February 2004 Space News |
- ESA mulls blasting Rosette probe with Russian launch vehicle IRNA 29 Feb 2004 -- Following two failures to lift off an Arianne-5 launch vehicle with the Rosette probe under a flight program to discover the secrets of the Churyumov-Geramisenko comet, the European Space Agency (ESA) is mulling over putting the probe into orbit with, among other versions, a Russian Proton carrier.
- U.S.-EU Joint Statement on GPS/Galileo Cooperation Washington File 27 Feb 2004 -- The United States and the European Union have achieved agreement "on most of the overall principles of GPS [Global Positioning System]/Galileo cooperation," according to a U.S.-EU joint statement issued in Brussels February 26, the day after the conclusion of the latest round of negotiations.
- Remarks by Braibanti, Hilbrecht on GPS/Galileo Agreement Washington File 27 Feb 2004 -- A joint statement on principles of cooperation between two satellite navigation systems -- America's GPS, or Global Positioning System, and Europe's Galileo -- was issued in Brussels at the end of the latest round of negotiations February 25.
- China unveils lunar probe project details PLA Daily 27 Feb 2004 -- China's long-expected lunar probe program broke the ground Thursday, with its scientific targets, project targets and the development schedule laid out, said China's Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense.
- US Air Force to pay Boeing, Lockheed more PLA Daily 27 Feb 2004 -- The US Air Force will pay 50 percent more to Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. to send military satellites into space, the Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
- MARS ROVERS VOA 26 Feb 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover "Spirit" has entered the rockiest terrain it has encountered since arriving in January, as it heads for a crater to search for signs that water once flowed on the red planet. A mission scientist says he is confident the water question will be answered in about a month, when Spirit and its twin, "Opportunity," have gathered more data.
- DARK ENERGY VOA 25 Feb 2004 -- U-S astronomers say their Hubble Space Telescope observations make them more confident that a mysterious, repulsive "dark energy" that counters gravity will keep the universe expanding, but not so fast as to tear it apart. However, a steadily expanding cosmos will eventually move other galaxies out of sight.
- SPACE STATION / SPACEWALK VOA 25 Feb 2004 -- The two U-S and Russian crewmen aboard the International Space Station are preparing for a spacewalk later today (Thursday) that will leave the outpost temporarily unoccupied for the first time. The U-S space agency, NASA, had to overcome initial qualms about the maneuver before accepting it.
- Shenzhou VI to fly five to seven days in space PLA Daily 24 Feb 2004 -- Shenzhou VI, China's second manned space flight to be launched next year, is scheduled to fly five to seven days, says Wang Yongzhi, chief designer of China's manned space program.
- China plans to put two people into space in 2005 PLA Daily 23 Feb 2004 -- China, which last year became the third nation to blast a man into space, plans to send two astronauts up on a five-to-seven-day mission in 2005 and later build a space station, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Saturday.
- Officail: Interplanetary shuttle can be built in five years IRNA 22 Feb 2004 -- A Russian interplanetary shuttle can be built in five years provided there is normal funding, said first deputy general designer of the Energia Space Corporation Nikolai Zelenschikov here Sunday.
- SHUTTLE RESCUE PLANS VOA 19 Feb 2004 -- Officials at the U-S Space agency NASA suggest the space shuttle will not return to flight until next year. When it does, a second shuttle crew will be standing by on the ground to rescue its crew if necessary.
- MARS ROVERS VOA 19 Feb 2004 -- Soil stuck to the wheels of a U-S rover on Mars is causing mission scientists to wonder if it is mud. Two rovers are on the red planet seeking evidence of liquid water that might once have supported life.
- Putin vows to build missile defense system with new strategic weapons PLA Daily 19 Feb 2004 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that his country may begin building its own missile defense system and the military will be equipped with new strategic weapons.
- BLACK HOLE DESTROYS STAR VOA 18 Feb 2004 -- For the first time, two orbiting telescopes have seen the violent death throes of a star being partially swallowed by a black hole. The observation supports a long-held theory of how black holes capture unsuspecting stars that wander into their neighborhood.
- MARS ROVERS VOA 17 Feb 2004 -- One of the U-S Mars rovers has spun a wheel to dig a shallow trench in the sand in the continuing search for evidence that water once flowed on the red planet. The second rover is in the midst a long trek to a nearby crater that will take several days.
- MARS ROVERS VOA 16 Feb 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover "Spirit" has set a distance record in its pursuit of evidence the red planet once had liquid water that could have supported life.
- HUBBLE TELESCOPE'S FUTURE VOA 13 Feb 2004 -- After 14 years of stunning cosmic observations, the Hubble Space Telescope is facing oblivion. The U-S space agency NASA has canceled its final maintenance by a space shuttle crew, upsetting many astronomers, politicians, and private citizens. But new techniques in astronomy are making the Hubble obsolete.
- U-S / MOON-MARS VOA 11 Feb 2004 -- President Bush's new space commission has embarked on its effort to translate his broad plan for human visits to the moon and Mars into reality. The commissioners say the biggest challenge is not technology but sustaining public interest and political commitment for the decades necessary to complete the task.
- MARS ROVERS VOA 09 Feb 2004 -- The U-S Mars rover "Opportunity" has photographed an unusual rock that scientists say reminds them of a blueberry muffin. As they debate its origins, the twin rover "Spirit" is making its way to its second rock in the search for traces of water on the red planet.
- MARS/ROVERS VOA 06 Feb 2004 -- The U-S space agency, NASA, says its troubled Mars rover, "Spirit," is finally back to normal and collecting science again. Computer problems had interrupted its data transmission more than two weeks ago, and threatened its water seeking mission.
- Minister says lab model of Mesbah satellite to be launched IRNA 03 Feb 2004 -- Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ahmad Motamedi said here on Tuesday that Mesbah miniature satellite is going to be launched into space within the next one year and four months.
- China to start astronaut training for Shenzhou VI PLA Daily 03 Feb 2004 -- China's astronaut team is to start training in March for the nation's second manned space flight on Shenzhou VI, reported the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday.
- Two U.S. Exploration Rovers Now Operating on Martian Surface Washington File 02 Feb 2004 -- U.S. scientists report that for the first time in history two mobile robots -- the Mars Exploration Rovers Opportunity and Spirit -- roam the surface of another planet at the same time.
- MARS ROVERS VOA 02 Feb 2004 -- The troubled U-S Mars rover "Spirit" is healthy again after the repair of its computer. The six-wheeled vehicle is finally resuming science operations that were halted almost two weeks ago.
- Mars rover sees possible water evidence PLA DAily 02 Feb 2004 -- NASA's Mars rover Opportunity spied hints Friday of a mineral that typically forms in water - a finding that could mean the dry and dusty Red Planet was once wetter and more hospitable to life.
