NASA

Read the latest NASA news today on Newser.com

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Source of Northern Lights Seen
Source of Northern Lights Seen

Source of Northern Lights Seen

(Newser) - Scientists are getting closer to understanding what causes the vivid display of the Northern Lights, National Geographic reports. New satellite research indicates that charged particles from the sun are flowing toward Earth’s upper atmosphere in magnetic streams. The waves of charged particles, called solar wind, likely provide energy for...

Solar System Is Dented: Voyager
Solar System Is Dented: Voyager

Solar System Is Dented: Voyager

Intrepid spacecraft finds strange bulges in the heliosphere

(Newser) - Far out in space, a violent boundary zone marks the point where our solar system ends and outer space begins. NASA's Voyager 2 has now confirmed what its sister ship indicated: that this region is squashed and uneven, Space.com reports. This shock wave "sloshes back and forth like...

NASA Forced to Open Up on UFO Incident

Court orders agency to release data related to 1965 UFO sightings

(Newser) - A court has ordered NASA to release info relating to a UFO sighting 42 years ago in Kecksburg, Pa. Several witnesses say they saw the crash of a large object, which soldiers then carted off. The Chicago Tribune probes the case, in which a freelance journalist sued NASA under the...

NASA Sees Minivan for Moon
NASA Sees Minivan for Moon

NASA Sees Minivan for Moon

The shuttle's replacement, due in 2015, will be a utilitarian craft

(Newser) - Engineers are busy at work building America's next spacecraft, the long overdue replacement of the 33-year-old shuttle, and NASA has this advice for those who can't wait to see the finished product: Think minivan, not Ferrari. Fast Company explores the work at Lockheed and finds the Orion to be utilitarian...

NASA Delays Atlantis Launch Until January

Fuel sensor fails to reset a second time

(Newser) - After a controversial call to go ahead with the launch today of the problem-plagued Atlantis, NASA officials have now decided to delay the mission until at least January, Reuters reports. The decision was made when one of the two fuel sensors that failed before the abortive launch Thursday failed again...

Atlantis Set to Launch Today Despite Flaws

Shuttle to lift off with stricter rules in controversial decision

(Newser) - With tighter safety guidelines in place, NASA plans to go forward this afternoon with the launch of the Atlantis, although the problem of the shuttle's faulty fuel sensors remains unresolved. Following three days of debate, NASA engineers agreed unanimously that the shuttle could launch safely, though the decision has sparked...

Atlantis Launch Bumped to Sunday
Atlantis Launch Bumped to Sunday

Atlantis Launch Bumped to Sunday

NASA will try refueling tanks, to see if sensors reset themselves

(Newser) - NASA has pushed back the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis again, this time until tomorrow, at the earliest. The management team continued to wrestle with what to do about faulty fuel sensors; the cause of the problem is still eluding engineers after two days of study, the Orlando Sentinel...

Atlantis May Try Again Tomorrow
Atlantis May Try Again Tomorrow

Atlantis May Try Again Tomorrow

Delays or a dangerous bypass are the only options

(Newser) - NASA plans to launch the space shuttle Atlantis tomorrow, assuming engineers can figure out how to fix malfunctioning fuel sensors, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The glitches forced the space agency to postpone yesterday's original launch and another today. "We want to sleep on it," said a NASA official,...

NASA Scraps Atlantis Launch
NASA Scraps Atlantis Launch

NASA Scraps Atlantis Launch

Problem with fuel tank sensors postpones mission until tomorrow

(Newser) - NASA has called off this afternoon's launch of space shuttle Atlantis, citing a glitch involving fuel tank sensors, Space.com reports. “We’ll try it again tomorrow,” said a NASA spokesman. Two of four sensors in the shuttle's liquid hydrogen tank were registering empty, even though the tanks...

Atlantis Crew Counts Down
Atlantis Crew Counts Down

Atlantis Crew Counts Down

Crew assembles in Cape Canaveral for Thursday launch

(Newser) - The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis arrived in Cape Canaveral yesterday to prepare for their Thursday launch, reports Space.com. NASA repaired damage to the foam covering the shuttle’s fuel tank over the weekend and said the repair shouldn’t delay the mission, which will add European research...

Damage Found During Hookup
Damage Found During Hookup

Damage Found During Hookup

Astronauts also prep station for new space lab

(Newser) - Astronauts found more damage on the International Space Station today as they prepared it to receive a new space laboratory, the Houston Chronicle reports. Astronauts Dan Tani and Peggy Whitson uncovered metal shavings on a joint designed to turn a solar wing: "I would say there is more debris...

Astronauts Wire Up 'Harmony'
Astronauts Wire Up 'Harmony'

Astronauts Wire Up 'Harmony'

Two spacewalkers attach a new room to international space station

(Newser) - Two astronauts set up a new room on the international space station today, the AP reports. Their relatively quick, successful work was greeted with smiles from Mission Control: The room has to be functional before NASA can send up its next shuttle, currently scheduled for a Dec. 6 launch, which...

1 Small Disc, 1 Giant Message
1 Small Disc, 1 Giant Message

1 Small Disc, 1 Giant Message

Disc with messages of peace lies in moondust

(Newser) - A tiny disc carrying messages of peace from world leaders has been lying in a small pouch on the moon since 1969, reports Space.com. Space historian Tahir Rahman's new book We Came In Peace For All Mankind tells the story of how the disc came to be there—and...

Smithsonian Fudged Global Warming Facts 'for Politics'

Accused of downplaying global warming

(Newser) - Government scientists claim officials at the Smithsonian National Museum downplayed global warming for political reasons in a 2006 exhibit on climate change in the Arctic. The museum's director insisted statements about the "scientific uncertainty" of climate change be included in the exhibit, reports the Washington Post. The director is...

Discovery Touches Down Safely
Discovery Touches Down Safely

Discovery Touches Down Safely

Marathon shuttle mission ends with touchdown in Florida at 1:01pm EST

(Newser) - Pam Melroy became only the second woman to safely land a space shuttle as the Discovery touched down at Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 1:01pm today. The touchdown capped a blistering 15-day mission during which the shuttle crew attached a new room to the international space station and repaired damaged...

Discovery to Fly Over US
Discovery to Fly Over US

Discovery to Fly Over US

Columbia disaster sparked changes in NASA procedures

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery will fly across the US tomorrow before landing in Cape Canaveral, a feat NASA hasn’t attempted since the doomed shuttle Columbia rained debris over the country in 2003. New safety procedures have minimized the risk of another disaster, ABC News reports. People below may see...

Discovery Headed for Earth
Discovery Headed for Earth

Discovery Headed for Earth

After tearful goodbye and record mission, space shuttle sets sights on home

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery pushed off from the International Space Station today and, after flying around the station to admire its crew's handiwork, set course for Earth. The crew will perform a routine inspection of the Discovery’s underbelly tomorrow—a measure enacted after 2003’s Columbia disaster—and should...

Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs
Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs

Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs

Astronauts get to work on risky spacewalk

(Newser) - A pair of Discovery astronauts embarked this morning on repairs to a ripped solar panel on the International Space Station in one of the most dangerous and challenging spacewalks ever undertaken, the AP reports. Astronaut Scott Parazynski took a 45-minute trip on a modified robotic arm to the station's far...

Judge Tosses Evidence in Nowak Case

Ex-astronaut's statement, contents of her car inadmissible

(Newser) - The case against Lisa Nowak, the former astronaut accused of stalking and pepper spraying a rival in a fit of jealousy, took a hit yesterday when a Florida judge threw out evidence recovered from her car and recorded statements she made to the police. The judge ruled that Nowak, facing...

NASA Buys Time for Dangerous Spacewalk

Engineers work around the clock to make mission safer

(Newser) - NASA has pushed back until tomorrow a spacewalk to repair a key solar panel, allowing engineers as much prep time as possible for the risky mission. An astronaut will perch alone on the station’s 80-foot robotic arm to work on the electrified panel. "It's a real test of...

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