Shuttle Discovery Back on Earth
March 29, 2009 by NetCrunch
Filed under Headline, Space Exploration
Space shuttle Discovery returned in good shape, after traveling more than 5 million miles and circling Earth 202 times. The 13-day flight — which ended as a Russian-launched crew was settling into the space station — was highlighted by the installation and unfurling of the station’s last pair of solar wings. The $300-million addition brought the orbiting outpost up to full power, a vital part of NASA’s plan to double the space station population and boost scientific research in a few months.
Kepler blasts off in search of Earth-like planets
March 7, 2009 by NetCrunch
Filed under Headline, Space Exploration
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday on a three-year mission to find Earth’s twin, a Goldilocks planet where it’s neither too hot nor too cold, but just right for life to take hold.
The Delta II rocket, carrying the widest-field telescope ever put in space, lifted off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral at 10:49 p.m. Eastern time.
The launch vehicle headed downrange, gathering speed as its three stages ignited, one after the other, passing over the Caribbean island of Antigua and tracking stations in Australia before climbing into orbit.
