Topic: History of Space Exploration

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Beyond SpaceX: Five companies seeking to change space travel

During the past 10 years, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have directed NASA to turn the job of transporting cargo and crew to the space station over to the private sector. As that process gathers pace, here is a list of the key players.
20 essential Android tips and tricks

Several weeks ago, we highlighted 20 useful iPhone tricks everyone should know. We got such good feedback from that feature that we wanted to share the love with Android users – who, after all, make up the largest proportion of the smart phone community.
Tim Thomas: Six other athletes who snubbed the White House

Not that many Americans have the opportunity to be on the White House guest list. Here's a list of athletes who have snubbed US presidents.
In Pictures: China's space program
Falling satellite: 10 times space junk has crashed into Earth

Falling satellite trackers at NASA say it will hit Friday night or Saturday morning and has a small chance of crashing in the US. But the precise track and timing of the falling satellite is still hard to predict. Falling space junk has happened before, however, including these 10 examples.

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Beyond SpaceX: Five companies seeking to change space travel

During the past 10 years, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have directed NASA to turn the job of transporting cargo and crew to the space station over to the private sector. As that process gathers pace, here is a list of the key players.
Space Shuttle Discovery arrives at its new home (+video)

In a public ceremony, NASA officially delivered the Space Shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Thursday.
Astronauts bid farewell to Space Shuttle Discovery (+video)

In recent days, John Glenn and other astronauts that have flown on Discovery have visited the retired orbiter to say their goodbyes.
20 essential Android tips and tricks

Several weeks ago, we highlighted 20 useful iPhone tricks everyone should know. We got such good feedback from that feature that we wanted to share the love with Android users – who, after all, make up the largest proportion of the smart phone community.
Amazon CEO Bezos will hoist mammoth, antique rocket engines from seafloor (+video)

Using high-tech sonar, an expedition spearheaded by Bezos has discovered what he claimed were discarded engines from the Apollo 11 mission lurking 14,000 feet deep.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos to search for sunken Apollo 11 engines (+video)

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says that his deep-sea sonar expedition in the Atlantic has located the five engines used to launch Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon in 1969, and he plans to bring at least one of them to the surface.
Amazon founder locates Apollo 11 rockets

Jeff Bezos, the dot-com billionaire, announced that he has located the booster rockets that lifted the first moon mission into space at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. He hopes to raise one or both to the surface.
How did the moon get there? NASA videos explain.

Images captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have been used to create an animated 4-billion-year history of the moon.
John Glenn and Earth orbit anniversary: America needs manned flight in space

This week's 50-year anniversary of astronaut John Glenn and his Earth orbit should remind America that it needs manned flight in space. Some say the space race is over. But America is in a new space race for jobs, skills, and knowledge for the future.
John Glenn's first spaceflight was fraught with risks and unknowns

Before Glenn completed three laps of Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, no American had spent more than 15 minutes in space.
Space pioneer John Glenn honored 50 years after historic flight

Hundreds of NASA workers jammed a space center auditorium to mark the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's historic flight, to see and hear the first American to circle the Earth.
John Glenn reflects on NASA's space legacy 50 years after first orbit

On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn piloted NASA's Mercury capsule, known as Friendship 7, three times around Earth, matching the groundbreaking achievement of the rival Soviet Union, which launched cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit 10 months earlier.
Tim Thomas: Six other athletes who snubbed the White House

Not that many Americans have the opportunity to be on the White House guest list. Here's a list of athletes who have snubbed US presidents.
Apollo 13: James Lovell's checklist sells for $388,375

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions sold the Apollo 13 checklist Wednesday as part of a batch of US space program artifacts being offered during its 'Space Signature Auction.'
In Pictures: China's space program
NASA sting terrifies elderly woman

NASA sting: At the end of the sting operation, agents were left holding a speck of lunar dust smaller than a grain of rice and a 73-year-old suspect who was terrified by armed officials.
Messenger's message from Mercury: Time to rewrite the textbooks

Scientists with the Messenger mission to Mercury unveiled their findings Thursday, which are answering some decades-old mysteries – but also creating new ones.
Falling satellite: 10 times space junk has crashed into Earth

Falling satellite trackers at NASA say it will hit Friday night or Saturday morning and has a small chance of crashing in the US. But the precise track and timing of the falling satellite is still hard to predict. Falling space junk has happened before, however, including these 10 examples.
Future NASA rocket unveiled, designed to reach moon and beyond

The design of the new NASA rocket draws on key systems from the space shuttle and Ares programs. The agency anticipates launching the first demonstration version of the rocket by 2017.
In Pictures: Timeline of American rockets
Satellite crash: A briefing on the 6.5-ton NASA bird falling to Earth

Satellite crash facts and fiction: How big are the risks? NASA says satellite debris could be spread across 500 miles.
In Pictures: Supersonic planes
With Atlantis landing, an era ends. Are private space firms ready for duty?

The Atlantis landing just before 6 a.m. Thursday marks the end of the US space shuttle program – and the transition to private firms as the cargo carriers to space. Perhaps they'll ferry people, too.
Top 10 real-life adventure stories

What’s the best way to enjoy the summer: A cookout in the backyard? A trip to the beach? These are nice, but look no further than reading a non-fiction adventure book. It’s by far the best way to immerse yourself in another world. Check out this list to see some of the best titles in this excellent genre.
The 9 weirdest things ever flown on the Space Shuttle

When NASA's space shuttles launch into orbit, they don't just carry astronauts and supplies into the final frontier. There's a lot of other weird stuff that makes the out-of-this-world journey, too. Here nine recent space oddities carried into orbit on NASA shuttles.