Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

March 21, 2014

Space Sunflower May Help Snap Pictures of Planets
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 21, 2014
A spacecraft that looks like a giant sunflower might one day be used to acquire images of Earth-like rocky planets around nearby stars. The prototype deployable structure, called a starshade, is being developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The hunt is on for planets that resemble Earth in size, composition and temperature. Rocky planets with just the right temperature for liquid water - not too hot, not too cold - could be possible abodes for life outside our solar sys ... read more

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NRL Researchers Detect Water Around a Hot Jupiter Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are part of a research team that has detected water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system. The team, including scientist ... more		New hypothesis explains Earth's continued habitability Researchers from USC and Nanjing University in China have documented evidence suggesting that part of the reason that the Earth has become neither sweltering like Venus nor frigid like Mars lies wit ... more		NASA Extends Lockheed Martin Contract to Support ISS The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently awarded Lockheed Martin a one-year contract extension on the Cargo Mission Contract 2 valued at $22 million. The extension ens ... more
				Surface of Titan Sea is mirror smooth, Stanford scientists find New radar measurements of an enormous sea on Titan offer insights into the weather patterns and landscape composition of the Saturnian moon. The measurements, made in 2013 by NASA's Cassini spacecra ... more		Could Alien Life Cope with a Hotter, Brighter Star? The stars in the night sky shine in myriad hues and brightnesses-piercing blues, clean whites, smoldering crimsons. Every star has a different mass, the basic characteristic that determines its size ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

First filament winding operations on new Ariane 6 motor structure completed Airbus Defence and Space has just begun the first filament winding operations on a motor case for the future European launcher Ariane 6. This first unit, of a size representative of the future ... more		NASA Orbiter Finds New Gully Channel on Mars This pair of before (left) and after (right) images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter documents the formation of a substantial ... more		Taiwan running out of time for satellite communications, space chief tells AFP US lawmaker warns of military 'misunderstanding' risk with China Venezuela accuses US of waging 'undeclared war,' urges UN probe		Your 15 Minutes of 'Frame' - from NASA's Cassini Arguably the most photogenic planet in the solar system, Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet after Jupiter. With its luminous striped surface and stunning ring syst ... more
				NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Solar Orbiter Mission NASA has selected United Launch Services LLC of Centennial, Colo., to launch the Solar Orbiter Collaboration mission to study the sun in July 2017. The Solar Orbiter will launch on an Atlas V 411 ro ... more		Astronauts train at Maxwell To prepare for the rigors and dangers of space travel, astronauts attend different training scenarios at facilities all over the world. Some are highly specialized, immersive environments such as un ... more

Developing the Next-Generation Military Radar while Maintaining Current Systems; IDGA�s Military Radar Summit - April 2014

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Nuclear Supply Chain Summit - April 28-29 Greenville SC

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

ISS dodges space junk The International Space Station had to sidestep a piece of space junk. NASA said Monday the space station had to dodge part of an old satellite. Sunday night's firing of on-board thrusters pushed th ... more		ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly to the ISS in 2016 ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet has been assigned to a long-duration mission on the International Space Station. The assignment of the French-born astronaut was announced by ESA's Director General Jean ... more		Toxic homes a lasting legacy of Los Angeles fires 'Greatest con job ever': Trump trashes climate science at UN Turkey facing worst drought in over 50 years		NASA Releases First Interactive Mosaic of Lunar North Pole Scientists, using cameras aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), have created the largest high resolution mosaic of our moon's north polar region. The six-and-a-half feet (two-meters)-per ... more
				Space Launch System - Who Needs It NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is a Space Shuttle - derived heavy launch vehicle developed for future human space exploration. Launchspace engineers think of it as the Phoenix of cancelled Constel ... more		Startup scene flourishes in US capital In a large warehouse-type office, software coders work on apps, as "angel" investors and mentors help budding entrepreneurs figure out strategy for their startups. ... more

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Solar Orbiter Mission

Proton-M with two Russian communication satellites on board blasts off from Baikonur

ASTRA 5B delivered for integration on Ariane 5 launcher

NASA Orbiter Finds New Gully Channel on Mars

The Exploration of Murray Ridge Continues

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Resumes Full Duty

NASA Releases First Interactive Mosaic of Lunar North Pole

China's Jade Rabbit lunar rover rouses from latest slumber

Study on lunar crater counting shows crowdsourcing effective, accurate tool

Planet X myth debunked

WISE Finds Thousands Of New Stars But No Planet X

New Horizons Reaches the Final 4 AU

	Soft robotic fish moves like the real thing Soft robots - which don't just have soft exteriors but are also powered by fluid flowing through flexible channels - have become a sufficiently popular research topic that they now have their own jo ... more		Orion Makes Testing, Integration Strides Ahead of First Launch to Space Orion is marching ever closer to its first trip to space on a flight that will set the stage for human exploration of new destinations in the solar system. The Orion team continues to work toward co ... more		The Exploration of Murray Ridge Continues Opportunity continues to explore 'Murray Ridge' on Solander Point, part of the rim of Endeavour Crater. On Sol 3596 (March 6, 2014), the rover moved forward to put a rock called 'Turnagain Arm,' wit ... more		The DARPA Grand Challenge: Ten Years Later At the break of dawn on March 13, 2004, 15 vehicles left a starting gate in the desert outside of Barstow, Calif., to make history in the DARPA Grand Challenge, a first-of-its-kind race to foster th ... more

How quantum computers can be validated when solving unsolvable problems

Neutrinovoltaic master formula published as pathway to scalable clean energy

Boeing defense workers reject deal to end strike

Mercury contracted more than prior estimates		How Did Life Arise? Fuel Cells May Have Answers		Mercury, the incredible shrinking planet		China's Jade Rabbit lunar rover rouses from latest slumber		US to seek licence for domestic production of Russia's RD-180 rocket engines
Tiangong's New Mission		Mercury's contraction much greater than thought		Proton-M with two Russian communication satellites on board blasts off from Baikonur		Russian Progress Spacecraft Boosts ISS Orbit		ORBITEC and Wisconsin Await Countdown for "VEGGIE" to Space on SpaceX 3

Study on lunar crater counting shows crowdsourcing effective, accurate tool

ASTRA 5B delivered for integration on Ariane 5 launcher

Proton-M carrier rocket with two satellites abroad installed on Baikonur launch pad

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Resumes Full Duty

Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services Announces Industry-Unique "Refund Or Reflight" Program

Jack Kinzler, savior of Skylab, dies at 94

Reducing debris threat from satellite batteries

Planet X myth debunked

Global patent filings jump 5.1% in 2013: WIPO

Robots, hands-free wizardry wows at high-tech fair

NASA reveals hovering prototype planetary lander Morpheus

Concerns and Considerations with the Naming of Mars Craters

ILS And ISS Reshetnev Announce Proton Dual Launch Agreement

Be an Asteroid Hunter in NASA's First Asteroid Grand Challenge Contest Series

Mars name-a-crater scheme runs into trouble

Arianespace in spotlight at Satellite 2014: expects another record-breaking year

First space tourists to fly around Mars and Venus in 2021

"Space Odyssey": China's aspiration in future space exploration

UK joins the planet hunt with Europe's PLATO mission

NASA Orbiter Safe After Unplanned Computer Swap

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