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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: spacecraft

spacecraft stories: 14 news summaries

 We'll Ride Nuke to Mars: Russia 

Space program plans elusive nuclear spaceship by 2012

Oct 30, 09 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Russians are planning to ride a $600 million nuclear-powered spaceship to Mars, and they say they may begin construction by 2012. “It’s a very serious project, and we need to find the money,” president Dmitry Medvedev says. Small nuclear reactors and batteries have long powered satellites,... More »

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Russia • Mars • nuclear reactor • satellite • space travel • spacecraft • Dmitry Medvedev • nuclear energy • spaceship

 Craft Find Traces 
 of Water on Moon 

Widespread, but still unclear how much

Sep 23, 09 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - There is indeed some water on the moon, with three different spacecraft seemingly putting to rest the scientific school of thought that the orb is bone-dry. Friday’s issue of the journal Science cites “unambiguous evidence” of either water (two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen) or hydroxyl (one of... More »

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water • science • moon • spacecraft • hydroxyl

(Newser) - An amino acid necessary to the construction of proteins, and therefore life on Earth, has been found in a comet that passes through our solar system, Space.com reports. Glycine was found in samples picked up by a NASA spacecraft in 2004. The discovery suggests that life’s building blocks... More »

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NASA • life • comet • Stardust • spacecraft • amino acids • glycine • panspermia

 Lava Spotted on Mercury 

NASA flybys uncover planet's secrets

Oct 30, 08 2:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - A spacecraft studying the planet Mercury has discovered evidence of enormous volcanic eruptions. The scale of the volcanic activity has astonished scientists, according to the National Geographic News. Images from the Messenger spacecraft reveal 3,600 cubic miles of solid lava inside a single crater—enough to drown the entire... More »

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NASA • MIT • spacecraft • Mercury • Mariner • vulcanism • lava

 UFO Video Raises  
 a Fuss in Turkey  

Objects spotted near Istanbul during 4-month stretch 'serious challenge to science'

Oct 21, 08 4:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Video taken of strange objects in the night sky over Turkey has been deemed authentic—well, at least by UFO researchers. A night watchman shot the video over multiple nights earlier this year, and it shows hovering craft and strange constellations of lights, the Sun reports. A self-described expert who... More »

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Turkey • video • extraterrestrial life • UFO sightings • spacecraft • outer space

Planned Spacewalk Would Be Giant Leap for Chinese 

Astronauts to launch tomorrow would make China only third nation to accomplish feat

Sep 24, 08 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - China is set to become the third nation to send a human strolling through space this week, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The shuttle Shenzhou VII will launch tomorrow with a crew of three, one of whom will don a Chinese- or Russian-made spacesuit for the spacewalk, seen as another... More »

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China • spacewalk • spacecraft • outer space

 Experts: Warp Drive Is Possible

Physicists theorize warping space could allow faster-than-light travel

Aug 16, 08 5:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two physicists believe the fictional "warp drive" of Star Trek fame could someday become a reality, the Daily Telegraph reports. The scientists theorize that a mysterious cosmic force called dark energy could be harnessed to warp space around a vessel, allowing a spacecraft to travel faster than light—"... More »

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physicist • astrophysics • space travel • speed of light • spacecraft • Star Trek • dark energy

updated

 Cargo Ship Docks With ISS

Unmanned European vessel hooks up to International Space Station

Apr 3, 08 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - European cargo vessel Jules Verne docked flawlessly today at the International Space Station, Space.com reports. The double-decker-sized space hauler has about 8 tons of supplies on board for astronauts at the station, including food and water, rocket propellant—even handwritten documents from the real Jules Verne, a 19th-century science... More »

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NASA • European Space Agency • International Space Station • space flight • spacecraft • cargo ships • Jules Verne • space program • space mission

Laws of Physics
May Need an Overhaul

Scientists detect gravity-defying behavior of spacecrafts

Mar 14, 08 6:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The laws of physics just might be broken. Scientists have detected gravity-defying behavior from spacecrafts flung around the Earth, the Economist reports. Five different spacecrafts picked up speed at a pace deviating,ever so slightly, from the laws created by Newton and Einstein. After laborious calculations, astronomers have created... More »

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astronomy • science • Galileo • gravity • Albert Einstein • spacecraft • Jet Propulsion Laboratory • John Anderson

Space Truck Shoots Into Orbit

Europe's robotic space freighter to service ISS

Mar 9, 08 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Europe's first automated cargo ship blasted off from the South American jungle early today, headed for a rendezvous with the International Space Station, the BBC reports. The craft—the biggest and most complex that Europe has ever launched—will deliver food, water, pressurized air, fuel, and personal items to the... More »

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European Space Agency • Pacific Ocean • International Space Station • spacecraft • French Guiana • Jules Verne • space truck

Saturn Moon Rings Detected

Rhea could be be the first known moon with rings

Mar 7, 08 4:20 AM CST
(Newser) - Saturn’s second-largest moon, Rhea, could be the first known moon with rings. The spacecraft Cassini detected apparent evidence of rings when it spotted debris around Rhea as it flew by in 2005, reports space.com. The set of rings has not been directly seen, but scientists inferred that the... More »

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planet • Earth • deep space • Saturn • Cassini • moons • spacecraft • electron • space mission

Space Tours to Northern Lights

Virgin Galactic to offer flights into heart of aurora borealis

Dec 29, 07 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) - Virgin Galactic plans to launch sightseeing tours into the heart of the northern lights—a first for humans—within three years. If all goes to plan, passengers willing to pay $200,000 a ticket will board spacecraft from north of the Arctic Circle to head for the edge of space,... More »

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Richard Branson • space tourism • northern lights • spacecraft • aurora borealis

Discovery to Fly Over US

Columbia disaster sparked changes in NASA procedures

Nov 6, 07 1:35 PM CST
(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery will fly across the US tomorrow before landing in Cape Canaveral, a feat NASA hasn’t attempted since the doomed shuttle Columbia rained debris over the country in 2003. New safety procedures have minimized the risk of another disaster, ABC News reports. People below may see... More »

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NASA • astronauts • space shuttle • Kennedy Space Center • International Space Station • space flight • Cape Canaveral • Johnson Space Center • spacecraft • Columbia Space Shuttle • Discovery space shuttle

Google Offers $30M for Private Moon Missions

Tech giant bills contest as one small step for private industry

Sep 13, 07 3:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Google announced its own search today: It will award $30 million to private firms whose robotic spacecrafts successfully reach the moon and perform specific lunar tasks. The BBC reports that the search giant hopes to encourage low-cost space exploration. The first-place winner will receive $20 million, second place gets $5... More »

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Google • Apollo • space flight • moon • spacecraft • prize

14 Stories


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