News tagged with spacecraft
Nasa begins development of Space Launch System flight software
(Phys.org) -- NASA engineers working on the new Space Launch System (SLS) can now begin developing the advanced, heavy-lift launch vehicle's flight software using newly delivered software test bed computers from Boeing. ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 01, 2012 |
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Building 45 payloads for balloon mission
Robyn Millan's lab is a little crowded at the moment. It overflows with electronics. And foam. And parachutes and aluminum frames and drills. Based at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, Millan and her students ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 30, 2012 |
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NASA lunar spacecraft GRAIL complete prime mission ahead of schedule
(Phys.org) -- A NASA mission to study the moon from crust to core has completed its prime mission earlier than expected. The team of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, with twin ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 29, 2012 |
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Get ready for the transit of Venus
Scientists and amateur astronomers around the world are preparing to observe the rare occurrence of Venus crossing the face of the Sun on 5-6 June, an event that will not be seen again for over a hundred years.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 25, 2012 |
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Image: Carpenter's Flight
50 years ago today, Scott Carpenter flew the second American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 25, 2012 |
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Venus Express unearths new clues to the planet's geological history
(Phys.org) -- ESA's Venus Express has been used to study the geology in a region near Venus' equator. Using near-infrared observations collected by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC), scientists have found ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 23, 2012 |
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Hinode witnesses solar eclipse
(Phys.org) -- Spectacular images from the Hinode spacecraft show the solar eclipse, which darkened the sky in parts of the Western United States and Southeast Asia yesterday.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 23, 2012 |
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What's the big deal about private space launches?
(AP) -- The first private spaceship is headed to the International Space Station. Some questions and answers about the cargo mission by Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX:
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 22, 2012 |
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Cassini spots tiny moon, begins to tilt orbit
(Phys.org) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn's tiny moon Methone as part of a trajectory that will take it on a close flyby of another of Saturn's moons, Titan. The Titan flyby ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 22, 2012 |
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SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last half-second (Update)
Engineers aborted the launch of a privately built spacecraft on a landmark mission to the International Space Station at the last second Saturday due to a rocket engine problem.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 19, 2012 |
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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
May 18, 2012 |
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Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station
(AP) -- 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 stay at the International Space Station.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 15, 2012 |
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NASA conducts tests on Orion service module
(Phys.org) -- Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are testing parts of the Orion service module to ensure the spacecraft can withstand the harsh realities of deep space missions.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 11, 2012 |
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Juno spacecraft images 'Big Dipper'
(Phys.org) -- In England it is known as the "Plough," in Germany the "Great Cart," and in Malaysia the "Seven Ploughs." Since humanity first turned its eyes skyward, the seven northern hemisphere stars that ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 11, 2012 |
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Image: Saturn's brightly reflective moon Enceladus
(Phys.org) -- A brightly reflective Enceladus appears before Saturn's rings, while the planet's larger moon Titan looms in the distance.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 11, 2012 |
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Spacecraft
A spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers. Spacecraft used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft that leave the vicinity of the planetary body are space probes. Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around the planetary body are artificial satellites. Starships, which are built for interstellar travel, are so far a theoretical concept only (aside from a handful of interstellar probes such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager, and New Horizons).
Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and space tourism. Spacecraft and space travel are common themes in works of science fiction.
For more information about Spacecraft, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
