http://www.nasa.gov/station

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings

http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected, for the first time ever, the presence of oxygen and carbon in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system.

The oxygen naturally exists and is not produced by any sort of life on the gaseous hot world, astronomers caution. Nevertheless, it is a promising demonstration that the chemical composition of atmospheres on planets many light-years away can be measured. This could someday lead to finding the atmospheric biomarkers of life on extrasolar planets.

The oxygen and carbon are bleeding off the gas-giant extrasolar planet HD 209458b, orbiting a star lying 150 light-years from Earth. HD 209458b is only 4.3 million miles from its Sun-like star, completing an orbit in less than 4 days. It belongs to a class of planets called "hot Jupiters." Astronomers previously discovered that the upper atmosphere is so hot it boils hydrogen off into space.

Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph to discover a rugby-ball shaped evaporating envelope of oxygen and carbon. Analysis of the starlight passing through the envelope shows it is being ripped off by the extreme "hydrodynamic drag" created by its evaporating hydrogen atmosphere.

The planet has been dubbed "Osiris" after the Egyptian god that lost part of his body — like HD 209458b — after having been killed and cut into pieces by his brother to prevent his return to life.

The planet HD 209458b is the first transiting planet discovered, the first extrasolar planet known to have an atmosphere, the first extrasolar planet observed to have an evaporating hydrogen atmosphere, and now the first extrasolar planet found to have an atmosphere containing oxygen and carbon.

Section 201 of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (the No FEAR Act)Requires Federal agencies to notify all employees, former employees, and applicants for Federal employment of the rights and protections available to them under the Federal Antidiscrimination Laws and Whistleblower Protection Laws. In addition, Section 301 requires each federal agency to post summary statistical data pertaining to complaints of employment discrimination filed against it by employees, former employees, and applicants for employment under 29 C.F.R. Part 1614. The specific data to be posted is described in section 301(b) of the Act and 29 CFR 1614.704. The required No FEAR Act Notice and the required summary statistical data for EEO complaints filed against NASA and each NASA Center are available below.

Image of the Day Gallery

Full Name: Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter

Phase: Operating

Launch Date: June 17, 2009

Mission Project Home Page: http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission.html

Program(s): Robotic Lunar Exploration

SMD will assume operational control and tasking of LRO after it completes its one-year prime mission for ESMD in early 2010. A program to competitively select and engage participating scientists to plan this phase of LRO operations is already underway.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is the first mission in NASA's plan to return to the moon and then to travel to Mars and beyond. LRO will launch in late 2008 with the objectives to finding safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology.

The spacecraft will be placed in low polar orbit (50 km) for a 1-year mission under NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. LRO will return global data, such as day-night temperature maps, a global geodetic grid, high resolution color imaging and the moon's UV albedo. However there is particular emphasis on the polar regions of the moon where continuous access to solar illumination may be possible and the prospect of water in the permanently shadowed regions at the poles may exist. Although the objectives of LRO are explorative in nature, the payload includes instruments with considerable heritage from previous planetary science missions, enabling transition, after one year, to a science phase under NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

People have gazed at the stars, given them names, and observed their changes for thousands of years. NASA joined the ancient pursuit of knowledge of our universe comparatively recently; nevertheless, in our first half-century of space science we contributed to several major advances in astronomy, including:

• Detecting the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system
• Completing the first detailed full-sky map of the oldest light in the universe
  
• Finding that dark energy is accelerating the expansion of the universe
  

Even so, we still have perplexing and important puzzles to solve. To answer these questions, NASA is planning a series of missions linked by powerful new technologies and complementary approaches with shared science goals. In the first few decades of this new century astronomers will greatly advance the study of classical cosmology: the description of the universe on the largest scales and how it works. We will also begin to write the final chapter of the story of galaxies, witnessing the actual birth of these vast collections of stars.

We will investigate the interaction of matter and energy that govern the universe, and come to understand how the universe relentlessly expands: even while gravity pulls pockets of its dark matter and other constituents together, the energy of collapse and resulting nucleosynthesis later flinging them apart once again.

In years to come, we will determine the properties of dark energy -- whose presence is inferred by astronomers but has not been seen directly. Probes will detect the imprints left by quantum effects and gravitational waves at the beginning of the Big Bang; later, we could detect these phenomena directly. We will count how many black holes populate our local universe, and one day actually take a picture of the area near the edge of a black hole.

We will peer one-by-one at hundreds of our nearest neighbor stars and inventory their planets, searching for solar systems resembling our own. More ambitious telescopes could study such worlds in greater detail, gathering enough light to find the signatures of life in the atmospheres of planets. We cannot yet know whether the worlds we seek are common or exceedingly rare, so our journey may eventually involve great flotillas of large telescopes that can extend our search to thousands or tens of thousands of stars.

"Ulysses has taught us more than we ever expected about the sun and the way it interacts with the space surrounding it," said Richard Marsden, Ulysses project manager with the European Space Agency (ESA).

This undated computer-generated image distributed by NASA shows the spacecraft Ulysses near the Sun. U.S. and European scientists were bidding farewell to the tenacious solar probe Ulysses which has been recording data around the sun for more than 18 years, four times longer than planned.

ESA and the U.S. space agency were planning to send their final radio communication to the lonely Ulysses at 1535 GMT, and then pull the plug on the probe as it floats further and further away from Earth.

Since its launch into space in October 1990, Ulysses, named after the king of Ithaca in Greek mythology, has scanned the far reaches of the sun on a journey which has taken it some nine billion kilometers (5.5 billion miles).

One of its discoveries was that the magnetic fields of the sun spread their influence across the whole solar system, something that had previously not been known.

"This is very important because regions of the sun not previously considered as potential sources of hazardous particles for astronauts and satellites must now be taken into account," said Marsden.

Ulysses also helped to prove that during much of the sun's 11-year solar cycle, solar winds travel nearly twice as fast as had been believed.

Scientists originally thought that the speed of solar wind -- a constant stream of particles emitted by the sun -- was about 400 kilometers (250 miles) per second.

The probe also detected and analyzed cosmic dust flowing into our solar system from deep space, showing that it was at least 30 times more abundant than astronomers had thought.

Unexpectedly, new measurements of helium isotopes created billions of years apart also confirmed cosmological theories about the Big Bang -- and the likely fate of the Universe.

NASA and ESA were planning to send their final communication from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

After that Ulysses, weighing some 379 kilos (830 pounds) with 10 observation instruments on board, will float free.

Rubins, 30, is the youngest of the new astronaut recruits. Navy test pilot Scott Tingle, 43, is the oldest.

Also on the team are Air Force test pilot Jack Fischer, Joint Chiefs special assistant Michael Hopkins, flight surgeon Kjell Lindgren, test pilot Gregory Wiseman, and International Space Station flight controller Mark Vande Hei.

"This is a talented and diverse group we've selected," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for space operations at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., in a statement.

"They will join our current astronauts and play very important roles for NASA in the future. In addition to flying in space, astronauts participate in every aspect of human spaceflight, sharing their expertise with engineers and managers across the country," said Gerstenmaier.

"We look forward to working with them as we transcend from the shuttle to our future exploration of space, and continue the important engineering and scientific discoveries aboard the International Space Station," Gerstenmaier added.

NASA plans to phase out the space shuttle program next year and replace it with the Ares rocket and Orion crew capsule beginning in 2015. The plan, however, is now under review by the Obama administration.

In collaboration with agencies in Japan, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has put together a topographical map that covers 99% of the Earth's land mass, a more complete map than was previously available.

"We've got everything except a very small part of the South Pole and the North Pole," said JPL's Michael Abrams, the U.S. science team leader for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer project, also known as ASTER. "We're able to cover Alaska, Greenland, northern Asia and Antarctica."

The resolution is so clear that you can plainly see Dodger Stadium and other landmarks in pictures of Los Angeles.

The most complete previous set of topographical data, collected by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission in 2000, included about 80% of the Earth's landmass. Because the space shuttle had a limited orbit, the radar-imaging device missed land masses above 60 degrees north and 57 degrees south in latitude.

ASTER, which started collected images in visible and infrared light nine years ago, rides aboard Terra, a satellite that is part of NASA's Earth Observing System. Its orbit enables it to collect images up to 83 degrees north and 83 degrees south in latitude and also gives it a better angle to collect data in steep mountain areas, Abrams said. The infrared instrument also collects more thermal data than previously available, he said.

The ASTER images are meant to complement the radar images, Abrams emphasized. The shuttle radar instrument has some pictures ASTER could not get because radar can penetrate clouds, which perpetually obscure some tropical areas from ASTER's sight.

Scientists recently realized they had more than 1 million scenes, enough to create a global topographic map, Abrams said. The data was released Monday, free to the public. ASTER's images have a resolution down to 50 feet, which is enough to detect houses, but not so fine as to see the shape of the house or what people are doing in the house, he said.

Serving Tang and ice cream made from liquid oxygen and using a spacesuit and 5-foot-high model rocket as a backdrop, Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce officials announced Tuesday that Gene Kranz will be the group's keynote speaker at its annual meeting Nov. 17.

Kranz was the lead flight director during the Apollo 13 mission, in which an explosion aboard the spacecraft left it disabled.

He was credited with leading the Mission Control teams that helped bring the Apollo 13 crew safely back.

Bryan Derreberry, chamber CEO, said at a news conference that the group chose Kranz largely because he marshaled a group of people to successfully accomplish a goal during a crisis.

He drew parallels between that crisis and the recession, noting that it was creativity and human ingenuity, not technology, that led to a successful end to the Apollo 13 mission.

"That's a real critical theme for our annual meeting," Derreberry said. "He has a fabulous story to tell how they all pulled together."

The chamber also used the news conference to unveil its redesigned Web site, www.wichitachamber.org.

The new Web site was launched Tuesday.

Howerton and White redesigned the Chamber's site in a project that lasted nearly six months, said principle and co-creative director Nicole Howerton.

Like a car salesman pushing a luxury vehicle that the customer no longer can afford, NASA has pulled out of its back pocket a deal for a cheaper ride to the moon.

It won't be as powerful, and its design is a little dated. Think of it as a base-model Ford station wagon instead of a tricked-out Cadillac Escalade.

Officially, the space agency is still on track with a 4-year-old plan to spend $35 billion to build new rockets and return astronauts to the moon in several years. However, a top NASA manager is floating a cut-rate alternative that costs around $6.6 billion.

This cheaper option is not as powerful as NASA's current design with its fancy new rockets, the people-carrying Ares I and cargo-lifting Ares V. But the cut-rate plan would still get to the moon.

The new model calls for flying lunar vehicles on something very familiar-looking - the old space shuttle system with its gigantic orange fuel tank and twin solid-rocket boosters, minus the shuttle itself. There are two new vehicles this rocket would carry - one generic cargo container, the other an Apollo-like capsule for astronaut travel. Those new vehicles could both go to the moon or the international space station.

What's most remarkable about this idea is who it came from: NASA's shuttle program manager John Shannon. He recently presented it to an independent panel charged with reviewing NASA's costly spaceflight plans. And he was urged to do so by a top NASA administrator.

It shows that top officials in NASA, an agency of engineers who regularly make contingency plans, worry that their preferred moon plan is running into trouble, space experts said.

"Ulysses has taught us more than we ever expected about the sun and the way it interacts with the space surrounding it," said Richard Marsden, Ulysses project manager with the European Space Agency (ESA).

This undated computer-generated image distributed by NASA shows the spacecraft Ulysses near the Sun. U.S. and European scientists were bidding farewell to the tenacious solar probe Ulysses which has been recording data around the sun for more than 18 years, four times longer than planned.

ESA and the U.S. space agency were planning to send their final radio communication to the lonely Ulysses at 1535 GMT, and then pull the plug on the probe as it floats further and further away from Earth.

Since its launch into space in October 1990, Ulysses, named after the king of Ithaca in Greek mythology, has scanned the far reaches of the sun on a journey which has taken it some nine billion kilometers (5.5 billion miles).

One of its discoveries was that the magnetic fields of the sun spread their influence across the whole solar system, something that had previously not been known.

"This is very important because regions of the sun not previously considered as potential sources of hazardous particles for astronauts and satellites must now be taken into account," said Marsden.

Ulysses also helped to prove that during much of the sun's 11-year solar cycle, solar winds travel nearly twice as fast as had been believed.

Scientists originally thought that the speed of solar wind -- a constant stream of particles emitted by the sun -- was about 400 kilometers (250 miles) per second.

The probe also detected and analyzed cosmic dust flowing into our solar system from deep space, showing that it was at least 30 times more abundant than astronomers had thought.

Unexpectedly, new measurements of helium isotopes created billions of years apart also confirmed cosmological theories about the Big Bang -- and the likely fate of the Universe.

NASA and ESA were planning to send their final communication from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

After that Ulysses, weighing some 379 kilos (830 pounds) with 10 observation instruments on board, will float free.

Neil Armstrong / NASA

Electronic equipment and switches surround astronaut Buzz Aldrin in Apollo 11's lunar module, nicknamed Eagle, before the moon landing in 1969. Over the past 40 years there have been big changes in computers — and in the amount of information available on computers about the Apollo moonshots.

Forty years ago, the world watched the Apollo 11 moon landing on television sets and giant screens. This year, the tale of the moonshot is being retold on computer monitors and mobile phones. Here's a Top 10 list of online destinations celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11:

Voyage of the Millennium: Our three-part audio slideshow about the Apollo 11 experience is a decade old - but it's still a beaut, in my humble opinion. Photojournalist Roger Ressmeyer went through stacks of NASA images and selected his favorites, tracing the buildup to Apollo 11, the high points of the mission itself and its aftermath. In the audio soundtrack, he tells the story behind each picture. Maximize your browser window to make sure you have all the buttons to play the audio and click through the slideshow.

Apollo video online: Don't miss this 43-minute documentary from MSNBC's "Time and Again" about America's space effort and Apollo 11 in particular (complete with Huntley and Brinkley!). Here's a 10-minute Apollo retrospective from NASA. For a different take on the TV coverage, check out the BBC's archive of Apollo coverage. Spacecraft Films' documentary, "Live From the Moon," focuses on how Apollo played out on television. (I mentioned this show and others last week in my Apollo video roundup.)

Apollo at 40 at NASA: The space agency itself has the biggest store of online material about the moon missions. NASA's Apollo 40th Anniversary Web site serves as the portal to old and new goodies. There's a separate Web page devoted to the Apollo program. The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal is the jewel in NASA's crown, offering mission logs, photos and lots of "fun stuff." But wait ... there's more: Check out the JSC Digital Image Collection as well as the Apollo archive on the Human Spaceflight Web site.

Project Apollo Archive: This Web site would have to rank right up there with the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal as a must-see archive of moonshot lore. Kipp Teague has put together an exhaustive repository of imagery from before, during and after the Apollo missions.

We Choose the Moon: The Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum's Apollo Web site is offering a Twitter re-enactment of the mission, timed to tell you what happened exactly 40 years before. Actually, make that two re-enactments. One Twitter tale is told from the perspective of Mission Control, and the other Twitter feed takes on the crew's persona. You can also download a widget to track the time-warp mission, get e-mail updates and watch a video of President Kennedy's "We Choose to Go to the Moon" speech.

Apollo at the Smithsonian: The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum serves as the main repository for Apollo artifacts, so it's only fitting that the museum has opened a virtual exhibit hall commemorating the moonshots. You'll find an interactive timeline, images, videos and podcasts - and a plea for personal recollections about 100 items in the museum's collection.

ApolloPlus40 on Twitter: Like the Kennedy Library, the journal Nature's Web site is tweeting Apollo 11 events in a 40-year time warp. The Nature News staff is also blogging about Project Apollo and its legacy.

Apollo 11 on Facebook: You just knew there had to be a Facebook page for the Apollo 11 mission. You'll also find Facebook pages for moonshot memories and last weekend's "Echoes of Apollo" radio experiment. NASA's latest moon probes, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the LCROSS moon-smashing spacecraft, have their own pages.

Bad Astronomy: Are there still some people who think the moon landings didn't really happen? If so, you should point them toward astronomer Phil Plait's classic guide to debunking moon-hoax claims. Did I mention that Phil is a blogger and author, too? Consider it mentioned.

The Cupola, named after the raised observation deck on a railroad caboose, is designed as an observation platform for operations outside the station--e.g., robotics, spacewalks, and docking spacecraft. Computer workstations inside the dome will give astronauts full control over the space station's robotic arm and dexterous manipulator, while the windows offer unparalleled views of these devices in action.

Above: An artist's concept of the Cupola. Credit: NASA

It's also a place where astronauts can unwind.

"Crews tell us that Earth gazing is important to them," says Julie Robinson, the ISS Program Scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "The astronauts work hard up there and are away from their families for a long time. Observing the Earth and the stars helps relax and inspire them."

Until now, space station astronauts have been confined to looking out small portholes or at best the 20-inch window in the US Destiny Laboratory. The Cupola will dramatically expand their view.

This could lead to scientific discoveries:

"By photographing oblique views with different sun angles, the astronauts can use the Cupola to give scientists a view of the Earth that is not available from satellites," she adds. Astronaut photographs of Earth have been used to understand Earth processes such as melting of icebergs, noctilucent clouds, dust storms, and the structure of hurricane eyes.

It seems fitting that the space station is getting the Cupola around the time of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo program. Apollo astronauts, like the space station crew, cherished the experience of gazing back at the planet they left behind. Apollo 14 moonwalker Ed Mitchell had this to say:

America's plans for opening the space frontier - including new human exploration of Earth's moon and future voyages into the solar system beyond - are featured in an interactive exhibit scheduled to visit the Ocean City (Md.) Air Show June 13-14.

The NASA Exploration Experience traveling exhibit gives visitors a vivid glimpse into the nation's ambitious future in space.

"We hope the multimedia experience helps people better understand how the country plans to explore the moon and journey beyond in the next decade or so," said outreach coordinator Kirk Pierce from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

While in Ocean City the exhibit will be on display at Seventeenth Street and Broadway and will be open both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Ocean City, the exhibit moves to the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar - Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., June 19-21, before moving on to Harbor Fest in Charleston, S.C., June 26-29.

The exhibit simulates a breathtaking visit to the first destination on America's new journey into the solar system: Earth's moon. "Interactive control panels and activity station, immersive 3D imagery and audio effects will plunge visitors into a not-too-distant future on the moon," Pierce added. "They'll discover what it will be like to live and work on the surfaces of other worlds - and how it will benefit life back home on Earth."

NASA staffers will be available to answer questions and discuss some of the thousands of technologies used on Earth as a result of years of space-based research and development by the agency and its partners.

"Exhibit visitors can learn how our quality of life improves when America's space exploration activities refine existing technologies and develop new breakthroughs in areas such as power generation, computer technology, communications, networking and robotics," said Pierce. Visitors also can learn how other advanced technologies are increasing the safety and reliability of space transportation systems, while also reducing costs.

Touring the NASA Exploration Experience exhibit takes approximately 10 minutes. The exhibit is wheelchair-accessible. Exhibit visitors also can see what they would look like on the Moon by having their photo taken in a space suit against a lunar landscape.

NASA's Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP), a NASA resource that delivers education programs in all 50 states and US territories, will support the exhibit. NASA's Marshall Center manages the traveling exhibit for the agency's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

In addition in to the traveling exhibit, AESP education specialists Rick Varner and Sonya Williams of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will present educational workshops for teachers called "Physics through Rocketry" at Stephen Decatur High School, Berlin, Md., on July 24 and at North Caroline High School, Ridgely, Md., on July 31.

For more information about the traveling exhibit, visit:

http://exploration.nasa.gov/

Date: 26-29 June 2009

Location: Charleston, SC, US

Web Site Address: http://exploration.nasa.gov/

Fortunately for Martinez and other shaken residents, disaster officials knew exactly where to send help. A state-of-the-art Earth observation system called SERVIR¹ directed them to the hardest hit areas.

Above: Satellite images pinpoint the collapse of the Democracy Bridge in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. [larger image] [more]

Meaning "to serve" in Spanish, SERVIR is a joint effort of NASA, CATHALAC², the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Regional Center for the Mapping of Resources for Development, and other partners. The system uses satellite imagery to zero in on places where a flood, fire, hurricane, or earthquake has left destruction in its wake. Team members combine satellite data with ground observations, and display a near real-time map of crisis points. At a glance, decision-makers can see the locations of most severe damage so they can send help in a hurry.

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Breaking news stories revealed that the worst infrastructural damage was restricted, in general, to Honduras and Belize, so the SERVIR team at CATHALAC began to assemble images and data for a bird's eye view of those areas. They contacted Stuart Frye of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and asked him to arrange satellite imagery.

The next day, Frye notified the team that the Taiwanese would image the hardest hit areas by using their Formosat-2 satellite. In fact, the Taiwanese were already in action.

Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu³ of the National Cheng-Kung University of Taiwan explains: "President Ma Ying-Jeou of Taiwan and his delegation were visiting Belize the night earthquake struck. As news of the quake spread across the Pacific, all Taiwanese were shocked and very anxious to confirm their safety and that of the people who lived in the countries hit."

Right: A Formosat-2 satellite image shows the location (marked in red) of the hotel where President Ma Ying-Jeou of Taiwan and his delegation were staying at the time of the earthquake. "There was no sign of a tsunami," notes Liu. [larger image]

"We knew the fastest way to capture images of the disaster area would be to use Formosat-2. So I issued an urgent request for assistance to Dr. An-Ming Wu, the Deputy General Director of our National Space Organization. Even though it was the Dragon Boat holiday and all Taiwanese were enjoying their family reunion, Dr. Wu called the Formosat-2 mission operation team to rush back to the control center. The three critical images were taken in record time!"

Dan Irwin, SERVIR Project Director at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center⁴, recalls the lightning-fast response: "I was in a bus in Berlin when I received an email from Dr. Liu telling me they had the images ready to send. It was early Saturday morning in Panama, but I called and woke Emil [Cherrington] up anyway to let him know."

"Dr. Liu was the one who lost sleep," says Cherrington. "He stayed up until 2 a.m. Taiwan time sending the images to our servers at CATHALAC. The data volume was huge, so the transfer was slow, but he wouldn't go home until he was sure we received all the images."

Above: Because the epicenter of the earthquake was offshore, it could have spawned a tsunami. This travel time prediction issued by NOAA shows how fast a wave would have spread. Each color band represents 60 minutes. "People living in coastal regions of Belize would not have had much time to respond," notes Liu. [larger image]

The CATHALAC team processed more than 700 individual image fragments. At 1:21 a.m. on Sunday May 31st, they sent Spanish and English versions of their assessment map to Honduras' national emergency management committee, the Red Cross, the United Nations Humanitarian Relief Network, and several other organizations vital to the relief efforts.⁵ These agencies then were able to focus their efforts exactly where they were needed.

"People from several different nations worked together to pull this off quickly and smoothly," says Irwin. "It was a perfect example of why we at SERVIR say 'we're GEOSS⁶ in action.'"

GEOSS, short for Global Earth Observation System of Systems, is a concept in progress to connect and pool several countries' Earth observation tools and data for the benefit of all. It's no wonder that the organization chose SERVIR in 2007 as a template--a sort of "poster child" for how to meet GEOSS goals.

"This is the 24th time⁷ that disaster response has been provided to Mesoamerica and the Caribbean regions in the framework of SERVIR, and the 6th event in 2009 alone,” says Cherrington. "We also anticipate a busy Atlantic Hurricane Season. In fact, that season is already upon us."

		This June 27, 2009 NASA image shows a Delta IV rocket being launched with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite aboard. -- PHOTO: AFP

CAPE CANAVERAL - A SOPHISTICATED new weather satellite rocketed into orbit on Saturday, giving forecasters another powerful tool for tracking hurricanes and tornadoes.

An unmanned rocket carrying the nation's latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite blasted off early on Saturday evening, a day late because of thunderstorms.

The satellite headed toward a 35,400km-high orbit, where it will undergo six months of testing. It will circle Earth as a spare and be called into service when needed.

The Goes satellite network provides continuous weather monitoring for 60 per cent of the planet, including the United States. The newer ones also monitor solar flares that can disrupt communications on Earth, and track climate change.

This is the second of the more advanced Goes satellites to be launched, containing sensors capable of providing better location data and higher resolution pictures of storms.

'These are probably about the most sophisticated weather satellites that we actually have on this planet ... off this planet,' said Andre Dress, deputy project manager for Nasa.

Nasa manages the development and launch of Goes satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The one launched on Saturday, Goes O, will be renamed Goes 14 once it reaches its proper orbit in 1{ weeks.

The mission cost US$499 million (S$725 million), including the cost of the Delta IV rocket. -- AP

The new SpaceX commercial rocket is supposed to send cargo to the International Space Station after NASA's shuttles are retired next year.

SpaceX / SpaceX / MCT

• Photo

WASHINGTON — NASA is turning to private space companies to plug a worrisome five-year gap in its ability to boost astronauts into orbit and return them safely to Earth.

The gap runs from the end of next year, when the three remaining space shuttles are supposed to be retired, until 2015, the earliest that NASA's slow-moving replacement system, called Constellation, will be ready to do the job.

After the shuttles' retirement, the U.S. will have to rely on Russia to ferry Americans to and from the International Space Station, where six crew members from five nations are now circling the Earth.

This situation frustrates and embarrasses NASA and annoys lawmakers, who fear citizens will wonder why the U.S. has to depend on its old Cold War rival for rides into space.

As a result, two private companies are being asked first to demonstrate their ability to deliver cargo — food, water, equipment and supplies — to the space station starting in 2011. Commercial launches of human crews, a much riskier operation, would come no sooner than 2012, if at all.

There will be "a significant gap" in our ability to get cargo and people into orbit, Michael Suffredini, ISS program manager, told a high-level "Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee" last week.

The committee, headed by Norman Augustine, the retired chief executive of the space-military contractor Lockheed Martin, was created by the Obama administration to evaluate NASA's plan to send humans to the moon and eventually to Mars. It's supposed to make its recommendations — to continue, alter or scrap the project — by the end of August.

"We believe we can eliminate the gap," Elon Musk, chief executive of Space Exploration Technologies — SpaceX for short — of Hawthorne, Calif., told the Augustine committee. "We can provide housekeeping and logistical services," he said. "We'll let NASA concentrate on the Moon and beyond."

SpaceX and its chief rival, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., received preliminary NASA awards totaling $500 million in December. SpaceX's contract calls for it to make 12 cargo flights starting in March. Orbital is supposed to launch eight cargo flights, beginning in March 2011. The contract's total cost will be $3.5 billion.

"Cargo doesn't seem glamorous, but we need it to keep America flying in space," Frank Culbertson, Orbital's senior vice president for human space flight, told the committee.

Skeptics are concerned about the ability of private companies to meet NASA's safety and reliability standards. SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket failed three times before it finally managed to put a small, dummy payload in orbit last September. Orbital lost a Taurus rocket, carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, in February.

"Despite their best efforts, some truly private enterprises have not been able to deliver on plans of launching vehicles," Sen Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told a Senate hearing last month. "However grandiose the claims of proponents (for commercial space flights) are, they cannot substitute for the painful truth of failed performance at present," Shelby said.

Another question is whether it's worth the cost and risks to keep the $100 billion space station operating after its original life expectancy runs out in 2015 — a decision the Obama administration hasn't yet made. The president's science advisor, John Holdren, asked the Augustine committee to review this issue too.

ISS international partners want to preserve the station but fear that the U.S. will back out of the project, probably dooming it.

Gen. Anatoly Permilov, the head of the Russian Space Agency, told the committee that Russia wants to extend the life of the ISS "to 2020 at a minimum."

"We have to continue the ISS to reap the benefits," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, the director-general of the European Space Agency. "We're just at the end of the (station's) assembly period. We're just starting the utilization period."