Space shuttle Discovery launched just before midnight Friday on a mission to the international space station. The crew of seven astronauts includes one from Mexico and another from Sweden. One of those seven, Nicole Stott, will remain on the station as a flight engineer, while astronaut Timothy Kopra is to return home aboard the shuttle.
Tag Archives: space
Discovery launch put off until late Friday
NASA on Thursday put off the planned launch of the space shuttle Discovery for a third time to give engineers more time to study tests on a liquid hydrogen valve, the space agency announced. The shuttle’s liftoff — originally set for Tuesday — has been put off until 11:59 p.m. Friday, mission managers said.
Tomato-armed revelers turn Spanish town red
Up to 50,000 revelers descended on the small Spanish town of Bunol near Valencia Wednesday, collectively throwing, squishing, and pummeling 100 metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes in what has grown to be the world’s biggest annual food fight. The Tomatina festival began in 1945, but there is no official explanation of how it started.
S. Korea to again attempt first rocket launch
South Korea will try again Tuesday to get its first space rocket into orbit, state media reported. A series of delays have kept the rocket and its satellite payload earthbound, including a technical glitch that halted Wednesday’s countdown less than eight minutes before blastoff.
The Man Who Organized Woodstock
For three days in August 1969, 400,000 people gathered on a dairy farm in upstate New York to listen to rock ‘n’ roll. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair boasted performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who and Jefferson Airplane. But the festival is most famous for exuding a harmonious, we-are-all-one attitude that rain, traffic jams and overcrowding could not dispel.
Ave Kludze: Ghana’s rocket man
He was not able to fulfill his childhood dream of being a pilot, but Ghanaian scientist Dr. Ave Kludze has arguably gone one better: developing and flying spacecrafts for NASA. The 43-year-old didn’t enter orbit when controlling a NASA rocket to launch the Calipso environmental satellite in 2006, instead piloting it from the control center on the ground
Space shuttle Endeavour expected to land Friday
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour is set to land Friday morning in Florida after spending 16 days in space. The shuttle is scheduled to land at 10:48 a.m.
David Bowie’s son releases space oddity ‘Moon’
"This is ground control to Major Tom," sang David Bowie about a fictional astronaut lost in orbit in 1969. Now, 40 years later Bowie’s son Duncan Jones has released his own space oddity.
U.S. offers up to $50 million for Mexican cartel members
U.S. authorities have ratcheted up pressure on one of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartels, releasing new details about the so-called Gulf Cartel’s operations and offering up to a $50 million reward for the arrest of its leaders.
What Do Astronauts Eat in Space?
You have a degree in astrophysics and you know how to fly a jet. You’ve endured years of preparation and training, logged thousands of hours of flight time and even survived NASA’s terrifying “vomit comet” weightlessness test. Now you’re up in space for the very first time, floating around the shuttle’s cabin, and as you look out of the window, you realize something: you’re hungry.