NASA had been kicking around the idea of a reusable orbiter spacecraft before it even completed the Apollo project. But it took until January 5, 1973 — 40 years ago today — for President Richard Nixon to announce the full-scale development of this iconic spacecraft. More »
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Tomorrow morning (AEST), weather depending, the Space Shuttle Atlantis will blast off from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, marking the end of NASA’s 30-year-old Space Transportation System. But as the curtain closes on an era of manned space flight – with thousands of estimated job losses – what’s next for NASA? What will space flight look like in a post-Shuttle era?
It may be small, but it’s HD-compatible when connected to a monitor or TV, and has all the trimmings you’d expect from a larger machine. More »
NASA has grounded the shuttle fleet after several pieces of insulating foam fell from the fuel tank during launch. Engineers didn’t expect it to fall from this area, according to shuttle program manager John Shannon: More »
