Meteor flies across Canada

Hundreds of Canadians witnessed a giant “fireball” flying over Alberta and Saskatchewan Thursday night.  Almost all experts agree that the object was actually a large, high speed meteor burning through the earth’s atmosphere.

 

Click here to see a picture of the bright meteor.

 

The meteor is believed to have been visible over an area of 435 miles, which explains the hundreds of reports that came in after the meteor had eventually burned out. 

 

Paul Delaney, an astronomer from York University told Canadian Television that the meteor most likely disintegrated before it hit the earth.

 

Some experts, however, believe that there may be some remnants of the meteor still in the area.  Alan Hildebrand, a planetary scientist at the University of Calgary said that the meteor probably radiated at the equivalent of a “billion-watt bulb,” so it would have been difficult for anyone in the area to miss.

 

To view footage of the meteor, see the video to the left of the screen at this link.

Endeavor appears ok

It appears that the small pieces seen flying off of the Endeavor during its launch did not do detrimental damage to the spacecraft.  The Endeavor plans to complete its scheduled repairs and upkeep of the International Space Station.

Endeavor update

At least two pieces of debris were seen coming off of Endeavor during its launch Friday.  Scientists are currently inspecting it to make sure no critical damage has been done.  More updates will follow when information becomes available.

Click here to read an article on msn.com with an accompanying video about Endeavor’s launch.

NASA’s Endeavor launches Friday

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch the Endeavor space shuttle Friday at 7:55 p.m.  The mission is one of four trips this year to the International Space Station to refurbish the residential area of the space station.

 

According to a NASA press release, seven astronauts led by Capt. Chris Ferguson will make the roughly 200 mile journey to bring new supplies to station.  It will take two full days to get to the space station.  You can see a picture of the crew courtesy of NASA here.

 

“The mission is all about home improvement, home improvement both inside and out,” Ferguson told CNN.  Indeed, the mission is all about fixes and repairs to the station.

 

The residential area will be converted from a three to a six person living space.  Crew members often live on the space station for months at a time, so a comfortable living space is important for the scientists and technological experts involved in the station’s maintenance and advancements.

 

The crew will also conduct four spacewalks to service the station.  The servicing will include installing a new nitrogen tank, a global positioning system, an antenna, and a camera. 

 

Reaching the space station will require a series of maneuvers that involve adequate lighting and extensive precision.  The overall mission will take 16 days, a short time period compared to the length of planning.  LeRoy Cain, NASA launch integration manager, emphasized the crew’s preparedness saying, “The crew is ready.  The team is ready.”

India’s Chandrayaan-1 begins moon orbit

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently announced that its Chandrayaan-1 orbiter officially entered its first lunar transfer trajectory.  Many believe the launch was a planned response to China’s latest spacewalk mission.

 

A transfer trajectory is a low-energy maneuver that sets spacecrafts into the gravitational pull of celestial bodies.  ISRO is displaying this picture of the Chandrayaan-1 undergoing pre-launch tests and this picture of the orbiter launching on its website.

 

The director at the India Space Agency, Manmohan Singh, made it clear in comments to Reuters that the move was partially directed at China.  “China has gone earlier,” he said, “but today we are trying to catch them, catch that gap, bridge the gap.”

 

Representing the United States’s response to the mission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released this statement in 2006 to assure India of its intention to cooperate.  In the statement, NASA also announced its aim to have two of its own “scientific instruments on India’s maiden voyage to the moon.

 

Many are less enthusiastic about India’s space progress.  Bharat Karnad, an Indian strategic affairs analyst, told the New York Times that the mission was a “misuse of resources that this country [India] can ill afford at this point.”

 

India and China both plan to launch manned moon missions within a decade.  Their recent and future cosmic developments represent steps in their space race to international prestige, scientific superiority and self-reliance.