February 18 News Items

Atlantis Leaves Space Station After Making it More European (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Washington (AFP) Feb 18, 2008 - The US space shuttle Atlantis left the International Space Station Monday after a nine-day visit that gave the laboratory a European annex -- and a French scientist to bolster its crew. After closing the hatch on Sunday, shuttle pilot Alan Poindexter gently unlocked latches and released powerful springs that pushed the spacecraft away from the station.

Earth-Like Planets Raise Prospects of Extra-Terrestial Life (Source: SpaceDaily.com)
Planets resembling Earth can be found orbiting many sun-like stars in our galaxy, increasing the prospects of finding extraterrestial life on some of them, according to a new study. University of Arizona astronomer Michael Meyer, working with NASA's Spitzer space telescope, said his research shows that between 20 percent and 60 percent of stars similar to our sun have conditions favorable for forming rocky planets like Earth. The astronomer and his team of scientists studied six groups of stars -- all similar to our sun and sorted by age -- with the youngest being between 10 and 30 million years old and the oldest between a billion and three billion years old.

China Expresses Concern About U.S. Bid to Shoot Down Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China has expressed concern about Washington's decision to shoot down a damaged satellite, urging the U.S. Government to fulfill its international obligation. Responding to a question on the U.S. plan to shoot down a damaged satellite, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the Chinese Government is highly concerned about development of the situation and has urged the U.S. side to fulfill its international obligation and avoid causing damages to the security in the outer space and other countries.

ATK Receives NASA Contract Extension for Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motors (Source: ATK)
Alliant Techsystems received a contract modification from NASA valued at $812.5 million for the continued production and refurbishment of four-segment reusable solid rocket motors (RSRM) for the space shuttle program. The modified contract covers the production and refurbishment of flight and ground-test RSRMs. "With this contract extension we will continue to support NASA and the space shuttle program through 2010 when it is scheduled to retire, and are looking forward to continuing our legacy with a five-segment booster for Ares I, NASA's new crew launch vehicle."

NASA Works to Reduce Risks so Humans Can Reach Mars (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
An undisclosed medical problem forced German astronaut Hans Schlegel to miss his first planned space walk last week. But Schlegel was lucky. He recovered in time for Wednesday's excursion outside the space station to help swap out a cooling system. It could be a much different picture for astronauts who travel to Mars, a treacherous 30-million-mile journey that NASA has begun to plan. The trip there would take half a year. Along the way, astronaut's bones would shrink 1.5 percent each month, making them more fragile.

Their bodies would be exposed to radiation that could damage their DNA or cause cancer. Their hearts would weaken from the months of pumping blood inside a weightless body. Space travel could tear down their minds, as well as their bodies. Imagine stepping outside the space shuttle, staring back at Earth. Unlike Apollo astronauts who stood on the moon, Earth would not look like a giant, swirling-blue globe. It would look like one of the stars. Visit http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/18/Worldandnation/NASA_works_to_reduce_.shtml to view the article.

Moon Landing May Land Students Jobs (Source: Huntsville Times)
NASA probes headed for the moon's surface could be riding on the ideas of Huntsville's young engineers. The University of Alabama at Huntsville has four teams of students working on unmanned lunar lander concepts. About 30 senior students are taking part in a NASA-sponsored management class - known as the Integrated Product Team - that teaches management to the young engineers "and hopefully will give NASA something back in return in the form of useable engineering work," said Dr. Matt Turner, a UAH research engineer who manages the class.