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...long, 2-ton spacecraft is not designed for a landing, but rather will settle into a low lunar orbit just 30 miles (48 km) above the surface, or about half the altitude at which the Apollos flew. The ship will be fairly stuffed with scientific instruments, one of the most important - if least sexy sounding - of which will be its laser altimeter. The altimeter will bounce laser beams off the lunar surface and, by measuring the speed at which they reflect back up, calculate the moon's topography to within inches. That's critical since long-term lunar stays require...
...verdict will ever be carried out, it marked an important step forward in the evolution of international law, specifically relating to claims of human rights.Just after April Fools’ Day, North Korea launched perhaps its most ambitious rocketry project yet, which was intended to carry a satellite into orbit. Of course, this test was closely linked to the rogue state’s ballistic missile program, which, combined with its recently revealed nuclear deterrent, constitutes a definite threat to the stability of East Asia and much of the Pacific Rim. And in May, Pyongyang followed up by detonating...
Satellite navigation owes a debt to Sputnik, the pioneering Soviet satellite launched in 1957. U.S. scientists learned they could track the satellite's orbit by listening to changes in its radio frequency, relying on the same principle that explains why the pitch of a car's horn seem to change as the car speeds by. The Navy's TRANSIT navigation system was developed in the 1960s, relying on six satellites and designed originally for use by submarines. More than 10 satellites were eventually launched, though ground units had to wait up to several hours to pick up a signal. Meanwhile...
...Florida A Final, Perilous Tune-Up The space shuttle Atlantis is on a last maintenance mission to the aging Hubble Space Telescope before its replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, takes to the skies in 2014. It's a risky assignment: the Hubble's 350-mile-high orbit is clotted with fast-moving "space junk" that could damage the craft. With the International Space Station out of reach, a second shuttle, Endeavour, is ready to fetch the crew in case of an emergency...
...This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.] HUBBLE WEBB ORBIT 353 miles from Earth 1 million miles from Earth PRIMARY-MIRROR SIZE 7.9 ft. in diameter 21.3 ft. in diameter LENGTH 44 ft. 72 ft. WEIGHT...