Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Watch online: Earth from Space – special edition
Discover more about our planet with the Earth from Space video programme. In this special edition, Professor Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes, joins the show to discuss Earth observation for the coming year. Watch online Tuesday at 14:00 CET.
Voyage to the most isolated base on Earth
Alexander Kumar, the next ESA-sponsored crewmember to stay in Concordia, has arrived safely at the research base in Antarctica. The voyage to one of the remotest places on Earth takes even longer than the voyage to the International Space Station.
NASA’s J-2X Engine Kicks Off 2012 With Powerpack Testing
A new series of tests on the engine that will help carry humans to deep space will begin next week at NASA?s Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi. The tests on the J-2X engine bring NASA one step closer to the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine to be developed in 40 years.
NASA Awards Safety And Mission Assurance Contract Extension
NASA has exercised two six-month options to the agency’s Safety and Mission Assurance Support Services Contract with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of San Diego for the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The options are worth $32.9 million.
Watch online: ‘Sahara’s end’ on the Earth from Space programme
Discover more about our planet with the Earth from Space video programme. Join us every Friday at 10:00 CET for an 800 km-high tour with spectacular images from Earth-observing satellites.
Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases Annual Report
The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, or ASAP, has released its 2011 annual report. The ASAP holds quarterly fact-finding and public meetings and visits NASA facilities to directly observe the agency’s operations and decision making.
Robot competition in zero-gravity
School teams from Europe and America have been commanding robots competing in the Spheres ZeroRobotics tournament in space. The arena: 400 km above Earth on the International Space Station.
Zero Robotics Challenge Winners Decided in High-Tech Competition
Two hundred high school students packed an auditorium at MIT on Monday, Jan. 23, for a competition to program miniature satellites aboard the space station. Alliance Rocket from the United States and virtual participants Alliance CyberAvo from Europe were named the winners in the third annual NASA-sponsored Zero Robotics SPHERES Challenge.
Solar storm heading toward Earth
A large solar flare yesterday triggered a coronal mass ejection travelling at 1400 km/s that will reach Earth today. An energetic eruption of this level can disrupt satellites, so operation teams at ESA and other organisations are closely monitoring the storm.
Astronaut Application Deadline Approaching
Individuals interested in becoming America’s future space explorers have until Friday to submit their applications. The deadline to apply for NASA’s next astronaut class is Jan. 27.