Mir May Suffer from Launch Ban
Mir cosmonauts may have to return home early if the launch ban at the Baikonur Cosmodrome isn’t lifted. A Progress supply ship was originally scheduled to link with Mir and resupply the spacestation, but the recent launch ban due to a Russian satellite crash may place the entire mission in jeopardy.
ABC News
CNN Space
Fox News
MSNBC
NASA Approves New Comet Mission
Named Deep Impact, a new NASA spacecraft will meet with comet Tempel 1 in July, 2005. Once the probe catches up with the comet, it will fire a 1,100-pound copper bullet at the nucleus, blasting out an enormous crater. It will then close within 300 miles of the surface to survey the damage.
ABC News
Astronomy Now
BBC Newsexplorezone.com
Fox News
SpaceDaily
X-38 Tests Continue
The International Space Station’s X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype was tested again at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. Designed to ensure the crew of the ISS can safely return to Earth in case of an emergency, the X-38 was test-dropped from an altitude of 31,500 feet. More tests from higher altitudes are planned.
SpaceDaily
SpaceViews
Astronaut Dies in Motorcycle Crash
Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr., the third person to walk on the surface of the moon, was killed in a motorcycle accident on Thursday. He was riding with his friends when he crashed going around a turn, and died later in the hospital.
ABC News
Astronomy NowBBC News
CNN Space
Fox News
MSNBC
Space Chronicle
SpaceViews