportunity, weather permitting, to see the space shuttle Endeavour launched into orbit early on Sunday morning, Feb. 7. And it will also likely be the very last opportunity ever to see a space shuttle blast off at night.

Modified Progress cargo craft docks with ISS

The fourth modified Progress cargo craft with a digital control system docked safely with the International Space Station at 07:26 Moscow time on Friday.

PLUTO BLUSHES RED

Pluto, long thought of as a dormant chunk of ice and rock, has recently undergone some of the most dramatic surface changes of any body in the solar system. And Marc Buie has the images to prove it.

$32 Million CU Instrument Package to Study Space Weather Set for Launch by NASA Feb. 9

A $32 million University of Colorado at Boulder instrument package set for launch Feb. 9 by NASA should help scientists better understand the violent effects of the sun on near-Earth space weather that can affect satellites, power grids, ground communications systems and even astronauts and aircraft crews.

Where did today’s spiral galaxies come from?

Hubble shows that the beautiful spirals galaxies of the modern Universe were the ugly ducklings of six billion years ago.

Obama’s commercial spaceflight incurs political wrath

President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget has ended NASA’s 2020 Moon programme while privatising manned spacecraft and proposing exploration that has goals but no destinations, incurring the wrath of politicians even before the agency has admitted that its first commercial cargo transportation project’s costs have jumped 60%.

First Internet, now bay window at space station

Life has never been so good off the planet, and it’s about to get better.
Just two weeks after the arrival of the Internet, the space station astronauts are getting an observation deck that will offer panoramic views of Earth.

Cassini gets another extended mission until 2017

The robotic Cassini explorer circling Saturn was granted a mission extension until 2017 on Wednesday, as NASA engineers and scientists plot a daring end to the $3 billion mission that will take the spacecraft inside of the planet’s famous rings.

New Space Telescopes Could Spot Dangerous Asteroids

NASA’s effort to hunt down and identify nearby asteroids that may one day threaten all life on Earth may be starved for funding, according to a recent report, but two potential space telescopes – and an influx of cash – could go a long way toward safeguarding the planet from catastrophe.

Messy galactic mergers lead to delicate spiral shapes

Most of the spiral galaxies that decorate our universe have emerged from surprisingly violent pasts, says a new study. They grew their delicate spiral arms after being mashed into a pulp by vast collisions.

The right way forward on space exploration

What do rockets burn for fuel? Money. Money that is contributed by working families who have mortgages and children who need braces. And why do the American people support our efforts in space? Because they still believe, to some extent or another, in that shining dream of exploring other worlds. So it could be said that rockets really run on dreams.

NASA Invites Public To Tweet Their Way Into Space Next Week

The Twitterverse and universe will converge during space shuttle Endeavour’s upcoming mission to the International Space Station. NASA is inviting the public to send questions for the astronauts via Twitter and have them answered live from space.

Pluto’s White, Dark-Orange and Charcoal-Black Terrain Captured by NASA’s Hubble

NASA has released the most detailed and dramatic images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto. The images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show an icy, mottled, dark molasses-colored world undergoing seasonal surface color and brightness changes.

THE UNIVERSE IS PRECISELY 13.75 BILLION YEARS OLD

The Universe is 13.75 billion years old, primordial helium has been spotted for the first time and key evidence for the inflationary period immediately after the Big Bang has been found. But not all the new discoveries by NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) appear to fit cosmological theory.

NASA Counts Down To Early Sunday Shuttle Launch

NASA is counting down to the planned launch early Sunday of Endeavour and it appears the weather will be good for the last scheduled nighttime launch prior to shuttle fleet retirement later this year.

CASSIOPEIA A MAKES BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the amazing sounds of Saturn’s rings, and how they have inspired composers to create their own “music of the spheres.” Apparently the supernovae were feeling a little left out.

WILL WE SEE THE DAWN OF CYBORG ASTRONAUTS?

Hundreds of years ago, when most people thought that the universe ended somewhere just beyond Saturn and that one could acquire knowledge of all history, science and theology in a single lifetime, exploring space would’ve seemed like a much easier task.

Could life exist on Jupiter moon?

Discovering life on another planet would change our sense of place in the Universe. And the encounter may be closer than we think, according to a BBC Radio 4 documentary – 2010: Space Odyssey to Europa.

U.S. space program should aim higher

A plan to return American astronauts to the moon was scrubbed this week by President Barack Obama.

University of Hawai‘i Astronomer Reveals The Dark Side of the Sun

UH Institute for Astronomy public lecture sheds light on the correlation between solar cycles and climate change. “This connection is something we really need to understand.”

NASA Plan Faces Turbulence in House

The Obama administration’s plan to outsource U.S. manned space programs ran into turbulence during its initial congressional hearing Wednesday, with lawmakers complaining that it seeks to kill current exploration plans without offering specific commercial substitutes.

Nasa scientists use Hubble space telescope to capture head on asteroid collision

Nasa scientists using the Hubble space telescope have captured for the first time a close up view of a remarkable head-on collision between two asteroids, which could have been part of what killed off dinosaurs millions of years ago.

House Panel Sees Pros and Cons in NASA Plan

Congressional reaction to President Obama’s budget for NASA was divided more along geographical than political lines Wednesday, as members of a House subcommittee debated the merits of scrapping the agency’s plans to return to the moon by 2020 and shift, instead, to developing new launching technologies.

NASA Constellation supporters start the counter-revolution

If anybody had any illusions that supporters of NASA’s Constellation program would go quietly into that long dark night, forget about it. Fans of the space program are starting to come out of their budget-induced state of shock and they are livid. The push-back against President Barack Obama’s plans to cancel the moon program and its Ares I and Ares V rockets and Orion capsule has officially begun.

NASA watchdogs wary of new course for agency

NASA watchdogs voiced caution Wednesday about changing the agency’s course toward greater research rather than returning to the moon.

NASA Aims To Launch Endeavour Early Sunday

Shuttle Endeavour is being readied at Kennedy Space Center for a launch early Sunday on a mission to deliver an Italian observation deck to the International Space Station along with the last large section of the U.S. side of the outpost.

Parker Griffith tells House he’s ‘disappointed’ in decision to end Constellation, Ares work

Congressman Parker Griffith spoke yesterday to the House of Representatives about President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget proposal that would cut the Constellation program and eventually end local work on the Ares rockets.

Cancelling Constellation A Colossal Mistake!

I certainly hope that Dayton and the National Museum Of The United States Air Force succeeds in their efforts to get NASA to permanently place one of the Space Shuttles at the Museum once the shuttles are retired.

Giving up on the Moon?

Rand Simberg is a great guy, but he is wrong about the results of canceling Constellation. That NASA is a messy, often wrongheaded, politicized, bloated government bureaucracy is not the issue. Of course it is; it’s a government agency.

Congress strikes back over Obama rocket cuts, lost Utah ATK jobs

Republicans and Democrats took some early shots Wednesday at the Obama administration’s proposal this week to end NASA’s Constellation program to return to the moon, which could cost hundreds of jobs at rocket manufacturer ATK in Utah.

Good Night Moon

No bucks – no buck Rogers – Our sources tell us NASA is no longer headed back to the moon – or anywhere else for that matter.

Nasa mission to unravel sun’s threat to Earth

NASA is to embark on one of its most ambitious missions in an attempt to unlock the secrets of the sun.

The Symphony as a Vessel to Visit Other Worlds

So what would Holst have thought about “The Planets — an HD Odyssey,” presented by the Austrian conductor Hans Graf and the excellent Houston Symphony at Carnegie Hall on Thursday night? As the orchestra played a vibrantly colorful performance of the suite on a stage with dimmed lighting, video was shown of the actual planets taken from explorations of the solar system over the last 35 years, mostly from NASA projects.

Speculation about NASA’s future swirls in advance of Obama’s budget request

President Barack Obama is expected to deliver his budget request for fiscal year 2011 on February 1, but to hear many commentators tell it, the sky has already fallen on NASA.

Asteroid doomsday, aka Armageddon, 2036: for sure say Russians, maybe not says NASA

The asteroid Apophis, were it to hit the Earth in 2036, would explode with the force of more than half the weapons in the United States nuclear arsenal. That would be bad. True to form, though, the old Cold War enemies are in disagreement about the dangers.

Space, Cyberspace Viewed as Likely Battlegrounds for U.S. in 21st Century

The United States faces an evolving list of potential adversaries in the 21st century that not only continue to seek weapons of mass destruction, but are honing the skills necessary to wage battle in cyberspace as well as outer space, a panel of national security experts said Jan. 20.

Bolden: New Space Policy Will Stress Cooperation

In a five-day visit here with political, industry and academic leaders, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden pledged to boost Israeli participation in the U.S. space program, citing Earth science, robotics and instrumentation as potential areas for future cooperation.

Angst Greets Obama Space Plan

U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan to scrap NASA’s Moon-bound Constellation program and turn to private companies for launching astronauts into space provoked a strong bipartisan rebuke from the Alabama, Florida and Texas congressional delegations several days before the president was slated to deliver his annual budget request to Congress.

Geoffrey Burbidge dies at 84; astrophysicist and colleagues discovered how elements are synthesized in stars

The scientist also became notorious for rejecting the big-bang theory, arguing instead that matter is continually created, emerging as quasars from energetic galaxies.

Big battle brews over planned NASA cuts

President Barack Obama’s budget blueprint for ending NASA’s program to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 is fueling a titanic political fight as lawmakers from Texas move to protect jobs, astronauts and the Johnson Space Center.

NASA honors astronauts

Donna Bruce somberly placed her pink carnation in front of the memorial inscribed with names of astronauts who sacrificed their lives for the space program.

Nelson: Build a heavy-lift rocket

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a close adviser to President Obama, predicts the administration will direct NASA on Monday to develop a super-sized rocket to send astronauts on missions beyond Earth orbit.

ATK Lays Off 420 In Utah

The company that builds booster rockets for the space shuttle has laid off another 420 workers in Utah, according to the Associated Press.

BROWN DWARF HUNT HITS RECORD LOW

Brown dwarfs are curious objects. Although they can weigh up to 80 Jupiter masses, they are too small to be called stars yet too big to be called planets. Until the late 1980’s they were purely theoretical objects.

Sen. Nelson worried about future of NASA

US Senator and former astronaut Bill Nelson is calling for the space shuttle program to end as planned but has big worries about the future of NASA.

The Coolest of Orbs

An international team of astronomers using several telescopes has discovered what appears to be the coolest star-like body known, a brown dwarf called SDSS1416+13B. The dim ball of gas is roughly 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope helped nail down the temperature of the object by observing at a particular range of light called mid-infrared.

Obama Is No JFK

Yesterday’s announcement that the Obama administration plans to scrap funding for voyages to the moon and to Mars, shows how low President Obama’s horizons truly are.

Rebel Engineers Sit With NASA to Chart Future of Manned Space

Moonlighting engineers get their say at a secret NASA meeting—and dish hints of what NASA’s future rockets might look like after the massive shake-up of manned spaceflight programs.

Obama budget hits ATK, Bishop rips president

On the day 420 of its workers were laid off because the space shuttle and Minuteman missile programs are ending, ATK Launch Systems got word that funding for the shuttle’s replacement, the Ares missile, has been cut from President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal.

Climate Kids Website from NASA

NASA has unveiled their new website, called “Climate Kids: NASA’s Eyes on the Earth”. Designed for 4th – 6th graders, the site has a wealth of information and activities for kids to explore.

Discovery of Algae’s Toxic Hunting Habits Could Help Curb Chesapeake Fish Kills

A microbe commonly found in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways emits a poison not just to protect itself but to stun and immobilize the prey it plans to eat, a team of researchers from four universities has discovered. The findings about algae linked to massive fish kills could lead to new ways to slow the growth of these tiny but toxic marine creatures.

The colour of dinosaur feathers identified

The colour of some feathers on dinosaurs and early birds has been identified for the first time, reports a paper published in Nature this week.

Queen’s Cat Goddess Temple Found in Egypt

This limestone feline is among some 600 cat statues from a newfound temple dedicated to the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. The ancient temple was recently discovered under the streets of modern-day Alexandria, Egypt.

Sun and moon trigger deep tremors on San Andreas Fault

The faint tug of the sun and moon on the San Andreas Fault stimulates tremors deep underground, suggesting that the rock 15 miles below is lubricated with highly pressurized water that allows the rock to slip with little effort, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, seismologists.

Mummy mystery GMC geology professor to dig into Chilean burial methods

A Green Mountain College professor will use a Fulbright Grant to explore the origins of some of the world’s oldest mummies.

The greatest scientific advances from the Muslim world

From the elephant clock to the camera obscura, here are six amazing inventions from between the 9th and 15th centuries

Putting the moon in the state’s orbit

California wants to register as historical resources the space junk (high-tech and otherwise) left behind by the Apollo 11 crew.

Egypt to Reveal the Results of DNA Testing on King Tut’s Mummy

On Sunday, Egypt’s antiquities department made the announcement that they will soon reveal the results of DNA testing conducted on the world’s most famous ancient king, Pharaoh Tutankhamun, which was undertaken to answer lingering mysteries over his lineage.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous… Egyptians

The rich and famous people of ancient Egypt lived a decadent lifestyle with fine wine, sex, high fashion, and plenty of partying. How do they compare with their equivalents today – the modern western celebrity set?

Lecture reveals history behind ancient Egyptian pottery

The Egyptian pottery residing in the Ophelia Parrish art gallery is accompanied by a story about how it had been unearthed and nestled safely in those glass cases. Sara Orel, art history professor and temporary curator of the exhibit, told the story in her faculty forum presentation “The Garstang Excavations at Beni Hasan, Egypt” on Jan. 26 in Magruder Hall 2001.

Tomb of ancient China’s “defense minister” unearthed in northwest China

The family tombs of an high-ranking general of the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) was unearthed in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, providing evidence to China’s military history, archaeologists said Friday.

“Mythical” Temple Found in Peru

A thousand-year-old temple complex (including a tomb with human sacrifice victims, shown in a digital illustration) has been found under the windswept dunes of northwestern Peru, archaeologists say.

Avenue of the sphinxes will be restored

Excavations on part of an ancient 2.7km avenue of sphinxes that once linked temples in Luxor and Karnak should be completed in March, Egypt’s antiquities chief said on Thursday.

Sarcophagus could provide clues to Mayan decline

A thousand-year-old stone sarcophagus discovered in southern Mexico could provide clues to the reason for decline of Mayan culture, the archaeologist responsible for the find has said.

The most sacred of cities

Abydos is situated on the western bank of the Nile about seven kilometres west of the town of Balyana in Middle Egypt. It made its debut on the stage of Egypt’s ancient history even before the dynastic period, and it retained its aura of sanctity longer than any other site in Egypt.

Did Leonardo paint himself as “Mona Lisa”?

The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is shrouded in mystery: How did he die? Are the remains buried in a French chateau really those of the Renaissance master? Was the “Mona Lisa” a self-portrait in disguise?

Archaeology in Jerusalem: Digging Up Trouble

Archaeologists in the Holy Land like to joke that their profession is vulnerable to a milder form of the syndrome. When scientists find a cracked, oversize skull in the Valley of Elah, it can be hard to resist the thought that it might have belonged to Goliath, or to imagine, while excavating the cellars of a Byzantine church, that the discovery of a few wooden splinters might be part of the cross on which Christ died.

Early copy of the Gospel of Mark is a forgery

US scholars, conservators and scientists collaborate to prove that a “14th-century manuscript” is a skilled fake

Viking settlement unearthed by OPW

DUBLIN’S NORTHSIDE is revealing its own Viking past with the first evidence of 11th-century Dubliners choosing to settle on the north shore of the Liffey emerging in the past week.

Evidence of Stone Age amputation forces rethink over history of surgery

Scientists unearthed evidence of the surgery during work on an Early Neolithic tomb discovered at Buthiers-Boulancourt, about 40 miles (65km) south of Paris. They found that a remarkable degree of medical knowledge had been used to remove the left forearm of an elderly man about 6,900 years ago — suggesting that the true Flintstones were more developed than previously thought.

Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion: 24-Yr Anniversary of Disaster

January 28 is the 24-year anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. I was among the multitudes of schoolchildren who witnessed the space shuttle disaster on television in 1986, as our teacher had wheeled in the TV so we could watch the historic launch, which would have featured the first teacher in space.

New stellar streams discovered in Andromeda

New stellar streams observed in the halo of nearby galaxy Andromeda that show an intensification of the density of stars represent the tell tale signs of past galactic collisions.

Safety paramount as NASA enters period of upheaval

NASA managers have a challenging balancing act ahead of them this year as they oversee the last five missions of the space shuttle program and prepare the agency for a future that is increasingly cloudy and uncertain.

Light extinguishes dark-matter claims

By invoking the effects of starlight, theorists have created a model of the behaviour of galactic electrons, casting doubt on a signal that some had hoped pointed to a detection of dark matter.

Human flight to Mars will be a global mission: ISRO

The maiden human space flight to Mars would be a global mission through a consortium by 2030, a top Indian space official said Wednesday.

Michoud might be cut out of Obama’s budget

Louisiana’s two U.S. senators are expressing concern about reports that President Barack Obama is planning to provide the space agency with no money in his 2011 budget for a NASA rocket program to replace the aging space shuttle.

IAF seeks mission-specific micro-satellites

Israel is interested in acquiring micro-satellites, OC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan said on Wednesday, at the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference in Herzliya.

Galactic Partnership: NASA and Israel Space Agency

(IsraelNN.com) NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed a joint statement of cooperation. The agreement recognizes the Israel Network for Lunar Science and Exploration (INLSE) as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute, and was signed at the agency’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

Astronomers Find Rare Beast by New Means

For the first time, astronomers have found a supernova explosion with properties similar to a gamma-ray burst, but without seeing any gamma rays from it. The discovery, using the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, promises, the scientists say, to point the way toward locating many more examples of these mysterious explosions.

Andrew Lange, Scholar of the Cosmos, Dies at 52

Andrew Lange, an astrophysicist whose balloon-borne measurements of light left over from the Big Bang played a key role in elucidating the shape and nature of the universe, was found dead on Jan. 22 in Los Angeles. He was 52.

Russia launches military satellite from Baikonur

Russia launched on Thursday a Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, the Defense Ministry said.

India announces first manned space mission

India’s space agency has said it will launch its first manned mission to space in 2016.
A senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in Bangalore said that two astronauts would take part.

Griffin’s statement

This is a statement released Wednesday by Dr. Mike Griffin, former NASA administrator and now eminent scholar at the University of Alabama in Huntsville:

Anxiety rises over NASA budget

Anxiety about the future of manned space flight – and 2,200 local jobs – is building amid reports that President Barack Obama will propose a 2011 NASA budget Monday that weakens or kills the Constellation program.

Route 66: Cassini’s Next Look at Titan

Sixteen days after last visiting Saturn’s largest moon, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft returns for another look-see of the cloud-shrouded moon – this time from on high. The flyby on Thursday, Jan. 28, referred to as “T-66″ in the hollowed halls of Cassini operations, will place the spacecraft within 7,490 kilometers (4,654 miles) above the surface during time of closest approach.

Will potential NASA budget cuts affect JSC?

Years ago, it sounded like science fiction – a grand vision to create bases on the moon to launch longer missions into space.
Now, just days away from the announcement of a new government budget, those dreams of space exploration may be even farther away.

SETI in the capital – day two

Searching for laser beams from ET, hunting down a second genesis of life on Earth and the broader implications for society upon ET’s discovery were the topics on the menu during the second and final day of The Royal Society’s special meeting on extraterrestrial life.

Oddball Cosmic Explosion Holds Clues to Universe’s Biggest Bangs

Scientists have observed a peculiar type of star death in deep space that may help explain the most powerful explosions in the universe.

Rep. Posey: Obama’s reported space plan is “ill-advised”

“Although Congress awaits the President’s official budget request next week, I am deeply concerned over news reports citing Administration officials that the President seems determined to abdicate America’s leadership in human space exploration.

Aliens can’t hear us, says astronomer

Fainter broadcasting signals and digital switchover mean Earth will soon be undetectable to extraterrestrials

NASA Sets Feb. 7 Launch Date For Endeavour

NASA set Feb. 7 as the firm launch date for shuttle Endeavour and a mission to the International Space Station at the conclusion of an executive-level flight readiness review here at Kennedy Space Center.

Obama To Abandon Return To Moon, Extend ISS

President Barack Obama will propose $6 billion in new funding for NASA over the next five years, administration officials said Wednesday.

Heavyweights vs. Lightweights: Are the Largest Stars Born Like our Sun?

Explaining how the most massive stars are born, deep within their stellar nurseries, is one of the most persistent mysteries in modern astronomy. Now, observations at the Gemini Observatory provide convincing new evidence that these stellar heavyweights may be born in much the same manner as lightweights like our Sun.

Early Cometary Bombardment May Explain the Divergent Paths of Jupiter’s Biggest Moons

Ganymede and Callisto, the two largest Jovian satellites, appear to have similar origins but have led very different lives.

Full Moon Names for 2010

Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. Those tribes of a few hundred years ago kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.

Star-Mass Black Hole Is Farthest Known

A newfound black hole leftover from the explosion of a star is the most distant yet to be discovered by astronomers. The newly discovered black hole, which is about 15 times the mass of our sun, is also the second most massive on record.

U.S. general urges world war on space debris

World powers must find ways to reduce the amount of debris in orbit, as the collision risk it poses to spacecraft is increasing, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command said on Wednesday.

NASA Day of Remembrance at Kennedy Space Center Jan. 29

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., will pay tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency’s Day of Remembrance observance on Friday, Jan. 29.

Space Station Views of Haiti

An Expedition 22 crew member onboard the International Space Station took this image of the 260-year-old city Port-au-Prince on Jan. 18, 2010 when they could view the area. This was a few days after the major Haitian earthquake occurred and brought devastation to Port-au-Prince, Carrefour, and the surrounding region.

Newborn Black Holes Boost Explosive Power of Supernovae

An international team of scientists, including two astronomers from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., have observed a supernova with peculiar radio emission.

NASA Gives ‘Go’ for Feb. 7 as Final Space Shuttle Night Launch

Space shuttle Endeavour is set to begin a 13-day flight to the International Space Station with a Feb. 7 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m. EST, making this the final scheduled space shuttle night launch.

Close Encounter with Mars

It rises in the east at sunset, pumpkin-orange and brighter than a first magnitude star. You stare at it, unblinking. Unblinking, it stares right back.
It is Mars.

Author Andrew Chaikin to teach online spaceflight course at MSU

Best-selling space journalist Andrew Chaikin will co-teach an online course about the history of spaceflight and space technology at Montana State University this spring.

Space Program Faces Crucial Test This Year

A space race has been underway in Asia. So far all the talk has been about China, Japan and India, but this will be the year that South Korea manifests itself as the definite fourth Asian player, according to the chief of the country’s space agency.

ISRO to begin process soon for Human Space Flight Mission

ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota will soon initiate the process of creating Third Launch Pad for human transportation into space, SHRC Director Chandra Datttan on Tuesday said during Republic Day celebrations.

Wyle’s Scott Parazynski Serves as Honorary Captain of U.S. Luge Team in Vancouver Games

As a former astronaut, Wyle’s Scott Parazynski has experienced a bit of speed and excitement in his life. Rocketing into space on five separate occasions aboard NASA Space Shuttles to enormous altitudes, he has also scaled the highest peak on earth, the 29,035-foot Mount Everest, during a May 2009 expedition.

What it takes to tweet from space: 100 radiation-resistant laptops, Wi-Fi, help from Earth

Last Friday, astronaut Timothy Creamer was the first human to use the Twitter service live from space.

Some Solar Storms Start With a Twist

Scientists have detected a consistent pattern in the sun’s magnetic behavior that precedes solar flares. If the pattern can be unraveled completely, it could give hours or even days of warning to telecommunications companies, electric power grids, and satellite operators to prepare for these dangerous storms.

Physicist Honored for Discoveries About the Sun

Marcia Neugebauer has received two prestigious awards for her research into the nature of the solar wind.

WISE spies its first Near Earth Asteroid

NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, WISE, has spotted its first never-before-seen Near Earth Asteroid (NEA), the first of hundreds it is expected to uncover during its mission to map the whole sky in infrared light.

Augustine Likes Space Debris Treaty

He’s affable, writes well, is sharp as a tack and he’s unemployed. He’s also Norm Augustine, about as close as you get these days to the giants of the aerospace business like Curtiss, Hughes, Tripp and the guys who used their initials to start a cool company called TRW.

NASA to Review Human Spaceflight

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is preparing for a major evaluation of its human spaceflight program, even as many who will conduct the survey have yet to be informed of the agency’s revised mission.

NASA Could See Budget Boost Despite Spending Freeze

A top White House budget official suggested to reporters Jan. 26 that NASA could still see a budget increase for 2011 despite U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed three-year freeze on most non-defense discretionary spending.

Astronauts Photograph Haiti Quake Aftermath From Space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station recently photographed Haiti from orbit in the days following the country’s devastating earthquake.

Now a Stationary Research Platform, NASA’s Mars Rover Spirit Starts a New Chapter in Red Planet Scientific Studies

After six years of unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer will be a fully mobile robot. NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap have been unsuccessful.

Religion could survive discovery of ET, survey suggests

Could the world’s religions survive the discovery of extraterrestrial life? Or would their beliefs be so shaken that they would eventually collapse?