astronauts

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Astronauts Look at Endeavour's Tummy Trouble

NASA examines gouge as flying foam invokes memories of Columbia

(Newser) - Endeavor’s crew gave NASA a better look at a wound on the space shuttle’s belly today, CNN reports. Astronauts used a robotic arm to photograph the three-inch gouge on the shuttle’s heat shield, a ding caused by a flying piece of foam during liftoff. NASA hopes the...

NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage
NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage
Aug 11, 2007 4:01 PM CDT

NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage

Engineers say ice chunk hit shuttle's underbelly, could endanger re-entry

(Newser) - Endeavour's astronauts finished their first spacewalk today by installing a 2-ton beam on the back of the international space station, the AP reports. Meanwhile NASA engineers inspected troubling images of a gash in shuttle Endeavour’s heat shield caused, they believe, by an ice chunk that flew off the fuel...

Shuttle Docks With Space Station
Shuttle Docks With Space Station
Aug 10, 2007 4:12 PM CDT

Shuttle Docks With Space Station

Endeavour checked for foam damage, mission control not worried

(Newser) - Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station today after executing an orbital flip to allow the exterior of the craft to be photographed and examined for any damage sustained during liftoff. Three foam chunks detached from the shuttle during launch, and although some damage remains possible, mission managers say...

Most Dangerous Science Jobs
Most Dangerous Science Jobs
Aug 10, 2007 2:21 PM CDT

Most Dangerous Science Jobs

Forget toiling in a lab coat—only mad scientists need apply

(Newser) - Science isn't just lab rats and microscopes—how does flying into hurricanes grab you? The most hazardous occupations for you biology, chemistry, and physics nerds:
  1. Astronaut: 24 US deaths since 1961.
  2. Biosafety lab researcher: Handle earth's deadliest diseases.
  3. Hurricane hunter: Fly into tempests to gauge pressure and wind speed.

NASA Admits Sabotage, Drunk Astronauts

Agency says hard stuff not right stuff, vows to launch action

(Newser) - NASA promised immediate action today on embarrassing reports of an intentionally damaged computer and inebriated astronauts. An administrator said an internal safety review, staff briefing on new policy, and official 12-hour pre-flight ban on alcohol would follow an independent panel’s finding of “heavy” alcohol use by astronauts before...

Astronauts Drunk on the Job: Panel
Astronauts Drunk on the Job: Panel
Jul 26, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

Astronauts Drunk on the Job: Panel

Space travelers' IDs, fates still up in the air

(Newser) - NASA astronauts were permitted to fly while intoxicated on at least two occasions, an independent review has found. A aerospace trade journal published the findings on its website, revealing that astronauts engaged in "heavy use of alcohol" within the prohibited 12-hour "bottle to throttle" time before launch.

MIT Slims Down the Space Suit
MIT Slims Down the Space Suit
Jul 24, 2007 1:05 PM CDT

MIT Slims Down the Space Suit

BioSuit is astronauts' sexy new get-up

(Newser) - When NASA astronauts are suited up for space heroics they're more Marshmallow Man than Spider-Man, but that could change with a sleek new space suit designed by MIT aeronautics professor Dava Newman. The revolutionary BioSuit is lightweight and form-fitting, allowing physical feats not possible in the current bulky gear.

Astronaut Takes Out the Trash, Into Space

Discarded equipment expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere

(Newser) - A NASA astronaut hurled two large pieces of space junk—a 1,400-pound reservoir filled with ammonia and a 212-pound piece of video equipment—off the International Space Station and into the Earth's orbit today. NASA does not approve of space littering, Reuters reports, but the agency had no other...

Lawyer Blasts 'Astronaut Diaper' Report

Attorney says media's overinflated tale doesn't hold water

(Newser) - The most attention-getting detail to emerge from the astronaut love triangle story is also the "biggest lie," Lisa Nowak's lawyer said today. The ex-astronaut did not drive from Houston to Orlando wearing a diaper, and that information, which originally appeared in the police report about the incident that...

Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.
Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.
Jun 22, 2007 7:28 PM CDT

Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.

Space shuttle, 7 astronauts return after Fla. weather forces change of plans

(Newser) - The Atlantis space shuttle landed in California this afternoon, touching down at Edwards Air Force Base after weather forced a 1-day delay and a detour from Florida. The craft's signature twin sonic booms reverberated from San Diego to Los Angeles before the shuttle glided to a stop in the Mojave...

Europe Seeks Mars Test Volunteers

Wanted: 12 people to live in a mock-up 'spacecraft' for 500 days

(Newser) - The European Space Agency is recruiting 12 volunteers to spend 17 months living and working in a series of interconnected modules that simulate an inter-planetary mission to Mars. The 'spaceship' is 19,250 cubic feet and is located at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

Atlantis Heads Home
Atlantis Heads Home
Jun 19, 2007 7:10 PM CDT

Atlantis Heads Home

13-day mission concludes; rain may delay landing in Florida

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station today and set out on the final leg of its 13-day mission. The seven astronauts' final preparations for landing included making sure the craft's heat shield was ready to re-enter the atmosphere before landing Thursday—or later if the weather doesn't...

Shuttle Docks at Space Station
Shuttle Docks at Space Station
Jun 11, 2007 5:31 AM CDT

Shuttle Docks at Space Station

(Newser) - The Atlantis docked with the international space station today, bringing with it a segment to be added to the station and the newest member of its crew. The arrival was marred by concern about a piece of thermal blanket on the shuttle that peeled back during launch;  ground control...

Astronaut Wally Schirra Dies at 84
Astronaut
Wally Schirra Dies at 84
May 3, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Astronaut Wally Schirra Dies at 84

Schirra the third American to orbit the earth, the fifth in space

(Newser) - Astronaut Wally Schirra, a reporter once said, geared up for space flight with "the ease of preparing for a family picnic." The third American to orbit the earth and the fifth ever to fly into space, Shirra died today. He was 84.

Final Frontier Tests Terra Firma Ethics

NASA ponders death, sex during long space voyages

(Newser) - As NASA plans a three-year manned mission to Mars during the next three decades, Oregon Trail ethics are being updated. What do you do with bodies of pioneers who don't make it? A new document on crew health from the space agency deals with death and interment where no man...

NASA Dumps Deranged Astronaut
NASA Dumps Deranged Astronaut
Mar 8, 2007 1:16 PM CST

NASA Dumps Deranged Astronaut

Nowak will be sent back to the Navy

(Newser) - Love-lorn Lisa Nowak made history again Wednesday, when she became the first astronaut ever to get a pink slip from NASA. The space agency remanded her to the U.S. Navy, for whom she was officially on assignment at NASA.

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