Spacecraft Woken for Asteroid EncounterVolcanoes on Mercury Solve 30 year MysteryStrange Asteroid Shapes ExplainedEarth s Cries Recorded in SpaceVoyager Spacecraft Reveals Solar System EdgeScientists Eager for Hubble s FaceliftHuge Tunguska Explosion: related news

Spacecraft Woken for Asteroid EncounterVolcanoes on Mercury Solve 30-year MysteryStrange Asteroid Shapes ExplainedEarth's Cries Recorded in SpaceVoyager Spacecraft Reveals Solar System EdgeScientists Eager for Hubble's FaceliftHuge Tunguska Explosion

Rosetta - the comet chaser. An artist's depiction of Rosetta's arrival at its comet destination. Credit: ESA

Volcanoes on Mercury Solve 30-year MysteryStrange Asteroid Shapes ExplainedEarth's Cries Recorded in SpaceVoyager Spacecraft Reveals Solar System EdgeScientists Eager for Hubble's FaceliftHuge Tunguska Explosion Remains Mysterious 100 Years LaterOppo

This image taken by NASA's MESSENGER probe reveals a first look at uncharted terrain on the planet Mercury after a Jan. 14, 2008 flyby. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Saturn Surprises Spur Cassini Mission RepriseSpacecraft Woken for Asteroid EncounterVolcanoes on Mercury Solve 30-year MysteryStrange Asteroid Shapes ExplainedEarth's Cries Recorded in SpaceVoyager Spacecraft Reveals Solar System EdgeScientists Eager

The most detailed image ever made of Saturn and its rings was sent by the Cassini spacecraft on October 6, 2004. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

For Better or Worse, Sex in Space Is InevitableSaturn Surprises Spur Cassini Mission RepriseSpacecraft Woken for Asteroid EncounterVolcanoes on Mercury Solve 30-year MysteryStrange Asteroid Shapes ExplainedEarth's Cries Recorded in SpaceVoyager Space

Weddings in space could be right around the corner, and experts figure the inevitable cosmic consummation will be just around the next corner.

Low-Impact Mating System for Docking Spacecraft

A document describes a low-impact mating system suitable for both docking (mating of two free-flying spacecraft) and berthing (in which a robot arm in one spacecraft positions an object for mating with either spacecraft). The low-impact mating system is fully androgynous: it mates with a copy of itself, i.e., all spacecraft and other objects to be mated are to be equipped with identical copies of the system. This aspect of the design helps to minimize the number of unique parts and to standardize and facilitate mating operations. The system includes a closed-loop feedback control subsystem that actively accommodates misalignments between mating spacecraft, thereby attenuating spacecraft dynamics and mitigating the need for precise advance positioning of the spacecraft.

Low-Impact Mating System for Docking Spacecraft

A document describes a low-impact mating system suitable for both docking (mating of two free-flying spacecraft) and berthing (in which a robot arm in one spacecraft positions an object for mating with either spacecraft). The low-impact mating system is fully androgynous: it mates with a copy of itself, i.e., all spacecraft and other objects to be mated are to be equipped with identical copies of the system. This aspect of the design helps to minimize the number of unique parts and to standardize and facilitate mating operations. The system includes a closed-loop feedback control subsystem that actively accommodates misalignments between mating spacecraft, thereby attenuating spacecraft dynamics and mitigating the need for precise advance positioning of the spacecraft.

ESA spacecraft set for flyby of Steins asteroid

An European Space Agency image taken from the ESA's webside on Friday, Sept 5. 2008 shows an artist's impression of ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft flying by asteroid (2867) Steins on Sept. 5, 2008 at 20:58 CEST (1858 GMT), with a closest approach distance of 800 kilometers. Steins is Rosetta’s first nominal scientific target. The spacecraft encountered the asteroid in the course of its first incursion into the main asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, while on its way to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which is scheduled for 2014. An European Space Agency image taken from the ESA's webside on Friday, Sept 5. 2008 shows an artist's impression of ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft flying by asteroid (2867) Steins on Sept. 5, 2008 at 20:58 CEST (1858 GMT), with a closest approach distance of 800 kilometers.

Sunlight Splits Asteroids into PairsFor Better or Worse, Sex in Space Is InevitableSaturn Surprises Spur Cassini Mission RepriseSpacecraft Woken for Asteroid EncounterVolcanoes on Mercury Solve 30-year MysteryStrange Asteroid Shapes ExplainedEarth's

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ESA spacecraft completes flyby of Steins asteroid

An European Space Agency image taken from the ESA's webside on Friday, Sept 5. 2008 shows an artist's impression of ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft flying by asteroid (2867) Steins on Sept. 5, 2008 at 20:58 CEST (1858 GMT), with a closest approach distance of 800 kilometers. Steins is Rosetta’s first nominal scientific target. The spacecraft encountered the asteroid in the course of its first incursion into the main asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, while on its way to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which is scheduled for 2014. (AP Photo/ESA, C.Carreau)

'Impressionist' Spacecraft to View Solar System's Invisible Frontier

(PhysOrg.com) -- At the edge of our solar system in December 2004, the Voyager 1 spacecraft encountered something never before experienced during its then 26-year cruise through the solar system — an invisible shock formed as the solar wind piles up against the gas in interstellar space. This boundary, called the termination shock, marks the beginning of our solar system's final frontier, a vast expanse of turbulent gas and twisting magnetic fields.

Gravity Tractor Could Deflect Asteroids

Hugh Pickens writes "A new study at the Jet Propulsion Labs shows that weak gravitational pull of a "gravity tractor" could deflect an Earth-threatening asteroid if it was deployed when the asteroid was at least one orbit away from potential impact with Earth. First a spacecraft would be crashed directly into the asteroid, similar to the Deep Impact mission that impacted a comet in 2005. This would provide a big change of direction, but in a less controllable fashion that could push the path of the asteroid into a dangerous keyhole. But then a second spacecraft, the gravity tractor, would come into play, hovering about 150 meters away from the asteroid, to exert a gentle gravitational force, changing the asteroid's velocity by only 0.22 microns per second each day.

European spacecraft set to swing by asteroid

An artist's impression of Steins asteroid, which the ESA's Rosetta probe will encounter Friday at a distance of 800 kilometres. The asteroid is about five kilometres across.An artist's impression of Steins asteroid, which the ESA's Rosetta probe will encounter Friday at a distance of 800 kilometres. The asteroid is about five kilometres across.

ESA spacecraft completes flyby of Steins asteroid

In a mission that may bring man closer to solving the mystery of the solar system's birth, the craft completed its flyby of the Steins asteroid, also known as Asteroid 2867 — now in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and

Binary Asteroid Glides Past Earth

A rare event has given astronomers a great view of a binary asteroid system. Tonight, asteroid 2008 BT18 passed 1.4 million miles from Earth, shining like a 13th magnitude star. Before July 7th, astronomers believed 2008 BT18 was "just another" near-Earth asteroid, but then the Arecibo radio telescope obtained a "delay-Doppler" image of the asteroid and found it in fact had a binary partner. Although binaries are fairly common in the Solar System, this was a rare opportunity for a ground-based telescope to capture such a clear view…

Water Discovered in Moon SamplesSunlight Splits Asteroids into PairsFor Better or Worse, Sex in Space Is InevitableSaturn Surprises Spur Cassini Mission RepriseSpacecraft Woken for Asteroid EncounterVolcanoes on Mercury Solve 30-year MysteryStrange A

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IBEX Spacecraft Heads West, Takes Major Step Toward Launch

GREENBELT, Md., July 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, designed to image global interactions at the outer reaches of the solar system, today began its move to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), Calif. The IBEX spacecraft was loaded into a truck at Orbital Sciences Corporation, Va., where engineers integrated the science payload with the spacecraft and completed numerous tests to ensure optimum performance during the launch and operational phases of the mission. "This is a huge milestone for the IBEX mission. It's great to have our spacecraft making its road trip west," said Dr. David McComas, IBEX principal investigator and senior executive director of the Space Science and Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute.

The Yin and Yang of the NeXT Spacecraft

Hard and soft. Dark and bright. High and low. Wide and thin. JAXA and NASA. And that's just one spacecraft. Japan's space agency, JAXA and NASA are teaming up to create a new spacecraft to study the extreme environments of the universe. NeXT, which stands for New exploration X-Ray Telescope is a next generation x-ray astronomy satellite currently under development, with launch scheduled in 2013. While Japan will provide the main spacecraft and several instruments, NASA, and in particular the Goddard Space Flight Center just announced they will be adding a new instrument to the spacecraft, the High-Resolution Soft X-Ray Spectrometer (SXS). While the spacecraft's main instrument will be its Hard X-ray Telescope (HXTs) the addition of SXS is just one of several complementary instruments that provide a "yin and yang" aspect to NeXT's explorat

Spacecraft flies by remote asteroid, camera stops

Rosetta caught up with the Steins asteroid, also known as Asteroid 2867, just after 8:45 p.m. (1845 GMT) Friday in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and

Spacecraft Woken for Asteroid Encounter (SPACE.com)

A comet-chasing spacecraft has been awoken during its years-long journey so it can study an asteroid it will fly past this September.

ESA spacecraft completes flyby of Steins asteroid

Rosetta rendezvoused with the Steins asteroid, also known as Asteroid 2867 -- currently in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter -- just after 8:45 p.m. (1845 GMT) Friday at a distance of just less than 500 miles (805 kilometers).

First Images of Solar System's Invisible Frontier

FiReaNGeL writes an unexpected side-effect from NASA's STEREO spacecraft has allowed scientists to see a much more well defined picture of the boundary of our solar system. "The twin STEREO spacecraft were launched in 2006 into Earth's orbit about the sun to obtain stereo pictures of the sun's surface and to measure magnetic fields and ion fluxes associated with solar explosions. Between June and October 2007, however, the suprathermal electron sensor in the IMPACT (In-situ Measurements of Particles and CME Transients) suite of instruments on board each STEREO spacecraft detected neutral atoms originating from the same spot in the sky: the shock front and the heliosheath beyond, where the sun plunges through the interstellar medium."

Voyager Spacecraft Reveals Solar System Edge

Voyager 2's journey toward interstellar space has revealed surprising insights into the energy and magnetic forces at the solar system's outer edge, and confirmed the solar system's squashed shape.

Scientists Eager for Hubble's FaceliftHuge Tunguska Explosion Remains Mysterious 100 Years LaterOpportunity Rover Eyes Cliff Face on MarsWill NASA Ever Find Life on Mars?SOHO Spacecraft Finds 1,500th CometLife Survived Catastrophic Space Rock ImpactM

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope maintains its orbit around Earth. The space agency hopes to upgrade the aging observatory some time in 2008. Credit: NASA

Hessi Solar Flare Observation Spacecraft - , USA

The High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) spacecraft was launched in February, 2002. The spacecraft was designed to explore the basic physics of particle acceleration and explosive energy release in solar flares. HESSI is designed to image solar flares in energetic photons from soft X-rays.

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (N.E.A.R) Shoemaker - Spacecraft, USA

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) was designed to study the near Earth asteroid Eros from close orbit over a period of a year, and was successfully launched in February 1996.

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