Astronomy

SPACEHAB, Incorporated, a leading provider of commercial space services, gives thanks to all those who are involved in the successful maiden voyage of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) ring technology on the recent Space Test Program-1 mission. The ESPA ring, which is designed to integrate multiple smaller satellites onto EELV-class rockets, made it possible for a total of six satellites to be delivered into two different low-Earth orbits during the U.S. Air Force’s recent mission.

Italian engineers are excited about the successful first flight of their unmanned space vehicle (USV) programme, despite the test vehicle ending up in three pieces, one of which is now lost in the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. On 24 February 2007, a high-altitude balloon lifted the 9-metre-long prototype from Tortolì airport in Sardinia.

Comet Hyakutake was first discovered on January 30, 1996 by Yuji Hyakutake, an amateur astronomer from southern Japan. He had been searching for comets for years and had moved to Kagoshima for the dark skies in the nearby rural areas. He was using a powerful set of binoculars with six-inch objective lenses to scan the skies on the night that he discovered the comet.

This saturday night people will be able to see an astronomical wonder that few people can see, a lunar eclipse. A total lunar eclips will be occuring that night. The moon is said to rise in ful eclipse at 5:30 p.m. and will slowly emerge from the eclips by 7 p.m. The last lunar eclipse that occured in North America was in October of 2004. We can expect to see another eclipse on August 28th that will occur in the daytime instead of the night.