NASA

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NASA: We'll Launch Astronauts in 5 Years

Three commercial companies will build new crafts

(Newser) - NASA is gearing up to again launch humans into space ... within five years. The agency retired its fleet of shuttles last summer, and this morning it announced a deal worth about $1 billion with three American companies to design and construct the next generation of rocket ships to take off...

Man's Ticket to Mars: Inflatable Heat Shield?

Device inflates to deflect heat and force

(Newser) - It sounds like something out of an HG Wells novel, but NASA's newest innovation may pave the way to getting humans on Mars. The agency successfully tested a $17 million inflatable heat shield yesterday, reports Space.com . The Inflatable Re-Entry Vehicle Experiment 3 (IRVE-3) blasted off from a NASA...

On NASA's Mars Menu: Thai Pizza, Martian Veggies

Astronauts on the 3-year mission could grow some of their own produce

(Newser) - Here's a real head scratcher: How do you feed a crew of six to eight astronauts on a mission to Mars that will last almost three years? It's a question NASA is working at already, even though the mission won't happen for at least another 10 to...

Mars Rover Offers Sweeping View

NASA creates composite image from 817 photos

(Newser) - It's Mars as you've never seen it: NASA released a panoramic image this week of the planet's landscape, notes Wired . The rover Opportunity took 817 images from late 2011 until May 2012 as it sat parked for the winter, and the space agency used them to create...

Ex-Astronaut Killed When Son Crashes Into His Jet Ski

NASA mourns Capt. Alan Poindexter

(Newser) - NASA is mourning former astronaut Alan Poindexter, who died in a jet ski accident in Florida over the weekend. Poindexter, 50, was on a jet ski with his 22-year-old son when his older son, 26, crashed into them on another jet ski, sending both men into the water, reports the...

Private Mission Planned to Save Earth From Asteroids

With thousands of asteroids lurking, 'time's a wastin',' says B612 chairman

(Newser) - A California-based nonprofit group seeking to prevent the Earth from being struck by killer asteroids has announced plans to send an infrared telescope into space to hunt for dangerous near-Earth objects, reports Wired . The B612 Foundation's Sentinel Mission would be the first privately funded deep-space mission, aiming to put...

Scientists Turn Star Data Into Reggae

Reggae-rock group Echo Movement composes astral melody

(Newser) - What do stars in outer space sound like? Try listening to the 6-second melody (note: that's a .wav file) that will be used on a track due this fall by the reggae-rock group Echo Movement. The band wanted to create its own space jam, so it asked researchers at...

NASA's 2-Year Hunt for Black Holes Starts Today

NASA's NuStar scheduled to launch from South Pacific

(Newser) - Barring any mishaps, a refrigerator-size telescope will begin its two-year quest to track down black holes today. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuStar) is set to rocket into space from an island located between Hawaii and Australia, reports the AP . Once it gets some 350 miles above Earth, it will...

NASA Scraps Telescope to Study Black Holes

'GEMS' project was coming in way over budget

(Newser) - NASA killed a new X-ray telescope mission today, two years before its planned launch. The Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer mission, or GEMS for short, was supposed to blast off in 2014 to study black holes and neutron stars. But external reviews found the project would likely come in...

SpaceX Dragon Returns to Earth

It splashed into Pacific after historic trip to space station

(Newser) - A little bit of history splashed into the Pacific this morning: The SpaceX Dragon capsule returned to Earth from its supply run to the International Space Station, reports the AP . SpaceX reports that NASA's planes have spotted Dragon's parachutes in the water, and that it landed right on...

Astronauts Enter the Dragon
  Astronauts Enter the Dragon 
May 26, 2012 2:59 PM CDT

Astronauts Enter the Dragon

World's first commercial supply ship has 'new car' smell

(Newser) - Space station astronauts floated into the Dragon today, a day after its heralded arrival as the world's first commercial supply ship. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, the first one inside the docked capsule, said the Dragon looks like it carries about as much cargo as his pickup truck back home...

SpaceX Capsule Docks at Space Station

Dragon capsule successfully captured by space station astronauts

(Newser) - The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station today, triumphantly captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm. SpaceX is the first private company to accomplish such a feat: a commercial cargo delivery into the cosmos. "This really is, I think, going to...

Neil Armstrong: Moon Landing Had 50-50 Chance

He gives rare interview ... to Australian accountants

(Newser) - Fans of the space program are in for a treat: The normally reticent Neil Armstrong sat down for an hourlong interview about that moon landing of his with, of all outlets, the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia. Some highlights:
  • 50-50: "I thought we had a 90% chance of getting
...

NASA's Goal: Man Near Mars in 21 Years

NASA wants to put humans in orbit around Mars by 2033

(Newser) - NASA wants to put humans into Mars' orbit by 2033, with the goal of having astronauts return to Earth with a canister of Mars rocks that would have been collected earlier and put into orbit. The goal was unveiled this week by an internal NASA study group working on the...

SpaceX Pulls Successful 'Fly-By' of Space Station

Dragon capsule comes within 1.5 miles in anticipation of docking

(Newser) - So far, so good for SpaceX : Its Dragon capsule came within 1.5 miles of the International Space Station today, in preparation for docking with it tomorrow. The fly-by, performed as the capsule orbited Earth at around 17,000mph, was confirmed by NASA, the Los Angeles Times reports. Now,...

NASA Thinks 4,700 Asteroids Threaten Earth

And twice as many as previously believed are in orbits similar to Earth's

(Newser) - NASA thinks it's got a pretty solid estimate on the number of gigantic asteroids that could plausibly cause regional or global catastrophe by smashing into Earth: 4,700, give or take 1,500. Included in that number are all the rocks that exist, or which they suspect exist, that...

SpaceX Could Make Tomorrow a Historic Day

Plans to launch first commercial capsule to supply the space station

(Newser) - If all goes well, tomorrow will be a landmark day in commercial space exploration, as SpaceX launches the first private supply run to the International Space Station. But that's a big if. "I think there's a significant chance the mission does not succeed," CEO Elon Musk...

Trouble Ahead: Weather Satellites in 'Rapid Decline'

Number will drop 'precipitously' by 2020

(Newser) - If you like to complain about the unreliability of the weather forecast, get ready to rant: The weather satellites orbiting the Earth are "beginning a rapid decline" in both quality and quantity, a new report finds, and squeezed budgets mean replacements may not be forthcoming. NASA and NOAA Earth...

SpaceX Counts Down to Maiden ISS Mission

Private space firm hopes to dock Dragon next week

(Newser) - Commercial space firm SpaceX may be just days away from going where no private company has gone before: the International Space Station. The company is preparing to send its unmanned Dragon capsule on a mission to supply the ISS with 1,100 pounds of food, water, and other cargo. The...

Look Up, NYC: Enterprise Flies Today

 Enterprise Flies Over NYC 
Apr 27, 2012 10:58 AM CDT

Enterprise Flies Over NYC

Retiring space shuttle gets piggy-back ride over Manhattan

(Newser) - An unusual flying object has landed at New York's JFK Airport: the space shuttle Enterprise. Before arriving this morning, it zoomed around New York City's airspace, riding on top of a modified jumbo jet as part of NASA's process of wrapping up the shuttle program . Enterprise is...

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