2003 Space News

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December 2003 Space News

SEEKING STARDUST: A COMET ENCOUNTER VOA 31 Dec 2003 -- A U-S spacecraft is nearly at the end of a five year comet chase and will fly by the comet Wild-Two [pron. VILT] on Friday. The name of the spacecraft is Stardust, indicative of its goal to capture particles of matter formed in stars out of which our solar system, and we, formed.
New launch pad built at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center PLA Daily 31 Dec 2003 -- At 3:20 pm on November 3, China's 18th recoverable scientific and technological experiment satellite was successfully launched into the space orbit from a newly built launching pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
China successfully launches "Probe No.1" PLA Daily 31 Dec 2003 -- China launched a high-altitude orbiting satellite into the preset orbit successfully Tuesday morning, using a Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket, according to witnesses at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China.
U-S MARS LANDERS: THE SCIENCE VOA 31 Dec 2003 -- A U-S spacecraft named "Spirit" is approaching Mars for a landing on the cold, barren, rocky planet. After it arrives, it is to deploy a six-wheeled robotic rover laden with instruments and cameras on a 90-day hunt for water and signs of life. Three-weeks later, the process is to repeat itself on the other side of the red planet with an identical lander and rover.
U-S MARS LANDERS: THE RISKS VOA 31 Dec 2003 -- A U-S spacecraft named Spirit is to land on Mars this week. It is to be followed in three weeks by an identical spacecraft named Opportunity, that is to land in a different location. Once on Mars they are to deploy rovers to search for water to determine if the cold, barren planet could once have harbored simple life forms. But the mission is fraught with risks
Space Yearender 2003 VOA 30 Dec 2003 -- The year two-thousand-three began with the terrible accident that destroyed the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew. On Saturday morning, February first, the seven astronauts on the Space Shuttle Columbia were returning to Earth.They had performed a successful sixteen-day science flight.
MARS/BEAGLE VOA 30 Dec 2003 -- While no signal has been received from the Beagle-Two Mars lander, its mother ship, the Mars Express, is in orbit around the planet to listen for signs of the surface probe.
EUROPE/MARS VOA 25 Dec 2003 -- British scientists can only wait and hope that they can establish contact with the unmanned Beagle-2 Mars probe later today (Thursday). The first opportunity came and went without any signal being detected from the Martian surface.
LAUNCH OF SPACE EXPLORATION ROCKET POSTPONED: NSC CNA 24 Dec 2003 -- A scientific space exploration rocket will be launched from a base in southern Taiwan Wednesday evening, one day later than its original schedule, officials from the Cabinet-level National Science Council (NSC) said Wednesday.
Soot on Snow Contributes to Global Warming, NASA Scientists Find Washington File 23 Dec 2003 -- Black soot -- generated by combustion of carbon-based materials and emitted into the atmosphere -- is making a significant contribution to global warming, according to newly released research. Scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) say soot reduces the reflectivity of snow and ice, creating a warming effect.
DESTINATION MARS VOA 23 Dec 2003 -- The skies around Mars are getting crowded, and traffic on the ground will soon increase, too. The United States and Europe are sending landers to the Martian surface to provide a broader and closer view of the Red Planet. A major goal is to find water and evidence of life.
U.K.: British Space Scientists Hope To Hear That 'Beagle Has Landed' RFE/RL 23 Dec 2003 -- Britain hopes to become the third country in the world -- after the United States and the former Soviet Union -- to land a spacecraft on another planet. The British-built "Beagle 2" -- a part of Europe's first mission to the red planet -- is due to touch down on the Martian surface on 25 December.
TAIWAN TO LAUNCH SPACE EXPLORATION ROCKET: NSC CNA 23 Dec 2003 -- A scientific space exploration rocket will be launched from a base in southern Taiwan Tuesday evening as part of the work of Taiwan's space program, according to an official from the National Science Council (NSC).
Rocket launches from Florida AFPN 22 Dec 2003-- One hundred years after the Wright Brothers flew 120 feet, a Delta II rocket placed a Global Positioning System satellite into orbit from here Dec. 21.
FALCON Phase 1 Contractors Selected VOA 22 Dec 2003 -- Nine contractors have begun work to place a small satellite or other payload weighing about 1,000 pounds into a low Earth orbit.
YEARENDER: THE SHUTTLE DISASTER VOA 22 Dec 2003 -- Tragedy came again to the U-S space agency in 2003. Seven astronauts died in February when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated in air minutes before their scheduled landing. The mishap occurred 17 years almost to the day after the explosion of the shuttle Challenger killed seven crew members as they headed to orbit. The latest accident left a big gap in the U-S manned spaceflight program and set back construction of the international space station. But it may lead to a new direction in U-S space exploration.
Navy Launches Newest Military Communications Satellite Navy Newsstand 19 Dec 2003-- The Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC), reached an important milestone when it launched the 11th Ultra-High Frequency Follow-on (UHF F/O) F11 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Dec. 17, at 9:30 p.m. EST.
BRITAIN / MARS VOA 19 Dec 2003 -- European scientists say the British-built Beagle 2 probe has successfully separated from its mother ship, a critical step in its journey toward a Christmas Day (December 25th) landing on Mars.
JAPAN/MISSILES VOA 19 Dec 2003 -- The Japanese government has announced plans to deploy a U-S-made missile defense system, and to work with the United States to develop the system further. The decision is in response to growing fears about North Korea's weapons development.
Japan's Scheme to Introduce MD System under Fire KCNA 17 Dec 2003 -- Japan is heading for the introduction of the missile defense system, raising terrific outcries over fictitious "threat from north Korea" in an effort to hasten its conversion into a military power and overseas aggression under this pretext, says Minju Joson today in a signed commentary.
BRITAIN / MARS VOA 15 Dec 2003 -- Britain's first mission to another planet -- an unmanned probe -- is just days away from attempting to land on Mars and search for life.
Ballistic Missile Defense Test Successful AFPS 12 Dec 2003 -- A missile launched from the Navy Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie successfully intercepted a ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean, Navy and Missile Defense Agency officials said here Dec. 11. The target was fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Hawaii's oldest island, Kauai.
Aegis Missile Test Successful 11 Dec 2003 -- The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy announced today the completion of a successful flight test in the continuing development of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program, the sea-based element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Flight Mission-6 (FM-6) involved the detection and tracking of an Aries short-range target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Kauai, Hawaii at 8:10 a.m. HST (1:10 p.m. EST).
AEGIS MISSILE DEFENSE FLIGHT TEST SUCCESSFUL U.S. Missile Defense Agency - December 11, 2003 - The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy announced today the completion of a successful Flight Mission-6 (FM-6) flight test in the continuing development of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program, the sea-based element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).
Space, Missile Defense Essential To Defense, Rumsfeld Says AFPS 10 Dec 2003 -- Defending America, its overseas military and its allies from ballistic missiles laden with weapons of mass destruction "is now America's highest priority," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted today.
Missile Defense Agency Chooses Missile Target Contractor 09 Dec 2003 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded a combination cost-plus-award-fee and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Denver, Colo., for the MDA Targets and Countermeasures Program. The amount awarded today is $210 million to perform target system engineering, design and management with a period of performance from December 2003 to December 2007. The contract has a potential period of performance of 10 years and contract value of $4.6 billion if all options are exercised.
Japan's Moves for Space Espionage under Fire KCNA 08 Dec 2003 -- A Japanese institution for research and development of space flight recently failed in the launching of prototype rocket "H-2A" No. 6 carrying two spy satellites of the government.
BUSH / SPACE VOA 07 Dec 2003 -- The Bush White House appears to be looking for new bold policy initiatives, as the United States enters an election year. As V-O-A White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson tells us, one area under serious consideration is the U-S space program.
U-S SPACE FUTURE VOA 05 Dec 2003 -- The Bush administration is reviewing America's human space exploration program, and the outcome could be a new plan that takes the U-S space program beyond Earth orbit, where it has been for 23 years. Speculation in the news media is that the government might announce a plan to send astronauts back to the moon or to Mars.
AUSTRALIA / MISSILE DEFENSE VOA 04 Dec 2003 -- Australia's government says it plans to join the U-S missile defense umbrella - saying such a defensive shield is needed for protection against threats from rogue states.
CRACKS IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC SHIELD VOA 03 Dec 2003 -- Scientists have found prolonged weaknesses in Earth's defense against storms on the sun. Our planet's magnetic shield normally deflects most of the effect a solar storm's blast would have on us, but researchers have found lasting cracks in the barrier, that allow charged solar particles to threaten satellites and electrical systems on the ground.
Missile Defense Boost-Phase Contract Awarded 03 Dec 2003 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. for the development and testing of a concept for the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program designed to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile in its boost/early ascent phase, which is the period of flight lasting from three to five minutes after a ballistic missile is launched. The contract awarded today is approximately $4.5 billion over the next eight years.
MND TO BUILT ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM, INCREASE COMBAT CAPABILITY CNA 03 Dec 2003 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will build an anti-missile system while bolstering its retaliatory capabilities in the face of the increasing missile threat from mainland China, Vice Minister of Defense Chen Ti-tuan said at the Legislative Yuan Wednesday.
U.S. Official Cites Need for Comprehensive Earth Observation System Washington File 02 Dec 2003 -- A U.S. official told ministers attending the U.N. Climate Change Convention in Milan December 2 that a comprehensive, coordinated Earth observation system is essential for the management of agriculture, forestry, water, ecosystems, energy resources and sustainable development around the world.