space program

Stories 21 - 36 | << Prev 

Astronauts Break Record for Longest 'Space' Mission

...without actually leaving the planet

(Newser) - A crew of cosmonauts has broken the record for longest space mission, having spent 438 days in a 12-foot-wide capsule. But they'll also break another record when their mission is up—the record for shortest distance traveled on a space mission—because they've never actually left Moscow in...

Strangest Passengers in NASA History

From frogs to fish, the space shuttle has carried plenty of crazy critters

(Newser) - You can probably name the first American sent into space (Alan Shepard), but the first monkey, frog, and jellyfish made the trip with far less fanfare. Space Shuttle Atlantis took off yesterday with a few odd passengers: an iPhone and a mutant strain of salmonella. But they're not the...

Iran Launching Monkey Into Space

Second Iranian satellite successfully launched

(Newser) - Iran launched its second satellite into space this week and it plans to follow up by sending a live monkey this summer. The head of Iran's space organization says a capsule containing the monkey will be sent to an altitude of 74 miles by the Kavoshgar-5 rocket, AOL reports....

Space Station Gets Observation Deck

Astronauts complete mission, attach glass dome

(Newser) - After a long night spent struggling with bolts and wiring, astronauts have attached a new observation deck complete with glass lookout dome to the International Space Station. Two of the astronauts used a giant robotic arm to move the observation deck—which is expected to provide unprecedented 360-degree views of...

Shuttle Blasts Off on Last Night Flight

Endeavour headed for construction work at space station

(Newser) - The shuttle Endeavour lifted off early this morning from Cape Canaveral in what will likely be the last nighttime launch of the soon-to-end space shuttle program. The six astronauts on board are hauling a new room and observation deck up to the International Space Station, where they are set to...

Astronauts Are Sky-High&mdash;Figuratively
 Astronauts Are 
 Sky-High—Figuratively 
just say no
Dec 4, 2009 4:31 PM CST

Astronauts Are Sky-High—Figuratively

Space explorers have access to some high-test drugs, man

(Newser) - Space is full of unique challenges, and astronauts use contemporary pharmacology to meet them. Discovery News compiles a list of the drugs our ambassadors to space could be on right now:
  • Modafinil. A strong stimulant taken by astronauts when the mission calls for unnaturally long periods of wakefulness.
  • Scopolamine. Crew
...

Ares Test Rocket Blasts Off

Possible space shuttle replacement launches after long delay

(Newser) - NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket finally blasted off this morning, after several delays and a storm-foiled first attempt. The $445 million rocket is the first of its kind, and NASA hopes it’ll eventually replace the space shuttle and take astronauts to the moon. Originally it was supposed to...

NASA Space Flight Review Worries Workers

Thousands of jobs at stake when shuttle retires next year

(Newser) - A NASA review of manned space-flight plans has Kennedy Space Center workers and contractors fearing for their jobs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. A panel will investigate whether rockets set to carry humans into space after the shuttle fleet is retired next year are really NASA’s best bets. Some worry...

India Struggles to Create Astronaut 'Space Curry'

(Newser) - One of the biggest challenges of India’s burgeoning space program is culinary, the London Times reports. Researchers at the country’s defense science lab are struggling to adapt the complex, spicy national cuisine into something that will work in space. “Curry tends to be spicy, high in fat...

India Launches First Moon Mission

(Newser) - India has launched its first mission to the moon, the BBC reports. The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from southern Andhra Pradesh. The robotic probe is scheduled to orbit the moon for two years, during which time it will compile a 3-D atlas of the surface and search...

Time to Ditch the Shuttle
 Time to Ditch the Shuttle 
OPINION
Oct 16, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Time to Ditch the Shuttle

Let the Russians fly us; shuttle is too dangerous

(Newser) - It’s past time to put the US space shuttle fleet out to pasture, according to John Logsdon, a member of the 2003 Columbia Accident Investigation Board. That panel recommended the US “replace the shuttle as soon as possible,” and Logsdon stands by that assessment, even though it...

Iran Aims to Put a Man in Space
 Iran Aims to Put a Man in Space 
Aug 21, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Iran Aims to Put a Man in Space

State also hopes to aid other Muslim countries via satellite program

(Newser) - Iran plans to send a manned mission into orbit within the next 10 years, the CBC reports. The news comes on the heels of a recent, and disputed, rocket launch the Iranians claim put a satellite, its first, into space. The country says its space presence would monitor weather and...

There's a New Space Race, and US Is Losing

Rest of the world collaborates while fearful US falls behind

(Newser) - While the rest of the world cooperates incessantly on all matters extraterrestrial, the US, hampered by self-imposed regulations meant to keep weapons out of enemies' hands, is swiftly losing dominance of the final frontier, the Washington Post reports. The US’ military space program is still gargantuan, but the civil program,...

Odds of Cataclysmic Space-Rock Crash: 1 in 10

Despite danger, NASA doing little to protect planet

(Newser) - Chicken Little may have been smarter than we thought. A growing body of evidence reveals that the sky is falling, or at least gigantic space rocks are—and the Earth is at far greater risk of a catastrophic strike than previously thought, reports Atlantic. Despite the danger—an impact could...

Cargo Ship Docks With ISS
 Cargo Ship Docks With ISS
updated
Apr 3, 2008 1:17 PM CDT

Cargo Ship Docks With ISS

Unmanned European vessel hooks up to International Space Station

(Newser) - European cargo vessel Jules Verne docked flawlessly today at the International Space Station, Space.com reports. The double-decker-sized space hauler has about 8 tons of supplies on board for astronauts at the station, including food and water, rocket propellant—even handwritten documents from the real Jules Verne, a 19th-century science...

Shuttle Prepares to Quit Station

Endeavour crew about to zoom home after record mission

(Newser) - The crew of shuttle Endeavour prepared to undock from the International Space Station today after a leisurely Easter Sunday spent off-loading cargo, enjoying a holiday meal, and talking to family back home. The shuttle commander compared the flurry of work to wrap up the record-setting mission to March Madness: "...

Stories 21 - 36 | << Prev