Russia's stranded Mars probe sends signal to Earth

2011-11-23T10:30:39Z

Engineers fought desperately on Wednesday to save Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft after the Martian probe sent "a first sign of life" more than two weeks after being stranded in orbit.

After days of frustrating silence, contact with the probe was made on Tuesday at 2025 GMT at a European Space Agency ground station in Perth,

China launches two satellites: state media

2011-11-20T18:30:44Z

China placed two satellites in orbit on Sunday, including a spacecraft that will collect and relay data for disaster relief efforts, state press reported.

The two satellites were successfully launched aboard a Long March carrier rocket, China's main space launch vehicle, from northwest China's Jiuquan satellite launch centre, Xinhua news agency said.

The ...

China's spacecraft comes back to Earth

2011-11-17T14:30:43Z

China's unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou VIII returned to Earth on Thursday, state media reported, after completing two space dockings that have pushed forward the nation's ambitious space programme.

The vessel's re-entry module landed in the northern region of Inner Mongolia after it separated from its orbital and propelling m...

China completes second space docking

2011-11-14T17:30:26Z

China completed its second space docking on Monday, state media reported, as it moves closer towards fulfilling its ambition to set up a manned space station.

The move comes 12 days after the Asian nation successfully completed its first ever "kiss" in space, when the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft joined onto the Tiangong-1 experimental module 343 kilometres (213 miles) above the Earth.

The two unmanned vehicles had been trave...

Exclusive: Orbital solar power plants touted for energy needs

2011-11-13T05:30:09Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sun's abundant energy, if harvested in space, could provide a cost-effective way to meet global power needs in as little as 30 years with seed money from governments, according to a study by an international scientific group.

Orbiting power plants capable of collecting solar energy and beaming it to Earth appear "technically feasible" within a decade or two based o...

Russia Mars probe considered lost: report

2011-11-12T14:30:36Z

Efforts to resume contact with a Russian space mission to Mars stuck in Earth orbit after launch have failed and the probe must be considered lost, Interfax news agency reported Saturday.

"All attempts to obtain telemetric information from the Phobos-Grunt probe and activate its command system have failed. The probe must be considered los...

Mars explorers will include women, experts say

2011-11-11T14:30:37Z

Men walked on the Moon, but women will be among the pioneering explorers who someday step foot on Mars, said a gathering of top female space experts this week.

Plenty has changed since Neil Armstrong and 11 male successors left their footprints on the Moon from 1969 to 1972, but lingering stereotypes still harm young girls and not enough women reach the...

Russia fails to revive stranded Mars probe

2011-11-10T13:30:29Z

Increasingly gloomy Russian scientists failed in repeated attempts on Thursday to give a vital boost to a pioneering Mars probe that got stuck in a low Earth orbit and now threatens to crash within days.

The unmanned Phobos-Grunt spacecraft lost its course to the Red Planet and its fabled moon Phobos -- a mysterious rock whose name means "fear" in Greek -- after blasting off from Russi...

Russian probe fails to take route for Mars

2011-11-09T13:30:23Z

An unmanned Russian spacecraft on a mission to a Mars moon failed Wednesday to find the right course to the red planet, a potentially devastating blow to Moscow's hopes of resuming planetary exploration.

The Phobos-Grunt probe blasted off successfully from the Baikonur cosmodrome overnight but did not manage to leave its Earth orbit as planned several hours...

US lawmakers slam White House-China cooperation

2011-11-07T11:00:43Z

Two US congressmen blasted the White House and NASA for "dangerous" cooperation with China, saying technology transfer has greatly enhanced Beijing's space and missile capability.

Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher

Russia launches first ISS supply ship after mishap

2011-11-07T10:02:11Z

Russia on Sunday launched its first supply ship destined for the International Space Station since the embarrassing loss of a similar vessel in August raised questions about its space programme.

The unmanned Progress spacecraft took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in

Mars' moon lander to return Russia to deep space

2011-11-07T06:30:06Z

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia hopes to end a humiliating two-decade absence from deep space with the launch on Wednesday of an ambitious three-year mission to bring back a soil sample from Mars' moon Phobos.

Russian scientists have dreamed of probing the Red Plan...

NASA's new Mars rover reaches Florida launch pad

2011-11-03T11:30:27Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, a $2.5 billion rover designed to assess that planet...

U.S. official defends science-technology exchanges with China

2011-11-03T10:00:16Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's top science official said U.S.-China science cooperation benefits the United States, rejecting moves to curb the exchanges by lawmakers who say it strengthen...

Boeing to sign lease for U.S. space shuttle hangar

2011-10-28T13:00:12Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Boeing Co plans to build space taxis at a mothballed space shuttle processing hangar at Kennedy Space Center in

China says to launch unmanned space-docking craft

2011-10-25T23:30:07Z

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it will launch within weeks its first spacecraft capable of docking with a module it put into orbit last month, in what will mark a crucial test of its growing space program.

The unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft, carried by the Long March-2F rocket, will blast off...

Prototype passenger spaceship poised for launch

2011-10-24T13:30:16Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A prototype passenger spaceship developed by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies arrived in Florida on Su...

German satellite re-enters earth's atmosphere

2011-10-23T07:30:14Z

A German satellite the size of a car re-entered the Earth's atmosphere early Sunday, officials said, adding they did not know yet if any debris had hit the Earth.

The Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), an x-ray observatory, made its re-entry between 0145 GMT and 0215 GMT on Sunday, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) said in a statement.

"There...

Space taxi delays spur Bigelow Aerospace layoffs

2011-10-19T17:00:11Z

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (Reuters) - A start-up space company building inflatable habitats for commercial and government lease has laid off half its staff because of delays developing space taxis needed to fly people to the outposts, the company president said on Wednesday.

Iran 'failed' with space monkey launch

2011-10-12T13:30:26Z

Iran acknowledged as a failure on Wednesday its attempt to send a live monkey into space last month -- touted as its first step towards launching a man into space.

"The Kavoshgar-5 rocket carrying a capsule with a live animal (a monkey) was launched during Shahrivar," an Iranian calendar month spanning August 23 to September 22, Deputy Science Minister Mohammad Mehdinejad-Nouri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"However, the...

Indian-French satellite put into orbit

2011-10-12T13:30:25Z

An Indian-French satellite that will study monsoon patterns and global warming was launched on Wednesday from a space centre in southern India.

The satellite was one of four successfully released into orbit from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) centre in A...

Astronaut pays tribute to "visionary" Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T09:00:19Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - News of the death of Apple's iconic leader, Steve Jobs, made it to the Intern...

Commercial space deliveries 'within months': NASA

2011-10-03T14:30:31Z

The US space agency NASA said Monday it expects commercial operators will deliver cargo to space within months, stressing that private missions were crucial to its future human activities.

"It is months before we have commercial entities carrying cargo to the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) opened its annual conference, held for the first time in Africa, with a call ...

Snafu as China space launch set to US patriotic song

2011-09-30T11:30:19Z

It was supposed to be a patriotic tribute to China's technological prowess. Instead, a video showing the launch of China's first space station module inadvertently glorified the country's biggest rival.

A video animation put together by state television to mark the highly publicised launch of Tiangong-1 -- or "Heavenly Palace" -- is set to the music of "America the Beautiful", a patriotic song about the China took its first step towards building a space station on Thursday when it launched an experimental module ahead of National Day celebrations.

Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace", took off on schedule shortly after 9:15 pm (1315 GMT) from the Gobi desert in China's northwest, propelled by a Long March 2F rocket, ahead of China's National Day on October 1.

The unmanned...

SpaceX says 'reusable rocket' could help colonize Mars

2011-09-29T16:30:54Z

The US company SpaceX is working on the first-ever reusable rocket to launch to space and back, with the goal of one day helping humans colonize Mars, founder Elon Musk said Thursday.

The vehicle would be...

China counts down to space module launch

2011-09-29T01:30:07Z

China will take its first step towards building a space station on Thursday, when it launches an experimental module ahead of National Day celebrations.

China sees its ambitious space programme as a symbol of its global stature and state media said the launch of Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace, represented a "milestone" for the country.

Tiangong-1 is scheduled to take off between 1316 and 1331 GMT from the

China to launch module for future space station

2011-09-28T19:30:41Z

China is due to take its first step towards building a space station on Thursday when it launches an experimental module ahead of the country's National Day celebrations.

The Asian nation sees its ambitious space programme as a symbol of its global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the formerly poverty-stricken nation.

Space authorities say Tiangong-1, or "Heavenl...

Doomed satellite landed in Pacific, NASA says

2011-09-28T13:30:27Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Debris from a defunct six-ton NASA science satellite that crashed to Earth on Saturday fell harmlessly in a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean, NASA said on Tuesday.

Expe...

NASA satellite plunges into Pacific off California

2011-09-24T21:30:09Z

A bus-sized US satellite that hurtled unpredictably toward Earth crossed over Africa and the northern Atlantic before likely plunging into the Pacific Ocean off California, NASA said on Saturday.

The six-tonne Upper Atmosphere Researc...

NASA rules out North America for satellite crash

2011-09-22T16:30:27Z

A six-ton NASA satellite that is on course to crash back to Earth on Friday is not expected to hit North America, the US space agency said in its latest update.

"Re-entry is expected sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time. The satellite will not be passing over North America during that time period," NA...

NASA says satellite will hit Earth Sept 23 US time

2011-09-21T18:30:29Z

The US space agency has narrowed down its prediction of when a defunct six-ton satellite will crash back to Earth, saying on Wednesday that it is expected to land on September 23, US time.

"The time reference does not mean that the satellite is expected to re-enter over the United States. It is simply a time reference," NASA said on its website.

"Although it is stil...

NASA bus-sized satellite to crash-land this week

2011-09-21T05:30:30Z

What goes up must come down. But where?

That's the big question when it comes to a 20-year-old NASA satellite the size of a tour bus which is careening toward Earth and set to crash-land later this week.

The US Department of Defense and NASA are tracking the six-ton spacecraft, which poses a one-in-3,200 risk of hitting one of the seven bill...

Russia launches military satellite after delay

2011-09-21T02:31:17Z

Russia on Wednesday successfully launched a military satellite after a three-week delay caused by the failure of one its workhorse Proton-M rockets, the Roskosmos space agency said.

The satellite, which was launched "in the interests of the ministry of defence," reached orbit nine minutes after takeoff from the China said Tuesday it will launch its Tiangong-1 space module later this month, marking its first step towards building a Chinese space station.

The Asian giant sees its space programme as a symbol of its global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the formerly poverty-stricken nation.

It had originally planned to place the unmanned Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace",...

China to launch "Heavenly Palace" space test unit next week

2011-09-19T21:30:16Z

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will launch a prototype module for a planned space lab next week, state media said on Tuesday, a step that will bring it closer to the United States and Russia

NASA unveils new plan to buy rides for astronauts

2011-09-19T17:30:15Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA plans to spend $1.6 billion over the next two years bolstering industry efforts to develop space taxis, officials said on Monday.

The U.S. space agency will be looking for complete systems -- launchers, spaceships, mission operations and gr...

US satellite may crash back to Earth Sept 23: NASA

2011-09-16T19:30:29Z

A 20-year-old satellite that measured the ozone layer is expected to crash back to Earth late next week, but NASA said it still does not know where it will fall.

The US space agency stressed that the risk to public safety from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is "extremely small," and said that most, but not all, of the gear will burn up on re-entry into Earth's atmospher...

Defunct NASA rocket to be reborn as commercial offering

2011-09-13T17:30:09Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA will work with developers of a proposed new commercial rocket, made in part from its now defunct Ares 1 crew launcher, which could eventually move crews and supplies to the NASA on Saturday launched a $500 million pair of washing-machine-sized satellites on a mission to map the Moon's inner core for the first time.

The twin spacecraft took off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 9:08 am (1308 GMT) aboard a Delta II rocket on a three-month journey to the Moon.

"We are on our way, and early indications show e...

NASA to try Moon satellite launch Saturday

2011-09-09T08:30:45Z

NASA has postponed until Saturday its next attempt to launch a $500 million pair of unmanned spacecraft that will use gravity tools to map the Moon's inner core for the first time.

The launch team said early Friday it needed more time to review technical data following the de-tanking operation of the Delta II rocket carrying NASA?s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL).

"The postponement will allow the launch tea...

Russia blames 'chance' defect for space crash

2011-09-09T07:30:26Z

Russia on Friday blamed a one-off production fault in a rocket engine for the crash of an unmanned spaceship last month but nevertheless ordered checks of all similar rocket motors.

The Russian space agency Roskosmos said in a statement that the motor of the third-stage rocket blasting the craft into orbit failed because a blocked duct cut...

NASA postpones launch of Moon-bound spacecraft

2011-09-08T11:30:33Z

High winds forced NASA to delay Thursday its planned launch of a $500 million duo of unmanned spacecraft that will use gravity tools to map the inner core of the Moon for the first time.

The next launch opportunities at Florida's Cape Canaveral will open Friday at 8:33 am (1233 GMT) or 9:12 am (1312 GMT), the US space agency said.

Scientis...

Japan test fires Venus probe engine

2011-09-08T03:30:29Z

Japan said it had successfully test-fired the engine of its "Akatsuki" space probe in preparation for a renewed attempt to get it into orbit around Venus in 2015.

Following December's failed attempt to send the probe to the second planet from the sun, a remote test ignition conducted Wednesday lasted for 2 seconds as planned, the Japan Aero...

NASA to launch Moon-bound twin spacecraft

2011-09-08T01:30:09Z

NASA is to launch Thursday a $500 million pair of unmanned spacecraft that will chase each other around the Moon as they use gravity tools to map its inner core for the first time.

Scientists hope the satellites will help solve mysteries about how the Moon formed, how the unexplored far side differs from the near side which humans have walked on, and whether there was once another Moon that melded with ours.

The GRAIL (Gravity Recovery ...

NASA twin spacecraft to map the inner Moon

2011-09-07T16:30:47Z

The US space agency plans to launch two unmanned spacecraft Thursday that will chase each other around the Moon as they use gravity measurements to draw an unprecedented map of its inner workings.

Known as the GRAIL mission, or Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory, the satellites will launch together on a single Delta II rocket as early as 8:37 am Thursday (1237 GMT), when the launch window opens.

Rese...

NASA orbiter shows moon surface in stunning clarity

2011-09-06T16:30:32Z

A NASA spacecraft has snapped the clearest views ever of the surface of the moon, down to the tire tracks and footprints left by visiting astronauts decades ago in the lunar soil.

A trio of razor-sharp images relayed by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) show precise new detail of moon la...

Russia considering unmanned space station

2011-08-31T12:30:42Z

Russia's space agency Roskosmos is considering ending a permanent human presence in space, an agency official said Wednesday following last week's crash of a supply ship delivering precious cargo to the ISS.

"Perhaps in the future, we will not need a constant manned presence in the lower Earth orbit," Roskosmos deputy director Vitaly Davydov told journalists in MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's space agency on Monday delayed the return of three crew from the International Space Statio...

Russia 'grounds Soyuz rockets' after space crash

2011-08-25T13:30:34Z

Russia on Thursday grounded its Soyuz rockets after a space ship carrying tonnes of cargo for the International Space Station (ISS) crashed into Siberia shortly after blast-off, officials said.

The failed launch of the unmanned Progress capsule on a Soyuz-U rocket was a spectacular blow for Russia which proud...

NASA boosts Webb telescope cost to $8.7 billion

2011-08-24T20:30:21Z

NASA has boosted its cost estimate of a major telescope project to 8.7 billion dollars, even as lawmakers have threatened to slash the space agency's budget, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The James Webb Space Telescope, which aims to replace the Hubble Space telescope with great power and accuracy, woul...

Russian cargo flight to space station crashes: report

2011-08-24T08:30:13Z

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian spacecraft supplying six astronauts aboard the International Space Station failed to reach orbit on Wednesday and burned up in the atmosphere, its debris crashing in

Russia grounds rockets after launch failure

2011-08-23T13:30:39Z

Russia on Tuesday grounded its workhorse Proton-M rockets after the latest in a string of launch mishaps put a prized telecommunications satellite into the wrong orbit.

Thursday's accident has already reportedly prompted an angry Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to cancel a government meeting on space issues and marks another blow to an industry reeling from five failed...

Satellite loss deals 'severe blow' to Russia: experts

2011-08-19T10:30:38Z

The loss of a communications satellite touted as Europe's most powerful is a new blow to Russia's space programme and a major setback for its telecoms industry, officials and analysts said Friday.

The Express-AM4 satellite was launched at 1:25 am Thursday (2125 GMT Wednesday) from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in <...

Russia loses contact with satellite after launch

2011-08-18T12:30:22Z

Russia was attempting to locate its major new telecommunications satellite on Thursday just hours after launch in what could be another serious mishap for its space industry.

The Express-AM4 satellite was launched at 1:25 am Thursday (2125 GMT Wednesday) from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

NASA funds 30 new space research projects

2011-08-08T17:30:28Z

The US space agency announced funding for 30 new space projects Monday, including ways to protect astronauts from deep-space radiation, eliminate space debris and improve spacesuit technology.

Each of the proposals will get $100,000 in funding for a one-year period as part of NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), the agency said in a statement.

"These innovative concepts ha...

NASA launches Juno robot to explore Jupiter's birth

2011-08-05T10:30:08Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, sending a robotic scout on its way to Jupiter to sniff out details about how the solar system formed.

The rocket carrying US space agency plans to launch next week a solar-powered spacecraft called Juno that will journey to the gassy planet of Jupiter in search of how the huge, stormy giant was formed.

The $1.1 billion unmanned orbiter is scheduled for launch on August 5 -- the start of a five-year odyssey toward the solar system's most massive planet in the hopes that it will ...

SpaceX eyes November 30 cargo launch to space station

2011-07-28T15:30:15Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, a privately owned firm developing a space taxi with U.S.-government backing, plans to launch its second test capsule on November 30 and send it...

NASA probe poised for launch to Jupiter

2011-07-27T14:00:25Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A NASA satellite was hoisted aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday in preparation for launch next week on an unprecedented mission to the heart of Jupiter.

The robotic probe called Juno is scheduled t...

International Space Station to be 'sunk' after 2020

2011-07-27T09:30:26Z

Russia and its partners plan to plunge the International Space Station (ISS) into the ocean at the end of its life cycle after 2020 so as not to leave space junk, its space agency said on Wednesday.

"After it completes its existence, we will be forced to sink the ISS. It cannot be left in orbit, it's too complex, too heavy an object, it can leave behind ...

Russian space telescope unfurls giant antenna

2011-07-23T12:30:35Z

A giant new Russian space telescope on Saturday unfurled its dish-like antenna which will observe radio waves from galaxies and black holes billions of light years away.

The operation to deploy the 10-metre-diameter antenna of the Spketr-R telescope, which was launched into orbit on Monday, has been successfully carried out, space agency Roskosmos said in a statement.

"Accordi...

Russia launches giant telescope in deep space return

2011-07-18T14:30:28Z

Russia on Monday launched into space its Spektr-R radio telescope planned to be the most powerful ever, the first deep space observatory sent up by Moscow in a quarter of a century.

Spektr-R will scour the fringes of the universe for black holes, mysterious quasar radio sources and also the fast rotating stellar remnants known as pulsars, US spacecraft Dawn has entered the orbit of Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the solar system, the US space agency announced early Sunday.

Dawn is expected to come within 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) of Vesta to study its surface while traveling 116 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth.

"It has taken nearly four years to get to this point," said Robert Mase, manager of the $466 m...

NASA probe enters orbit around asteroid Vesta

2011-07-17T01:30:06Z

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A robotic NASA science probe slipped into orbit around the potato-shaped asteroid Vesta on Saturday to begin a yearlong study of the second largest object in the asteroid belt.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft relayed a signal to NASA's Jet Propulsio...

US spacecraft to be pulled into giant asteroid's orbit

2011-07-16T16:30:16Z

After its nearly four-year trek, NASA engineers are expected to confirm this weekend that the US spacecraft Dawn has entered the orbit of Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the solar system.

Mission leaders estimate that Dawn was pulled into Vesta's orbit around 0500 GMT Saturday and engineers should be able to confirm this when the space craft performs a scheduled communication pa...

Russia launches US satellites in third attempt

2011-07-13T06:30:35Z

A Russian Soyuz rocket successfully carried six US Globalstar satellites into orbit on Wednesday after postponing the launch twice earlier this week, Russia's space agency said.

The rocket blasted off from Russia's Baikonur ...

Space debris a growing problem

2011-06-28T15:30:34Z

A scare triggered by orbital debris that on Tuesday came within a couple of hundred metres (yards) of the International Space Station (ISS) sheds light on an acutely worsening problem.

Millions of chunks of metal, plastic and glass are whirling round Earth, the garbage left from 4,600 launches in 54 years of space exploration.

The collision risk is low, but the junk travels at such high spee...

Debris narrowly misses space station

2011-06-28T11:30:30Z

An unidentified piece of debris narrowly missed the International Space Station on Tuesday in a rare incident that forced the six-member crew to scramble to their rescue craft.

The piece of space junk missed the fragile orbiter by just 250 metres (820 feet), the Interfax news agency quoted a source...

Iran plans to send monkey into space

2011-06-27T09:30:20Z

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran plans to send a live monkey into space next month, the latest advance in a missile and space program which has alarmed Israel and its western allies that fear the Islamic Republic is seeking nuclear weapons.

The official IRNA new...

European space freighter is destroyed after mission

2011-06-21T18:30:34Z

A robot freighter was destroyed on Tuesday in a scheduled operation after a successful mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS), the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named after the German mathematician Johan...

Despite budget stress, US space ties strong: NASA

2011-06-17T17:30:22Z

Relations between the United States and its partners in space remain strong, despite tighter budgets and concerns about costs and delays in building the space station, NASA chief Charles Bolden said on Friday.

"We're talking about having vision and looking to the future, but planning that future in a very constrained fiscal en...

European space freighter poised for suicide plunge

2011-06-17T14:30:40Z

A European freighter will be destroyed by atmospheric burn-up next week after completing its supply mission to mankind's orbital outpost, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Friday.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will gently separate from the International Space Sta...

Iran to put a monkey into space: report

2011-06-16T08:30:31Z

Iran plans to send a live monkey into space in the summer, the country's top space official said after the launch of the Rassad-1 satellite, state television reported on its website on Thursday.

"The Kavoshgar-5 rocket will be launched during the month of Mordad (July 23 to August 23) with a 285-kilogramme capsule carrying a monkey to an altitude of 120 kilometres (74 miles)," said Hamid Fazeli, head of Iran's Space Organisation....

Iran successfully launches satellite into space: Al-Alam TV

2011-06-15T15:30:51Z

Iran successfully launched its Rassad-1 satellite into space on Wednesday, the country's Arabic-language television channel Al-Alam said.

"It was launched by the Safir rocket and put into orbit 260 kilometres (163 miles) above the Earth," the television said. "It is capable of photographing the Earth."

The report said Rassad-1 (Observation-1) can revolve 15 times around the Earth every 24 hours, and that it has a two-month life cycle.

Iran puts satellite into orbit: state TV

2011-06-15T13:30:16Z

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has successfully launched a second domestically built satellite into orbit, Iran's Arabic language al-Alam television reported on Wednesday.

The United States and its allies fear Iran is seeking to build nuclear bom...

NASA launches ocean-watch satellite

2011-06-10T14:30:25Z

The US space agency on Friday launched a satellite to observe levels of salt on the surface of the world's oceans and measure how changes in salinity may be linked to future climate.

The $400 million Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft, a partnership with Argentina, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in

Europe honours Einstein with space freighter

2011-05-26T13:30:32Z

The fourth of Europe's robot freighters, due to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in early 2013, has been named after Albert Einstein, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Thursday.

The 20-tonne Aut...

NASA ocean-watch satellite ready for June launch

2011-05-17T17:30:28Z

The US space agency said Tuesday it is preparing to launch a satellite to observe levels of salt on the surface of the world's oceans and how changes in salinity may be linked to future climate.

The June 9 launch of Aquarius/SAC-D comes three months after NASA lost Glory, a 424-million-dollar" class="infor...

Jupiter moon has 'ocean' of molten rock

2011-05-12T18:30:22Z

A moon of Jupiter is the only place other than Earth in our solar system where volcanoes occur, and scientists have found an ocean of magma beneath its surface that feed its potent eruptions.

Io is the most volcanic object known in the solar system, producing 100 times more lava than Earth, and data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft has shed new light on how that happen...

Russia ferries supplies to space

2011-04-29T13:30:30Z

An unmanned Russian cargo vessel on Friday docked without a hitch at the International Space Station, bringing a fresh supply of oxygen and equipment to the six-member crew.

The M-10M Progress completed the automatic docking at 1429 GMT, the Russian Federal Space Agency said in a statement.

T...

Putin fires Russia space chief after mishaps

2011-04-29T09:30:35Z

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday fired the Russian space agency chief after a series of high-profile setbacks cast a shadow on the 50th anniversary year of Yuri Gagarin's first space flight.

Anatoly Perminov

China astronaut calls for U.S. cooperation

2011-04-29T08:30:12Z

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's most renowned astronaut said on Friday his country and the United States should make good on their presidents' promises to cooperate in space.

"I think the two countries should proactively implement the inte...

Pride and frustration mark end of shuttle flights

2011-04-28T15:30:28Z

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - For the residents of Florida's Space Coast, the approaching end of the shuttle program brings a mix of pride in what they helped build and frustration that America has no new spacecraft ready to launch the next generation of explorers.

Russia launches cargo vessel for space station

2011-04-27T13:30:57Z

An unmanned Russian cargo vessel set off Wednesday on a mission to supply the crew on board the International Space Station with a new shipment of equipment and supplies.

The M-10M Progress lifted off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan and was due to dock to the I...

India launches three satellites on single rocket

2011-04-20T09:30:32Z

India launched a rocket carrying three satellites into orbit on Wednesday in its latest effort to gain a share of the global commercial space market.

The main satellite in the launch from the Sriharikota space centre in Andhra Pradesh was the remote-sensing Resourcesat-2, which will study the effect of ...

NASA unaware of royal conflict with shuttle launch

2011-04-19T18:30:38Z

The US space agency was unaware that the shuttle Endeavour's final mission to the International Space Station was in conflict with the royal wedding, a NASA chief said Tuesday.

"The frank answer is no," said Russia on Tuesday marked a half century since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, the greatest victory of Soviet science which expanded human horizons and is still remembered by Russians as their finest hour.

At 0907 Moscow time on April 12, 1961 Gagarin uttered the famous words "Let's Go" as the Vostok rocket, with him...

Last legends of early space flight laud Gagarin

2011-04-11T16:30:17Z

The last living legends of the early years of human space flight in the Cold War met in a rare encounter on Monday to laud the achievement of Yuri Gagarin 50 years after his historic voyage into space.

The gathering at the Cosmonautics Museum in the Russian capital to celebrate the anniversary of Gagarin's April 12, 1961, mission brought together luminaries including Alexei Leonov, the first man to wa...

New heights for Australian beer lovers

2011-04-07T12:30:29Z

The first space tourist flights may be several years away but a group of thirsty Australian scientists are at work on the critical question -- what makes a top zero-gravity beer?

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology have been working since November, testing various recipes in their microgravity "drop tower", which simulates space conditions, in search...

Russian space chief to step down: deputy PM

2011-04-06T03:30:22Z

The head of Russia's space agency is to step down after seven years in the job, a deputy prime minister announced Wednesday, after a string of problems and launch delays angered top officials.

Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Roskosmos head Anatoly...

APTOPIX India Rocket Explosion

2010-12-25T09:30:24Z

State-run Indian Space Research Organizations' (ISRO) satellite GSAT-5P rocket explodes in mid-air shortly after its launch in Sriharikota, India, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. The satellite GSAT-5P was hit by a snag Saturday in the first stage itself after its launch from the Sriharikota space center. It was the second failure for ISRO this year. A previous developmental flight of the geosynchronous satel...

India Rocket Explosion

2010-12-25T07:30:23Z

Space Shuttle

2011-01-07T07:01:07Z

This image provided by NASA TV shows the space shuttle Discovery on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center Friday morning Dec. 17, 2010 as a tanking test begins. Teams will fill the spacecraft’s external fuel tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen just as they do during a launch attempt to verify r...

Kazakhstan Space Launch

2010-12-15T16:04:23Z

In this photo provided by NASA, the Soyuz TMA-20 rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010. Russia's Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut International Space Station, ISS, blasts off from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. The Russian rocket carries ...

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