NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Shuttle Atlantis Docks to Space Station

Space shuttle Atlantis performs a "backflip" prior to docking with the space station. Credit: NASA

Space shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station Nov. 18, after launching Nov. 16 from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Atlantis is delivering more than 20,000 pounds of spare equipment to sustain the orbiting outpost after 2010. Space station crew member Nicole Stott will return to Earth with the STS-129 crew. Three spacewalks are scheduled during the 11-day mission.

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NASA 'Drops' Next Generation Robotic Lander During Autonomous Tests

The robotic lunar lander test article is released from its hoist in preparation for a controlled landing. Credit: NASA/MSFC/David Higginbotham

NASA has successfully completed a series of autonomous "drop" tests of a robotic lander test article -- in a record 10 months -- to demonstrate the ability to perform a controlled landing on the moon or other airless planetary bodies. During recent tests at the Marshall Center, the lander test article was suspended up 10.5 ft from the landing pad.

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Alabama Space Grant Consortium Awards $323,000 to State University Students

Thomas Ray Miller, center, a graduate student at the University of South Alabama, was among 48 award recipients Nov. 9. Credit: NASA/MSFC

At its 20th annual Fellowship/ Scholarship Awards Day luncheon Nov. 9, the Alabama Space Grant Consortium presented some $323,000 in fellowships and scholarships to 48 undergraduate and graduate students from seven Alabama universities. The awards luncheon was hosted by the Marshall Center -- a partner in the consortium.

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NASA's Great Observatories Examine the Galactic Center Region

Composite image of the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: X-ray: NASA/ CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/D.Wang et al.; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSC/S.Stolovy

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, NASA's Great Observatories -- the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory -- have collaborated to produce an unprecedented image of the central region of our Milky Way galaxy. When these views are brought together, this composite image provides one of the most detailed views ever of our galaxy's mysterious core. The Marshall Center manages the Chandra program.

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NASA's Ares I-X Rocket Completes Successful Flight Test

The Ares I-X test rocket zooms off Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image credit: Scott Andrews, Canon

NASA's Ares I-X test rocket lifted off at 11:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a two-minute powered flight. The test flight lasted about six minutes from its launch from the newly-modified Launch Complex 39B until splash down of the rocket's booster stage nearly 150 miles down range.

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