Space shuttle Endeavour is on a launch pad, ready to rocket off on a rescue mission if shuttle Atlantis needs help when it flies to repair the Hubble Space Telescope next month.
Archive for April 24, 2009
NASA could delay plan to land astronauts on moon
NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon are quietly being revised and are in danger of slipping past 2020.
The STS-400 Shuttle Rescue Mission Scenario
Two space shuttles now sit out on the launch pads at Kennedy Space Center: Atlantis on 39A for the much anticipated Hubble Repair mission, scheduled to launch on May 12. Over on 39B sits Endeavour, which made the slow journey there early on Friday and she is now poised for the STS-400 LON [...]
Shuttle Endeavour moved to pad for rescue duty
The space shuttle Endeavour was hauled to launch pad 38B early Friday for work to ready the ship for a flight NASA hopes will never happen.
Emergency Space Shuttle Moved Into Place
Endeavour rolls out to launch pad to serve as rescue ship should Atlantis get into trouble next month.
NASA poised to stop work on shuttle extension option
Facing a tight budget, a 2010 deadline to end space shuttle operations and a lack of concrete political support to fund additional flights or stretch out the current manifest, NASA managers are meeting this week to discuss the impact of ending efforts that have been keeping open the option of extending the shuttle program past the current deadline.
Above the clouds: the White Cloud ocean surveillance satellites
In the 1970s the NRO and the Navy developed a new series of spacecraft designed to monitor naval vessels on the high seas. Dwayne Day describes the history of this effort, which until recently had been shrouded in secrecy.
Read More at The Space Review…
7 Crazy Civilian Uses for Nuclear Bombs
Nuclear weapons aren’t just for war. Both the United States and Russia have proposed all sorts of civilian uses for nukes, including building a new Panama Canal and creating a new harbor in Alaska.
Will US pay pirates?
Somali pirates trying to ransom an American hostage are calling for reinforcements.