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CAPE CANAVERAL: The US space shuttle Endeavour docked on schedule Wednesday with the orbiting International Space Station, NASA announced. The shuttle docked with the ISS, orbiting 346 kilometers above Earth over the Atlantic ocean west of Portugal at 0506 GMT, NASA TV said, showing live images of the maneuver. The Endeavouor crew blasted off Monday carrying a seven-windowed dome observation deck for the ISS. Built for NASA by the European group Thales Alenia Space in their Turin factory, the cupola will provide unparalleled panoramic views of Earth and space. Endeavour astronauts on Tuesday finished routine inspection of the thermal protection system on the orbiter's wing leading edges and nose, NASA said.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 CAPE CARNIVAL: Engineers from NASA and General Motors have jointly developed what they tout as “the world’s most dexterous robot” called “Robonaut2” to supplement human activity both in space and in the factory. The robot, called "R2" for short was built to replicate the appearance of a human from the waist up so that it can fit into and work in the same spaces, doing the same jobs as people do, sometimes right alongside them. Robonaut2 is the newer sibling of Robonaut, a robot previously created by NASA and the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to do the same types of tasks that human spacewalkers do. Robotnaut2 replicates a human torso, head, arms, hands and fingers. GM and NASA are examining various “mobility solutions,” such as legs, for the robot, but future iterations may instead have wheels or maybe a single leg.

Saturday, February 06, 2010 FLORIDA: President Barack Obama may have recently cut the funding legs from beneath NASA regarding the Constellation Project and future manned missions to the Moon, but that isn’t likely to stop the cash-strapped U.S. space administration from reaching towards the stars. More pointedly, NASA has this week revealed that its scientists are currently working with experts from engineering giant General Motors (GM) to accelerate the development of Robonaut, a line of robotic astronauts that could serve as Mankind’s explorers of tomorrow. Utilising leading-edge control, sensor and vision technology, NASA is looking to create robots capable of providing direct assistance to human astronauts during hazardous space missions. While, on the flip side of the deal, GM sees the robotic creations as potentially helping it to build safer cars and manufacturing facilities. “This cutting-edge robotics technology holds great promise, not only for NASA, but also for the...

Sunday, January 31, 2010 WASHINGTON: Facing budgetary constraints, President Barack Obama will scale back US space ambitions, abandoning plans to return to the moon by 2020 and confining NASA to lower orbits for years to come. The shift will be unveiled Monday when Obama presents his 2011 budget blueprint to Congress, according to an external White House advisor. "Constellation is dead," the advisor said on Friday, referring to a program that envisioned using Earth's nearest neighbor as a base for manned expeditions to Mars. Under the new plan, Obama will also propose boosting the development of commercial rockets and other vehicles that can ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The Constellation program was launched in 2004 by then-president George W. Bush after the Columbia space shuttle mission ended in disaster with the death of all seven crew members in 2003. The catastrophe led the US space agency to decide it would retire its shu...

Friday, January 29, 2010 WASHINGTON: NASA on Wednesday gave the green light for the US Endeavour space shuttle to blast off towards the International Space Station on February 7 carrying six astronauts. Lift-off is set for 04:39 am (0939 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida in what marks the final year of space exploration for the shuttle fleet, which is due to be mothballed at the end of September. Only five more shuttle flights, including the Endeavour launch, are planned, NASA said in a statement after a meeting of the US space agency's scientists. During its 13-day mission Endeavour's crew will deliver the US module Tranquility, the last big piece of equipment to be flown to the ISS for installation. Tranquility will provide extra room for crew members as well as the life support and environmental control systems. It will also help recycle waste water and produce oxygen. The Endeavour's crew will also carry out three spacewalks dur...

Monday, January 04, 2010 WASHINGTON: NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful, six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is in Martian sand. The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere. All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006 probably due to a worn out electric motor. Dead in its tracks, Spirit cannot shake off the Martian dust that is slowly accumulating on its solar panels, preventing its batteries from recharging. Unless the wind blows the dust away or, in a spurt of energy, Spirit can shift its inclination to better point the...

Friday, November 27, 2009 HOUSTON: The space shuttle Atlantis landed back on Earth with its crew of seven astronauts Friday to cap an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis commander Charlie Hobaugh and pilot Barry Wilmore touched down as scheduled at 9:44 am (1444 GMT) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida amid clear blue skies. During their successful voyage, the Atlantis crew delivered nearly 30,000 pounds (13,608 kilograms) of spare parts to the orbiting space station, including a pair of gyroscopes, thermal control system components and robot arm gear.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 NEW YORK: The shuttle Atlantis has blasted off carrying vital supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station to push its life past the 2010 retirement of the aging shuttle fleet.Atlantis launched at 2.28pm on Monday (0628 AEDT Tuesday) from the Kennedy Space Centre near Florida's Cape Canaveral carrying six astronauts and some 12 tonnes of gyroscopes, ammonia tanks and other equipment."A perfect launch, right on time," said a NASA spokesman after the shuttle reached orbit about eight minutes into its flight, hurtling at a speed of more than 24,000km/ph, NASA said.Moment before the lift-off, launch director Mike Leinback wished the crew godspeed, declaring: "All the vehicle systems are outstanding today, the weather is near perfect for a good lift-off today."Space agency officials said the mission was crucial as just five more shuttle launches remain before the planned September 2010 retirement of the fleet and the spare ...

November 15, 2009 WASHINGTON: The US space agency was readying for the launch Monday of the space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts to deliver equipment that will maintain the nearly completed International Space Station.Lift-off is set for 1928 GMT from the Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA said Saturday."Atlantis is ready to go, in really great shape," said shuttle launch manager Mike Moses at a press conference broadcast on NASA television."Here at Kennedy Space Center weather should be very good," said Meteorologist Kathy Winters, adding that there was just a ten percent chance of weather prohibiting the launch.Captained by Marine Corps colonel Charlie Hobaugh, the all-male crew arrived Thursday at Kennedy Space Center from Houston, Texas, where the astronauts are based.The shuttle mission is set to include three spacewalks aimed at storing space hardware on the exterior of the orbiting outpost.The 11-day space outing will b...

Saturday, November 14, 2009 WASHINGTON: NASA has announced that a 'significant quantity' of water ice has been found on the moon.The news comes just over one month after the LCROSS probe fired a CENTAUR missile-projectile at a lunar crater to survey for possible water reserves. The spectrographic analysis of the cloud of debris thrown up by the missile's impact confirmed the presence of water in the form of ice.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 CAPE CANAVERAL: Bad weather was interfering with NASA's attempt to launch a new, experimental rocket for the second day in a row early Wednesday.An estimated 154 lightning strikes were reported within a five-mile radius of the launch pad overnight. Launch controllers were retesting the Ares I-X rocket systems to make sure nothing was damaged. The extra work delayed Wednesday morning's liftoff. NASA had until noon to get the rocket flying.Tuesday's launch attempt was thwarted by clouds and wind. More of the same was expected Wednesday.The Ares I-X is a precursor to the rockets NASA hopes to launch with astronauts to the International Space Station and, ultimately, the moon. The White House may scrap it, however, in favor of other rockets and destinations.NASA has invested $445 million in the test.The first-stage booster will be recovered from the ocean for analysis.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 NEW YORK: Images from the twin STEREO spacecraft show, for the first time, a solar tsunami blasting its way through the Sun's lower atmosphere. Solar tsunamis are launched by huge explosions near the Sun's atmosphere, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Although solar tsunamis share much in common with tsunamis on Earth, the solar version can travel at over a million kilometres per hour.The tsunami took place on 19th May 2007 and lasted for about 35 minutes, reaching peak speeds around 20 minutes after the initial blast. The observations were made by a team from Trinity College Dublin.'The energy released in these explosions is phenomenal, about two billion times the annual world energy consumption in just a fraction of a second. In half an hour, we saw the tsunami cover almost the full disc of the Sun, nearly a million kilometres away from the epicentre,' said Long.STEREO's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI) instruments monitor the Sun...

WASHINGTON: The recent attempt from NASA to bomb moon surface in search of water has failed to achieve success as the dust appeared with the blow of rocket did not carry possible water vapors.After gearing up for the space agency's much-hyped mission to hurl two spacecraft into the moon, the public turned away from the sky Friday anything but dazzled. Photos and video of the impact showed little more than a fuzzy white flash. In social media and live television coverage, many people were disappointed at the lack of spectacle. One person even joked that someone hit the pause button in mission control.Yet scientists involved in the project were downright gleeful. Sure, there were no immediate pictures of spewing plumes of lunar dust that could contain water, but, they say, there was something more important: chemical signatures in light waves. That's the real bonanza, not pictures of geyser-like eruptions of debris, the scientists said.The mission was executed for “a scientific ...

Friday, October 09, 2009 :: WASHINGTON: The United States blasted the surface of the moon Friday with two rockets on a mission to look for water below the lunar surface that could be used by astronauts on future space missions, NASA said. At 1130 GMT the LCROSS satellite crashed into the Cabeus crater floor near the moon's south pole at around 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) per hour, followed four minutes later by a shepherding spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact. Grainy thermal images carried on the US space agency's television station showed colder blue sites and warmer red sites on the moon's surface, but there was no apparent light flash as the rockets made impact. NASA said the blasts would kick up a plume of lunar dirt to an altitude of about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) and produce a flash lasting about 30 seconds. Cameras mounted on the 1,965-pound (891-kilogram) shepherding spacecraft were to beam live footage of the initial impact as the craft flew...

Friday, September 11, 2009 HOUSTON: The first two opportunities to land the space shuttle Discovery were abandoned Thursday due to thunderstorms and high winds around the landing site in Florida, NASA said. "We know everyone worked it as hard as they could," shuttle commander Rick Sturckow told mission control when informed of the decision to wave off for the night. "We will look forward to trying again tomorrow." Discovery and its seven-member crew will try another attempt to return to Earth on Friday, the 14th day of a mission to the orbiting International Space Station.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009 WASHINGTON: The space shuttle Discovery dated at: 0356 PST,undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday and began its journey back to Earth after a successful mission.Discovery undocked from the ISS at 1926 GMT and circled the space station to survey and photograph its exterior -- customary practice to end such missions -- before returning to Earth for a scheduled Thursday landing in Florida.Before their second and final burn away from the station, the crew used a robotic arm and high-definition cameras to ensure the shuttle's heat shield had not been compromised by orbiting debris and small meteorites.The shield must be intact to prevent Discovery from disintegrating as it enters the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.During their eight days aboard the ISS, the Discovery crew has transferred 6.9 tonnes of equipment, including new sleeping quarters, a treadmill, and a refrigerator that will store materials for experiments.They also ...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 WASHINTON: NASA was planning to launch the space shuttle Discovery early Friday after thunderstorms and a hydrogen fuel tank valve postponed two previous attempts. The shuttle and its crew of seven astronauts were preparing for a 13-day mission to supply the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).Ahead of the next planned launch attempt, engineers will evaluate a liquid hydrogen valve that became problematic when technicians began fueling Discovery on Tuesday, mission management team chairman Mike Moses told reporters.It was the second scuttled launch in a 24-hour period. A first launch attempt early Tuesday was scrubbed due to stormy weather.Moses said detailed test data about the valve would be examined before the shuttle's fuel tank is filled with propellant ahead of the planned launch shortly after midnight.If engineers cannot determine the exact nature of the problem or if the vlave must be replaced, he warned, "then we will probably not be...

Saturday, August 01, 2009 CAPE CANAVERAL: Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts are back on Earth.Endeavour landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center late Friday morning after a 16-day mission that saw them complete all their major construction goals at the international space station.Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata is back after four-and-a-half months in space. He says he can't wait to eat some sushi and see his wife and son.Japan's space station lab got a porch for experiments during Endeavour's visit. The crew also installed fresh batteries and stockpiled big spare parts.It was eventful in other ways. The astronauts celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing with their own spacewalk. They also coped with a flooded toilet and an overheated air-purifier.

Friday, July 31, 2009 HOUSTON: The multinational crew of the space shuttle Endeavour prepared to return to Earth on Friday, wrapping up a marathon mission to the International Space Station. There was only a slight chance that rain showers near NASA's Kennedy Space Center runway in Florida might force the seven-member crew to spend an extra day in orbit, according to forecasters. "It's time to come back," said Endeavour commander Mark Polanski, as the astronauts prepared the ship for its high speed descent. "We have accomplished our primary objectives successfully." Endeavour has two opportunities to touchdown Friday, at 10:48am (1448 GMT) and 12:22 pm (1622 GMT). NASA said the shuttle crew was awakened at 2:03 am eastern daylight time (0603 GMT) by the song "Beautiful Day" performed by the band U2, ahead of the planned trip home. Touchdown would end a long sojourn, during which the astronauts installed the final piece of Japan's Kibo science ...

Friday, July 31, 2009 FLORIDA:: NASA said the space shuttle Endeavour will still be able to land despite the failure of a forward thruster that controls speed and altitude. NASA today discovered that a forward thruster that controls the space shuttle Endeavour's speed and altitude is not working properly. The finding comes just a day before the shuttle is due to land at Kennedy Space Center.NASA discovered the issue today during a pre-landing test of Endeavour's Reaction Control System steering thrusters. The problematic front thrusters, which help control Endeavour after the deorbit burn, failed during testing, NASA said.Bill Jeffs, a NASA spokesman, said the failed thruster simply won't be used during Friday's scheduled re-entry and landing. "They'll be able to land without it," he said. "The flight control system is in great shape."According to NASA, the shuttle crew today also tested Endeavour's aerodynamic control surfaces that will be ...