Change In Orbit Should Reveal New Data About The Red
Planet
NASA's long-lived Mars Odyssey spacecraft has completed an
eight-month adjustment of its orbit, positioning itself to look
down at the day side of the planet in mid-afternoon instead of late
afternoon.
Millions of people across the globe watched as two men set foot
on another world for the first time July 20, 1969. The National Air
and Space Museum is commemorating this defining moment in space
exploration with several 40th anniversary-related programs
including astronaut appearances, book signings, the opening of an
art exhibit and gallery talks by the museum’s Space History
curators.
New Propulsion System Will Keep 'Space Habitat' Aloft Using
Common Gasses
Orion Propulsion, Inc. Tuesday announced completion of a
qualification test program for the Forward Propulsion System (FPS)
of Bigelow Aerospace’s Sundancer Project, the world’s
first commercial space habitat. The Orion Propulsion thruster
system uses hydrogen and oxygen that are produced from
Bigelow’s proprietary Environmental Control Life Support
System.
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are working to
evaluate and repair a plate that attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent
line to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank. Hydrogen
leaks in the area of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP,
postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June 13 and 17.
After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully entered orbit
around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, MD, confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbit insertion at
0627 EDT Tuesday.
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