March 2003 Space News |
- SHUTTLE PROBE VOA 31 Mar 2003 -- The latest clues from the U-S space shuttle Columbia disaster probe strengthen the theory that the orbiter was damaged almost from the start of the mission perhaps by external fuel tank foam hitting the left wing. A recently recovered data recorder confirms that extremely hot atmospheric gases leaked through a break in the wing, causing it to disintegrate as it headed for a landing.
- JAPAN/SATELLITE LAUNCH VOA 27 Mar 2003 -- Japan has successfully launched its first two reconnaissance satellites, which are primarily to keep an eye on North Korea.
- JAPAN/SATELLITE LAUNCH VOA 28 Mar 2003 -- North Korea warned Japan Friday that its launch of two reconnaissance satellites earlier in the day could spark an Asian arms race. Japan's first spy satellites are primarily meant to keep watch over North Korea, amid growing concerns over that country's nuclear ambitions.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Press Conference 27 March 2003 - The reason why we decided to develop a satellite monitoring system is that we thought, and we still believe, that the situation surrounding Japan and the Japanese archipelago requires constant close monitoring.
- JAPAN/SATELLITE LAUNCH VOA 27 Mar 2003 -- Japan has launched its first two spy satellites from the island of Tanegashima, one-thousand kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The launch comes amid mounting fears of a North Korean ballistic missile test.
- JAPAN SPY SATELLITES VOA 25 Mar 2003 -- As concerns grow about North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and fears rise that Pyongyang could test another ballistic missile, Japan plans to launch its first reconnaissance satellites on March 28th.
- Pentagon Officials Tell Congress Missile Defense System "Moving Forward" AFPS 21 Mar 2003 -- Faced with the threat by North Korea of a nuclear warhead reaching the United States, senior Pentagon officials told the House Armed Services Committee March 20 they are moving forward with a billion-dollar missile defense system.
- SHUTTLE / DATA RECORDER VOA 20 Mar 2003 -- Search teams have recovered a key piece of hardware from the doomed U-S space shuttle Columbia. It is a data recorder, a discovery that is providing new hope for finding the reason the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry last month.
- Officials outline importance of space systems AFPN 20 Mar 2003 -- Space systems today are more important than ever to the military's ability to fight and win conflicts, the undersecretary of the Air Force said in congressional testimony March 19.
- Lejeune forestry service aid NASA search USMC News 19 Mar 2003 -- The country's space program suffered a blow February 1, when the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Seven crewmembers' lives were taken during the tragic incident, and spacecraft debris was scattered across New Mexico desert and rolling Texas plains.
- BLACK HOLES VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Scientists report they have witnessed what they believe is the birth of a black hole--an object so massive that not even light can escape from its gravitational pull.
- Space command cancels Guardian Challenge AFPN 19 Mar 2003 -- Air Force Space Command officials have canceled this year's Guardian Challenge, the annual space warfighter competition held at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
- NASA OFFICIAL UPBEAT VOA 18 Mar 2003 -- A NASA official says the coming year should bring some breakthroughs in space exploration as the agency moves beyond the tragedy that claimed the lives of seven astronauts.
- Satellites Reveal Continued Drought in the Horn of Africa Washington File 14 Mar 2003 -- For the fourth year in a row, the environmental satellites operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have detected crippling drought conditions in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia that will leave residents in this broad area facing severe water shortages, potential outbreaks of disease and starvation.
- Atlas II arrives for last launch AFPSC 14 Mar 2003 -- The last Atlas IIAS to be launched from the West Coast arrived here March 12. A C-5 Galaxy from Denver ferried the historic booster and its Centaur upper stage to Vandenberg.
- SHUTTLE / RETURN TO FLIGHT VOA 14 Mar 2003 -- The U-S space agency NASA is getting ready to resume shuttle flights as early as September or October. But the return to flight depends on whether the cause of the shuttle Columbia's demise can be found and fixed.
- Vandenberg prepares for last Atlas II launch AFPN 14 Mar 2003 -- The last Atlas IIAS rocket scheduled to be launched arrived here March 12. A C-5 Galaxy ferried the historic booster and its Centaur upper stage from Denver, landing at the airfield here around 10:30 a.m.
- Policymakers visit 'Top of the World' AFSPC News 13 Mar 2003 -- Denmark's foreign minister and the Greenland Home Rule premier visited Thule March 10 as part of ongoing talks between Denmark and Greenland regarding a U.S. proposal to include Thule's radar in the U.S. missile defense initiative. "Missile defense has created concerns for the population of Greenland," said Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen. "But, we are willing to make it happen and make it a success. With continued cooperation, we can make this a win-win for all."
- Commentary: Reshaping the force never an easy task AFSPC News 13 Mar 2003 -- Over the next seven years, Air Force Space Command will trim 1,125 manpower positions. That is our share of the more than 13,200 reductions the Air Force must make before the end of the decade.
- Manpower reductions planned throughout AFSPC AFSPC News 13 Mar 2003 -- Air Force Space Command will trim 1,125 employee positions over the next seven years as part of an Air Force initiative to realign more than 13,000 active-duty and civilian manpower authorizations by 2010.
- Wyoming missile successfully launches from Vandenberg AFSPC News 13 Mar 2003 -- An unarmed Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully launched March 12 at 1:29 a.m.
- MARS/RADIATION VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Travelers to Mars, beware! A U-S satellite orbiting the Red Planet shows that space radiation reaching Mars is very intense. This poses severe health risks for future human explorers
- SHUTTLE COLUMBIA / PROBE VOA 13 Mar 2003 -- Investigators for the U-S Space Agency, NASA, are running tests on selected pieces of debris recovered from the space shuttle Columbia.Officials continue to focus on the orbiter's left wing as they try to pinpoint what caused the shuttle to disintegrate minutes before its scheduled landing February first.
- Transcript: Air Force Briefing on "Space: The Warfighter's Perspective" 12 Mar 2003 -- "Good morning. Today we're going to have an on-the-record briefing on the support that military operations in space provide to our warfighters. The first briefer will be Major General Judd Blaisdell, the director of Space Operations and Integration for the Air Force. And then he'll be followed by Colonel Steven Fox, the director of Army space support."
- Peacekeeper launches from Vandenberg AFPN 12 Mar 2003 -- An unarmed Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully launched at 1:29 a.m. March 12.
- Teets, Lord tell Senate the nation needs 'space cadre' AFPN 12 Mar 2003 -- The Air Force's top two space officials told lawmakers March 12 that development of a "space cadre" was one of their top agenda items for national security space programs in 2004.
- U.S. Dominance in Space Makes General 'Pity the Enemy' AFPS 12 Mar 2003 -- Anybody who goes against the massive space capability of the U.S. military "is in for a tough go," Air Force Maj. Gen. Franklin J. "Judd" Blaisdell told reporters during a Pentagon press briefing today.
- First Hispanic Woman in Space Honored by U.S. State Department Washington File 12 Mar 2003 -- "heroine and role model," a wife and mother, a researcher and engineer -- and the first Hispanic woman to travel in space, Dr. Ellen Ochoa became this year's first Women's History Month honoree at the State Department March 10 for her achievements and service to the United States of America.
- PENTAGON / IRAQ / SPACE VOA 12 Mar 2003 -- With U-S forces massing around Iraq, a senior military official says America's space-based assets will give Washington dominance in any battle with Baghdad.
- Air Force launches first military payload on Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle AFPSC 11 Mar 2003 -- The Air Force launched it's first military satellite payload on an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from here March 10.
- Badlands Observatory Hunts Asteroids VOA 12 Mar 2003 -- For years, the American space agency NASA has relied on amateur astronomers to search for asteroids huge chunks of space rock that may be on a collision course with the planet Earth. Many professional telescopes are well suited to scanning large portions of the sky and picking out new asteroids. But hundreds of amateur observatories around the globe use their narrower telescopes to zero in on the new discoveries, and track their progress through space
- TOP HAND program returns AFSPC 10 Mar 2003 -- TOP HAND has returned to Air Force Space Command. After a seven-year absence, the command has reinstated the TOP HAND Selection Board, a program to select the best missile and space operators for key positions in operational testing.
- SHUTTLE PROBE: FOLLOWING THE HEAT VOA 05 Mar 2003 -- Investigators probing the U-S space shuttle Columbia disaster are piecing together the world's biggest puzzle. In a big U-S space agency hangar in Florida, workers are painstakingly placing thousands of recovered shuttle parts in their original position and analyzing each for clues to what caused the orbiter to disintegrate upon re-entry last month.
- Space war game concludes AFPSC 03 Mar 2003 -- An eight-day space war game that took place 14 years in the future concluded here at the Space Warfare Center Feb. 27.
- U-N/OUTER SPACE VOA 01 Mar 2003 -- Scientists meeting in Vienna under U-N auspices have been discussing ways of reducing space debris, in order to make space exploration safer.
- SHUTTLE VIDEO VOA 28 Feb 2003 -- The U-S space agency, NASA, has released a videotape of the crew of the doomed shuttle Columbia in their last minutes of life before the craft disintegrated one month ago.
