Space News for April 30, 1999

Surveyor Finds Magnetic Stripes on Mars

Mars Global Surveyor has found formations of magnetic rock on Mars that closely resemble magnetic streaks on Earth. Although it’s now geologically a dead planet, these formations indicate the Mars could have had plate tectonics in the past.

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New Space Shuttle Cockpit Installed

NASA recently unveiled a completely new Space Shuttle cockpit for Atlantis. Similar to a Boeing 777, the instrument panels are now LCD display screens which give the pilots much easier access to the Shuttle’s many functions.

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Milstar Satellite Failure

Officials announced that the latest Air Force launch has ended in complete failure. The Defense Department’s Milstar satellite, launched on a Titan Four-B rocket was stranded in a lopsided orbit, 15,000 miles too low. The $1.2 Billion cost for the satellite and rocket was completely wasted.

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NASA Unveils X-34 Space Plane

NASA’s new X-34 robotic space plane was unveiled on Friday. Designed as a testbed for new technologies, the X-34 will launch from an airliner and travel 8 times the speed of sound, and rise to an altitude of 76 kilometers. There are 27 flights planned for the first year of operations.

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