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Space: Final Frontier

Started by Imperator; Last updated May 4, 08 11:00 AM CDT by SeacoastNH | View history

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Space: Final Frontier

"The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever." -Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Nearly four decades after Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for mankind, the race is on—again. And this time, the course has expanded, with government scientists reaching outward towards Mars, and private entrepreneurs, from Amazon's Jeff Bezos to Virgin's Richard Branson, jumping in to open up the wonders of the universe to anyone who's got the cash. Branson's Virgin Galactic aims to launch in 2009 with $200K orbits, but the wealthy and willing can already pony up $25 mil for a journey to the Russian space station. Too bad PanAm didn't hang around for the second act—they once had a waiting list of 93,000 for travel to the moon.

Stories

Stories 61 - 80 of 276

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April 2008
- Black Mini Still Has Hole Lotta Power
  
  newser | Reuters | Apr 2, 08 10:10 AM CDT
  
  Astronomers have spotted the smallest black hole ever discovered, Reuters reports. It is just 15 miles across—the size of a city—but still has a pull strong enough to "stretch your body into a strand of spaghetti," said a NASA researcher. The relative pipsqueak weighs about as much as four suns, while black holes often weigh billions of times more. More »
March 2008
- Space Tourism Gets New 2-Seater
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Mar 27, 08 11:57 AM CDT
  
  California's XCor Aerospace is jumping aboard the space-tourism bandwagon with a new rocket plane, the Los Angeles Times reports. For $100,000, one passenger at a time will be able to ride the Lynx to 200,000 feet and feel about 90 seconds of weightlessness. With flight tests beginning in 2010, XCor aims to be the second company in the business. More »
- Saturn Moon Holds Recipe for Life
  
  newser | Reuters | Mar 27, 08 9:27 AM CDT
  
  Basic components of life like heat, organic chemicals, and water have been found on a Saturn moon, Reuters reports. A spacecraft flying over Enceladus this month spotted 500-mile-high geysers spouting off its surface, containing water vapor and the organic molecules found in living things. Though no one’s saying there’s life on Enceladus, later missions will look for liquid water under its surface. More »
- Shuttle Returns to Earth
  
  newser | Associated Press | Mar 26, 08 7:57 PM CDT
  
  The space shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth with a rare night landing to wrap up an ambitious mission to the International Space Station, the AP reports. The shuttle had to land in darkness after NASA called off an earlier attempt because of cloud cover. Astronauts blasted off 16 days ago, delivering a 12-foot robot to the space station and installing the first portion of a Japanese laboratory. More »
- Mars Rovers Dodge NASA Cuts
  
  newser | Washington Post | Mar 26, 08 7:10 AM CDT
  
  NASA has spared its far-flung Mars rovers from budget cuts, reports the Washington Post, after its administrator got wind of the plan to hibernate Spirit and roll Opportunity back to part time. "Closing down either of the rovers is not on the table," his spokesman said, and underlings are looking elsewhere for cuts. More »
- Endeavour Heads Home
  
  newser | Houston Chronicle | Mar 25, 08 3:39 AM CDT
  
  The space shuttle Endeavour has begun its two-day trip back to Earth after successfully undocking yesterday from the international space station, reports the Houston Chronicle . The seven astronauts on board hailed an "awesome" mission and said fond farewells to their colleagues staying behind. A glitch unlatching a solar panel delayed Endeavour's retreat from the station. More »
- $4M NASA Cut May Strand Mars Rover
  
  newser | CNN | Mar 24, 08 8:38 PM CDT
  
  NASA confirmed and denied plans today to scuttle a Mars rover and fire 300 employees, CNN reports. The space agency first announced a $4 million cut to the Mars program's $20 million budget and vowed to unplug one of two rovers roaming the red planet. Then a NASA spokesman told CNN that "the cancellation of the Mars Exploration Rovers is not under consideration." More »
- Scientists Find Planets Out of This World
  
  newser | Washington Post | Mar 24, 08 9:30 AM CDT
  
  Humans took centuries to discover the other planets in the solar system, but in the 13 years since the first additional planet was identified, planetary scientists have found 277 more worlds orbiting other suns. And those extrasolar planets are just the confirmed ones—many more are suspected, and excitement among scientists is building, reports the Washington Post. More »
- Shuttle Prepares to Quit Station
  
  newser | Houston Chronicle | Mar 24, 08 6:19 AM CDT
  
  The crew of shuttle Endeavour prepared to undock from the International Space Station today after a leisurely Easter Sunday spent off-loading cargo, enjoying a holiday meal, and talking to family back home. The shuttle commander compared the flurry of work to wrap up the record-setting mission to March Madness: "It's wonderful to be in the tournament. We've won five games," said Dom Gorie, referring to the crew's five spacewalks. More »
- Endeavour Crew Finishes Final Walk
  
  newser | Houston Chronicle | Mar 22, 08 6:49 PM CDT
  
  A pair of Endeavour astronauts completed the last spacewalk of their historic assembly mission tonight, the Houston Chronicle reports. Over 6 hours, Mike Forman and Bob Behnken set up an inspection boom outside the International Space Station to help future shuttles avoid disasters like the 2003 Columbia tragedy. The boom scans thermal armor for damage that shuttles may sustain in the nose and wings after launch. More »
- Exploding Star Brightest Object Ever Seen
  
  newser | Space.com | Mar 22, 08 9:26 AM CDT
  
  Light from a star that exploded billions of years before the Earth was formed have been spotted by terrestrial astronomers, Space.com reports. The gamma-ray burst from halfway across the universe was the most distant object ever seen by the naked eye, and the brightest object ever observed by humans. The burst formed as a massive star collapsed into a black hole, briefly burning as bright as billions of stars. More »
- Spacewalking Astronauts Test Repair Goo
  
  newser | Houston Chronicle | Mar 21, 08 12:31 PM CDT
  
  Spacewalking astronauts successfully tested a high-tech goo that can be used to repair heat shields and help avert a repeat of the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, the Houston Chronicle reports. In work reminiscent of a “tile-and-grout” job, astronauts sprayed the pink caulk onto shuttle sections that were purposely damaged. “Having this in our bag of tricks is really going to be helpful," said one of the astronauts. More »
- Hidden Ocean Found on Saturn Moon
  
  newser | Orlando Sentinel | Mar 21, 08 4:13 AM CDT
  
  NASA has unlocked two more of the solar system's secrets, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The Cassini orbiter discovered evidence of an underground ocean churning deep below the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and the Mars Odyssey spacecraft has found ancient salt deposits on the red planet. Both discoveries have scientists excited about fresh possibilities of finding extraterrestrial life. More »
- Methane Found on Far-off Planet
  
  newser | BBC | Mar 19, 08 4:59 PM CDT
  
  Methane, one of the simplest compounds known to play a role in the chemical genesis of life, was discovered for the first time to exist on a planet outside Earth’s solar system, the BBC reports. The planet, designated HD 189733b, is 63 light years away and also contains water, but is far too hot to support life as we know it. More »
- Dextre Moves Into Place, Awaits First Call
  
  newser | Houston Chronicle | Mar 19, 08 5:10 AM CDT
  
  The giant space robot Dextre moved into his new digs last night, and now resides outside the International Space Station's Destiny lab awaiting his first marching orders. Back at Mission Control the mood is buoyant, reports the Houston Chronicle. "That really was the kind of spacewalk that when it's done, you just want to throw your hands up in the air and howl at the moon," said the project's director after the robot was in place. More »
- Arthur C. Clarke Is Dead at 90
  
  newser | New York Times | Mar 18, 08 8:55 PM CDT
  
  Arthur C. Clarke, the sci-fi author who helped shape 20th-century scientific imagination, is dead at 90, the New York Times reports. The co-creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey faced post-polio syndrome in recent decades and died at his home in Sri Lanka due to breathing trouble. “No one can predict the future,” Clarke maintained, but he couldn’t resist trying—and often succeeded. More »
- Dextre Tooled Up, Good to Go
  
  newser | Space.com | Mar 18, 08 8:33 AM CDT
  
  Dextre, the colossal space robot, is ready to go and awaiting instructions after astronauts successfully fitted the 12-foot helper with a tool kit and cameras for "eyes" last night, Space.com reports. Dextre is set to take up residence outside the International Space Station's Destiny lab later today and will undergo tests before it is asked to perform major tasks. More »
- Dextre Stretches His Limbs
  
  newser | Houston Chronicle | Mar 17, 08 10:30 AM CDT
  
  Dextre, the International Space Station’s own gigantic space robot, flexed its mighty arms for the first time last night, the Houston Chronicle reports. Astronauts put the bot through its paces, moving and stopping each of its 14 arm joints. Dextre mostly passed the test; every joint moved perfectly save one, which took longer to brake than expected. More »
- Russian Rocket Fails to Put US Satellite in Orbit
  
  newser | Associated Press | Mar 16, 08 3:15 PM CDT
  
  A Russian rocket was unable to launch a US telecommunications satellite into its designated orbit yesterday, the AP reports. The rocket fell 5,000 miles short of its goal of 22,400 miles when the rocket's second booster turned off too early. The satellite could have reached its destination on its own propulsion system, but such a move would leave the spacecraft low on fuel for future maneuvers, reports the BBC. More »
- Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers
  
  newser | LiveScience | Mar 16, 08 3:12 PM CDT
  
  Forget deep-space exploration; even basic questions about Earth still have scientists scratching their heads, LiveScience reports. A panel of geologists and planetary scientists lists its top lingering mysteries. How did Earth form into such a distinct body? What happened during Earth's first 500 million years? How did life start on this planet? What’s happening inside Earth and how does this affect the surface? More »

Stories 61 - 80 of 276

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Images (31)
Videos (7)

A film still from %u201CVoyage to the Moon,%u201D aka %u201CA Trip to the Moon%u201D (Le Voyage dans la lune; 1902). 35mm film, black and white, silent, 13 minutes (approx.). Directed by George Melies (Scene360.com)

Cover of Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (Scribner, Armstrong & Company, 1874)

Cover of Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (Scribner, Armstrong & Company, 1874)

This handout image obtained 19 February (Getty Images)

This photo released by NASA shows a sunburst view of the Space Shuttle's robot arm over a cloudy Earth taken June 1,1996, during the flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Earth Sciences... (Associated Press)

Space Shuttle Atlantis streaks into the sky on mission STS-106 after a perfect on-time launch from Kennedy Space Center in this file photo from Sept. 8, 2000. NASA will try to launch Atlantis on the... (Associated Press)

In this Dec. 19, 2006 file photo, a view of the international space station is seen from the space shuttle Discovery. Astronaut Suni Williams, who is registered for the Boston Marathon, will run the equivalent... (Associated Press)

solar_system3 ((c) Royalty-free image collection)

%u20AC%u2122s first generation of newborn stars condensed and ignited in the middle of a huge cloud of cold molecular hydrogen.The immense nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern... (Associated Press)

This photo from the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope shows a pillar of gas and dust called the Cone Nebula which resides in a turbulent star-forming region. (KRT Photos)

Hubble Captures Image Of Merging Galaxies (Getty Images)

Scientists Capture Deep Space Image Of Early Universe (Getty Images)

Hubble Captures Images of Hoag's Object (Getty Images)

Gamma-Ray Burst From Chandra X-Ray Observatory (Getty Images)

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- The 2001 Mars Odyssey is launched on a Delta II rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Saturday, April 7, 2001. (KRT Photos)

-July 22 NASA's rover Sojourner is photographed next to the boulder dubbed "Barnacle Bill" on the planet Mars on July 22. The rover used its spectrometer to study the rock's chemical makeup. (KRT Photos)

Martian Landscape (Archive Photos)

Mercury Astronaut Gordon Cooper Dies at 77 (Getty Images)

Mercury 6 Booster Rocket (Archive Photos)

(FILES) Mercury program astronauts pose (Getty Images)

John Glenn (Archive Photos)

Alan Shepard (Archive Photos)

Virgil 'Gus' Grissom (Archive Photos)

Scott Carpenter (Archive Photos)

Astronaut Deke Slayton (NASA)

First Man In Space (Archive Photos)

Space Tourist Returns To Earth (Getty Images)

The Great Canary Telescope is a seen on a mountaintop of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, Friday, July 13, 2007. The Great Canary Telescope is among the world's largest telescopes. The... (Associated Press)

The Martian moon Phobos is seen in an image released by NASA Wednesday April 9, 2008. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the image... (AP Photo)

The International Space Station with the Space Shuttle Discovery docked to it, is seen from the ground in Tyler, Texas, Thursday Oct. 25, 2007. The ISS & Discovery are on orbit, approximately 200 miles... (AP Photo)

The launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-115 is shown in this Sept. 9, 2006 photo. An experiment on that flight involving salmonella, best known as a culprit of food poisoning is reported in Tuesday's... (AP Photo)

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