China releases Chang’e 2 images of its proposed lunar landing sites
Take a look at these spectacular images China released from its Chang’e 2 lunar probe that they say show potential landing sites for later Chinese probes.
Tag: spaceflight
More cracks found on Discovery’s external tank
Bad news for that November 30 shuttle launch date: Two cracks have been found on the aluminum body of Discovery’s external tank.
The state of the Iranian space program
The up and down state of the Iranian space program.
Mystery missile an optical illusion?
At least one expert claims that the mystery missile launch off the California coast on was merely an optical illusion. Key quote:
John Pike of the security analyst group globalsecurity.org said the video shot by a news helicopter owned by KCBS is an optical illusion. Pike said the video is of an airplane heading toward the camera and the contrail is illuminated by the setting sun. He said the object can’t be a rocket because it appeared to alter its course.
Mystery rocket launch off of California coast
Mystery rocket launch yesterday off of the California coast.
Crack in fuel tank foam
In addition to the hydrogen leak on Discovery, NASA is now dealing with a crack in the foam insulation on the shuttle’s external tank.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch delayed until December 7
The second test launch of the Falcon 9, with the first flight of the Dragon capsule, has been postponed again. It is now set for December 7.
Discovery’s launch is postponed until no sooner than November 30
Discovery’s launch is now officially postponed until no sooner than November 30.
The first images of Deep Impact’s flyby of Comet Hartley 2
Here are the first images of Deep Impact’s flyby of Comet Hartley 2. The first is a montage, the sequence in time going clockwise. The second is a close-up of the second image.
The feature that I find most intriguing is the narrow smooth waist of the comet’s dogbone shape. The whole thing looks almost like a piece of taffy that’s being pulled apart.
Burt Rutan retiring
It isn’t the first time he’s said it, but Burt Rutan, designer of SpaceShipOne, says he is retiring from Scaled Composites.
Discovery launch scrubbed due to hydrogen leak
Discovery’s launch is scrubbed again, this time due to another hydrogen leak. Next possible launch date is Monday, which means it is possible the launch will be delayed until early December.
More info on Deep Impact flyby of Comet Hartley 2
First close-up photos of Comet Hartley 2 reveal a space peanut.