My News Today » Space

Scientists may reinstitute Pluto’s planetary status.

Kyle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:39:12 +0000

Newscientist.com – HOW many planets are in the solar system? The official answer is eight – unless you happen to live in Illinois. Earlier this year, defiant Illinois state governors declared that Pluto had been unfairly demoted by the International Astronomical Union, the authority that sets the rules on all matters planetary.

Three years ago, the IAU decided to draw up the first scientific definition of the term planet. After days of stormy arguments at its general assembly in Prague, the delegates voted for a definition that excluded Pluto, downgrading it to the new category of dwarf planet.

NASA says we will get to Mars (as soon as construction of the sound studio is finished)

Kyle — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:15:19 +0000

ABC.com – NASA’s new boss said Tuesday he will be “incredibly disappointed” if people aren’t on Mars — or venturing somewhere beyond it — in his lifetime.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr., who’s 62, said his ultimate goal isn’t just Mars — it’s anywhere far from Earth.

“I did grow up watching Buck Rogers, and Buck Rogers didn’t stop at Mars,” Bolden said in an interview with The Associated Press. “In my lifetime, I will be incredibly disappointed if we have not at least reached Mars.”

That appears to be a shift from the space policy set in motion by the Bush administration, which proposed first returning to the moon by 2020 and then eventually going to Mars a decade or two later. Bolden didn’t rule out using the moon as a stepping stone to Mars and beyond. But he talked more about Mars than the moon as NASA was still celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing.

Interesting Interview about why the Space Shuttle is launched from Florida.

Kyle — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:36:20 +0000

Scientific American – Space shuttle Endeavour remains on the launch pad today after a series of weather delays nixed launch attempts Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Much of the country is balmy and dry this time of year but precipitation, wind and lightning are a mainstay along Florida’s Atlantic coast, home to Kennedy Space Center.

Many satellite launches, including some for NASA, lift off from elsewhere in the U.S., namely Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. And the space agency utilizes other arid sites for shuttle operations, as well, landing the orbiter at Edwards Air Force Base in California when the weather over Kennedy is poor and even once easing it down at New Mexico’s White Sands Space Harbor.

All of which begs the question: Why did NASA pick Cape Canaveral for its launch site, not only for the space shuttle program but also for the manned missions of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs?

We contacted space historian Roger Launius, a senior curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, to find out why NASA settled on lifting off from the Cape.

High quality footage of that One Small Step

Kyle — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:57:25 +0000

Source

Sorry couldn’t embed this video. Just click link to see and read. Neato!

Coolest Pictures from Space you will see today.

Kyle — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:43:13 +0000

Earth Observatory Link