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Aerospace technology

SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last half-second
A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second ...
Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station
A three-man crew blasted off from a space center in southern Kazakhstan Tuesday morning on board a Russian-made Soyuz craft for a four-and-half-month ...
Europe losing hope for Earth observation satellite
The European Space Agency has all but lost hope of recovering its stricken Earth observation satellite Envisat. The agency lost contact with the ...
1st private cargo run to space station delayed
The first commercial cargo run to the International Space Station has been delayed again for more software testing. Space Exploration Technologies ...
With shuttle's end, space firms seek new direction
Less than a year after NASA ended its shuttle program, players in America's space business are casting around for new direction. United Technologies ...
Space shuttle arrives in NYC; crowds watch in awe
In a city understandably wary of low-flying aircraft, New Yorkers and tourists alike watched with pure joy and excitement Friday as space shuttle ...
Swiss solar plane team aims for Mediterranean sun
The Swiss team that built the world's most advanced solar-powered plane is planning to head to the Mediterranean next month. Adventurer Bertrand ...
Space shuttle Enterprise to arrive in NY on Friday
The space shuttle Enterprise is scheduled to arrive in the city Friday, riding on top of a modified jumbo jet. Its trip was to include low-altitude ...
Smokey Bear becomes next space crew's mascot
An American astronaut heading to the International Space Station has chosen Smokey Bear as his crew's mascot. NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba said ...
Asteroids may yield precious metals, cosmic riches
Using space-faring robots to mine precious metals from asteroids almost sounds easy when former astronaut Tom Jones describes it — practically like ...
Smithsonian welcomes Discovery to space collection
NASA turned over space shuttle Discovery on Thursday to the Smithsonian Institution, the first in its orbiter fleet to be transferred to a U.S. museum
Space shuttle Discovery takes a few victory laps
The space shuttle Discovery went out in high-flying style. After three spectacular spins above the U.S. capital, the world's most traveled spaceship ...
Private company's 1st space station visit on track
A private U.S. company is on track to become the first commercial visitor to the International Space Station. NASA said Monday there's a good chance ...
New NKorean leader emphasizes 'military first'
Hours after a failed rocket launch criticized abroad as a covert test of missile technology, North Korea's new leader underlined the country's ...
Budget woes force NASA to redraw plans to Mars
Know how to go to Mars cheaply? NASA can use your help. The space agency on Friday put out a call for ideas for the next Mars mission in 2018.
With rockets, so many things can and do go wrong
It really is rocket science, and it really is hard. North Korea proved that again. The giant explosion that gets a rocket off the ground is not that ...
Europe's Earth observation satellite falls silent
The European Space Agency says it has lost contact with its Earth observation satellite Envisat. Efforts to resume communications have been ...
Unmanned vessel could soon be working for Navy
Technology that sent unmanned aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan soon could be steering unstaffed naval boats for such dangerous tasks as ...
Russia to spend $1 billion on new cosmodrome
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday his nation will spend about $1 billion this year alone to build a new space launch pad in the far east ...
NKorea's Kim Jong Un named to new top party post
Defiant North Korea fueled up a rocket Wednesday in preparation for what appeared to be an imminent liftoff while the country's young leader ...
Russia condemns NKorea's planned satellite launch
Russia has rebuked North Korea for planning a satellite launch in violation of U.N. resolutions. Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti quoted ...
Rocket with secret payload launches from US coast
A rocket carrying a top-secret payload blasted off Tuesday from the California coast. The Delta IV rocket lifted off at 4:12 p.m. from the Vandenberg ...
Amazon CEO wants to raise sunken Apollo 11 engines
For more than four decades, the powerful engines that helped boost the Apollo 11 mission to the moon have rested in the Atlantic. Now Internet ...
North Korea pushes back at US criticism of launch
North Korea on Tuesday rebuffed President Barack Obama's criticism of its plans to launch a satellite aboard a rocket, calling his stance ...
Space junk threatens station astronauts
A discarded chunk of a Russian rocket is forcing six space station astronauts to seek shelter in escape capsules early Saturday. NASA spokesman Rob ...