Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The first images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provide a fresh perspective on the moon, just weeks before the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing.

NASA has tweeted in space, but now one of its astronauts will tweet what no one has tweeted in orbit before: He’ll be sending his Twitter updates in Spanish as well as English.

Scientists say the Red Planet's scant snow falls from clouds that are similar to the thin clouds of ice crystals seen over Earth's polar regions.

In a fresh set of research papers, scientists add perspective to the Phoenix Mars Lander's findings about Martian water and soil.

The company behind the dark Irish beer Guinness will give loyal drinkers a taste of space along with their stout, but only if they win new contest.

A recent update of the Aerospace Raw Material Forecast first published last year by AeroStrategy shows many changes in the future aerospace materials market directly related to the economic downturn: . Aircraft production is declining as a result of the global recession and the financial crisis; the business & general aviation sector will be hit the hardest . Total aerospace material "buy weig

www.smi-online.co.uk/2009milspace26.asp Special offer available! pound100 off delegate place when registering by Friday 17th April 2009! QUOTE: W05 ASD - Call +44 (0) 20 7827 6162 Are you effected by the current developments facing the Military Space environment? After the success of our 2008 event, SMi's MilSpace conference returns to explore the latest programmes, requirements and so

Houston, TX and Vienna, Austria - April 14, 2009 --[ASDWire]-- NASA and TTTech, the leading supplier of dependable networking solutions based on time-triggered technology, have signed a "Space Act Agreement". The objective of this partnership is to support NASA's technology needs for design of highly dependable integrated embedded systems. This agreement is in line with NASA's strategy to establis

Hayes, Middlesex, UK, March 2009, --[ASDWire]-- A prototype power supply from TMD Technologies for ground mapping radar is proving successful in trials conducted by EADS Astrium. The PTX8202 MPM (microwave power module) provides power for the X-band synthetic aperture radar system for ground mapping developed by Portsmouth-based EADS Astrium. Its ultra low noise output has contributed significa

High performance visualization of the new AIXM 5 standard (Hall 10 - #D516) Leuven, Belgium, March 9th 2009 --[ASDWire]-- Luciad, the specialist in high performance visualization of situational awareness applications in Aviation, will be presenting a number of new product releases at ATC Global on March 17-19 at the Amsterdam RAI Convention Center, The Netherlands. ATC Global is the meeting pla

(Greenbelt, Md., July 2, 2009) -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has transmitted its first images since reaching lunar orbit June 23. The spacecraft has two cameras -- a low resolution Wide Angle Camera and a high resolution Narrow Angle Camera. Collectively known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, they were activated June 30. The cameras are working well and have r

(Kourou, July 1, 2009) -- On Wednesday, July 1, for its third mission of the year, Arianespace successfully launched into geostationary transfer orbit the largest commercial satellite ever launched, TerreStar-1, for North American operator TerreStar Networks Inc. 45th Ariane 5 launch, 31st success in a row This latest successful launch of an Ariane 5, the 31st in a row, confirms that Arianes

World's Largest Commercial Satellite Deploys Solar Arrays On Schedule (Palo Alto, Calif., July 2, 2009) -- Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (Nasdaq:LORL), and the world's leading provider of high-power commercial satellites, today announced that the satellite it built for TerreStar Networks is successfully performing post-launch maneuvers. The world's la

(July 1, 2009) -- Astronomers using ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory have discovered a black hole weighing more than 500 solar masses, a missing link between lighter stellar-mass and heavier supermassive black holes, in a distant galaxy. This discovery is the best detection to date of a new class that has long been searched for: intermediate mass black holes. Due to appear tomorrow in the jou

Motors Assist Stage Separation and Second Stage Engine Safe Start-Up (Huntsville, Ala., July 1, 2009) -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) was selected by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) to manufacture the upper stage ullage motors for the new Ares I launch vehicle. The Ares I is NASA's two-stage rocket that will launch astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on missions to the International Space S

(June 30, 2009) -- In 2008, Ulysses was expected to cease functioning due to weakening power. But solid engineering know-how and on-the-fly innovation have eked out an additional year of important science returns, which came to an end today. Ulysses, the joint ESA/NASA solar orbiter mission, finally ended today when ground controllers sent commands to shut down the satellite's communications. T

That Could Enable Return of US Astronauts to Moon (Redondo Beach, Calif., June 29, 2009) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has demonstrated rocket engine technology that may enable the return of American astronauts to the moon. Working with NASA on the TR202 lunar descent engine, the company has successfully demonstrated stable combustion over a broad throttling range, utilizing hi

(Arlington, Va., June 29, 2009) -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced today that it will provide systems engineering expertise and data distribution tools for the integrated ground system of the GOES-R series of weather satellites, under a contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Boeing is part of Harris Corporation's prime contractor team for the ground system, which

(June 29, 2009) -- Arianespace's Ariane 5 heavy-lift flight with the world's largest commercial telecommunications satellite was given the go-ahead for its July 1 liftoff following today's launch readiness review. This review, which is performed prior to every Ariane mission, confirmed the launch readiness of the Ariane 5 ECA, along with its TerreStar-1 payload, the launch infrastructure at Eu

(El Segundo, Calif., June 28, 2009) -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have received the first on-orbit signals from GOES-O, indicating that the Earth-observation satellite is healthy and operating normally. Controllers confirmed initial contact with the spacecraft at 12:25 a.m. Eastern time at a ground station on the Diego Garcia

(June 26, 2009) -- On 22 June, ESA informed Argentinean authorities that an area 30 km south of the town of Malargue in Mendoza province, about 1000 km west of Buenos Aires, has been chosen as the best option to build a new 35-metre antenna in support of its programmes. It is the first infrastructure to be built in Argentina by ESA. "The site offers all the features that are required for a l

(Washington, June 27, 2009) -- The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O, soared into space today after a successful launch from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The GOES-O spacecraft lifted off at 6:51 p.m. EDT on a Delta IV rocket. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-O satellite will improve weather f

(June 26, 2009) -- The Ariane 5 for Arianespace's upcoming heavy-lift mission is now complete following its payload fairing's installation over the TerreStar-1 payload - which will be the world's largest commercial telecommunications satellite ever orbited. During activity on Wednesday in the launcher Final Assembly Building at Europe's Spaceport, the fairing was lowered into place over TerreS

(June 26, 2009) -- Upon receipt of the last command from Earth, the transmitter on Ulysses will switch off on 30 June, bringing one of the most successful and longest missions in spaceflight history to an end. After 18.6 years in space and defying several earlier expectations of its demise, the joint ESA/NASA solar orbiter Ulysses will achieve 'end of mission' on 30 June 2009. The final communi

(June 24, 2009) -- European scientists on the joint NASA/ESA Cassini mission have detected, for the first time, sodium salts in ice grains of Saturn's E-ring, which is primarily replenished by material from the plumes of water vapour and ice grains emitted by Saturn's moon Enceladus. The detection of salty ice indicates that the little moon harbours a reservoir of liquid water, perhaps even an oce