astronauts

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Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely
 Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely 
Nov 16, 2009 1:53 PM CST

Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely

Atlantis heads for space station loaded with spare parts

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis took off without a hitch this afternoon, departing Cape Canaveral, Fla., for the International Space Station. After a cloudy morning, the weather improved and the spacecraft lifted off on schedule at 2:28pm, carrying six astronauts—half of them first-timers in space—and two carriers filled with...

Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'
Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'
the final frontier
Nov 15, 2009 3:01 PM CST

Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'

NASA Twitter followers get front-row seats

(Newser) - Final preparations for tomorrow's space shuttle launch include inspecting Atlantis, briefing the six-person crew, and making sure followers of NASA's Twitter feed can see from where they're sitting. The first 100 people to register for the event received 2-day passes that include an in-person look at the launch. "I'm...

'Diaper' Astronaut Gets Light Sentence
 'Diaper' Astronaut 
 Gets Light Sentence 
love triangle
Nov 10, 2009 4:15 PM CST

'Diaper' Astronaut Gets Light Sentence

Nowak pleads to lesser charges, gets year of probation

(Newser) - Ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak will serve a year of probation for the bizarre attack on a romantic rival in 2007. Nowak pleaded guilty to lesser charges of misdemeanor battery and burglary of an automobile. She drove 1,000 miles from Houston to Orlando, famously telling police that she wore a diaper...

1st Clown in Space Blasts Off

Billionaire Cirque founder will 'tickle astros' feet,' highlight water crisis

(Newser) - Canadian billionaire Guy LaLiberte became the 7th paying tourist—and the first clown—in space when he blasted off early today to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft. LaLiberte, founder of Cirque de Soliel, says he plans to crack jokes and tickle the other astronauts' feet as well...

NASA Briefly Lost Touch With Spacewalking Astronauts

(Newser) - Astronauts walking outside the International Space Station lost communications with NASA ground control for 33 minutes today, Reuters reports, after a storm cut the link through a relay station on the Pacific island of Guam. “This is no safety of flight issue,” said a spokesman, who added that...

Send Astronauts to Mars —and Leave Them There

Why a one-way ticket is the best way to the red planet

(Newser) - The most feasible way to get humans on Mars is to offer retirement-age astronauts one-way tickets to live out their last days on the red planet. Say what? It's not as crazy as it sounds, writes scientist Lawrence Krauss in the New York Times, who believes his plan would solve...

NASA Can't Afford to Visit Moon by 2020

(Newser) - With all the hoopla of the Apollo anniversary safely behind us, a White House panel is ready to deliver a sobering assessment of the nation's current moon plans: They're too expensive. The panel, set up by President Obama to review NASA's human space flight program, says the agency's budget is...

NASA Cooks Up New Chow for Mars Mission

(Newser) - Of all the hurdles NASA must overcome in order to reach its goal of getting humans to Mars by 2030, keeping the astronauts fed may be one of the most challenging, the Los Angeles Times reports. The agency’s food scientist must devise meals that are light and nutritious and...

China Recruits Astronauts: Bad-Breathed Need Not Apply

'Super human beings' must meet 100 criteria

(Newser) - China’s looking for astronauts for its new space program, but getting the job won’t be easy: Applicants must conform to some 100 specs, including a ban on bad breath, the BBC reports. “Bad body odor will affect fellow colleagues in the narrow confines of a space shuttle,...

Fifth Spacewalk Completes Shuttle Crew's To-Do List

Endeavour crew successfully completes maintenance and upgrades of space station

(Newser) - Astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour today completed the final tasks of their mission to upgrade and maintain the International Space Station’s Kibo lab, Space.com reports. Crewmen Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn spent five hours in space rewiring the station’s altitude control system and adding some TV...

Apollo 11 Crew Cleared Customs After Splashdown

(Newser) - What do you do when you’re the first men back from the moon and you have a cargo of moon rocks and other lunar specimens? Make a customs declaration, of course. Well, not really, Space.com reports. A customs form, filed in Honolulu and released by NASA to commemorate...

Spacewalk Cut Short After Suit Malfunctions

(Newser) - Two astronauts had to abruptly end their spacewalk outside the International Space Station when mission control operators realized one of them had a spacesuit glitch, Space.com reports. Astronaut Chris Cassidy, making his first spacewalk, was told to abandon his battery replacement work on the station because carbon dioxide levels...

40 Years On, Armstrong Remains an Enigma

(Newser) - Forty years ago today Neil Armstrong strode across the surface of the moon and became the most famous man in the galaxy. Then he disappeared—leaving NASA for a university job, attending almost no public functions, and refusing nearly all interview requests. "Neil was very much the same person...

At Last, Endeavour Reaches ISS
 At Last, Endeavour Reaches ISS 
Jul 17, 2009 1:58 PM CDT

At Last, Endeavour Reaches ISS

Shuttle arrives nearly a month late for construction mission

(Newser) - Space shuttle Endeavour docked today at the International Space Station, an important milestone in its oft-delayed mission, Space.com reports. The crew is scheduled to board the ISS later today. When the Endeavour's seven astronauts climb on, they will push the station's total population to a record-high 13.

Astronaut Love Triangle Couple to Wed
Astronaut Love Triangle Couple to Wed
Jul 10, 2009 12:48 PM CDT

Astronaut Love Triangle Couple to Wed

Relationship survives bizarre confrontation by Lisa Nowak

(Newser) - A bizarre confrontation with a crazed astronaut wasn't enough to end Colleen Shipman's relationship with former astronaut William Oefelein: The Beaver County Times reports the couple will wed next summer. Their relationship became national news 2 years ago when Oefelein's ex, fellow astronaut Lisa Nowak, drove 900 miles from Houston...

Sex Would Lift Flaccid Space Travel: Expert

Hanky panky, champagne would boost funding: historian

(Newser) - Why should flight attendants have all the fun? A respected NASA historian is proposing that astronauts too should join the mile-high club, Bloomberg reports. “Sex in space, now there’s an experiment scientists certainly want to conduct,” James Hansen declared in a lecture at the 100th Paris Air...

Armstrong Flubbed Moon Line, Made It Stellar

Astro put tiny poetic spin on script

(Newser) - Stressed out Neil Armstrong flubbed his line as he became the first human to step on the moon—and turned it into out-of-this-world poetry, reports the BBC. The astronaut was supposed to say: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," as he walked onto...

Atlantis Lands Safely in Calif.
 Atlantis Lands Safely in Calif. 
May 24, 2009 10:46 AM CDT

Atlantis Lands Safely in Calif.

Stormy Florida weather prompted NASA to go to Plan B

(Newser) - With weather conditions in Florida remaining too soggy for a safe shuttle landing, Atlantis instead touched down at Edwards Air Force Base in California this morning. This was the 53rd west-coast landing for a space shuttle, a $2 million decision made easy by the balmy conditions in the Mojave Desert....

Obama Picks Ex-Astronaut as NASA Chief

Bolden would be first African-American to lead agency

(Newser) - President Obama will name former astronaut Charles Bolden Jr. as his NASA administrator soon after the Atlantis shuttle returns to Earth this weekend, sources tell the Los Angeles Times. Bolden, a military aviator who flew four shuttle missions, will be the first African-American to lead NASA if he is confirmed...

Mmm, Mmm, Good! Astros Toast With Recycled Urine

New recycling system will let NASA boost size of station's crew

(Newser) - The crew of the International Space Station toasted successful testing of their new water-recycling system with sips of recycled sweat and urine yesterday, CNET reports. "The taste is great," US astronaut Michael Barratt said as his Russian colleague Gennady Zyuganov chased a floating mouthful in zero gravity....

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