Space, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2008

Mysterious Phoenix Lights a UFO Hoax

On Monday evening, April 21, mysterious lights were seen over Phoenix, Arizona. At just after eight, hundreds of residents called police and local news media to report four bright red lights hovering silently over the city. They changed shape after a while, moving from a triangular to rectangular configuration, then...

Jan 31, 2008

Europeans Eager to Launch Orbital Science Lab

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Europe's bus-sized science lab will soon make its zero-gravity debut after the launch of NASA's space shuttle Atlantis tomorrow, weather permitting. Atlantis will ferry the 10.3-ton module to the International Space Station (ISS), where astronauts will attach it and make way for space-based science experiments throughout...

Jan 31, 2008

Europeans Celebrate Successful Launch of Science Lab

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After two decades of waiting, Europeans are celebrating the arrival of their first piece of orbital real estate in space. It's a great day for ESA, said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general for the European Space Agency (ESA), of the Columbus laboratory's launch today aboard the space...

Jan 31, 2008

Shuttle's Heat Shield Appears Undamaged, NASA Says

HOUSTON — A first look at video from space shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank revealed no signs of damage to the spacecraft's heat-resistant underbelly, NASA mission managers said Friday. The seven-astronaut crew scanned the heat shield of Atlantis with a sensor-laden extension boom today to complement the discarded fuel tank's...

Jan 31, 2008

Shuttle Flight Back on Track After Astronaut's Illness

HOUSTON — Atlantis shuttle astronauts took a close look at a torn insulation blanket on their vehicle's engine pod Sunday as mission managers officially extended their flight by one day due to a crew member?s illness. John Shannon, NASA's deputy shuttle program manager, said Atlantis? now 12-day mission to deliver...

Jan 31, 2008

Spacewalkers Help Deliver Station's New European Laboratory

This story was updated at 7:32 p.m. EST. HOUSTON — Two spacewalking astronauts helped deliver a new European module to the International Space Station (ISS) Monday to boost the orbiting laboratory's research facilities. Atlantis shuttle astronauts Rex Walheim and Stanley Love spent almost eight hours working to help attach the...

Jan 31, 2008

Titan Has More Oil Than Earth

Saturn's smoggy moon Titan has hundreds of times more natural gas and other liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on Earth, scientists said today. The hydrocarbons rain from the sky on the miserable moon, collecting in vast deposits that form lakes and dunes. This much...

Jan 31, 2008

U.S. Will Try to Destroy Crippled Satellite

WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush approved a Defense Department plan to try and shoot down a crippled spy satellite after becoming convinced that the spacecraft's toxic hydrazine fuel posed an unacceptable risk to people on the ground, senior U.S. government officials said at a Pentagon press briefing Feb....

Jan 31, 2008

NASA Readies Backup Shuttle Runway to Aid Spy Satellite Shot

This story was updated at 11:59 p.m. EST. HOUSTON — NASA will call up a backup landing strip for the space shuttle Atlantis next week to give the U.S. military more leeway to shoot down an ailing spy satellite, mission managers said Friday. The space agency will activate a backup...

Jan 31, 2008

Astronauts Unfazed by Planned Spy Satellite Shot

HOUSTON — Astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station (ISS) said Saturday that a plan to shoot down an ailing spy satellite poses no threat to their mission to install a European laboratory. Shuttle commander Stephen Frick and ISS commander Peggy Whitson said both of their spacecraft...

Jan 31, 2008

Shuttle Astronauts Prepare to Leave Station

This story was updated at 2:23 p.m. EST. HOUSTON — With warm words and embraces, the seven astronauts of NASA's shuttle Atlantis bid farewell to their counterparts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday as they prepare to head home after delivering a new European lab. Shuttle commander Stephen Frick...

Jan 31, 2008

Eutelsat Eyes Leasing Ka-Band Capacity for Tooway System

Satellite-fleet operator Eutelsat is looking for gap-filler Ka-band capacity over Europe to meet the expected demand for consumer broadband services starting this year as it waits for its large Ka-Sat satellite to be completed and launched in 2010, company officials said. In a measure of its confidence that Europe, like...

Jan 31, 2008

Orbital Wins $171 Space Station Re-Supply Demo Deal

WASHINGTON — Orbital Sciences Corp. beat out several other finalists to win a NASA Space Act Agreement award worth $171 million to build and demonstrate a launch system capable of delivering cargo to the international space station. NASA made the award under its $500 million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS)...

Jan 31, 2008

Shuttle Astronauts Glad to be Home

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The seven astronauts of NASA's shuttle Atlantis were glad to be home Wednesday after a successful space station construction mission that ended with a smooth glide back to Earth. Shuttle commander Stephen Frick and his STS-122 crew celebrated their 13-day flight, which delivered the European-built Columbus...

Jan 31, 2008

Mysterious Haze Found on Venus

Bright hazes that mysteriously appear and then disappear on Venus in a matter of days have revealed a new dynamic feature of the planet?s cloudy atmosphere that is unlike anything on Earth. The European Space Agency's Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) captured a series of images showing the development of a...