May 2003 Space News |
- JAPAN/NORTH KOREA VOA 31 May 2003 -- A Japanese official says the country is accelerating preliminary studies of a missile defense system in response to rising tensions with North Korea. The plan appears to be part of a tougher Japanese stance toward Pyongyang.
- SHUTTLE WING TEST VOA 30 May 2003 -- A test of a U-S space shuttle wing has shown how the orbiter Columbia might have been damaged before it disintegrated in February. Foam shot at the wing model opened a narrow gap in it, possibly duplicating what happened when foam struck Columbia during launch in January.
- SHUTTLE PROBE VOA 28 May 2003 -- U-S investigators begin tests Thursday to determine if a piece of hard foam that hit the space shuttle Columbia during launch could have caused the damage that doomed its return. The probe is winding down as investigators prepare to write their report for the government and Congress.
- Space is ultimate high ground AFPN 27 May 2003-- Space is the ultimate high ground and gives American forces a tremendous advantage on the battlefield, according to the Air Force's director of space operations and integration at the Pentagon.
- RUSSIA/SPACE VOA 26 May 2003 -- Russian investigators say a technical malfunction, not crew error, was to blame for the recent off-course landing of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft returning to Earth from the International Space Station.
- Bush Says Emerging Threats Require Deployment of Missile Defenses Washington File 21 May 2003 -- President Bush believes the new strategic challenges of the 21st century require the United States to think differently about national security, and that deployment of effective missile defenses must be a major part of U.S. efforts to transform current defense and deterrence policies to meet emerging threats, according to a White House fact sheet.
- Byliner: NASA Committed to Flight Safety, Deputy Administrator Says Washington File 16 May 2003 -- This column by Frederick D. Gregory, deputy administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was first published May 16 in USA Today.
- SHUTTLE/SENATE VOA 15 May 2003 -- The chief investigator of the U-S space shuttle Columbia disaster has criticized shuttle managers for underestimating the danger posed by possible left wing damage while it was still in flight. The investigating panel and members of Congress are urging changes in the shuttle bureaucracy.
- SHUTTLE/SENATE VOA 14 May 2003 -- The chief investigator of the U-S space shuttle Columbia disaster has criticized shuttle managers for underestimating the danger posed by possible left wing damage while it was still in flight. As David McAlary reports, the investigating panel and members of Congress are urging changes in the shuttle bureaucracy.
- Text: U.S. Announces Grant for Armenian Space Science Project Washington File 13 May 2003 -- The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has granted $275,980 to fund a feasibility study of the technical, economic, and financial aspects of a proposed space science project to be based in Garni, Armenia, TDA announced in a May 13 press release.
- NOAA Official Cites Need for Integrated Earth Observing System Washington File 09 May 2003 -- Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says a comprehensive, integrated and sustained earth observing system is now needed to provide a deeper understanding of the complex systems of Planet Earth.
- Shuttle Investigation VOA 09 May 2003-- Investigators say they now believe they know what caused the American space shuttle Columbia to break apart as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere. The chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, Admiral Harold Gehman, announced the committee's "working" theory during a news conference Tuesday in Houston, Texas.
- Inside Intel AFSPC 07 May 2003 -- Locked away in a basement vault in HQ Air Force Space Command, the constant chatter of television news can be heard amidst the ringing phones and conversations on topics ranging from Afghanistan and Iraq to SARS. And while the offices are a bit dim, they are filled with bright people. Air Force Space Command intelligence professionals.
- Historic renovation program comes to close AFSPC 07 May 2003 -- It took eight years, but Alert Image, the massive renovation program for Air Force Space Command's missile alert facilities (MAFs), came to a close recently.
- Space Digest VOA 06 May 2003 -- We have news about two exploration devices that will land on Mars. We tell about a new aircraft that can take passengers into space. We tell about a new device now in orbit that can see thousands of millions of years back in time. And we tell about the safe return to Earth of the crew of the International Space Station.
- SHUTTLE INVESTIGATION VOA 06 May 2003 -- Investigators looking into what caused the U-S space shuttle Columbia to disintegrate as it returned to earth last February say evidence uncovered so far supports the theory that the spacecraft was damaged during lift off. They believe a piece of insulation foam broke loose from an external fuel tank. But more tests still need to be done before all other possible causes can be ruled out.
- SPACE / CREW VOA 06 May 2003 -- The two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut who returned from space during the weekend say they are glad to be back on earth after spending nearly six months on the International Space Station. They also say it still is not clear why their Russian Soyuz spacecraft landed nearly 500 kilometers off target in Kazakhstan. The three men spoke at a news conference at the Star City astronaut training center outside Moscow
- Space Day 2003 VOA 05 May 2003 -- It was "Space Day" this past Thursday (May 1,2003) at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. The "day" actually kicked off what will be a month of activities across the United States, Canada and other countries all designed to pay tribute to space exploration. Space Day is also meant to inspire the next generation of inventors, engineers and aviators to pursue humanity's destiny in space.
- SPACE/SOYUZ VOA 04 May 2003 -- A Russian Soyuz space capsule has landed in Kazakhstan, bringing its crew of two American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut safely back from the international space station. The return was the first landing of a manned space vehicle since the disaster that destroyed the American shuttle Columbia in February. This landing also had its anxious moments.
- Army's first space brigade stands up Army News 02 May 2003 -- Army Space Command activated the service's first and only space brigade April 11 with formation of the 1st Space Brigade (Provisional) in a ceremony held at the command headquarters, Peterson Air Force Base.
- SPACE STATION DEPARTURE VOA 01 May 2003 -- A U-S/Russian space team is leaving the international space station Saturday after five months, now that their relief crew has arrived. What makes their departure different from that of the five previous teams is that they are heading home on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. U-S space shuttles, the usual mode of transportation to and from the outpost, have been grounded because of the Columbia accident in February. The Soyuz is a proven craft, although not as comfortable.
