Technology News: Space

Wednesday - July 1, 2009

Like a car salesman pushing a luxury vehicle that the customer no longer can afford, NASA has pulled out of its back pocket a deal for a cheaper ride to the moon. It won't be as powerful, and its design is a little dated. Think of it as a base-model Ford station wagon instead of a tricked-out Cadillac Escalade. Officially, the space agency is still on track with a 4-year-old plan to spend $35 billion to build new rockets and return astronauts to the moon in several years. However, a top NASA manager is floating a cut-rate alternative that costs around $6.6 billion. [More...]

Shuttle Launch Delayed 3 Weeks by Hydrogen Leak

Wednesday - June 17, 2009

For the second time in four days, a potentially dangerous hydrogen gas leak forced NASA to delay shuttle Endeavour's launch to the international space station, this time until July at the earliest. Launch officials waited almost an hour after the leak appeared during fueling, trying to fix it through remote commands, before calling off Wednesday's pre-dawn launch. [More...]

Endeavour Visitors to Make Record-Setting ISS Crowd

Thursday - June 11, 2009

Mix seven shuttle astronauts and six space station residents and you set a record for the biggest off-the-planet gathering. NASA is aiming to launch Endeavour on Saturday morning to the international space station for a long, laborious construction job. When the shuttle pulls up, there will be 13 people at the station -- the most people ever together in space at one time. [More...]

NASA May Buddy Up With Europe on Road to Mars

Tuesday - June 9, 2009

For almost half a century, the United States has dominated the exploration of Mars from the first grainy black-and-white pictures of the craggy surface to the more recent discovery of ice. Now, budget woes are pushing NASA toward a joint exploration venture with Europe. By 2016, the U.S. may unite with the European Space Agency for future Mars trips -- a move that would mark a significant shift for NASA. [More...]

On the ISS, Six Is Company, Thirteen's a Crowd

Tuesday - June 2, 2009

Life on board the international space station is busier and more crowded now that it's a full house. For the first time ever, the space station is accommodating a permanent crew of six, the way it was intended when the first piece flew a decade ago. The population at the orbiting outpost doubled Friday when three new residents moved in. [More...]

Storms Could Delay Hubble Repair Crew's Homecoming

Thursday - May 21, 2009

Atlantis' astronauts checked their ship's flight systems and packed up Thursday in hopes of an on-time end to their triumphant Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, although the weather prospects were dismal. Thunderstorms pounded NASA's spaceport throughout the morning, and more bad weather was expected Friday when Atlantis was due to return home. [More...]

Astronauts Bid Hubble Fond Farewell Following Historic House Call

Tuesday - May 19, 2009

Spacewalking astronauts completed repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope on Monday, leaving it more powerful than ever and able to peer even deeper into the cosmos -- almost to the brink of creation. The last humans to lay hands on Hubble outfitted the observatory with another set of fresh batteries, a new sensor for precise pointing, and protective covers. [More...]

Astronauts Begin Risky Business of Repairing Hubble

Thursday - May 14, 2009

A pair of spacewalking astronauts stepped outside Thursday to begin demanding repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope, a job made all the more dangerous because of the high, debris-ridden orbit. John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel emerged from space shuttle Atlantis and quickly got started on their first job, a camera swap. [More...]

Shuttle Crew Moves In for Dicey Hubble Repair Job

Wednesday - May 13, 2009

Shuttle Atlantis and its crew moved toward the Hubble Space Telescope for a 350-mile-high grab Wednesday that will set the stage for five days of treacherous spacewalking repairs in an orbit littered with space junk. Late Tuesday, the astronauts got comforting news: The ugly stretch of nicks on Atlantis' thermal tiles were not considered serious. [More...]

Hubble Repair Crew Conducts Shuttle Safety Check

Tuesday - May 12, 2009

The Atlantis astronauts inspected their ship for any signs of launch damage Tuesday as they raced after the Hubble Space Telescope on an especially perilous and bold repair mission. Back on Earth, NASA continued prepping another space shuttle to rush to the astronauts' rescue if any serious damage is found. [More...]

Fuel Shortage Could Cause Deep Space Missions to Sputter

Thursday - May 7, 2009

NASA is running out of nuclear fuel needed for its deep space exploration. The end of the Cold War's nuclear weapons buildup means that the U.S. space agency does not have enough plutonium for future faraway space probes -- except for a few missions already scheduled -- according to a new study released Thursday by the National Academy of Sciences. [More...]

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