January 2003 Space News |
- Vandenberg launch facility gets facelift AFSC 30 Jan 2003 -- A launch facility on Vandenberg, virtually abandoned since the 1960s, now has a new life as a testing area for boosters slated for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Program. And with the new mission comes a facelift.
- CHINA SPACE PROGRAM VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- China says it will launch its first astronauts into space later this year. Beijing is hoping the manned space program will boost commerce, science, and security. But those benefits come at a price
- SPECIAL ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS #2039 Space Digest VOA 28 Jan 2003 -- Unusual Asteroid; Three New Moons Around Neptune; Two New Satellites; Shuttle Columbia Flight; Congressional Space Medal of Honor Winner
- EDITORIAL: SHARING SPACE EXPLORATION VOA 24 Jan 2003 -- The space shuttle Columbia took off on January 16th on a sixteen-day scientific research mission. Aboard are six American astronauts and the first Israeli astronaut, Air Force Colonel Ilan Ramon. The son of a Holocaust survivor, Colonel Ramon is one of dozens of astronauts who have joined American crews in the peaceful exploration of space. Astronauts from Russia, Canada, Mexico, France, Ukraine, Japan, Germany, Italy, and Saudi Arabia have already participated in U.S. space missions.
- SUN'S RAYS / SATELLITE VOA 24 Jan 2003 -- A new U-S spacecraft is to be (has been) launched from Florida on a mission to soak up the sun's rays, like a vacationer at the beach. But no one would consider the place it is heading to be a vacation spot, more than 600 kilometers into frigid space. The satellite will help us understand how solar radiation influences our climate
- Commission presents Green Paper on EU Space Policy EU Commission 21 Jan 2003 -- On 21 January 2003, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin unveiled the Commission's much-anticipated Green Paper on EU Space Policy. This key document, prepared in co-operation with the European Space Agency (ESA) , tackles key issues ranging from the EU's independent access to space to international competition to the environment and security.
- Commission launches debate on a space policy for the EU EU Commission Press Release 21 Jan 2003 -- Today in Brussels, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin introduced the Green Paper on EU Space Policy. The Paper, prepared by the Commission in co-operation with the European Space Agency (ESA), looks into Europe's assets and weaknesses in this sector. As a basis for a broad consultation, the report tackles key issues such as the EU's independent access to space, scientific excellence in this field, the industrial and technological base, relevant markets, human resources, the legal and institutional framework, international co-operation, and environmental and security aspects. It aims to launch a debate with all players - national and international organisations, the EU space industry and users, scientific community and citizens.
- SHUTTLE LAUNCH VOA 16 Jan 2003 -- The U-S space shuttle Columbia has blasted off on a 16-day scientific research mission with Israel's first astronaut. Security was extremely tight at the Florida launch site
- Vandenberg launches meteorological satellites AF Space Command 15 Jan 2003 -- The Air Force successfully launched a Boeing Delta II rocket from here Jan. 12
- U.K. Defense Secretary Calls U.S. Missile Defense Proposal "Invaluable" Washington File 15 Jan 2003-- In a statement to the House of Commons January 15, UK Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon said the British government has reached the preliminary conclusion "that it is in the UK's interests to agree to a request from the US government to upgrade the early warning radar at Fylingdales for missile defence purposes."
- SPACEWALK VOA 15 Jan 2003 --Two U-S astronauts floated in space Wednesday for maintenance chores outside the international space station. David McAlary reports that one of the spacewalkers took over for a Russian cosmonaut, whom the U-S space agency NASA disqualified for medical reasons.
- PENTAGON / RUSSIA VOA 15 Jan 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeared to signal Wednesday that the United States has no objections if Russia pursues an expanded missile defense system with space-based components
- Space Yearender VOA 07 Jan 2003-- The year two-thousand-two saw the end of the working life of one of the most successful spacecraft ever launched from Earth. On October eighteenth, nineteen-eighty-nine, the American space agency launched a spacecraft named Galileo from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It weighed two-thousand-two-hundred-twenty-three kilograms. Galileo carried more than twenty science instruments and cameras to explore the planet Jupiter and its moons.
- Titan II Coriolis launches from Vandenberg AFPN 06 Jan 2003-- VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- The Air Force successfully launched a Titan II booster from here at 6:19 a.m. Jan. 6.
- CHINA-SPACE VOA 06 Jan 2003-- China's fourth unmanned spacecraft returns safely to earth
- ISRAEL / MISSILE TEST VOA 05 Jan 2003 -- Israel carried out the most ambitious test of its Arrow missile system on Sunday, successfully launching four missiles nearly simultaneously at a simulated target. The test is seen as part of Israel's preparations for a possible attack by Iraq in event of a U-S-led war in the Gulf
- RANDLE/CHINA SPACE VOA 02 Jan 2003-- Beijing has announced that it intends to launch a manned spacecraft sometime this year, perhaps in the last six months of 2003. If successful, China would become only the third nation to send and return a person into space, joining the United States and Russia.
- CHINA/SPACE VOA 02 Jan 2003-- China has announced it plans to launch its first manned spacecraft in the second half of this year to become only the third country to do so
