Space

Forty years after the Apollo 11 voyage to the moon, NASA released photographs from the new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft Friday showing five of the six Apollo landing sites. Shadows cast by the Apollo descent stages are clearly visible and in some cases, the moon walkers' paths can be seen in the disturbed dust.

"We were very interested in getting our first peek at the lunar module descent stages just for the thrill - and to see how well the cameras had come into focus," Mark Robinson, principal investigator of the LRO's main camera, said in a … Read more

Forty years after the first humans walked on the moon, NASA is trying again to reach the Earth's nearest celestial neighbor.

It's not just about retracing 40-year-old footsteps in the lunar dust, though. This time, NASA wants its moonshot to become an outpost and eventually a Mars shot too, if Congress and others can be persuaded to part with the necessary money.

The new attempt is well past the idea stage. Two spacecraft are freshly launched on scouting missions to map the moon and see whether permanently shaded areas in craters on its south pole really do contain … Read more

Post-launch photography of the shuttle Endeavour's external tank shows multiple areas of bare metal where thin strips of foam insulation peeled away during the climb to space, the result of an as-yet-unknown mechanism.

In at least two "events," debris hit Endeavour's heat shield tiles during the early stages of flight when the shuttle is most vulnerable to damage. But mission managers said Thursday there is no evidence yet of any serious problems that would prevent a safe re-entry.

"There is nothing that we have seen on the orbiter that causes us any concern," said … Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--Running a month late because of hydrogen leaks and stormy weather, the shuttle Endeavour finally roared to life and blasted off Wednesday on its sixth try, rocketing away through a hazy sky toward a Friday rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Multiple pieces of foam insulation fell from the ship's external tank during the early moments of flight, but it was not immediately clear whether the shuttle's fragile heat shield suffered any significant impact damage.

With commander Mark Polansky and pilot Douglas Hurley at the controls, Endeavour's three main engines ignited in staggered … Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--The shuttle Endeavour's external tank was reloaded with a half-million gallons of rocket fuel Wednesday for NASA's sixth attempt to launch a high-priority space station construction mission.

The hydrogen vent line that derailed two launch tries in June worked normally and forecasters were hopeful afternoon showers would clear the area in time for launch at 6:03:10 p.m. EDT, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the space station's orbit.

Rain showers rolled over the Kennedy Space Center shortly after 1:30 p.m. … Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--For the second day in a row, approaching thunderstorms near the Kennedy Space Center on Monday forced NASA managers to order another launch delay for the shuttle Endeavour's frustrated crew. It was the fifth delay for the space station assembly mission since a hydrogen leak scuttled the crew's first launch try in June.

"Well Roman, again, the vehicle and our teams were ready," Launch Director Pete Nickolenko radioed the astronauts from the firing room at 6:39 p.m. EDT. "But the weather's just bitten us again with lightning within … Read more

Forty years ago this Thursday, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins lifted off on their historic mission to the moon. It was the first manned spaceflight to reach the lunar surface, and on July 20, 1969, first Armstrong then Aldrin became the first people to step onto the moon. (Collins stayed in orbit around the moon for the 21 or so hours that the other two were on the surface.)

Today, the Web is home to a variety of sites that remember the historic mission to the moon. If you're looking to remember Apollo 11, take a look at these resources.

Apollo 11: The Game Apollo 11: The Game puts you in the cockpit of the Lunar Lander. The iPhone app lets you start out blasting off into space. From there, you'll need to make your way to the moon, land on the lunar surface, and get back to Earth safely.

In order to complete your mission, you'll need to beat all seven levels. I haven't played the game, so I don't know how good it is. But if you want to feel like you're part of the crew, it might be worth paying $3.99 to have it.

Apollo 11 The Apollo 11 group on Facebook is ideal for those looking to discuss Apollo 11 on the popular social network. The group doesn't have many members--as of this writing, there are just 432 users--but it makes up for that with a handful of links that provide even more information on the Apollo 11 mission. The group would be better with more members, but it's the biggest Facebook group dedicated to the mission, so if you want to connect with like-minded people, it's a group to join.… Read more

Running a month behind scheduled because of hydrogen leaks, launch pad lightning strikes and stormy weather, the shuttle Endeavour was refueled for a fifth launch try Monday to kick off a 16-day space station construction mission. Forecasters predicted a 60 percent chance of another delay due to expected afternoon storms.

Hoping for the best, engineers began pumping liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket fuel to the shuttle's external tank at 9:33 a.m. EDT. The fueling procedure was completed at 12:37 p.m. EDT when engineers transitioned to "stable replenish" mode. The hydrogen vent line that … Read more

Stormy weather approaching the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday forced NASA launch managers to order another 24-hour delay for the hard-luck crew of the shuttle Endeavour, their fourth slip since a hydrogen leak derailed an initial launch try in June.

There were no leaks or technical problems of any significance during Sunday's countdown and Endeavour's external tank was loaded with a half-million gallons of rocket fuel without incident.

Commander Mark Polansky and his crew mates began strapping in a few minutes before 4 p.m. EDT, hopeful about finally kicking off a 16-day space station assembly mission.

But … Read more