News tagged with space flight

Dragon arrives at space station in historic 1st (Update 2)

The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station on Friday, triumphantly captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 20

SpaceX private rocket blasts off for space station (Update)

A first-of-its-kind commercial supply ship rocketed toward the International Space Station following a successful liftoff early Tuesday, opening a new era of dollar-driven spaceflight.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 22, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (24) | comments 42

Fingernail-sized satellites depart on Endeavor's last run

(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of Cornell-developed, fingernail-sized satellites may travel to Saturn within the next decade, and as they flutter down through its atmosphere, they will collect data about chemistry, ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 28, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (14) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Private rocket launch successful on maiden flight (Update 3)

A privately owned rocket successfully blasted off on its first flight, marking a significant milestone for the space industry in the race to develop commercial carriers.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 04, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (32) | comments 19

Space hotel taking bookings for 2012 opening

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first orbiting space hotel is on track to open for its first customers in 2012, but hurry, as bookings are filling fast.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (23) | comments 11 weblog

Astronauts grab Hubble, prepare for tough repairs

(AP) -- Atlantis' astronauts grabbed the Hubble Space Telescope on Wednesday, then quickly set their sights on the difficult, dangerous and unprecedented spacewalking repairs they will attempt over the next ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 13, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 4

Russia locks up six for Mars experiment

The hatch slammed shut Tuesday behind six volunteers from Europe and Russia who will spend three months isolated in a capsule in Moscow to simulate conditions for a manned mission to Mars.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 31, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (8) | comments 5

NASA preparing to launch NuSTAR, its newest X-ray eyes

(Phys.org) -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is being prepared for the final journey to its launch pad on Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. The mission will study everything ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

SpaceX cargo vessel prepares to leave space station (Update 2)

US company SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship is preparing to make its return journey to Earth after a landmark mission to the International Space Station, NASA and SpaceX representatives said Wednesday.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 0

SpaceX readies ambitious ISS launch

California-based company SpaceX was poised to launch its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station Saturday in what may be a historic mission for private spaceflight.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

SpaceX poised for high-stakes space station launch

SpaceX on Saturday aims to become the first private company to send its own cargo ship to the International Space Station, a feat that only a handful of world governments have pulled off.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 5

NASA shows off new algae farming technique for making biofuel

(Phys.org) -- NASA is clearly looking far into the future for a way to handle both human waste and a need for fuel on either long space flights or when attempting to colonize another planet. To that end, they’ve ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 16, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (18) | comments 10 | with audio podcast report

Envisat - biggest environment satellite - goes silent

The European Space Agency said Thursday it had lost contact with Envisat, the biggest Earth-monitoring satellite in history.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Spacewalking astronauts move crane, skip shields

Two spacewalking astronauts moved a construction crane outside the International Space Station on Thursday, a cumbersome job that took so long they scrapped hanging shields to protect against space junk. ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2

'Xombie' rocket makes first free-flight for NASA

A privately built rocket has made its first free-flight in the California desert as part of a NASA program exploring vertical landing systems for solar system exploration.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 5

Spaceflight

Spaceflight is the use of space technology to achieve the flight of spacecraft into and through outer space.

Spaceflight is used in space exploration, and also in commercial activities like space tourism and satellite telecommunications. Additional non-commercial uses of spaceflight include space observatories, reconnaissance satellites and other earth observation satellites.

A spaceflight typically begins with a rocket launch, which provides the initial thrust to overcome the force of gravity and propels the spacecraft from the surface of the Earth. Once in space, the motion of a spacecraft -- both when unpropelled and when under propulsion -- is covered by the area of study called astrodynamics. Some spacecraft remain in space indefinitely, some disintegrate during atmospheric reentry, and others reach a planetary or lunar surface for landing or impact.

For more information about Spaceflight, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.