NASA moved space shuttle Endeavour a step closer to liftoff without an essential part: the "u." picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

NASA discovered that space shuttle Atlantis has been holed by a tiny piece of space debris. The 1/10-inch hole represents the second largest debris damage event ever identified. Fortunately, it missed everything that was important to the mission. Space debris is an increasingly challenging problem. picked by Fanatic 3 years ago

On April 12, 1961, the Soviets launched a 27-year-old fighter pilot named Yuri Gagarin on the world's first piloted space mission. picked by suebe 3 years ago

One of two spiders sent to the orbiting laboratory aboard the space shuttle Endeavour last week was added to the lost property list after the crew checked its tank and found it empty. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

A space program worker deliberately damaged a computer that is supposed to fly aboard shuttle Endeavour in less than two weeks, an act of sabotage that picked by Bornbad 2 years ago

A small bat appears to be trying to hitch a ride aboard the space shuttle Discovery from its perch on the spacecraft's attached external tank as NASA counts down to a planned Sunday evening launch. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Catching a free ride to Mars takes more than sticking out a thumb, but some hardy Earth bacteria could survive as hitchhikers clinging to the outside of spacecraft, studies have shown. Now a set of experiments going up with space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station will test how exposure to the harshness of space might change bacteria during a simulated Mars mission. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Dozens of Twitter members started tweeting their Space Shuttle photos. I learned it will be impossible for me to re-tweet them all. So I collected a bunch of photos from different Twitter members. Enjoy! picked by molnatisi 8 months ago

Scientists sent Salmonella bacteria to the International Space Station aboard two space shuttle missions in September 2006 and March 2008. The researchers found that when the bacteria were cultured in the microgravity environment of orbit, they became more virulent than those on Earth. The findings showed that the conditions in which the bacteria grows affect how dangerous it will become. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

A weirdly wonderful sight appeared to astronauts aboard the International Space Station this summer — thin blue clouds hovering at the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and the void. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz has developed a plasma rocket which could cut the cost of space travel by more than half, transforming the aerospace business and clearing the way to exploration for more countries, such as his native Costa Rica. For now, Franklin plans to use the rocket, called the VASIMR, as a a mail-carrier for outer space, a garbage truck for orbital debris and, the ul... read full post picked by analumass 4 days ago

The Indian space programme hit a minor snag when it came to the menu. Many traditional dishes have side effects that you don't necessarily want in a confined space with limited breathable air on board. The Defence Food Research Laboratory have stepped up to help create a more pleasant atmosphere. picked by pocksucket 8 months ago

A blog post suggests that Hubble could be kept in a high-orbit 'museum' rather than being made to crash into the Earth's atmosphere. picked by sparky 3 years ago

Many of us have seen images of the Space Shuttle launching as taken from the ground. picked by 2manyusernames 3 years ago

Among the seven astronauts launching on space shuttle Endeavour on Saturday, four are making their first flight, an achievement in any astronaut's career. One of those four, however, will also be setting a benchmark as the 500th person in history to fly into space. picked by kakana 4 months ago

Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, hidden behind a previously identified cluster of galaxies. The recently exposed cosmic giant is apparently just as bright as the first group, but is six times further away. The astronomers made the discovery as part of an international team using the space telescope XMM-Newton. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Geomorphology from Space is an out of print 1986 NASA publication edited by Nicholas M. Short, Sr. and Robert W. Blair, Jr. designed for use by the remote sensing science and educational communities to study landforms and landscapes. It has a gallery of space images consisting of 237 plates, each showing a different geographic region where a particular landform theme is exemplified. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Oct 4th will be Sputnik's 50th anniversary. Although it had its scary connotations, the dawn of the Space Age was also a hopeful event. Visionaries celebrated humanity’s long-awaited climb out of its cradle, and pragmatists soon savored the benefits of communications and weather satellites. The evolution of the space program continues to be dramatic. In a decade or so, it will be hard... read full post picked by 2manyusernames 2 years ago

A moth-like structure with a 22-billion-mile wingspan is hovering out in space. This giant is actually a massive cloud of dust surrounding a nearby, young star imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope that has shown astronomers that these dust disks can take on unexpectedly unusual shapes. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

An unusual electrical disturbance has been spotted in space, travelling unchanged through the ionised gas surrounding Earth. A European space mission called Cluster detected a "soliton" wave, a phenomenon similar to the self-contained solitons that can travel along optical fibres and channels of water on Earth. This is the first known soliton in space. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago