Marcia Dunn
No image available
/ 5 October 2005

Discovery’s foam loss possibly caused by workers

Workers may have accidentally cut or crushed the section of foam that broke off Discovery‘s fuel tank during its launch two months ago — a mishap that threatened the safety of the astronauts and grounded the shuttle fleet. That is the leading theory for the cause behind the disturbing loss of foam insulation that cast a cloud over Nasa’s return to space, said Wayne Hale, the new manager of the space shuttle programme.

No image available
/ 12 January 2005

Nasa plans to crash into comet

For the first time in history, Nasa is setting off on a collision course with a comet, in hopes of blasting a huge hole in the celestial snowball and gazing upon the original ingredients of the solar system preserved inside. It all begins with a planned Wednesday launch of Deep Impact, a copper-fortified, comet-busting spacecraft.