Space Station Threshold

Neutron stars are leftovers of massive stars (10-50 times as massive as our Sun) that have collapsed under their own weight. Most are only about 20 km in diameter, but they are so compact that a teaspoon of neutron star stuff would weigh about one hundred million tons. Two other physical properties characterize a neutron [...]

What does the US, Russia and China have in common? Yes, they've all sent a man into space and successfully carried out spacewalks using home-made spaceships, but they have another space-based attribute in common. They are all capable of shooting down satellites in Earth orbit. What's more, all have proven it. So, we know for [...]

This just in from 'The Sky is Falling' Department: NASA's Orbital Debris Newsletter reports that a launch vehicle rocket motor casing was found by ranchers in the Australian Outback during a cattle round-up on a three million-acre pasture property. It was first spotted by Mr. Arthur Taylor who was flying a Cessna aircraft [...]

A controversial concept called the electromagnetic drive, or Emdrive for short has been called impossible. But one company believes the concept is viable and has worked for several years on building demonstration models. The Emdrive is a reactionless propulsion system that supposedly generates thrust by converting electrical energy via ...

Swift has made another unusual discovery. The orbiting satellite detected a very strange star that "twinkled" with gamma rays, X-rays, and light — and then vanished. Back in June the satellite detected a spike of gamma-rays that lasted less than five seconds. But this high-energy flash wasn't a gamma-ray burst [...]

While imaging the Large Magellanic Cloud, astrophotographer Doug Robertson got a real surprise when he went to process his data…. He'd accidentally recorded the uncontrolled return of the intermediate stage of a recent Russian rocket launch that just put three GLOSNASS satellites into orbit. (...)Read the rest of Russian "Space ...

The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has done its duty – it even went above and beyond its expected capabilities. But the end is nigh, and soon, on September 29 the ATV will become a fireball and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, never to be seen again. But before it does, [...]

The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has done its duty – it even went above and beyond its expected capabilities. But the end is nigh, and soon, on September 29 the ATV will become a fireball and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, never to be seen again. But before it does, [...]

Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the US gulf coast, and even before landfall, is causing problems. Nearly 1 million people along the Texas coast have been ordered to evacuate, the other 3 million people in the Houston metro area have been asked not to leave, in hopes of avoiding the panic of three years [...]

The launch of ESA's GOCE satellite (the 'sexy' spacecraft) will be delayed. During launch preparations yesterday (Sunday, Sept. 7) a problem was discovered with a guidance and navigation subsystems on the launch vehicle's upper stage. To fix the problem, guidance and navigation unit will have to be replace. The upper stage, ...