Posted: Tue, Oct 23, 2001, 12:29 PM ET (1629 GMT)
Russia is planning to launch a Molniya-M rocket Thursday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday. The launch, to take place from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, will place an unspecified military spacecraft into orbit... NASA headquarters is scheduled to begin talks this week with the directors of its 10 field centers in an effort to find jobs that can be cut to ease pressure on the agency's budget, Aviation Week reported. The "Strategic Resources Review" is an effort to identify programs and resources that can be outsourced to academia or industry, allowing NASA to focus on its key capabilities... NASA is soliciting volunteers for a research program where volunteers will remain in bed for a month to simulate some of the effects of long-duration spaceflight. Participants in the program will have to spend one straight month in bed with their heads facing down at a 6-degree angle to best simulate the effects of weightlessness on the human body.

Related Links:

•  RIA Novosti article about Molniya launch
•  Aviation Week article about NASA center cuts
•  NASA Ames press release about bedrest program
•  Reuters article about bedrest program