Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

August 15, 2014

From Pinpoint of Light to a Geologic World
Laurel MD (SPX) Aug 15, 2014
I'm an astronomer and I've been studying Pluto as a pinpoint of light for over 25 years. It will be so exciting to see this little white dot turn into a geologic world in a matter of weeks. What can we learn by looking at tiny Pluto through a telescope? It turns out quite a bit. We've already identified and mapped some of the ices on its surface: nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. We've also learned that like Earth, Pluto should exhibit seasons, with growing and receding polar caps. And ... read more

Previous Issues

Aug 14

Aug 13

Aug 12

Aug 11

Aug 09

XCOR Lynx Spacecraft Lands at Monterey Jet Center XCOR Aerospace presents its XCOR Lynx spacecraft full scale model as part of tonight's Gordon McCall's Motorworks Revival 2014, at the Monterey Jet Center. Dubbed a "Space Corvette" by Popular Mecha ... more		Tall Boulder Rolls Down Martian Hill, Lands Upright A track about one-third of a mile (500 meters) long on Mars shows where an irregularly shaped boulder careened downhill to its current upright position, seen in a July 3, 2014, image from the High R ... more		Optus 10 delivered to French Guiana for Ariane 5 Sept launch The return of Optus 10 to French Guiana has set the stage for a new phase of payload preparations at the Spaceport with Arianespace's next Ariane 5 mission, which is scheduled for a September liftof ... more
				Follow the radio waves to exomoons Scientists hunting for life beyond Earth have discovered more than 1,800 planets outside our solar system, or exoplanets, in recent years, but so far, no one has been able to confirm an exomoon. Now ... more		Ariane 5 is readied for Arianespace's September launch with MEASAT-3b and Optus 10 Preparations for Arianespace's next Ariane 5 mission marked an important milestone this week with the vehicle's transfer from the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building - where it was assembled, ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

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

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Cassini Tracks Clouds Developing Over a Titan Sea NASA's Cassini spacecraft recently captured images of clouds moving across the northern hydrocarbon seas of Saturn's moon Titan. This renewed weather activity, considered overdue by researchers, cou ... more		Small, origami-inspired pop-up robots function autonomously Inspired by the traditional Japanese art form of Origami or "folding paper," researchers have developed a way to coax flat sheets of composite materials to self-fold into complex robots that crawl a ... more		HawkEye 360 expands signals intelligence network with operational deployment of Cluster 12 York confirms successful deployment and health of 21 satellites for SDA Tranche 1 mission Spain faces uphill battle to cut Israel military ties: experts		Robots inspired by origami can fold selves, walk away It starts out laying flat, like a sheet of paper. Then it springs up, almost lifelike, and folds into moveable parts much like origami art. And then it crawls away. ... more
				Robots to up-end the world of work, for good and bad Robots and artificially intelligent devices will take over many jobs now done by people, and experts are divided as to whether their spread will do human society more good than harm. ... more		NASA's Space Station Fix-It Demo for Satellites Gets Hardware for 2.0 Update Who doesn't love an upgrade? Newer, better and oh so shiny is great, but what's really fantastic is when a change unlocks new possibilities. That's the case with NASA's fix-it investigation on the I ... more

ATV completes final automated docking In a flawless demonstration of technology and skill, ESA's fifth and final ATV, Georges Lemaitre, docked with the International Space Station, fixing itself firmly for a six-month resupply and reboo ... more		Ride Shotgun With NASA Saucer As It Flies to Near Space NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project successfully flew a rocket-powered, saucer-shaped test vehicle into near-space in late June from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facili ... more		Climate change causing havoc with global water cycle: UN Schools shut, flights cancelled as Typhoon Ragasa nears Hong Kong Over 60,000 Europeans died from heat during 2024 summer: study		New Horizons Spies Charon Orbiting Pluto Like explorers of old peering through a shipboard telescope for a faint glimpse of their destination, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is taking a distant look at the Pluto system - in preparation for ... more
Ten-year study highlights sleep issues in space In an extensive study of sleep monitoring and sleeping pill use in astronauts, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Harvard Medical School, ... more		Study Compiles Data on Problem of Sleep Deprivation in Astronauts After a long, hard day, who doesn't long for the comfort of a soft mattress and the embrace of a good night's sleep? Still, for many people, a full-night's rest is a rather elusive thing. Factors ra ... more		China Sends Remote-Sensing Satellite into Orbit China on Saturday successfully launched a Long March 4C carrier rocket with the Yaogan XX satellite, Xinhua news agency reported. The carrier lifted off at 1:45 p.m. local time (05:45 GMT) fro ... more		NASA Engineers Begin Testing for SLS Liquid Oxygen Feed System Let's be honest - geysers are really cool. You've got an eruption of water and vapor that can burst to heights of 185 feet. What's not to like about that? When building propellant tanks for t ... more

	On the frontiers of cyborg science No longer just fantastical fodder for sci-fi buffs, cyborg technology is bringing us tangible progress toward real-life electronic skin, prosthetics and ultraflexible circuits. Now taking this human ... more		Robo-cook: android restaurant boots up in China It's more teatime than Terminator - a restaurant in China is electrifying customers by using more than a dozen robots to cook and deliver food. ... more

Tariff uncertainty delays World Cup orders for China's merch makers

EU business lobby head says China rare earths snag persists

IEA feels the heat as Washington pushes pro-oil agenda

SpaceX to build world's first commercial rocket launch site in south Texas		Cassini Prepares For Its Biggest Remaining Burn		Aerojet Completes CST-100 Work for Commercial Crew Work		ATK Passes Critical Design Review for NASA's Space Launch System Booster		American Spaceports
Red Dwarf Stars Might Be Best Places to Discover Alien Life		Introducing this year's underground astronauts		China to test recoverable moon orbiter		ESA's cargo vessel ready for space delivery		Association of satellite operators joins program for space safety

China to send orbiter to moon and back

More Tasks for China's Moon Mission

USN Moderates CubeSat RF Communications Standards Meeting

Russia to Decide on Future of Sea Launch Project by End of 2014

NASA Selects Proposals for Advanced Energy Storage Systems

Opportunity Heads to 'Marathon Valley'

Rotation of Planets Influences Habitability

United Launch Alliance Launches Two Rockets in Just Four Days

SpaceX launches AsiaSat8 into orbit via Falcon 9 rocket

NEEMO 18 Aquanauts Complete Underwater Mission

Dawn navigates mini-asteroid belt

ALMA telescope sizes up Pluto's orbit

'Impossible' engine may actually work, NASA engineers suggest

NASA Selects Innovative Advanced Concepts For More Study

AsiaSat 8 Successfully Lifts Off

Orion spacecraft recovery practiced at sea

August supermoon will be brightest this year

NASA, Navy Prepare for Orion Spacecraft to Make a Splash

Study warns of sleeping pill risk for astronauts

Astronauts rely on sleeping pills in space

Free Newsletters - Space - Defense - Environment - Energy

Buy Advertising

Media Advertising Kit

Editorial & Other Enquiries

Privacy statement

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.