Space News From SpaceDaily.Com
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Space News
Some five years after its July 4th 2005 'comet shot' was seen around the world, the Deep Impact spacecraft has begun regular imaging of a second comet target, Hartley 2. The spacecraft will continue imaging Hartley 2 during and after its closest approach on November 4, providing an extended look at the comet.
However, there won't be any fireworks this time as the Deep Impact's secondary pr
As Vega's development is coming to an end with the qualification flight scheduled in 2011, two contracts were signed to allow the project to move on to the next phase.
Yesterday ESA and Arianespace signed the work order for production of the first Vega launcher, after qualification, as part of the Vega flexibility demonstration flights frame contract signed in December 2009.
At the s
Russia has sent three satellites into space early Wednesday, said spokesman for Russian Space Forces Alexei Zolotukhin.
A Rokot launch vehicle blasted off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia at 07:30 a.m. Moscow time (0330 GMT), with two military satellites of "Cosmos" series and the "Gonets-M" satellite atop.
The launch was completed in normal mode, said Zolotukhin, ad
When NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity left Victoria Crater two years ago this month, the rover science team chose Endeavour Crater as the rover's next long-term destination.
With a drive of 111 meters (364 feet) on Monday, Sept. 8, Opportunity reached the estimated halfway point of the approximately 19-kilometer (11.8-mile) journey from Victoria to the western rim of Endeavour. 
This composite image shows the Rosette star formation region, located about 5,000 light years from Earth. Data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory are colored red and outlined by a white line. The X-rays reveal hundreds of young stars in the central cluster and fainter clusters on either side.
Optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey and the Kitt Peak National Observatory (purple, orange,
The Canadian Space Agency has delivered a test unit of the Fine Guidance Sensor to the James Webb Space Telescope to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
The arrival of the engineering test unit marks a major milestone for the Canadian team. The hardware has been put through its paces at the Canadian Space Agency's David Florida Lab to ensure that the final version will f
Around the Milky Way galaxy and in the vicinity of our immediate cosmic neighborhood, known as the "Local Group" of galaxies, traces of spiral galaxies swallowing dwarf galaxies have been known since 1997. But the Local group with its three spiral galaxies and numerous dwarfs is much too small a sample to see whether theoretical predictions of the frequency of such digestive processes match obse
U.S. researchers say they've learned how make an aluminum alloy - a mixture of aluminum and other elements - that's as strong as steel.
North Carolina State University scientists say the search for ever lighter yet stronger materials is important for everything from more fuel-efficient cars to safer airplanes.
Yuntian Zhu, professor of materials science at NC State, says nanosc
Two asteroids were set to pass close to Earth on Wednesday but posed no risk, the US space agency NASA said.
NASA said its sky observation from Arizona discovered the objects on September 5. One asteroid was believed to be 10 to 20 meters (32 to 65 feet) in size and was expected to pass within 248,000 kilometers (154,000 miles) of Earth at 0951 GMT.
The second object estimated to be six 
Astronomers in Britain say confirmation of an extreme X-ray source in a distant galaxy bolsters the theory of a new class of black hole.
A group of international astronomers in the United Kingdom, France and the United States, led by the University of Leicester, have found proof to confirm the distance and brightness of the most extreme ultra-luminous X-ray source discovered, a universi
U.S. researchers say they've translated brain signals into words, a step toward allowing severely paralyzed people to use their thoughts to "talk."
University of Utah scientists translated signals generated by the brain into words using grids of micro-electrodes implanted beneath the skull but atop the brain, a university release said Monday.
"We have been able to decode spoken w
Kno Inc., a company developing a digital textbook reader for students, said Wednesday that it has received 46 million dollars in the latest round of funding from venture capitalists.
Kno said Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm launched by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, was the lead investor along with Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital.
Founded in May 
Willow Garage is out to transform the world of robotics with a formula that has helped make stars of Apple gadgets and Facebook.
The Northern California company believes that third-party applications can do for robots what they did for the iPhone and the world's top online social networking service.
An open-source ross.org software platform along with a PR2 robot priced at 400,000 dollar
New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a pinata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions.
Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observatio
Lockheed Martin has announced the results of a program begun in July to lower overhead and improve affordability by reducing the number of leaders at the vice president and director levels.
Under the Voluntary Executive Separation Program (VESP), more than 600 company executives - about 25 percent of the total executive population - applied to accept financial incentives to leave the compaEarth News
Brazil expanded its offshore border through a unilateral navy order, opening possibilities of copycat actions elsewhere and asserting its interest in hydrocarbon and mineral resources beyond the 200-nautical-mile zone claimed by some other Latin American nations.
The immediate effect of the naval order would be two-fold, analysts said.
First, it would challenge the United Nations
U.S. scientists say Earth's last ice age, about 13,000 years ago, saw Europe freezing while the antarctic was warming up, an anomaly that has long puzzled them.
Researchers at Columbia University, in a study published in the journal Nature, say new evidence from New Zealand suggests the deep freeze up north bypassed much of the Southern Hemisphere.
"Glaciers in New Zealand recede
Prince Charles was to open the grounds of his London home to the public Wednesday for a garden party aiming to promote sustainability with a mix of weird and wonderful exhibits and displays.
"A Garden Party To Make A Difference" will see the prince's gardens at Clarence House plus the grounds of two neighbouring mansions opened up for rare public visits until September 19.
The aim of the
Only two of China's super-rich have accepted an invitation to meet with US philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, with others fearing they will be pressured to give to charity, a report said.
Gates and Buffett, the two richest Americans, have called on their wealthy compatriots to give at least half of their assets to charity and plan to hold a September 29 banquet in Beijing for Chi
Some 3,500 people were evacuated after a wildfire swept through part of the western US state of Colorado, destroying dozens of homes, officials said.
Local emergency authorities drafted in help from neighboring states, as the blaze spread to cover more than 7,120 acres (2,881 hectares) near the picturesque city of Boulder, while officials said more people might have to be evacuated.
"The
With governments across Latin America preparing to implement a new financial mechanism aimed at mitigating climate change by curbing carbon emissions from the destruction of tropical forests, experts have warned against a "one-size-fits-all" approach, calling instead for flexible, balanced solutions to the thorny dilemmas surrounding this new mechanism.
Among the experts' chief worries is 
Global agricultural expansion cut a wide swath through tropical forests during the 1980s and 1990s. More than half a million square miles of new farmland - an area roughly the size of Alaska - was created in the developing world between 1980 and 2000, of which over 80 percent was carved out of tropical forests, according to Stanford researcher Holly Gibbs.
"This has huge implications for g
The toll from the heaviest rains in living memory in Guatemala and Mexico rose above 50 on Tuesday, as Guatemalan officials called off the search for 15 more corpses over safety fears.
Mexican authorities said three workers cleaning a drainage system in the center of the country had been buried by rocks and mud dislodged from a nearby hill, taking the toll there to at least seven after a wee
Australia's longest election ended with Labor winning over several independent members of Parliament to form a government and the opposition leader gracious in defeat.
But just as gracious in winning was Prime Minister Julia Gillard who pledged in a national televised news conference to work as much as possible with the opposition in the interests of all Australians.
Her cautious
New Zealand authorities extended a state of emergency in Christchurch Wednesday after a powerful aftershock and doubled previous estimates of the damage bill from the disaster.
A 5.0-magnitude aftershock struck just below the surface at 7:49 am (1949 GMT Tuesday) sending frightened residents rushing into the streets, briefly cutting power supplies and bringing down debris from already damage
Forest fires flared again in Russia on Wednesday as President Dmitry Medvedev demanded better protection for the country's prized forests to avoid a repeat of this summer's disaster.
Fresh fires destroyed more than 400 houses in the Siberian region of Altai, officials said, as flames spread across the region's border with the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan.
"The village of Nikolayev
A tiny marine filter-feeder, that anchors itself to the sea bed, offers new clues to scientists studying the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet - a region that is thought to be vulnerable to collapse.
As part of a study for the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) analysed sea-bed colonies of bryozoans from coastal and deep sea regio
Malaysian prosecutors said Wednesday they will seek a tougher sentence against wildlife trafficker Anson Wong, whose six-month jail term for smuggling snakes has been sharply criticised.
Wong, nicknamed the "Lizard King" and described as one of the world's most-wanted traffickers, was handed the sentence Monday for attempting to smuggle 95 endangered boa constrictors to neighbouring Indonesi
The earthquake that devastated Christchurch may help, rather than hinder, economic growth by triggering a construction spree as New Zealand tries to shake off the effects of recession, analysts say.
While no one died in Saturday's 7.0-magnitude quake, economic activity in the city has ground to a halt as authorities enforce a no-go zone in parts considered unsafe to enter due to danger from 
Canada's government Tuesday announced the appointment of a new chief negotiator and ambassador for climate change whose mandate will be to try implement agreements made at the talks in Copenhagen.
"Our government is committed to working constructively to implement the Copenhagen Accord and to complete the negotiations for a comprehensive, legally binding post-2012 agreement," said EnvironmenSpace War news
Kuwait looks poised to purchase Patriot missiles from the United States but won't allow its territory to become a springboard for any military assault, a senior defense official said.
In a published statement, Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheik Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah spelled out the intended use of the Patriot missile, clarifying that the $900 million system would boost the military's capab
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro now regrets the actions leading up to the 1962 missile crisis with the United States, according to an interview with a US magazine.
Asked about his recommendation at the time that the Soviet Union consider an attack on the United States, Castro told journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic: "After I've seen what I've seen, and knowing what I know now, i
Army unmanned aircraft systems officials said success was so great with the integration and testing of the Hellfire missile aboard the Grey Eagle UAS that the Army would begin deployment of four weaponized systems to Afghanistan in the fall.
In a Pentagon bloggers roundtable Aug. 25, Col. Greg Gonzalez, program manager for Army UAS said in recent user tests at the National Training Center,
SELEX Galileo, a Finmeccanica Company, has been awarded a contract by BAE Systems worth circa GBP400M to supply the Praetorian Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS) in support of the Tranche 3A Eurofighter Typhoons.
Designed specifically for the Typhoon, the Praetorian DASS comprises Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), Electronic Support Measures (ESM) and Missile Approach Warning (MAW) elements
A southern U.S. preacher with a flock of 50 in Gainesville, Fla., decided to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11 by lighting a fire that quickly circled the globe - with a public burning of the Koran, much the way Hitler ordered public bonfires fueled with books written by Jews.
The Rev. Terry Jones dubbed it "International Burn a Koran Day." The sign outside his Dove World Outreach Cen
20th Armoured Brigade (The Iron Fist) is currently taking part in a huge army exercise in Canada, to help prepare them for their deployment to Afghanistan next year.
The three-month-long Exercise Prairie Thunder is held at the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS), located in the heart of the vast plains of Alberta in the west of Canada.
The brigade is due to deploy to Afghanis
Vigilare, the Boeing Network Centric Command and Control System (NC3S) developed for the Commonwealth of Australia, has entered service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) after excelling in a major multinational air combat exercise.
On Sept. 2, the RAAF began using the Vigilare Northern Regional Operations Centre (NROC) at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, for surveillance and 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the United States is watching the "leadership process" in North Korea but hoped whoever is in power in Pyongyang will scrap nuclear weapons.
Speaking before US envoys tour Asia to discuss North Korea, Clinton said Washington is making clear to the North Koreans what they must do and what they would gain if they "seriously discuss denuclear
Lockheed Martin on Wednesday announced that more than 600 company executives have taken up early retirement offers as the defense contractor undergoes a massive cost-cutting restructuring.
The layoffs, representing one quarter of Lockheed Martin's senior management, are part of the company's plan to cut back about 10,000 employees across the United States since the start of the year, it said
South Korea said it would penalise a key Iranian bank and put all financial transactions with Tehran under strict government supervision as part of sanctions over its nuclear programme.
Foreign ministry spokesman Kim Young-Sun said Wednesday the government would impose a "heavy penalty" on the Seoul branch of Bank Mellat, which allegedly facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in transac
Police on Wednesday detained the brother of an Iraqi soldier killed after gunning down two American troops and wounding nine others, the first US deaths since combat operations were declared over.
Tuesday's violence, which also saw two US soldiers wounded in a grenade attack, and a firefight in Baghdad two days earlier involving American soldiers, were a stark reminder that despite Washingto
Britain's defense secretary has said it's "unrealistic" that Britain and France share a naval carrier.
"I think it is unrealistic to share an aircraft carrier but, in other areas like tactical lift we can see what we can do," British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said after talks with his French counterpart Herve Morin last week, the Daily Telegraph reports. "I can't deny that there is an 
Three separate US drone strikes in Pakistan's northwestern tribal district killed at least 18 militants on Wednesday, security officials said.
Washington has branded the rugged area on the Afghan border - part of which has been hit by Pakistan's catastrophic flooding - a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.
Officials in Washington say the drone strikes
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said ahead of talks with President Barack Obama Tuesday that he hoped US-led troops would begin handing over responsibility to Afghan security forces sometime next year.
The secretary-general said he expected the transatlantic alliance would unveil plans at a November summit in Lisbon for a gradual transition to Afghan forces in 2011, in line with Obama's pla
In Pakistan, following the catastrophic flooding that literally is drowning an entire nation, could things get much worse? Unfortunately, last week, things did.
While trivial by comparison with the human suffering, several snapshots portray the level of poisons within the U.S.-Pakistani relationships as well as with other friends and would-be Pakistani benefactors that could be toxic. /
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Congratulations India!!! Long deserved recognition of scientific advancement!!!