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May 30, 2014

SpaceX unveils capsule to ferry astronauts to space
Los Angeles (AFP) May 30, 2014
A sleek, white gumdrop-shaped space capsule that aims to carry up to seven astronauts to the International Space Station and return to land anywhere on Earth was unveiled Thursday by SpaceX. The Dragon V2, short for version two, is the first attempt by a private company to restore Americans' ability to send people to the orbiting space station in the wake of the space shuttle program's retirement in 2011. "It's all around, I think, really a big leap forward in technology. It really takes things ... read more

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May 24

Proton Rocket Failure Probe Finds No Evidence of Deliberate Misconduct The interdepartmental state commission investigating the recent Proton-M carrier rocket launch failure has so far found no evidence supporting the theory that it was caused by deliberate misconduct, ... more		Russian, German and US astronauts dock with ISS A crew of Russian, German and US astronauts docked with the International Space Station Thursday as space cooperation between Moscow and the West continues despite their worst standoff since the Cold War. ... more		Virgin space flights cleared for US take-off Richard Branson's dream of commercial space flights took a step nearer reality after Virgin Galactic signed a deal with US aviation authorities to let it blast paying customers into space, the company said Thursday. ... more
				Russian Soyuz with New Crew Docks at ISS in Automatic Mode A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a trio of crew members docked automatically with the International Space Station on Thursday, some six hours after the launch, a spokesman for the Russian space a ... more		Six-Person Station Crew Enjoys Day Off Following Docking Following a marathon day that saw the launch and docking of three new crewmates, the fully staffed Expedition 40 crew of the International Space Station enjoyed a day off Thursday to rest and rechar ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

NASA Missions Let Scientists See Moon's Dancing Tide From Orbit Scientists combined observations from two NASA missions to check out the moon's lopsided shape and how it changes under Earth's sway - a response not seen from orbit before. The team drew on s ... more		ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst arrives at ISS A Soyuz spacecraft launched last night from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan docked with the International Space Station in the early hours of this morning. Onboard were ESA astronaut Alexander Ger ... more		US lawmaker warns of military 'misunderstanding' risk with China Spain approves 'total' arms embargo against Israel Khamenei says Iran 'won't yield' to pressure to abandon uranium enrichment		Simulation Practices First Flight of New Orion Program In just a matter of months, NASA will send a new spacecraft into space for the first time. And back here on the ground, the Mission Control Center in Houston will be at the helm. "It's the fir ... more
				Roscosmos Scolded for 'Pestering Society' with Proton Crash Theories A Russian commission investigating the recent crash of a Proton-M rocket is creating troubled waters too soon with its half-baked theories, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote Thursda ... more		Why Does Earth Have No Super-Earth Cousins? New discoveries of many super-Earth planets orbiting very close to sun-like stars have started to make Earth's solar system look a little lonely. The mystery of why Earth ended up without any super- ... more

William Cress Corporation - We Build To Last

UAV Payloads 2014, 24 - 25 June - London, UK

Startup in the Land of the Rising Sun; A Japanese Solar Venture - by Bradley L. Bartz

Million-dollar Kavli prizes split among nine scientists Nine scientists have been awarded Kavli prizes by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The winners were announced Thursday at the World Science Festival in New York. ... more		XCOR Raises Investment Capital Led by Dutch Investors XCOR Aerospace reports that the United States Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) has approved the Series B lead investment by Dutch investors. The first closing ... more		Typhoon Ragasa hits south China after killing 15 in Taiwan Toxic homes a lasting legacy of Los Angeles fires Climate change causing havoc with global water cycle: UN		Probing satellites' mysterious death tumbling Down on the ground, death equals stillness - but not in space. Derelict satellites can tumble in unpredictable ways and ESA's team tasked with developing a space salvage mission want to find out why ... more
				Water in moon rocks provides clues and questions about lunar history A recent review of hundreds of chemical analyses of Moon rocks indicates that the amount of water in the Moon's interior varies regionally - revealing clues about how water originated and was redist ... more		Antares Launch Postponed Orbital Sciences Corporation has postponed the launch of the Orbital-2 mission to the International Space Station after an engine test aborted prematurely. The engine being tested at NASA's St ... more

SpaceX unveils capsule to ferry astronauts to space

Roscosmos Scolded for 'Pestering Society' with Proton Crash Theories

SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of SuperDraco Thruster

New Mars Lander to Probe Interior of Red Planet

A habitable environment on Martian volcano

Mars Curiosity rover may have transported Earth bacteria to Mars

Water in moon rocks provides clues and questions about lunar history

NASA Missions Let Scientists See Moon's Dancing Tide From Orbit

NASA Invites Public to Select Favorite Moon Image for Lunar Orbiter Anniversary Collection

Dwarf planet 'Biden' identified in an unlikely region of our solar system

Planet X myth debunked

WISE Finds Thousands Of New Stars But No Planet X

	NASA Awards Simulation and Software Technology Contract for Engineering NASA has selected L-3 National Security Solutions (NSS) Inc. of Reston, Virginia, to provide simulation and software technology support to the Engineering Software, Robotics and Simulation Division ... more		May the Force (Shoes) Be With You Maintaining astronaut bone and muscle health in microgravity is an ongoing concern for NASA, and now the agency is "forcing" the issue with a new investigation. On May 29, 2014, NASA will fly ... more		Three New Crew Members En Route to ISS Three new Expedition 40 flight engineers are on their way to the International Space Station following the successful launch of their Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3 ... more		Elon Musk to present manned DragonV2 spacecraft on May 29 SpaceX is on the verge of revealing the next generation version of its Dragon spacecraft, one which the company hopes will allow the United States to once again send its own astronauts into space by ... more

China's Alibaba teams up with Nvidia on AI robot tech

In just one year, Google turns AI setbacks into dominance

China steps into spotlight at UN climate talks

New Mars Lander to Probe Interior of Red Planet		Chinese lunar rover alive but weak		Russian-Western crew blasts off for ISS onboard Soyuz rocket		China's Jade Rabbit moon rover 'alive but struggling'		Permanently manned ISS could end in 2020
Expedition 40 all set to go		SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of SuperDraco Thruster		NASA-Funded Rocket to Study Birthplace of Stars		After Injunction lifted, US rocket with Russian RD-180 Engine takes off		A habitable environment on Martian volcano

Russia puts satellite in orbit from sea platform after 2013 flop

NASA Invites Public to Select Favorite Moon Image for Lunar Orbiter Anniversary Collection

Sunsets on Titan Reveal the Complexity of Hazy Exoplanets

Sea Launch sends Eutelsat 3B satellite into orbit via Zenit 3SL rocket

Russian Rocket Engine Replacement to Cost US $1.5Bln, Take 6 Years

Virgin Galactic Rocket Motor Milestone

India To Launch PSLV On Commercial Mission

Munich to Alexander: all systems go

Chinese space team survives on worm diet for 105 days

SpaceX-3 Science Payloads Return to Kennedy

US allocates $100 million for Russian rocket engine replacement

NASA Mars Weather Camera Helps Find New Crater on Red Planet

Hirst art, DiCaprio space trip help raise record AIDS funds

Joystick sets record price for space collectibles

Mars Curiosity rover may have transported Earth bacteria to Mars

Crew Wraps Up Week With Science, New Trio Awaits Launch

Engineers Test NASA's SLS Booster Forward Skirt to the Limits

US Senate panel budgets $100 mn for non-Russian rocket

Halting Russian rocket engine deliveries may cost US $5 billion

Pay and go: 'Soyuz' space ticket at US$45-50 million

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