Space

March 9, 2010 -- MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA today unveiled an interactive computer simulation that allows virtual explorers of all ages to dock the space shuttle at the International Space Station, experience a virtual trip to Mars or a lunar impact, and explore images of star formations taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

In an effort to excite young people about space and NASA's missions, the agency has launched the online Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) simulation, designed to entertain and educate. The interactive simulation offers a virtual 3-D experience to visualize how data travels along various space communications paths.    » read more »

Additional Evidence of Water Activity on Moon

WASHINGTON -- Using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have detected ice deposits near the moon's north pole. NASA's Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, found more than 40 small craters with water ice. The craters range in size from 1 to 9 miles (2 to15 km) in diameter. Although the total amount of ice depends on its thickness in each crater, it's estimated there could be at least 1.3 trillion pounds (600 million metric tons) of water ice.    » read more »

FY2011 Request: $19.0 billion; FY2010 Enacted: $18.3 billion

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) drives advances in science, technology, and exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality, stewardship of the Earth, and solutions to national and global challenges. The President’s Budget invests an additional $6 billion in NASA over the next five years – an overall $100 billion commitment to the agency.

Build the Foundation for a Bold New Course for Human Space Flight    » read more »

Jan. 27, 2010 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- 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.

Endeavour's launch date was announced Wednesday at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready.

Endeavour's flight will begin the final year of space shuttle operations. Five shuttle missions are planned in 2010, with the last flight currently targeted for launch in September.    » read more »

Jan. 27, 2010 -- WASHINGTON -- Astronomers studying two exploding stars, or supernovae, have found evidence the blasts received an extra boost from newborn black holes. The supernovae were found to emit jets of particles traveling at more than half the speed of light.

Previously, the only catastrophic events known to produce such high-speed jets were gamma-ray bursts, the universe's most luminous explosions. Supernovae and the most common type of gamma-ray bursts occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel and collapse. A neutron star or black hole forms at the star's core, triggering a massive explosion that destroys the rest of the star.    » read more »

Jan. 22, 2010 -- WASHINGTON -- A new report from the National Research Council lays out options NASA could follow to detect more near-Earth objects (NEOs) – asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard if they cross Earth's orbit. The report says the $4 million the U.S. spends annually to search for NEOs is insufficient to meet a congressionally mandated requirement to detect NEOs that could threaten Earth.    » read more »

HOUSTON, Jan. 18, 2010 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced it will draw on its human spaceflight experience, as well as its knowledge of International Space Station (ISS) operations and cargo processing, to bid on NASA's ISS Cargo Mission Contract.

NASA released a Request For Proposals on Jan. 15 for a contract to provide technical support services including the analysis and physical processing of pressurized cargo and flight crew equipment to be transported to and from the ISS. The contract also covers launch preparations and post-landing activities related to processing the flight crew equipment.    » read more »

Jan. 15, 2010 -- WASHINGTON -- The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, or ASAP, a congressionally mandated group of independent experts established after the 1967 Apollo 1 fire, has released its 2009 annual report.

Following the 2003 space shuttle Columbia accident, Congress directed the ASAP to submit an annual report to Congress and the NASA administrator documenting the panel’s observations and recommendations. This year’s report advises NASA on issues that have potential to directly or indirectly impact the safety of astronauts, NASA personnel, contractors, programs and missions.    » read more »

January 15, 2010 -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, recently introduced the Control Spending Now Act, legislation to reduce the deficit by about one half trillion dollars. The legislation is made up of more than 40 proposals to cut the record U.S. deficit, which currently stands at $1.42 trillion.

To highlight examples of things Congress can do to reduce the deficit, Feingold launched a "Spotlight on Spending" series to feature provisions of his legislation and help shine a light on examples of poor stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.

Spotlight on Spending: Delaying the Lunar Mission    » read more »

Dec. 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) have signed a joint statement that allows for collaboration in lunar and asteroid science research. The partnership recognizes the Saudi Lunar and Near-Earth Object Science Center as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.    » read more »

Dec. 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA has purchased two reusable solid rocket motors from ATK Launch Systems Inc. of Brigham City, Utah, to provide a "launch on need" rescue capability for the final planned space shuttle mission, targeted for September 2010.

The reusable solid rocket motors are the propellant-loaded sections of the solid rocket boosters that provide thrust for the first two minutes of a shuttle flight. The $64.6 million modification brings the total value of the contract, which was awarded in October 1998, to $4.1 billion and covers work started in February to produce and transport the two motors.    » read more »

NASA's WISE Eye on the Universe Begins All-Sky Survey Mission

Dec. 14, 2009 -- VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, lifted off over the Pacific Ocean this morning on its way to map the entire sky in infrared light.

A Delta II rocket carrying the spacecraft launched at 9:09 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket deposited WISE into a polar orbit 326 miles above Earth.

"WISE thundered overhead, lighting up the pre-dawn skies," said William Irace, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "All systems are looking good, and we are on our way to seeing the entire infrared sky better than ever before."    » read more »

But not the last, now that astronomers know where to look

December 02, 2009 -- A superbright supernova found in a dwarf galaxy by a robotic search is the first confirmed example of a pair-instability supernova, the result of the partial core collapse and thermonuclear detonation of an enormously massive star, like the earliest stars in the Universe.

In this schematic illustration of the material ejected from supernova 2009bi, the radioactive nickel core (white) decays to cobalt, emitting gamma rays and positrons that excite the surrounding material (textured yellow), which is rich in heavy elemements such as iron, causing it to glow. The outer layers (dark shadow) consist of light elements that remain unilluminated.    » read more »

Nov. 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or Wise, is chilled out, sporting a sunshade and getting ready to roll. NASA's newest spacecraft is scheduled to roll to the pad on Friday, Nov. 20, its last stop before launching into space to survey the entire sky in infrared light.

Wise is scheduled to launch no earlier than 9:09 a.m. EST on Dec. 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will circle Earth over the poles, scanning the entire sky one-and-a-half times in nine months. The mission will uncover hidden cosmic objects, including the coolest stars, dark asteroids and the most luminous galaxies.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- Washington, DC – House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairwoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) congratulated National Administration of Space and Aeronautics (NASA) on making TIME’s List of 50 Best Inventions of 2009. NASA’s Ares rockets placed number one among the best inventions of the year.

The Ares rockets placed before several remarkable inventions – the Smart Thermostat (#4), the AIDS vaccine (#8), and Tweeting by Thinking (#9), among others.    » read more »