February 2006 Space News |
- USS Hopper Supports Ballistic Missile Defense in “Sky Hunter” Navy NewsStand 28 Feb 2006 -- USS Hopper (DDG 70), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer homeported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, participated in the successful “Sky Hunter” Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) test event off the coast of southern California Feb. 15.
- NASA Working Toward May Shuttle Launch VOA 28 Feb 2006 -- The U.S. space agency NASA says it sees no technical problems preventing a resumption of space shuttle flights in May
- Romania becomes third ESA European Cooperating State ESA 27 Feb 2006 -- Romania strengthened its relations with ESA by signing the European Cooperating State Agreement, becoming the third European country to join this status.
- ESA confirms CryoSat recovery mission ESA 24 Feb 2006 -- ESA received the green light from its Member States to build and launch a CryoSat recovery mission, CryoSat-2.
- Orbiter Nears Red Planet Rendezvous NASA 24 Feb 2006 -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is nearing a milestone, as the spacecraft prepares to slow to allow the Red Planet's gravity to grab it into orbit on March 10.
- NASA Ships External Fuel Tank for Next Space Shuttle Mission NASA 24 Feb 2006 -- The tank that will help launch Space Shuttle Discovery on its next mission will head to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., this weekend.
- NASA Awards Contract to Enterprise Advisory Services NASA 24 Feb 2006 -- NASA has awarded a three-year, $182.6 million contract to Enterprise Advisory Services Inc., Houston for facility operations and support of the Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, N.M.
- First long-duration mission for an ESA astronaut onboard the ISS ESA 23 Feb 2006 -- ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter from Germany will soon become the first European to undertake a long-duration mission onboard the International Space Station following his dispatch on the next Shuttle mission.
- New Map of Milky Way Reveals Millions of Unseen Objects NASA 22 Feb 2006 -- Nearly 400 years after Galileo determined the wispy Milky Way actually comprises myriad individual stars, scientists using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer have done the same for the 'X-ray Milky Way.'
- Hubble Space Telescope Confirms New Pluto Moons Washington File 22 Feb 2006 -- Follow-up observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed the presence of two new moons orbiting the distant planet Pluto, according to a February 22 press release from the Space Telescope Institute in Maryland.
- MND TO RESUBMIT REQUEST TO PURCHASE PATRIOT BATTERIES IN 2007 CNA 22 Feb 2006 -- National Defense Minister Lee Jye said Wednesday that the Defense Ministry's plan to purchase Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries as part of a major arms procurement package from the United States will be resubmitted to the Legislative Yuan next March.
- Astronomers Discover Two Moons Orbiting Pluto VOA 22 Feb 2006 -- U.S. astronomers have discovered two moons orbiting Pluto, an icy planet smaller than our moon.
- ESA Joins Forces With Japan On New Infrared Sky Surveyor ESA 22 Feb 2006 -- A high-capability new infrared satellite, ASTRO-F, was successfully launched last night by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
- PATRIOT PAC III MISSILES OFF SHOPPING LIST: DEFENSE MINISTER CNA 21 Feb 2006 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is willing to remove Patriot PAC III missiles from a controversial weapons package from the United States "out of respect" for the opposition parties, National Defense Minister Lee Jye said Tuesday.
- Successful Venus Express Main Engine Test ESA 17 Feb 2006 -- One hundred days after beginning its cruise to Venus, ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft successfully tested its main engine for the first time in space.
- NASA'S Lunar Orbiter Team Passes Preliminary Design Review NASA 17 Feb 2006 -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team recently passed its Preliminary Design Review heralding the start of the mission confirmation process.
- Cassini Cameras Spot Powerful Lightning Storm on Saturn Washington File 16 Feb 2006 -- After NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected radio bursts from Saturn in January indicating a rare, powerful atmospheric storm, Cassini imaging scientists spotted the storm by looking for it in the dark.
- Minuteman III launches from Vandenberg AFPN 16 Feb 2006 -- An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, was launched from Launch Facility-10 on North Vandenberg at 12:01 a.m. today.
- Indonesia, Russia To Build Space Launch Site VOA 15 Feb 2006 -- Indonesian officials say they have signed an initial agreement with Russia to build a space launch center on the remote island of Biak off the coast of Papua New Guinea.
- NASA Satellite Technology Helps Fight Invasive Plant Species NASA 15 Feb 2006 -- Products based on NASA Earth observations and a new Internet-based decision tool are providing information to help land and water managers combat tamarisk (saltcedar), an invasive plant species damaging precious water supplies in the western United States.
- NASA's Exploration Systems Progress Report NASA 14 Feb 2006 -- Testing is under way by engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., to lay the foundation for developing the Crew Launch Vehicle, the agency's future launch vehicle system.
- NASA Preparing Oxygen Generation System for Space Station NASA 09 Feb 2006 -- NASA is preparing to launch an oxygen generation system to the International Space Station. The system uses water to generate breathable oxygen for crew members.
- Opening of media accreditation for next Shuttle mission at NASA ESA 09 Feb 2006 -- ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter from Germany will be one of the crew members launched on this mission.
- NASA Advisory Council Meets in Washington NASA 08 Feb 2006 -- NASA officials will continue to update the council members on work to realize the Vision for Space Exploration, which calls for human missions to the moon and Mars.
- Air Force Officer to Become First Brazilian in Space VOA 08 Feb 2006 -- A Brazilian air force officer will become his nation's first person in space when he joins a Russian and American crew bound for the International Space Station.
- NASA's Deep Impact Mission Finds First Evidence of Ice on Comet Washington File 07 Feb 2006 -- Comet Tempel 1, the target of a collision with a probe launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) July 4, 2005, is covered with a small amount of surface water ice -- the first evidence of surface ice on any comet.
- Space Station Crew Pushes Spacesuit Satellite Overboard VOA 04 Feb 2006 -- The strangest satellite ever to orbit Earth has left the International Space Station.
- International Space Station Status Report: SS06-005 NASA 04 Feb 2006 -- Space station crewmembers released a spacesuit-turned-satellite during the second spacewalk of their mission last night.
- United States Updates Global Positioning System Technology Washington File 03 Feb 2006 -- A major upgrade of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), and a range of upcoming improvements to the system that provides positioning, navigation and timing data to U.S. military and civilian users around the world were announced by a Department of Commerce official January 25.
- Scientists Find '10th Planet' Bigger Than Pluto VOA 01 Feb 2006 -- Claims that our solar system has a 10th planet beyond Pluto are supported by a new finding by German and French astronomers
