News briefs: September 10
Posted: Tue, Sep 11 12:15 AM ET (0415 GMT)
Russian officials have worked out an agreement that will allow two commercial modules under development to be docked to ISS, according to an Aviation Week...

Scientists refute claims of Mars life evidence
Posted: Mon, Sep 10 11:50 PM ET (0350 GMT)
Scientists involved with NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission refuted claims published in the media several days ago that images of Mars taken by...

Atlas launches classified military spacecraft
Posted: Sat, Sep 8 4:13 PM ET (2013 GMT)
An Atlas 2 booster successfully launched early Saturday a classified spacecraft believed to be an advanced eavesdropping spacecraft. The Atlas 2AS lifted off from Vandenberg...

Congress voices concerns about shuttle safety upgrades
Posted: Fri, Sep 7 7:19 PM ET (2319 GMT)
Members of Congress voiced their concerns regarding the funding of shuttle safety upgrades during a hearing Thursday. During a hearing of a Senate subcommittee on...

Chandra finds direct evidence for Milky Way black hole
Posted: Thu, Sep 6 3:54 PM ET (1954 GMT)
Observations from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory have given astronomers the first direct evidence that a supermassive black hole exists in the center of the...

Air Force will not fund X-33 or X-34
Posted: Thu, Sep 6 3:35 PM ET (1935 GMT)
The US Air Force will not provide money to continue the X-33 and X-34 programs, effectively putting the last nail in the coffin...

Panel recommends against astronomy policy changes
Posted: Wed, Sep 5 9:05 AM ET (1305 GMT)
The Bush Administration should not transfer control of federally-funded astronomy research from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to NASA, according to a report published...

MirCorp announces plans for private space station
Posted: Tue, Sep 4 10:04 AM ET (1404 GMT)
MirCorp announced Tuesday that it plans to launch its own small private space station in three years for commercial use. The company said that it...

Studying weather on extrasolar planets
Posted: Fri, Aug 31 10:55 AM ET (1455 GMT)
A new study released this week shows that it may be possible in the near future to examine the weather on Earth-like extrasolar planets....

Russia plans mid-September launch of ISS docking compartment
Posted: Fri, Aug 31 10:34 AM ET (1434 GMT)
RSC Energia, the prime contractor for the Russian segment of the International Space Station, announced this week that the company will launch a new docking...