Outer Space Universe » Spacecraft

Fiery Re-Entry of Man-Made Satellite Expected Around October 23, 2011

Greg - Staff Writer — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:25:57 +0000

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside again, another man-made satellite is expected to crash into the Earth sometime on or around October 23, 2011. This time, the potential noggin' basher is the ROSAT satellite.

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STS-135: The Final Mission of the Space Shuttle Program – July 8, 2011

Greg - Staff Writer — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:59:27 +0000

The final flight of the Space Shuttle Program is scheduled for tomorrow - July 8, 2011. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is being prepped for launch scheduled for 11:26 am Eastern Standard Time. I encourage all of you - our loyal Outer Space Universe Fans - to watch this historic event live on NASA.gov.

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Mars Rover Status – Spirit and Opportunity

Greg - Staff Writer — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:42:06 +0000

NASA announced yesterday that it has ended operational planning activities for the Mars Rover named Spirit. The last time that Spirit communicated with Earth was on March 22, 2010 - over one year ago. As Mars was heading into winter, Spirit became immobile and NASA was unable to adjust the tilt of Spirit's solar panels to optimize the angle to capture the maximum amount of solar energy to keep the craft powered up

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Flawless Launch of STS-134 Space Shuttle Endeavour

Greg - Staff Writer — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:29:30 +0000

The Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) left the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center today at 8:56am in what looked to be a flawless lift off. For those of you who had a chance to watch it live, it was a fantastic finish to Endeavour's nearly 20 years of service.

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New Launch Date for STS-134 Endeavour Set for May 16, 2011

Greg - Staff Writer — Wed, 11 May 2011 01:07:50 +0000

A new launch date for STS-134, Space Shuttle Endeavour has been set for May 16, 2011. Endeavour's original launch was set for April 29, but was scrubbed due to an electrical problem in what is called the Load Control Assembly-2 (LCA-2). This piece of equipment distributes power to various systems in the Shuttle and is believed to have caused fuel line heaters for Endeavour's auxiliary power unit-1 (APU-1) to fail.

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Successor to the Space Shuttle Program: The Orion Spacecraft

Brian - Staff Writer — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:12:12 +0000

The launch and return of NASA space shuttle Discovery mission STS-13, which launched on February 24th, 2011 and made its return landing on March 9th, 2011, marked the end of NASA's space shuttle program. But what does the end of the space shuttle program mean? What will be its successor?

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How the Space Shuttle Lands: Landing as a Glider

Brian - Staff Writer — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:41:01 +0000

Without having the engines that a typical passenger jet would have or the fuel to power them once the shuttle enters the atmosphere, the space shuttle seems as though it would be difficult to control and steer during its landing. How does a space shuttle land safely?

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Last Flight of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133

Greg - Staff Writer — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:56:38 +0000

Nasa announced on Friday that Space Shuttle Discovery was ready to launch on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 4:50pm. Sadly, this is the last flight of Discovery.

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How Far Away is the Voyager Spacecraft?

Greg - Staff Writer — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:45:18 +0000

The title was a trick question. Did you know that there are actually two Voyager Spacecraft and that one of these two probes are farther away from Earth than any other man made object!

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Remembering the Challenger Shuttle Explosion: A Disaster 25 Years Ago

Brian - Staff Writer — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:33:51 +0000

25 years ago today, one of the most tragic events in the history of the United States space program occurred. The Space Shuttle Challenger, on what would have been its 10th mission to space, broke apart 73 seconds after takeoff, ending the mission and the lives of those aboard. But what exactly caused the space shuttle to explode?

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