Transportation Industry

Company Watch - NASA

AirGuide Business, April 28, 2008

Apr 28, 2008

Mars rovers keep plugging away four years beyond life expectancy. Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity continue to make geological discoveries four years past their expected life of just 90 days. The project employs about 200 scientists and technicians and costs $1.5 million per month. Apr 24, 2008

Problems with Russia's Soyuz spacecraft have raised questions about the ability of the U.S. to get to the International Space Station when the space shuttle retires in 2010. There is nothing to replace the Soyuz -- which landed off-course in a ballistic re-entry Saturday -- if officials decide it is unreliable. NASA and the Russian Space agency are investigating the cause of the re-entry failure. Apr 22, 2008

Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been thinking a lot about the cosmic question, "Are we alone?" The answer is probably not, he says. If there is life elsewhere in the universe, Hawking asks why haven't we stumbled onto some alien broadcasts in space, maybe something like "alien quiz shows?" Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life. One option is that there likely isn't life elsewhere. Or maybe there is intelligent life elsewhere, but when it gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also is smart enough to make destructive nuclear weapons. So should you worry about aliens? Alien abduction claims come from "weirdos" and are unlikely. However, because alien life might not have DNA like us, Hawking warned: "Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance." The 66-year-old British cosmologist, who suffers from ALS and must speak through a mechanical device, believes "if the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before." Hawking compared people who don't want to spend money on human space exploration to those who opposed the journey of Christopher Columbus in 1492. "The discovery of the New World made a profound difference to the old. Just think we wouldn't have had a Big Mac or KFC." Apr 21, 2008

NASA said it will extend the mission of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft for two years. The spacecraft will continue orbiting Saturn and beaming images back to earth. "The spacecraft is performing exceptionally well and the team is highly motivated, so we're excited at the prospect of another two years," said Bob Mitchell, Cassini program manager. Apr 21, 2008

Shuttle retirement complicates completion of space shuttle, auditors say A congressional auditor said NASA will face significant challenges finishing the International Space Station by the time it retires the shuttle fleet in 2010. NASA would have to maintain an aggressive schedule to finish the station, and once the station is finished, NASA will have a difficult time supplying it, another auditor said. Apr 25, 2008

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