Space: Final Frontier

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May 2009
- Spacewalking Astronauts Fix Hubble Gyroscopes
  
  Associated Press | May 15, 09 9:25 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Astronauts from the shuttle Atlantis headed out for another spacewalk today, this time to give the Hubble telescope some new gyroscopes and batteries. The gyroscopes—a top priority—are part of the telescope pointing system, and half of the old ones are broken. The two space walkers ventured out as the shuttle and telescope sailed 350 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. "It is a beautiful day outside," one said. More »
- Hubble Gets New Camera
  
  Space.com | May 14, 09 4:58 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Hubble space telescope got some improved vision today in the form of a new camera. Two Atlantis astronauts completed a seven-hour spacewalk to give the 19-year-old telescope a much-needed upgrade, Space.com reports. "Woo-hoo, it's moving out," said astronaut Andrew Feustel after the old camera refused to budge at first. The spacewalk is the first of five planned over the shuttle's 11-day mission to service Hubble. More »
- Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble
  
  Associated Press | May 13, 09 12:52 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - The Atlantis astronauts have captured the Hubble Space Telescope, grabbing the orbiting observatory early this afternoon for the first time since 2002. Astronaut Megan McArthur caught the school bus-sized telescope with the space shuttle's robot arm. The crew now faces five days of treacherous telescope repairs to the 19-year-old Hubble. More »
- Atlantis Crew Finds Minor Damage to Shield
  
  Space.com | May 12, 09 2:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Atlantis astronauts found some minor damage to the shuttle’s heat shield during an arduous, nine-hour inspection today, Space.com reports, with NASA officials saying nicks sustained during liftoff weren’t a serious concern, but that more analysis was needed. Astronauts will inspect the shield—vital to the shuttle’s safety in reentry—again during the voyage to the Hubble Space Telescope. More »
- Atlantis Lifts Off on Mission to Hubble
  
  Associated Press | May 11, 09 1:35 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - The space shuttle Atlantis and seven astronauts blasted off today en route to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is NASA's final trip to Hubble and comes after a seven-month delay. Atlantis and its crew were supposed to fly to Hubble last fall, but the telescope broke down. The telescope is in need of new equipment and repairs, and the shuttle should arrive at the orbiting observatory Wednesday. More »
- Explore Galaxy With New Google App
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | May 11, 09 10:03 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Budding astronomers will soon have a new cell-phone tool that spots the stars they’re looking for, the Telegraph reports. Google’s Star Droid helps stargazers navigate the night sky using GPS technology that cross-references the user’s position with existing space maps, and adds identifying tags to the heavenly bodies that can be seen through the phone’s viewfinder. No release date has been announced. More »
- Last Tweaks Will Rocket Hubble to Final Frontier
  
  Orlando Sentinel | May 11, 09 2:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Today's launch of the Atlantis shuttle marks the beginning of the end for Hubble. The space telescope is scheduled to get its final set of repairs, extending its life and giving it greater abilities than ever before. "Everything we have done up to this point has been in preparation for the final five years," a NASA scientist tells the Orlando Sentinel. More »
- NASA Gives Atlantis Crew Go Ahead for Hubble Rescue
  
  Space.com | May 10, 09 12:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - NASA has declared space shuttle Atlantis' crew fit to fly, and weather permitting, the much-delayed 11-day mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope will take off tomorrow, reports Space.com. Endeavour is standing by just in case Atlantis itself needs rescuing. The mission includes five spacewalks and lots of tinkering with Hubble, in hopes of extending the 19-year-old satellite's life to 2014. More »
- NASA Space Flight Review Worries Workers
  
  Orlando Sentinel | May 7, 09 10:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A NASA review of manned space-flight plans has Kennedy Space Center workers and contractors fearing for their jobs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. A panel will investigate whether rockets set to carry humans into space after the shuttle fleet is retired next year are really NASA’s best bets. Some worry the review could make the delay between shuttle and rockets longer than the expected 5 years. More »
- Rare Rocket Launch in Va. May Wow East Coast
  
  Space.com | May 2, 09 12:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A rare mid-Atlantic rocket launch could give Americans up and down the East Coast a special night sight next week, Space.com reports. NASA's launch of a spy satellite from Wallops Island in Virginia is scheduled after sunset Tuesday, with a window of 8 to 11pm. Similar events, mostly on the West Coast, have produced stunning contrails twisted by winds into strange patterns and colors. The launch will be visible as far west as Kentucky. More »
- UFO Watchers Abuzz Over Mars 'Skull'
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | May 1, 09 9:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - UFO watchers are speculating online that a NASA image of a Martian landscape may show an alien skull, reports the Telegraph . "There appears to be a narrow pointed small mouth, so this creature most likely is a carnivore," noted one. An image that looked surprisingly like a skull that made the Internet rounds three years ago is now believed to be the result of tampering. A famous "Martian face" photographed in the 1970s turned out to be a trick of light. More »
April 2009
- Surprise: Mercury Has a Personality
  
  Wired | Apr 30, 09 8:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mercury's not such a dull planet after all. A new batch of papers in Science spells out evidence of a busy volcanic past and describes an unusual impact crater that would stretch from Boston to DC, reports Wired . The papers, which draw from the October flyby of NASA's Messenger craft, speculate that 40% of the planet's surface was formed by volcanoes. That's a huge shift—prior to Messenger's trip, scientists weren't sure if Mercury had any volcanic activity at all. More »
- After 4 Decades, Physicist Solves Mystery of Moon Dust
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 23, 09 8:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Moon dust has been a “bloody nuisance” to NASA for decades, says a physicist: it sticks to spacesuits, clogs instruments, and could be a health risk for future colonists. Scientists believe the stickiness is due to a positive charge from the sun’s rays, NASA says. Now the physicist, 75 and retired, thinks he’s figured out the key to its behavior: the angle of the sun, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Space Blob Stumps Scientists
  
  BBC | Apr 23, 09 7:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A gigantic blob at the edge of the universe is forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on how galaxies form, reports the BBC. The radiation-emitting object 12.9 billion light years away is one of the most distant—and consequently oldest—things ever seen by astronomers, and is much bigger than anything they had expected to exist that soon after the Big Bang. More »
- Dim Sun Is Cold Comfort to Scientists
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 22, 09 2:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The sun may be heading for one of its dimmest periods in history, but that doesn't mean the big star is joining the battle against global warming, according to scientists. The sun hit a 100-year low in sunspot activity last year, reports the Telegraph . More »
- Search for 'Earth's Twin' Finds Similar-Sized Planet
  
  BBC | Apr 21, 09 5:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Astronomers in Chile looking for an Earth-like planet have discovered the closest one in size yet, the BBC reports. Don’t get your hopes up: Though Gliese 581 e, which lies outside our solar system, is just twice as large as Earth, it travels far too close to its sun to support life. Most planets found in far-flung solar systems approximate the enormous size of Jupiter, but more powerful telescopes on the way may help change that. More »
- Scientists Spot End of World
  
  Times (UK) | Apr 21, 09 2:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Astronomers looking at dead stars trillions of miles away believe they have glimpsed Earth's eventual fate, the Times of London reports. The scientists found that many white dwarfs—stars that swelled, burned out, and collapsed—are surrounded by a dust they think is the remnants of planets like ours destroyed in the stars' death throes. More »
- Mathematician Hawking 'Very Ill'
  
  Associated Press | Apr 20, 09 10:38 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Cambridge University says famed mathematician Stephen Hawking was rushed to the hospital today and is "very ill." The university said Hawking had been fighting a chest infection for several weeks. Hawking, 67, gained fame for his work on black holes, and has remained active despite being stricken with motor neurone disease as a young man. For some years, Hawking has been almost entirely paralyzed, and he communicates through an electronic device activated by his fingers. More »
- NASA Names Treadmill After Colbert
  
  Space.com | Apr 15, 09 1:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Steven Colbert missed out on getting the new International Space Station node named after him despite winning a non-binding vote, Space.com reports. NASA decided to call the node Tranquility in honor of Apollo 11's touchdown site 40 years ago, and to console the TV host by naming an astronaut treadmill—the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill—after him. More »
- Calif. Utility Aims to Buy Power From Space
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 14, 09 2:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - California’s Pacific Gas and Electric is seeking approval for its commitment to buy electricity from an innovative source, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: an orbiting solar power array that would beam electricity back to Earth. Solaren Corp. plans to deploy the satellite sometime before 2016; PG&E has signaled it would buy 200 megawatts as soon as Solaren can provide it. More »