Extra-terrestrial Tweet-up links Tokyo with space
Tokyo (AFP) April 11, 2014 -
An unusual "Tweet-up" - a meeting of people who know each other on Twitter - involving an ambassador, an astronaut and a prime minister has taken place on a video-link between Japan and the International Space Station.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy chatted with the Japanese commander of the ISS as he circled the Earth hundreds of miles (kilometres) u ...
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Air Force receives first production lot JASSM-ER missiles
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (UPI) Apr 9, 2013 -
The first production lot of extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff missile, or JASSM-ER, has been delivered to the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin.
The long-range precision-guided missiles were delivered to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
"JASSM can neutralize (targets) while keeping our nation's combat aircrews safely outside the range of threats," said Kenneth Bandy, the ...
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NASA to send International Space Station android a pair of legs
Washington (UPI) Apr 11, 2013 -
Robonaut 2, NASA's robotic astronaut torso, floats about the International Space Station without any legs. But that's about to change, thanks to NASA engineers.
NASA scientists have built R2 a set of high-tech, 9-foot-long legs. The legs are more like big long sloth arms than human legs - ultra long and flexible with seven joints. Instead of feet, the legs are outfitted with "end effec ...
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New Israeli spy satellite enters orbit: defence ministry
Jerusalem (AFP) April 10, 2014 -
A new Israeli spy satellite entered orbit early Thursday, the defence ministry said, boosting the Jewish state's ability to monitor arch-foe Iran.
The observation remote-sensing Ofek 10 satellite, launched into space on a Shavit rocket late Wednesday, outdoes earlier models with its ability to "skip" from one target to another rather than simply "sweep" areas, ministry officials told reporte ...
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Chance meeting creates celestial diamond ring
Munich, Germany (SPX) Apr 13, 2014 -
Most stars with masses similar to that of our Sun will end their lives as white dwarfs - small, very dense, and hot bodies that slowly cool down over billions of years. On the way to this final phase of their lives the stars throw their atmospheres out into the space and create planetary nebulae, colourful glowing clouds of gas surrounding the small, bright stellar relics.
This image, capt ...
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NASA Simulation Portrays Ozone Intrusions From Aloft
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 13, 2014 -
Outdoor enthusiasts in Colorado's Front Range are occasionally rewarded with remarkable visibility brought about by dry, clear air and wind. But it's what people in the mountainous U.S. West can't see in conditions like this - ozone plunging down to the ground from high in the stratosphere, the second layer of the atmosphere - that has attracted the interest of NASA scientists, university scient ...
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Mitsubishi Electric Begins Developing GOSAT-2 Satellite System
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Apr 13, 2014 -
Mitsubishi Electric, the contractor selected to supply the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) with a Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite-2 (GOSAT-2) for launch in 2017, signed a contract to officially begin developing the satellite system.
GOSAT-2 will feature a range of highly advanced instruments, including greenhouse gas and cloud/aerosol sensors, which will contribute to the Pr ...
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China uses satellite, drones to fight pollution
Beijing (XNA) Apr 13, 2014 -
China is using satellites and drones to detect air pollution around Beijing and the practice will be expanded, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday.
Satellites and drones, which can detect clandestine emissions and capture images with a resolution of up to 4 centimeters, have been used in the cities of Tangshan, Xingtai and Handan in north China's Hebei Province, a po ...
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Hubble Extends Stellar Tape Measure 10 Times Farther Into Space
Baltimore MD (SPX) Apr 13, 2014 -
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers now can precisely measure the distance of stars up to 10,000 light-years away - 10 times farther than previously possible.
Astronomers have developed yet another novel way to use the 24-year-old space telescope by employing a technique called spatial scanning, which dramatically improves Hubble's accuracy for making angular measurements. Th ...
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Supernova Cleans Up Its Surroundings
Huntsville AL (SPX) Apr 13, 2014 -
Supernovas are the spectacular ends to the lives of many massive stars. These explosions, which occur on average twice a century in the Milky Way, can produce enormous amounts of energy and be as bright as an entire galaxy. These events are also important because the remains of the shattered star are hurled into space. As this debris field - called a supernova remnant - expands, it carries the m ...
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