2004 Space News

All Wood Ships manufactures custom built wood models of military ships, submarines and commercial vessels. Products are hand crafted from Philippine mahogany and built to museum standard.

January 2004 Space News

Bush Establishes Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy Washington File 31 Jan 2004 -- Following is President Bush's Executive Order establishing a commission to study ways of implementing the Administrations "new vision for space exploration activities of the United States"
Opportunity Mars Rover Rolls Off Landing Platform VOA News 31 Jan 2004 -- Six days after landing on Mars, the U.S. Opportunity rover has rolled off its landing platform onto the ground, ready to collect scientific data. Mission scientists report that it had earlier sensed the presence of a mineral that suggests liquid water might have flowed on the red planet.
Army activates space defense battalion in Alaska Army News Service 30 Jan 2004-- A component of the nation's emerging missile defense system stood up Jan. 22 when the Missile Defense Space Battalion was formally activated at Fort Greely, Alaska.
China to launch new solid-fuel rocket PLA Daily 30 Jan 2004 -- China plans to launch a new generation of rockets later this year. The small satellite launch vehicle, Explorer I, will use solid fuel to carry a scientific experimental satellite into space. The new breed of rocket is needed to complement the Long March group, the country's large-scale liquid-fuel space launchers.
Mars Rover Spirit Resumes Taking Pictures VOA 30 Jan 2004 -- The U.S. Spirit rover on Mars is taking pictures again as engineers continue fixing a computer problem that had stopped its research. On the other side of the red planet, its twin, Opportunity, has stretched its legs in preparation for rolling off its lander.
Challenger crew memorialized on Mars AFPN 28 Jan 2004-- Late Air Force Lt. Cols. Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ellison S. Onizuka are among those now memorialized on the red planet. NASA officials have named the landing site of the Mars rover Opportunity in honor of the Space Shuttle Challenger's final crew. The area in the vast flatland called Meridiani Planum, where Opportunity landed Jan. 25, will be called the Challenger Memorial Station.
Second U.S. Mars Rover Sends Back Pictures from Red Planet Washington File 27 Jan 2004 -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) second Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, has sent back the first pictures of its landing site, which indicate that the spacecraft sits in a shallow crater about 20 meters across.
SPACE COMPANY VOA 27 Jan 2004 -- Workers at a small aerospace company in Pasadena, California, played a crucial role in the Mars exploration rover missions. The company designed and manufactured the robotic arm on each of two rovers now on the Red Planet.
MARS ROVERS VOA 27 Jan 2004 -- Scientists are excited about a new image from the second U-S Mars rover showing the planet's underlying rock for the first time. While they plan an exploration of the site, engineers are reporting a heater problem aboard the craft.
MISSILE DEFENSE BOOSTER TEST IS SUCCESSFUL Missile Defense Agency 27 Jan 2004 -- The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced today the completion last night of another successful flight test involving a new booster rocket designed to support the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles of the type that could be aimed at any of our 50 states.
Russia, United States set to explore space together IRNA 27 Jan 2004 -- In his January 14 speech, President George Bush unveiled a truly fantastic national space program which, to all appearances, would seem to involve the United States and the entire international community in further space exploration.
Exercise tests shuttle rescue capabilities AFPN 26 Jan 2004-- LAJES FIELD, Azores (AFPN) -- Lajes Field's capabilities to save a downed space shuttle crew will be put to the test during a daylong exercise here Jan. 30.
MARS ROVERS VOA 26 Jan 2004 -- The U-S space agency, NASA, says its second Mars rover, Opportunity, is in excellent shape after Sunday's landing, relaying photographs of the terrain around it. As V-O-A's David McAlary in Washington tells us, NASA computer experts have a new theory about why its twin, Spirit, is malfunctioning -- an overloaded memory.
BRITAIN / MARS VOA 26 Jan 2004 -- British space scientists say they have asked their U-S colleagues to help in a last ditch effort to contact the missing Martian lander, Beagle Two.
MARS ROVERS VOA 25 Jan 2004 -- Another U-S spacecraft has landed successfully on Mars to begin a three-month search for traces of ancient water. It has deployed itself and begun transmitting its first images of the surrounding terrain, never seen before. Engineers are making progress fixing the malfunctioning rover that arrived earlier in the month.
MARS ROVERS VOA 24 Jan 2004 -- The U-S space agency NASA reports progress in repairing its crippled Mars rover as it guides a second rover toward landing later today (12:05 a.m. EST, Sunday).
NASA Engineers Receive Limited Data from Mars Rover Washington File 23 Jan 2004 -- Engineers of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) received 30 minutes of transmissions early January 23 from the robot explorer that landed safely on Mars three weeks ago. The NASA team is attempting further communications hoping to diagnose the problem that has been hindering the craft's communications with Earth.
Exercise to Test Space Shuttle Rescue Capabilities AFPS 23 Jan 2004 -- Lajes Field's capabilities to save a downed space shuttle crew will be put to the test during a daylong exercise here Jan. 30.
MARS ROVER VOA 23 Jan 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover has sent back engineering data to Earth for the first time since Wednesday. But mission officials do not expect it return to service anytime soon as they analyze what is causing its erratic communications.
EUROPE / MARS VOA 23 Jan 2004 -- Scientists say an orbiting European space probe has confirmed there is water on Mars.
MARS ROVER 2ND UPDATE VOA 22 Jan 2004 -- The U-S space agency NASA is having trouble communicating with its robotic rover on Mars. Something has caused it to stop sending research data back to Earth.
MARS ROVER VOA 22 Jan 2004 -- The U-S space agency NASA has lost contact with its robot rover on Mars. Ground controllers are trying to get its attention.
Mars Exploration Rover Mission Status NASA 21 Jan 2004 -- Ground controllers were able to send commands to the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit early Wednesday and received a simple signal acknowledging that the rover heard them, but they did not receive expected scientific and engineering data during scheduled communication passes during the rest of that martian day.
Spirit's Analysis of Soil Patch on Mars Yields Surprises Washington File 21 Jan 2004 -- The examination of a patch of soil on the Martian surface with the U.S. rover Spirit's scientific instruments has yielded some surprises, according to scientists.
SHUTTLE / RETURN TO FLIGHT VOA 21 Jan 2004 -- An independent oversight panel says the U-S space agency NASA is making substantial, but uneven progress in getting its space shuttle fleet back to orbit. NASA's ability to fly a shuttle this year remains in question.
Boosting use of space technology for development to be focus of UN meeting UN News Centre 21 Jan 2004 -- Representatives from a dozen countries are set to meet with United Nations agencies later this week for talks on how to strengthen the world body's efforts to bring civilian adaptations of space-related technology to the developing world.
MARS ROVER VOA 20 Jan 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover has dug into the red planet's soil for the first time in the U-S space agency's quest to find traces of ancient water. Mission scientists say the day's findings reveal some surprises and pose new questions about Martian geology.
MND TO PROVIDE VIEWS ON PURCHASE OF ANTI-MISSILE WEAPONS CNA 20 Jan 2004 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will provide its views on the purchase of anti-missile weapons, an MND spokesman said Tuesday.
MARS ROVER VOA 19 Jan 2004 -- The U-S robotic Mars rover has completed its first drive across the dusty Martian terrain. The "Spirit" rover drove about three meters to approach a nearby rock for closer inspection.
Canada ready to negotiate with US on anti-missile shield PLA Daily 17 Jan 2004 -- Canadian Defense Minister David Pratt said on Thursday that his country is ready to negotiate withthe United States on a planned missile defense project, according to a communique released by the Defense Ministry.
Indonesia concerned over Australia's participation in US missile defense program PLA Daily 17 Jan 2004 -- The Indonesian government is concerned over Australia's participation in the US missile defenseprogram, saying that it will not contribute to the regional security and could fuel the regional arms race, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
Army, NASA ink partnership for space technology Army News Service 16 Jan 2004-- An Army research and development center has entered a partnership with NASA to provide technology to the Space Shuttle program, and at the same time, transfer NASA technology to Army ground vehicle development.
NOAA Announces U.S. Climate Monitoring Network Washington File 16 Jan 2004 -- The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced that a new, high-tech climate monitoring network, designed to track the nation's temperature and precipitation trends, is now operating in 28 states.
MARS ROVER VOA 16 Jan 2004 -- The U-S mechanical rover on Mars has taken its first close-up pictures of the red planet's surface. The activity took place one day after it rolled onto Martian dirt from its landing platform.
PRESIDENT BUSH'S MARS INITIATIVE: A 'GRAND BUT COSTLY VISION' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 16 Jan 2004
AUSTRALIA U-S DEFENSE VOA 16 Jan 2004 -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard says his government would be "recklessly negligent" if it did not consider joining the United States' missile defense program. Mr. Howard's comments come as the United States' highest-ranking military officer visits Australia.
Outstanding units and individuals in manned space project commended PLA Daily 16 Jan 2004 -- Recently the Ministry of Personnel, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and the General Armaments Department of the PLA, made the decision to cite the advanced units and individuals who have made outstanding contributions in China's manned space project.
U.S. Rover Is Driven Off Platform onto Mars Surface Washington File 15 Jan 2004 -- The U.S. rover Spirit that landed on Mars successfully drove off its lander platform onto the soil of the Red Planet early January 15 -- setting off cheers from the rover's flight team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
NASA Chief Cites Interest of Foreign Partners in New U.S. Space Program Washington File 15 Jan 2004 -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Sean O'Keefe says foreign governments have already expressed a lot of interest in the new space exploration program announced by President Bush. The new proposals for space outlined January 14 call for a return to the moon to build a permanent base for human missions to Mars and other planets.
New GPS satellite operational AFPN 15 Jan 2004-- Global Positioning System satellite IIR-10, which launched from here Dec. 21, is now fully operational.
BUSH SPACE PLANS VOA 15 Jan 2004 -- President Bush's announcement of a new space exploration initiative by this country that will land astronauts on the moon and later Mars is drawing a good deal of comment. Most papers are pleased with the announcement, but skeptical as to how the country will pay for it.
U.S.: Experts Applaud Bush Plan To Explore the Moon, Mars RFE/RL 15 Jan 2004 -- Space experts are applauding yesterday's announcement by U.S. president George W. Bush to renew manned space flights to the moon to be used as a stepping stone to Mars. They say the technology exists and the needs -- both practical and philosophical -- are there.
MND TO INSTALL PATRIOT III ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS CNA 15 Jan 2004 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is planning to install Patriot III anti-missile defense systems in central and southern Taiwan to beef up the nation's low-altitude missile defensive capability, a senior official said Thursday.
Australia may contribute money to US missile defense system, FM PLA Daily 15 Jan 2004 -- The Australian government said Wednesday that it may make financial contribution to the US missile defense system.
China tests European satellite positioning system PLA Daily 15 Jan 2004 -- China tested the European global satellite navigation system EGNOS on the Yangtze River Saturday. EGNOS is the first phase of the GALILEO navigation system, which China joined last October.
China to launch 10 satellites in 2004 PLA Daily 15 Jan 2004 -- China plans to launch 10 satellites this year while preparing for the country's second manned space flight and starting development of the country's first lunar-probing satellite, a top space official said Wednesday.
MARS ROVER VOA 15 Jan 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover has driven off its landing platform onto the Red Planet's soil, nearly two weeks after arriving. It was a short maneuver, but an emotional one for the mission team.
BEYOND THE SPACE STATION VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- The United States has a new space policy that looks beyond the international space station. President Bush's new directive to return astronauts to the moon between 2015 and 2020 defines an end to U-S participation in the research outpost.
Transcript: President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program White House 14 Jan 2004 -- "America is proud of our space program. The risk takers and visionaries of this agency have expanded human knowledge, have revolutionized our understanding of the universe, and produced technological advances that have benefited all of humanity. (...) Today I announce a new plan to explore space and extend a human presence across our solar system. We will begin the effort quickly, using existing programs and personnel. We'll make steady progress -- one mission, one voyage, one landing at a time."
President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program White House 14 Jan 2004 -- Fact Sheet: A Renewed Spirit of Discovery
BUSH / SPACE VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- President Bush has launched plans for a new series of U-S space missions that may eventually include human flights to Mars.
MARS ROVER VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover is poised to make its first foray onto the red planet's surface in a few hours. Mission controllers have finished pointing it in the direction it is going to go.
Myers is First Foreign Visitor to Chinese Space Center AFPS 14 Jan 2004 -- The scene at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center here would be familiar to any visitor to the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston.
President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program White House 14 Jan 2004 -- Fact Sheet: A Renewed Spirit of Discovery
Bush Launches a Dangerous Space Policy Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space Jan 2004 -- Two leading experts on the space program are warning that the expected space policy announcement by George W. Bush to establish permanent bases on the moon and an aggressive program to take humans to Mars will be an expensive and dangerous undertaking.
Australia, US start talks on missile defense system PLA Daily 14 Jan 2004 -- Australian and US officials Tuesday started talks on Australia's involvement in Washington's missile defense system, an issue subject to Opposition's criticism and sensitive to neighboring countries.
U.S. Spacecraft Camera Provides Panoramic View of Mars Surface Washington File 13 Jan 2004 -- A camera aboard the U.S. Mars Exploration Rover Spirit -- which landed on Mars late January 3 -- is being used to provide scientists back on Earth with a color panorama of the Martian surface that includes everything from nearby rocks to hills on the horizon.
Five Russian satellites set to hover over earth Washington File 13 Jan 2004 -- Hopefully, the coming year will stand out for Russia`s space industry due to super-modern communications satellites of the latest generation: the Express-AM series. It is no secret that many pure and applied research spacecraft remained grounded in 2003, said an analysis in the Russian news agency Ria-Novosti.
Engineers mix batch of laser chemicals AFPN 13 Jan 2004 -- A 1,200-gallon batch of chemicals that help make a laser beam capable of destroying a ballistic missile was recently prepared and assessed by airborne laser engineers from here.
BUSH / SPACE OVERNIGHTER VOA 13 Jan 2004 -- President Bush is scheduled to deliver a major address on space exploration today (3:15 pm Wednesday).He is expected to announce a new plan to take Americans back to the moon and perhaps beyond.
MARS ROVER VOA 13 Jan 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover has made its first movement more than a week after landing. Mission controllers say it is ready to crawl onto the red planet's soil late Wednesday or early Thursday [EST].
BUSH / MOON / MARS VOA 12 Jan 2004 -- President Bush is about to announce [has announced] new destinations for U-S astronauts. In a speech Wednesday, he is expected to order [ordered] the space agency NASA to send people back to the moon and eventually to Mars and beyond.
U.S.: Bush Space Proposal -- Vision Or Political Maneuver? RFE/RL 12 Jan 2004 -- This week, U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to announce a new space initiative that would involve a permanent base on the moon for eventually sending astronauts to Mars. Is the United States again stepping forward to lead the human race into space -- or, as some in Washington say, is the announcement aimed more at gaining popular support in an election year?
RUSSIA / SPACE LEAK VOA 12 Jan 2004 -- The two-man crew aboard the International Space Station is working to fix an air leak that is causing a drop in cabin pressure. The leak was first discovered late last month and is believed to have originated in a hose located on the U-S side of the station.
MARS ROVER UPDATE VOA 11 Jan 2004 -- NASA engineers say the Mars rover will begin taking its first soil samples, as soon as it departs the landing platform.
MARS ROVER / SATURDAY VOA 10 Jan 2004 -- The U-S robot rover Spirit is finally standing up on Mars and nearly ready to drive off the lander onto the red planet's surface. Surface exploration is just a few days away.
RUSSIA / SPACE LEAK VOA 10 Jan 2004 -- NASA and the Russian space agency have decided to isolate the two-man crew on board the International Space Station for several days, while experts try to locate the source of a worrying air leak that has caused a drop in pressure inside the station.
RUSSIA / KAZAKHSTAN VOA 10 Jan 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is in neighboring Kazakhstan, where he and his Kazakh counterpart agreed to extend a rental agreement for the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The two leaders are also discussing terrorism.
BOOSTER VERIFICATION TEST LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL Missile Defense Agency 09 Jan 2004 -- Team Vandenberg successfully launched Booster Verification Test-5 at 10:40 a.m. today.
MARS / WATER VOA 09 Jan 2004 -- Less than a week after landing on Mars, the U-S Spirit spacecraft has found possible evidence that water once flowed on the now-barren planet, the goal of the mission. The scientists are cautious about their interpretation.
BUSH / SPACE RFE/RL 09 Jan 2004 -- President Bush will announce plans for a new U-S space program next week. It is expected to include manned flights to the moon and Mars.
Kazakhstan: Putin Visit To Focus On Baikonur, CIS, Oil Resources RFE/RL 09 Jan 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a two-day visit to Kazakhstan today. Several bilateral agreements are to be signed during his visit, including two extending and specifying the terms for Russia's continued use of the Baikonur cosmodrome.
U.S., EU Working on Global Positioning Systems Agreement Washington File 08 Jan 2004 -- The United States and the European Commission are negotiating an agreement to establish a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Europe's planned Galileo satellite navigation system, the State Department said January 8 in advance of the next round of discussions scheduled for late January.
U.S. Global Positioning System and European Galileo System Washington File 08 Jan 2004 -- Following is a fact sheet on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the European Galileo System, issued January 8 by the U.S. Department of State
EUROPE / MARS VOA 07 Jan 2004 -- The European Mars orbiter, the Express, has failed to contact the British-built Beagle 2 lander, compounding fears the probe, which was to land on Mars last month, is lost.
MARS ROVER DELAY VOA 07 Jan 2004 -- The U-S roving vehicle on Mars will not dip its wheels into the red planet's soil as soon as scientists had hoped. Engineers are delaying its expedition a few days while they work out some minor technical problems.
U.S.: 'Stardust' Mission Grabs A Comet By Its Tail And Heads Back To Earth RFE/RL 07 Jan 2004 -- The U.S. spacecraft "Stardust" has now begun a two-year journey back to Earth carrying pieces of a comet. The first-ever samples of a celestial body other than the moon were snatched during a dramatic flyby through the comet's tail last week. Yet the mission's spectacular success has to some degree been overshadowed by the successful 4 January landing on Mars by the "Spirit" rover.
NASA Scientists Delighted with Pictures from Mars Rover Washington File 06 Jan 2004 -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists are delighted by the pictures of small craters and other features on Mars being sent back by a U.S. spacecraft that landed on the Red Planet January 3.
POSTCARD FROM MARS VOA 06 Jan 2004 -- The U-S Spirit spacecraft has sent its first color postcard from Mars. It is the sharpest image ever taken of Mars or any other planet.
U.S.: NASA's 'Spirit' Remains Strong After Successful Martian Landing RFE/RL 06 Jan 2004 -- America's mission to Mars has so far been a huge success. The roving vehicle "Spirit," which landed on the red planet on 4 January (Prague time), continues transmitting stunning pictures from the surface. And the six-wheeled robot is getting ready to start driving around on the surface next week, looking for signs of water or past life.
China conducts its first observation and control of an extra-distant satellite--"Probe No.1" satellite runs smoothly in orbit PLA Daily 06 Jan 2004 -- On January 4, Xi'an Satellite Observation and Control Center conducted a precision altitude control of the "Probe No.1" before the satellite completed a series of pre-set movements in space and settled down in its predefined position.
China has no Mars probe plan: official PLA Daily 06 Jan 2004 -- Though China has been doing research on Mars, it currently has no plan to send a space probe to the planet, an official in charge of the national space program told Xinhua on Monday.
China to place 10 satellites into orbit in 2004 PLA Daily 06 Jan 2004 -- China's growing space programme will take another great leap skyward this year.
Shenzhou V escape capsule successfully destroyed PLA Daily 06 Jan 2004 -- Recently, a research institute of the Engineering Corps of the PLA General Staff Headquarters successfully accomplished the task of destroying the escape capsule of Shenzhou V manned spacecraft.
U.S. Spacecraft Lands on Mars to Explore for Signs of Past Life Washington File 05 Jan 2004 -- The rover Spirit of the U.S. National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) has landed on Mars and begun transmitting its first images of a crater that it will explore for signs that the Red Planet could have sustained life in the past.
MARS LANDER VOA 05 Jan 2004 -- The new U-S Spirit spacecraft on Mars has transmitted a sweeping three-dimensional panorama of nearby terrain to joyful scientists at mission control. The scientists have already selected a target they want the roving robot to explore when it sets off in several days.
Shamkhani: Iran will launch its own satellite within 18 months IRNA 05 Jan 2004 -- Iran will launch its locally-built satellite within one and half years, Defense Minister Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani said here Monday, adding the launch will make the country the first in the Islamic world to capture outer space.
MARS ROVER UPDATE VOA 04 Jan 2003 -- U-S space agency officials say the Mars space rover should return it's first color pictures of the surface of the Red Planet later today (Monday afternoon, ET) after the space probe landed precisely where they had hoped.
U-S / MARS LANDING VOA 04 Jan 2004 -- A U-S spacecraft has landed on Mars to begin a three-month mission to search for traces of ancient water. The vehicle will eventually roam for dozens of kilometers to examine rocks for this evidence.
U-S / MARS LANDING VOA 04 Jan 2004 -- A U-S spacecraft has landed on Mars to begin a three-month search for traces of ancient water.
U-S MARS LANDING VOA 03 Jan 2004 -- The U-S space agency NASA says its Spirit spacecraft is on a perfect course for a planned landing on Mars later today (at 11:35 p.m. EST). The most dangerous part of the nearly 500 million kilometer journey is still ahead.
U-S COMET FLYBY VOA 02 Jan 2004 -- A U-S spacecraft flew through a comet's dusty halo (today) Saturday and for the first time collected samples of stardust for return for study on Earth.
U-S COMET FLYBY VOA 02 Jan 2004 -- A U-S spacecraft has flown close to a comet and, for the first time, collected samples for return for study on Earth.
Agency's Name Changes, But Mission Continues AFPS 02 Jan 2004 -- What's in a name? The director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency said his organization's new name more accurately reflects its mission than its old name did, but he's quick to add that doesn't mean the agency itself has changed much.
U.K.: British Scientists Wait For Mars 'Beagle' Probe To Bark While U.S. Rovers Prepare To Land RFE/RL 02 Jan 2004 -- Britain's Mars probe, "Beagle 2," is still missing, more than a week after it was supposed to land on the Red Planet. Project scientists refuse to give up, however, and are still hoping to catch a signal from the craft through its European mother ship, "Mars Express," next week. In the meantime, another dramatic Mars arrival is planned. The first of two roving vehicles launched by the United States is expected to land early Sunday (4 January).
MND URGED TO BUILD UP DEFENSE AGAINST BEIJING'S MILITARY SATELLITES CNA 01 Jan 2004 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) should build up its capabilities to cope with the threat from mainland China's military satellites, according to a research report drafted by the National Space Program Office (NSPO).
CHINA'S SPACE PROGRAM FAR EXCEEDS TAIWAN'S: REPORT CNA 01 Jan 2004 -- Taiwan's research budget and personnel for its space program are far behind that of mainland China's, a report released by the non-profit National Space Program Office (NSPO) said Thursday.