ESA space ferry moves ISS to avoid debris
Paris (ESA) Nov 06, 2014 -
The International Space Station was threatened by space debris last week but ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle saved the day by firing its thrusters to push the orbital outpost and its six occupants out of harm's way.
This is the first time the Station's international partners have avoided space debris with such urgency.
Ground stations continuously track space junk - leftover hardwar ...
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UCLA astronomers solve puzzle about bizarre object at the center of our galaxy
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 06, 2014 -
For years, astronomers have been puzzled by a bizarre object in the center of the Milky Way that was believed to be a hydrogen gas cloud headed toward our galaxy's enormous black hole. Having studied it during its closest approach to the black hole this summer, UCLA astronomers believe that they have solved the riddle of the object widely known as G2.
A team led by Andrea Ghez, professor o ...
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African states endorse installation of a mega radio telescope
Nairobi, Kenya (XNA) Nov 06, 2014 -
Nine African countries on Tuesday agreed on modalities of setting up one of the world's largest radio telescopes that will revolutionize space science in the continent. Government officials meeting in Nairobi said the countries have finalized the harmonization of policies and laws to facilitate the installation of the radio telescope dubbed Square Kilometer Array (SKA).
"The appetite for r ...
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The Little Engine that Could
McLean VA (SPX) Nov 06, 2014 -
The Price Induction DGEN model 380 turbofan engine rolled into the NASA Glenn Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory on the back of a flatbed truck recently to see if the small engine could be successfully used to test engine noise reduction concepts proposed by researchers.
Evaluating concepts on a small engine is much cheaper than the larger version.
If the specialized testing on this ...
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How to Land on a Comet
Huntsville AL (SPX) Nov 06, 2014 -
Generally speaking, space missions fall into one of three categories: difficult, more difficult, and ridiculously difficult.
Flybys are difficult. A spaceship travels hundreds of millions of miles through the dark void of space, pinpoints a distant planet or moon, and flies past it at 20 to 30 thousand mph, snapping pictures furiously during an achingly brief encounter.
Going into or ...
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Peering into Planetary Atmospheres
Laurel MD (SPX) Nov 06, 2014 -
Pluto is the foremost member of a large population of mysterious icy bodies - called Kuiper Belt Objects - that reside far beyond the orbit of Neptune. In the 1970s and 1980s, Voyagers 1 and 2 explored the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) and their intricate systems of rings and moons, but Pluto was out of reach for a visit by either spacecraft.
New Horizons will fil ...
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Orbital likely to discontinue using Russian rocket engine
Washington DC (RIA Novosti) Nov 06, 2014 -
The US manufacturer of fallen unmanned cargo spacecraft Antares is likely to discontinue using the Russian rocket engine that it believes to be the cause of the vehicle launch crash in October, according to press release issued Wednesday.
"Preliminary evidence and analysis conducted to date points to a probable turbopump-related failure in one of the two Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 stage one m ...
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