Russia plans four spacecraft launches in 2014

Russia's Energia Rocket and Space Corporation will make four launches next year from the Pacific Ocean-based Odyssey platform under the Sea Launch programme, an official said. Corporation president Vitaly Lopota said that after 2014, Energia will be able to make five or more launches a year. Next year's launches will be the first since one of Sea Launch's Zenit vehicles carrying an Intelsat-27 ...

Private firms may travel to lunar surface NASA report

A study of future human missions has indicated corporate researchers could be living on the moon by the time NASA astronauts head off to visit an asteroid in the 2020s. The study by Bigelow Aerospace, commissioned by NASA, shows "a lot of excitement and interest from various companies" for such ventures, Daily Mail quoted Robert Bigelow, founder and president of the Las Vegas-based firm, as ...

Bidder pays $1.5M for space trip with Leonardo DiCaprio

One fan of Leonardo DiCaprio has paid 1.5 million dollars for a trip into space with the actor, during a charity auction at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the winning bidder will get the chance to travel into space orbit on a Virgin Galactic spaceship in a seat next to DiCaprio, Us magazine reported. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will go ...

Hubble reveals Ring Nebulas true shape

New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed the real shape of the Ring Nebula. The glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, Sun-like star is like a doughnut, scientists suggested. "The nebula is not like a bagel, but rather, it's like a jelly doughnut, because it's filled with material in the middle," said C. Robert O'Dell of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. ...

Ecuadorian satellite escapes collision with Russian rocket

Ecuador's first satellite avoided a direct collision with the remains of a Russian rocket, but whether the device is still operating remains unclear, the head of the country's EXA space agency told EFE. The US-based Joint Space Operations Center, which had alerted EXA to the possible threat to Pegaso, informed the Ecuadorian agency Thursday that the Russian wreckage did not hit the satellite ...