Posted: Wed, Jun 19 6:20 AM ET (1020 GMT)
NASA announced on Tuesday a "Grand Challenge" to scientists and others to identify all asteroids that pose a threat to humans, and issued a call for ideas for that and its asteroid mission plans. The challenge is part of an Obama Administration initiative to propose "ambitious goals on a national or global scale" that drive innovation. It also ties into NASA's asteroid initiative plans, which include redirecting a near Earth asteroid into lunar orbit to be visited by astronauts. On Tuesday, NASA also released a request for information (RFI) for ideas on asteroid searches, mission concepts, and technologies. Ideas submitted through the RFI, which is open until July 18, will support NASA's mission planning efforts. NASA's efforts come as members of the House of Representatives are expected to introduce NASA authorization legislation that would, among other things, block NASA from working on an asteroid redirection mission.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Washington Post article
•  Reuters article
•  AFP article
•  NASA press release

Posted: Tue, Jun 18 7:02 AM ET (1102 GMT)
NASA announced on Monday a new class of eight astronauts, half of whom are women. The eight people announced Monday were selected from a pool of more than 6,000 applicants, the second largest number of applications for an astronaut selection round in NASA's history. The new class is also the first to have a 50-50 ratio of men and women. Five of the eight are currently serving in the military, and two of the eight have doctorates. The eight will start two years of training in August.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  AP article
•  SPACE.com article
•  collectSPACE article
•  NASA press release

ATV-4 docks with ISS
Posted: Sun, Jun 16 10:15 AM ET (1415 GMT)
A European cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station on Saturday. The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) 4 spacecraft, nicknamed "Albert Einstein", docked with...

Shenzhou-10 docks with Tiangong-1
Posted: Fri, Jun 14 7:22 AM ET (1122 GMT)
China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, with three astronauts on board, successfully docked with that country's Tiangong-1 module on Thursday. Shenzhou-10 made the...

FTC approves Rocketdyne-Aerojet deal
Posted: Wed, Jun 12 7:17 AM ET (1117 GMT)
Federal antitrust regulators gave their approval this week to the acquisition of Rocketdyne by the parent company of Aerojet. The two companies announced the $550-...