Europe's new Vega on launchpad
A new European rocket called Vega has been installed on the launchpad at Kourou, French Guiana, ready for its first launch in a window beginning on February 9. The European Space Agency will send nine satellites into orbit, marking the end of nine years of development with its partners, Italian space agency ASI, French space agency CNES and industry. The first flight has been dubbed VV01.
Vega is designed as a small launcher that will carry science and Earth observation satellites into orbit, complementing the heavy Ariane 5 and medium Soyuz rockets already launched from the spaceport.
Other top stories on 28 January 2012
Kepler finds 26 new planets in 11 solar systems
NASA's Keper space telescope continues to make astonishing discoveries as it surveys a tiny patch of Milky Way sky. Astronomers have confirmed 26 new worlds in 11 new solar systems. The latest haul nearly doubles the number of verified planets found by this telescope, showing that the Galaxy must be packed with planets galore.
The latest announcement also triples the number of stars that are known to have more than one planet making transits across their disks. It is from the tiny dips in brightness that these transits cause that the planets give away their presence.
The new discoveries announced by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California range in size from 1.5 times the radius of the Earth to bigger than Jupiter. But it is too early to say which are rocky worlds like Earth and which have thick gaseous atmospheres like Neptune.
Big boost for UK's space industry
A vast new satellite production and testing centre has been erected at the University of Surrey, in England, to meet the boom in demand for access to space.
The Kepler facility is being leased from the university by Surrey Satellite Technology, world leaders in developing small satellites. Fourteen satellites representing the first big batch of operational spacecraft for Europe's Galileo sat-nav project are currently being assembled there. UK Science Minister David Willetts told the BBC's Jonathan Amos: "The story of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd for me is an absolute model. It began in the labs of Surrey University and then became a full-blown space business."
Another asteroid in near miss
An asteroid the size of a bus scraped past Earth yesterday in the sort of close encounter that is becoming more familiar as surveys of potential cosmic missiles improve. Asteroid 2012 BX34, which was estimated to be between six and 19 meters wide, passed within 60,000 km of us - sixth the distance of the Moon - but there was no danger and it would have broken up even if it had entered our atmosphere.
This day in history
1921: American rocketry pioneer Goddard began research into using liquid propellants rather than powder fuels.
1986: Space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch from the Kennedy Space Center, killing seven astronauts including civilian teacher Christa McAuliffe. A faulty seal had failed after one of the coldest Florida nights on record allowing hot gas to burn through an external fuel tank. The disaster grounded the shuttle programme for nearly three years.
