July 2004 Space News |
- Imaging Technology Aids Humanitarian Efforts in Chad, U.N. Says Washington File 30 Jul 2004 -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports July 30 that the transfer of refugees is complete from volatile Chad-Sudan border towns to the relative safety of camps in the region.
- World: Mercury Rising As NASA's 'Messenger' Probe Set To Begin Seven-Year Journey RFE/RL 27 Jul 2004 -- Mercury -- the solar system's closest planet to the sun -- is due to be explored for the first time in almost 40 years, and this time in far greater detail. On 26 July, a U.S. spacecraft named "Messenger" is set to begin its complicated seven-year journey to Mercury, considered the least-explored of our solar system's terrestrial planets, those most like Earth.
- DoD Ushers in New Missile Defense Capability AFPS 23 Jul 2004 -- A historic moment took place July 22 at Fort Greely, Alaska, as the first ground-based missile interceptor was placed in an underground silo at the missile defense complex there.
- HUBBLE REPAIR RECOMMENDATIONS VOA 13 Jul 2004 -- A panel of experts recommends that the U.S. space agency NASA not rule out sending astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Their call contradicts NASA's strong stand against launching a shuttle to upgrade the orbiting observatory
- Kazakhstan To Launch Own Space Program RFE/RL 10 Jul 2004 -- Kazakhstan today announced its intention to set up its own space program.
- AUSTRALIA / US MISSILE DEFENSE VOA 08 Jul 2004 -- Australia and the United States have signed a pact to develop a controversial missile defense shield. President Bush made the project a priority after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001. But critics have questioned its cost, viability, and Australia's need for such a system.
- Transcript: Q&A following meetings on the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Shield 07 Jul 2004 -- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Australian Defense Minister, Robert Hill and Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer
- United States and Australia Sign Missile Defense Agreement 07 Jul 2004 -- The United States and Australia today signed a framework memorandum of understanding outlining future Australian participation on cooperative missile defense activities. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld signed for the United States and Sen. Robert Hill, Minister for Defence, signed for Australia.
- CASSINI / SATURN / TITAN'S SECRETS VOA 03 Jul 2004 -- The U.S. Cassini spacecraft's first look at Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is thrilling scientists and changing their ideas about what its surface is made of. Researchers are hoping to find water there, but the first glimpse does not show it.
- SATURN'S DIRTY, DECAYING RINGS VOA 02 Jul 2004 -- The U.S. Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn has found evidence that the giant planet's dazzling rings are decaying and may eventually be gone. The rings are dirtier than thought, too.
- NASA Celebrates "Mind-Boggling" Images of Saturn Washington File 01 Jul 2004 -- More than 20 years of scientific work on the Cassini-Huygens space mission came to fruition July 1 when the scientific team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory saw the first images of Saturn's rings. Cassini transmitted the pictures back to Earth -- across more than 900 million miles of space -- just hours after the spacecraft slipped through the rings June 30 to enter an orbit around the planet.
- Cassini Enters Saturn's Orbit Washington File 01 Jul 2004 -- After more than 900 million miles and almost seven years in flight, the Cassini-Huygens space mission has successfully entered orbit around Saturn, passing deftly through the rings of the gaseous planet on June 30.
- World: Saturn Probe Flawlessly Enters Orbit, Running Rings Around The Planet RFE/RL 01 Jul 2004 -- After a 3 billion-kilometer journey through space, the international "Cassini-Huygens" spacecraft has gone into orbit around the ringed planet Saturn. Almost seven years after leaving Earth, the spacecraft is now beginning a research program to unlock the secrets of the planet and its many moons. "Cassini-Huygens" is a joint project of the U.S. and European space agencies. It consists of two probes, the major one being the "Cassini" vehicle that will study the planet and its famous rings. Carried piggyback on "Cassini" is the European Space Agency's "Huygens" probe, which will detach and land on the surface of Saturn's biggest moon, Titan.
