NASA

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NASA Thinks 4,700 Asteroids Threaten Earth

And twice as many as previously believed are in orbits similar to Earth's

(Newser) - NASA thinks it's got a pretty solid estimate on the number of gigantic asteroids that could plausibly cause regional or global catastrophe by smashing into Earth: 4,700, give or take 1,500. Included in that number are all the rocks that exist, or which they suspect exist, that...

SpaceX Could Make Tomorrow a Historic Day

Plans to launch first commercial capsule to supply the space station

(Newser) - If all goes well, tomorrow will be a landmark day in commercial space exploration, as SpaceX launches the first private supply run to the International Space Station. But that's a big if. "I think there's a significant chance the mission does not succeed," CEO Elon Musk...

Trouble Ahead: Weather Satellites in 'Rapid Decline'

Number will drop 'precipitously' by 2020

(Newser) - If you like to complain about the unreliability of the weather forecast, get ready to rant: The weather satellites orbiting the Earth are "beginning a rapid decline" in both quality and quantity, a new report finds, and squeezed budgets mean replacements may not be forthcoming. NASA and NOAA Earth...

SpaceX Counts Down to Maiden ISS Mission

Private space firm hopes to dock Dragon next week

(Newser) - Commercial space firm SpaceX may be just days away from going where no private company has gone before: the International Space Station. The company is preparing to send its unmanned Dragon capsule on a mission to supply the ISS with 1,100 pounds of food, water, and other cargo. The...

Look Up, NYC: Enterprise Flies Today

 Enterprise Flies Over NYC 
Apr 27, 2012 10:58 AM CDT

Enterprise Flies Over NYC

Retiring space shuttle gets piggy-back ride over Manhattan

(Newser) - An unusual flying object has landed at New York's JFK Airport: the space shuttle Enterprise. Before arriving this morning, it zoomed around New York City's airspace, riding on top of a modified jumbo jet as part of NASA's process of wrapping up the shuttle program . Enterprise is...

'Snowball Fight' Spotted in Saturn's Weirdest Ring

Cassini probe captures objects punching through ring

(Newser) - Inside Saturn's outermost ring, NASA's Cassini probe has captured activity that researchers liken to a cosmic snowball fight. Hundreds of balls of snow and ice up to half a mile in diameter have been spotted punching through the F ring at gentle speeds, leaving glittering trails behind them,...

Newt&#39;s Lunar Ideas Not Lunacy
 Newt's 
 Lunar Ideas 
 Not Lunacy 
OPINION
Apr 24, 2012 11:14 AM CDT

Newt's Lunar Ideas Not Lunacy

We should listen to Gingrich's space ideas: Jeffrey Goldberg

(Newser) - Jeffrey Goldberg is not what one might call a Newt Gingrich fan, but as he sat on the tarmac at Reagan National Airport gazing at the space shuttle Discovery as it prepared for its final flight, he realized something: "On the matter of space exploration … Newt Gingrich is...

James Cameron's Next Trick: Mining Asteroids?

He, Google execs back new space venture

(Newser) - After hanging out in the deepest depths of the oceans , how does a Hollywood super-director top himself? By space mining, of course. James Cameron has teamed up with two Google billionaires, several ex-NASA officials, and some other ambitious investors to form Planetary Resources Inc., a space exploration company that seems...

NASA Captures Massive Sun Blast

Huge solar explosion will affect spacecraft but not Earth

(Newser) - A blast of super-heated plasma big enough to scorch dozens of Earths erupted from the sun yesterday, providing NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory with stunning images. The coronal mass ejection, which followed a solar flare, was not aimed toward Earth, but two NASA spacecraft—including the Spitzer Space Telescope—will...

Discovery Takes Last Ride
 Discovery Ends Final Ride 
UPDATED
Apr 17, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Discovery Ends Final Ride

Space shuttle soars above DC, heads for Smithsonian

(Newser) - Space shuttle Discovery landed today at Washington Dulles International Airport, where its wheels will stop for the last time at the Smithsonian. The world's most traveled spaceship landed after taking off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and soaring around the Washington Monument and White House in a salute to the...

Asteroid Flies Past Earth Closer Than Moon

NASA says we were never in danger

(Newser) - A 150-foot-wide asteroid whizzed stunningly close to Earth yesterday, passing within 143,000 miles of us—a hair more than half the distance from the Earth to the moon. NASA saw the rock coming two weeks ahead of time, and says there was never any danger of it actually hitting...

Apollo 11 Engines Found on Ocean Floor

Jeff Bezos plans to bring moon rocket engines to surface

(Newser) - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he's discovered the watery resting place of the engines that blasted Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew toward the moon in 1969—and he's not planning on leaving them there. A Bezos Expeditions team found the five F-1 engines at the bottom...

Five-Rocket NASA Mission Lights Up Sky

Science mission finally gets green light

(Newser) - After almost two weeks of delays, NASA finally launched its ATREX experiment this morning, lighting up the early morning sky as five rockets hurtled into the air. The rockets released chemicals into the air to create artificial glowing clouds at the edge of space, MSNBC reports. Those clouds will help...

Space Junk Forces Astronauts to Take Shelter

They're safe and sound after chunk of debris passes by

(Newser) - A discarded chunk of a Russian rocket missed the International Space Station early today. However, it came close enough to force six astronauts to seek shelter in escape capsules. The two Americans, three Russians, and a Dutchman woke early and went into two Soyuz vehicles ready to rocket back to...

Home Video Emerges of Challenger Disaster

Jeffrey Ault's super 8 footage sat untouched for decades

(Newser) - Florida resident Jeffrey Ault was thrilled to shoot home video of the Challenger launch in 1986. The NASA nut had built an Apollo-era Saturn V rocket in elementary school, and as a high school student he routinely wrote the space agency for mission reports. But his exhilaration turned to shock...

NASA Lost Laptop With Codes to Space Station

Amidst 5,407 other security breaches in the past two years

(Newser) - NASA has had major computer security problems over the past two years, suffering 5,408 breaches, the agency's inspector general told Congress yesterday. "These incidents spanned a wide continuum, from individuals testing their skill to break into NASA systems, to well-organized criminal enterprises hacking for profit," Paul...

Asteroid Could Threaten Earth

Deflection mission may be needed to keep 2011 AG5 away

(Newser) - Astronomers are keeping their eyes on an asteroid with the potential to make life very uncomfortable for a lot of Earthlings 28 years from now. The near-Earth asteroid 2011 AG5, a chunk of rock roughly 460 feet wide, will be close to our planet in 2040, and scientists believe there...

If Obama Budget Passes, It's Bye-Bye Mars

Budget cuts could eliminate much of Mars program from NASA's plans

(Newser) - For 20 years, NASA has basically been obsessed with Mars. This summer, NASA's most high-tech rover will land near the Martian equator. And 2016 and 2018 missions have already been planned, with the intention of bringing home rocks from the red planet. But those two future excursions may not...

For Rent: Slightly Used Space Shuttle Launchpad

Kennedy Space Center is looking for tenants

(Newser) - Wondering where to park your space shuttle? Consider Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center. "We’re putting out the word officially and unofficially that Kennedy Space Center is open for business," says a chief architect at the facility. "I have a lot of facilities that we, NASA,...

Wanted: Volunteer Foodies ... for Mars

NASA seeks team for 4-month simulation in Hawaii

(Newser) - NASA is on the lookout for a few good cooks to experience life on Mars. Researchers backed by the space agency are seeking a team of volunteers for a simulation of the journey. Its aim: to determine what to put on the menu for a hypothetical future trip, which would...

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