Earth
International Space Station’s 20 years of transformation
The largest and most complex international construction project in space began on the steppes of Kazakhstan 20 years ago today. Atop its Proton rocket, on Nov. 20, 1998, the Zarya Functional Cargo Block thundered off its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to serve as a temporary control module for the nascent International Space Station. …
NASA mission in Senegal promotes scientific discovery
When NASA scientists assembled telescopes in her home country of Senegal, Binita Yanni knew very little about astronomy and didn’t realize a career in planetary sciences was even a possibility. Determined to learn why 21 U.S. telescopes were stationed throughout the Senegalese countryside, the 20-year-old chemical engineering student approached lead scientist Adriana Ocampo on the …
When disaster strikes, space agencies share forecasts
From major hurricanes in the U.S. and Caribbean islands to floods in India, NASA and U.S. satellites have helped countries better forecast and respond to extreme weather events. Currently, U.S. satellites are tracking a typhoon in the East China Sea and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean using big-picture data from space. During the recent hurricanes Harvey and …
America’s gateway to space: LC-39A
The iconic launch pads, Pads 39A and 39B at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39, have been the starting point for many space flights including the first manned lunar landing. The original design for Launch Complex 39 called for three to five launch pads, designated 39A – 39E, that would have been spaced approximately 1.6 …
India lofts 104 satellites to set single-launch record
In a record-breaking flight, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) successfully orbited the 714 kg Cartosat-2 Series satellite along with 103 co-passenger satellites on February 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. PSLV-C37 lifted off at 9:28 am IST, as planned, from the First Launch Pad. After a flight of 16 minutes …
How do plants adapt to grow in zero gravity?
Gravity is a constant for all organisms on Earth. It acts on every aspect of our physiology, behavior and development – no matter what you are, you evolved in an environment where gravity roots us firmly to the ground. But what happens if you’re removed from that familiar environment and placed into a situation outside …