Space Coalition Blog

Endeavour Closing in on Station, Checking Heat Shield

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:01:00 -0600

From Florida Today Endeavour's astronauts are closing in on the International Space Station and aim to dock at the outpost early Wednesday, winding up a two-day trip from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Launched in the predawn hours Monday, Endeavour ...

Space Shuttle Artifacts: Inspiring Student Interest in Math and Science

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:53:00 -0600

As NASA's space shuttle program winds down, the space agency has created a program through which universities, schools and science museums would be allowed to apply to receive and house spacecraft components, flight hardware, and other authentic arti...

NASA's Endeavour Astronauts Close In on International Space Station

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:39:00 -0600

The Endeavour astronauts raced toward a linkup with the International Space Station early Tuesday, while a scan of the fragile heat shielding on their spacecraft indicated no signs of major damage during their pre-dawn lift off from NASA's Kennedy Sp...

Tell NASA Your Ideas

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:30:00 -0600

NASA's new OpenNASA site lets you submit, vote on, and provide feedback for ideas on how NASA should proceed. Get your voice heard and become part of our nations space program!

Click here!

Interactive Endeavour Mission Plan

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:35:00 -0600

NASA has put up an interactive mission plan for STS 130. Mouse over the day in the timeline to see what Endeavour will be up to.

Click here!

Spirit Angles for More Sun for the Winter

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:28:00 -0600

From Mars Daily Spirit is still embedded in the area called "Troy" on the west side of Home Plate. Energy levels for Spirit have been decreasing rapidly as winter approaches. To prepare for winter, the project is taking actions to improve northerly ...

Starseed Study

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:15:00 -0600

From PhysOrg NASA scientists hope to better understand exactly how and why plants grow differently in space in an experiment named, Tropi. Future astronauts may be able to grow plants as part of life support systems on long-duration space missions t...

On Phone Calls from ET

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:41:00 -0600

From Universe Today If civilization-forming intelligent life is rare in our Milky Way galaxy, chances are we won't hear from ET before the Sun goes red giant, in about five billion years' time; however, if we do hear from ET before then, we'll have ...

ET Signal from Space? The "Wow" Factor

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:10:00 -0600

It was 37 seconds long and came from outer space - that much is known. But what was detected on August 15, 1977 remains an unknown. In use at the time was the Big Ear, Ohio State's radio telescope in Delaware. It came from the direction of Sagittar...

Shuttle Endeavour Lifts Off With Six on 13-day NASA mission to the International Space Station

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:24:00 -0600

The shuttle Endeavour roared into a darkened Florida sky early Monday, kicking off a 13-day mission to the International Space Station with six astronauts and the last habitable U. S. module destined for the orbital outpost. Endeavour lifted off fro...

Cloudy Skies a Factor as NASA Makes Second Attempt to Launch the Shuttle Endeavour Early Monday

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:47:00 -0600

Low cloud ceilings will remain a factor early Monday as NASA makes a second attempt to launch the shuttle Endeavour and a crew of six astronauts on a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The lift off is scheduled for 4:14 a.m., EST. E...

Clouds Force Endeavour Launch Scrub, NASA Plans Second Attempt Early Monday

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:35:00 -0600

Efforts to launch the shuttle Endeavour early Sunday on a 13-day mission to the International Space Station were postponed by a low cloud deck over NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A second launch attempt was tentatively scheduled for Monday ...

U. S. Needs Heavy Lift, More Discussion About Deep Space Destinations, Says NASA Administrator

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:43:00 -0600

Faced with criticism from Congress over the Obama Administration's decision to cancel the Constellation Program, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said Saturday he will strive to preserve an effort to develop a heavy lift rocket and settle on an ulti...

Solar Dynamics Observatory - The Variable Sun Mission

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:20:00 -0600

From NASA For some years now, an unorthodox idea has been gaining favor among astronomers. It contradicts old teachings and unsettles thoughtful observers, especially climatologists. "The sun," explains Lika Guhathakurta of NASA headquarters in Was...

Hubble Maps Pluto

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:04:00 -0600

From NASA NASA today released the most detailed set of images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto. The images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show an icy and dark molasses-colored, mottled world that is undergoing seasonal changes in...

Save Constellation...a video created by a space enthusiast.

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:12:00 -0600

Introducing Robonaut

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:58:00 -0600

From NASA Robonaut2 - or R2 for short - is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It is faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced than its predecessors and able to use ...

Cassini in for the Long Haul

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:20:00 -0600

From Wired NASA gave its Cassini spacecraft mission a 6 ½-year life extension to continue exploring Saturn and its moons. Cassini launched in 1997 and first arrived at Saturn in 2004 after flying by Earth, Venus and Jupiter. It carried the H...

On Meteorite Ownership

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:14:00 -0600

From MSNBC An out-of-this world rock has become the center of a down-to-earth dispute over who its rightful owner should be. The tennis ball-sized meteorite plummeted through the roof of a Virginia medical office just after dusk on Jan. 18, the sam...

This Week in Space, Special Edition, Parts 1-3

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:04:00 -0600

Miles O'Brien hosts a special edition of "This Week in Space" with a detailed look at President Obama's sweeping changes for the U.S. human spaceflight program.

House Panel Questions White House Plans to Cancel Constellation

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:46:00 -0600

President Obama's plans to cancel NASA's Constellation Program in favor of a more flexible deep space exploration strategy received a cold reception in Congress on Wednesday, as lawmakers started what is expected to be months of scrutiny. The hearin...

Weekend Launch for STS-130 Promising

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:45:00 -0600

From MSNBC NASA is predicting good weather for this weekend's space shuttle launch. Endeavour is scheduled to blast off Sunday morning on the last major construction mission at the International Space Station. A new space station room is loaded abo...

Bolden Says Manned Mars Mission Not Out of Picture

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:11:00 -0600

From Information Week Defending a budget that effectively cancels a program that would have returned humans to the moon by 2020, NASA's top official said the space agency is looking beyond the lunar surface-to Mars. In a statement, NASA administrat...

Hubble Captures Mysterious Collision

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:25:00 -0600

From Discovery I've seen thousands of astronomical images over my career, but this is one of the few absolute jaw-droppers: A flying X-pattern with trailing streamers. At first glance it looks like a four-pointed Kohga Ninja throwing star blade. I...

An Eclipse, From Space

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:38:00 -0600

From Wired A European satellite launched late last year has returned a new animation of the annular solar eclipse that occurred on Jan. 15. The images returned by the Proba 2 mission are the first of their kind and part of...

So a Mouse and Two Turtles Go Into Space...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:30:00 -0600

From MSNBC Iran announced Wednesday it has successfully launched a 10-foot-long research rocket carrying a mouse, two turtles and worms into space - a feat President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said showed Iran could defeat the West in the battle of technol...

Space Suits New and Old

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:07:00 -0600

From Decoded Stuff A brand new space suit to give flexibility and mobility for astronauts! Engineers are developing a new space suit for astronauts returning to the moon within the next decade. The suit will be equipped with a computer that links d...

NASA's 2011 Budget Proposal Brings Challenges to Exploration, Space Operations.

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:15:00 -0600

Two of NASA's top administrators face very different challenges as they attempt to set the agency on a new heading for exploration, wind down the 29-year-old space shuttle program and place the International Space Station on a firm footing for extend...

Playing with Plasma

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:17:00 -0600

From Science Daily On 27th January 2010, the 25th series of experiments studying complex plasmas will start on board the international space station ISS. Physicists from the Max-Planck-Institute for extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, wil...

NASA "Robust" Science Budget Detailed

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:09:00 -0600

NASA's proposed space science budget for fiscal year 2011 provides for a "robust program" of science, robotic solar system exploration and new astronomical observatories. That's the word today from Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator for NASA's S...