Aerospace Online - A comprehensive source of technical, regulatory, operational, management, and product information about the aviation industry, with emphasis on issues of interest to the aviation maintenance and avionics communities in air transport, business and corporate, rotorcraft, and military aviation.
Apollo Program (1963-1972) - The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Six of the missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) achieved this goal. Apollos 7 and 9 were Earth orbiting missions to test the Command and Lunar Modules, and did not return lunar data. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photography of the lunar surface. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but also returned photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.
Cassini-Huygens - Four NASA spacecraft have been sent to explore Saturn. Pioneer 11 was first to fly past Saturn in 1979. Voyager 1 flew past a year later, followed by its twin, Voyager 2, in 1981. The Cassini spacecraft is the first to explore the Saturn system of rings and moons from orbit. Cassini entered orbit on Jun. 30, 2004 and immediately began sending back intriguing images and data. The European Space Agency's Huygens Probe dove into Titan's thick atmosphere in January 2005. The sophisticated instruments on both spacecraft are providing scientists with vital data and the best views ever of this mysterious, vast region of our solar system.
Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS) - Performs original research and outreach activities on topics covering planetary science, terrestrial geophysics, and the remote sensing of environmental change. The scope of research activities includes work on Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, and the Galilean satellites, and corresponding field studies in terrestrial analog regions. CEPS staff study a variety of geophysical processes, such as volcanism, floods, cratering, tectonics, and sand movement. Many of the terrestrial studies also address topics of current concern for global climate change.
Cox Report - Summarizes findings and judgments contained in the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee's classified Report issued January 3, 1999. The report concerns missile and space technology and what the committee considers inadequate safeguards for protecting U.S. advanced technology. A broad range of topics is covered, including: export controls, technology transfer, licensing, foreign policy, bilateral agreements, monitoring, commercial arrangements, espionage, and other national security concerns.
Deep Cold - Renderings of spacecraft which were planned but never flew operationally, some cancelled before they even left the drawing board. While the pictures are fictional interpretations (except Spiral), the text describing each project is factual.
Digital Lunar Orbital Photographic Atlas of the Moon - The Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon by Bowker and Hughes (NASA SP-206) is considered the definitive reference manual to the global photographic coverage of the Moon.
Encyclopedia Astronautica - Mark Wade's resource for rockets, spacecraft, launch vehicles, astronauts, cosmonauts, spaceflight, space history, and space exploration.
ESA Mars Express - The Mars Express Orbiter will image the entire surface of Mars at high resolution (10 metres/pixel) and selected areas at super resolution (2 metres/pixel); produce a map of the mineral composition of the surface at 100 metre resolution; map the composition of the atmosphere and determine its global circulation; determine the structure of the sub-surface to a depth of a few kilometres; determine the effect of the atmosphere on the surface; determine the interaction of the atmosphere with the solar wind. The Beagle 2 lander was planned to was planned to descend to the surface, entering the atmosphere at more than 20 000 kilometres per hour. Unfortunately, the Beagle 2 lander was declared lost after it failed to make contact with orbiting spacecraft and Earth-based radio telescopes.
Exoplanets.org -
The Exoplanet Data Explorer is an interactive table and plotter for exploring and displaying data from the Exoplanet Orbit Database, a carefully constructed compilation of quality, spectroscopic orbital parameters of exoplanets orbiting normal stars from the peer-reviewed literature.
exploreMarsnow.org - This site presents an interactive, three-dimensional modelof a possible base station and habitat for the first humans on Mars. It includes the base exterior, the layout, work and living spaces, greenhouse, Mars car, robot rovers, and, and other details. There is also a section of Mars facts.
Eyes on the Solar System -
- A 3-D environment full of real NASA mission data. Explore the cosmos from your computer. Hop on an asteroid. Fly with NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft. See the entire solar system moving in real time.
Falling Into a Black Hole - Fall into a black hole on a real free fall orbit. After you are done dying at the central singularity of the black hole, freely explore more regarding Schwarzschild geometry, wormholes, the collapse of a black hole, and Hawking radiation.
Gravity Probe B - The relativity gyroscope experiment being developed by NASA and Stanford University to test two extraordinary, unverified predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. The experiment will check, very precisely, tiny changes in the direction of spin of four gyroscopes contained in an Earth satellite orbiting at 400-mile altitude directly over the poles. So free are the gyroscopes from disturbance that they will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. They will measure how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and, more profoundly, how the Earth's rotation drags space-time around with it. These effects, though small for the Earth, have far-reaching implications for the nature of matter and the structure of the Universe.
GRIN - A collection of over a thousand NASA images of significant historical interest scanned at high-resolution in several sizes.
Heaven's Above - Provides you with all the information you need to observe: satellites, Mir and the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, the bright flares from Iridium satellites, and a wealth of other spaceflight and astronomical information.
Inconstant Moon - Explore the Moon. Discover its dramatic features and phenomena. Inconstant Moon is intended as both an introduction to lunar astronomy for the beginner, and an ongoing reference point for the more experienced observer.
International Space University - Interdisciplinary educational space-related programs in an international, intercultural environment. In its two-month Space Studies Program and one-year Masters program, ISU offers its students a core curriculum covering all disciplines related to space programs and enterprises – space science, space engineering, systems engineering, space policy and law, business and management, and space and society.
Kepler - A special purpose space mission in the NASA Headquarters Discovery Program for detecting extrasolar terrestrial planets, that is, rocky and Earth-size. The Kepler Mission is specifically designed to survey the extended solar neighborhood to detect and characterize hundreds of terrestrial and larger planets in or near the habitable zone.
Lunar Photo of the Day (LPOD) - LPOD finds plenty of material from sketches and maps drawn since Galileo and Harriot, from lunar photography dating back to the 1850s, to modern-day sapcecraft images. Every image is accompanied by a description that ideally refers to visible details to offer a bite-size morsel of understanding.
MADWEB - Data sets accumulated through various ESA-funded micrometeoroid and debris activities and in-house analyses. The data sets cover work performed during post-flight analysis on material recovered from the EURECA and HUBBLE spacecraft.
Map a Planet - Explore global imagery of the planets and satellites from a variety of missions in an easy to use web interface. Customize and download your own image maps of the Moon, Mars, Venus, and other planets and moons.
Maps of the Solar System - Solar system surface map database, a NASA/JPL/Caltech spyglass on the cosmos.
Mars Exploration Rover Mission - NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers, launched toward Mars on June 10 and July 7, 2003, in search of answers about the history of water on Mars. They landed on Mars January 3 and January 24, 2004. The Mars Exploration Rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet.
Mars Express - Mars Express is a space mission exploring Mars being conducted by the European Space Agency. Mars Express consists of two parts, the Mars Express Orbiter and the Beagle 2, a lander designed to perform exobiology and geochemistry research. Although the lander failed to land safely on the Martian surface, the Orbiter has been successfully performing scientific measurements since early 2004, namely, high-resolution imaging and mineralogical mapping of the surface, radar sounding of the subsurface structure down to the permafrost, precise determination of the atmospheric circulation and composition, and study of the interaction of the atmosphere with the interplanetary medium. See Wikipedia article.
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Image Gallery - This site contains pictures of the planet Mars acquired by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) orbiter through August 1999.
MarsQuest - Explore the red planet Mars: fly in 3D, launch a spacecraft, perform investigations, and more.
Microwave Anisotropy Probe - The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) team has made the first detailed full-sky map of the oldest light in the universe. It is a "baby picture" of the universe. Colors indicate "warmer" (red) and "cooler" (blue) spots. New data supports and strenghtens the Big Bang and Inflation Theories.
Mission and Spacecraft Library - A public source for information about all kinds of spacecraft. Big spacecraft, and small spacecraft. American, Soviet, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, and Luxembourgian spacecraft. Research, communications, astronomy, navigation, and spy satellites.
IV and V Facility -
Offering software services, including IV&V of critical software under development, systems engineering support, and software assurance research.
Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office - Mission is to protect, preserve, and distribute for study samples from the Moon, Mars, and interplanetary space in support of solar system exploration.
Atmospheric Composition Data and Information Services Center (ACDISC) - Ozone, trace gases, aerosols, air quality research. ACDISC provides access to AC data and information from various remote-sensing missions, from heritage TOMS, UARS, MODIS, and AIRS datasets, to the most recent data from Aura OMI, MLS, HIRDLS as well as AC datasets residing at other remote archive sites.
Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) - ASE software uses onboard continuous planning, robust task and goal-based execution, and onboard machine learning and pattern recognition to radically increase science return by enabling intelligent downlink selection and autonomous retargeting.
Dryden Flight Research Center - Located at Edwards, California, is NASA's primary installation for flight research. Projects at Dryden over the past 50 years have lead to major advancements in the design and capabilities of many civilian and military aircraft.
Earth Observing System (EOS) - A coordinated series of polar-orbiting and low inclination satellites for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans. EOS is a major component of the Earth Science DivisionofNASA’s Science Mission Directorate. EOS enables an improved understanding of the Earth as an integrated system.
Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) - Started by NASA in fiscal year 1994 to develop unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and miniaturization of science instruments and sensors that can be carried by those aircraft. The ERAST program is managed by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Glenn Research Center - Responsible for advocating management space power and on-board propulsion technology development that meets the needs of the NASA Enterprises and Mission Centers.
Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) -
Research at the GISS emphasizes a broad study of global change, which is an interdisciplinary initiative addressing natural and man-made changes in our environment that occur on various time scales — from one-time forcings such as volcanic explosions, to seasonal and annual effects such as El Niño, and on up to the millennia of ice ages — and that affect the habitability of our planet.
Goddard Space Flight Center - Goddard is the lead center in NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), which is NASA's long term, coordinated research effort to study the Earth as a global environmental system. The Earth Observing System (EOS) is the centerpiece of the Enterprise and is managed by Goddard. EOS features a series of polar orbiting and low inclination satellites for global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmospheres and oceans. The first EOS satellite, EOS Terra (formerly known as AM1), was launched in December 1999.
History Office - Documents and preserves the agency's history through a variety of products.
Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) - A 3.0 meter telescope, optimized for infrared observations, and located at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. The observatory is operated and managed for NASA by the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy, located in Honolulu.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Manages multiple spacecraft and instruments conducting active missions, all important parts of NASA's program of exploration of Earth, the solar system and the universe beyond. Also see: JPL Technical Report Server, a database of abstracts, citations and full text technical reports written by and for the scientific and technical community.
Johnson Space Center -
Home to U.S. human space flight program.
The early stages of Johnson Space Center’s development began in 1958, when the newly named NASA established the Space Task Group (STG) to oversee manned spaceflight programs. When President John F. Kennedy later determined that America would put humans on the moon within a decade, Houston was chosen as the site where manned missions would be managed and supervised.
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) - Located at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. Handled the checkout, launch and landing of the Space Shuttle and its payloads.
Continuing currently to support International Space Station operations as the orbiting laboratory enters its second decade of discoveries.
Lunar Prospector - Prospector will map the entire lunar surface for the first time. Prospector will determine whether water ice exists on the Moon near its poles and map the elemental composition of the lunar crust. It will detect outgassing (gas release from the lunar interior) and study the relationship of outgassing to the lunar atmosphere. It will map lunar magnetic fields, provide information about the Moon's inner core, map the Moon's gravity field and investigate the effects of volcanic activity and asteroid/comet impacts on the lunar surface.
Mars Meteorites - Of the 22,000 or so meteorites that have been discovered on Earth, 30 have been identified as originating from the planet Mars.
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) - A world leader in space propulsion and transportation systems. The Center is also making significant contributions to the International Space Station. The Space Station is used to conduct microgravity and other space sciences research.
Michoud Assembly Facility - Michoud's capabilities include the manufacture and assembly of critical hardware components for the space shuttle and exploration vehicles under development at Marshall and other NASA field centers. Michoud is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) -
A public/private partnership between NASA and computer sciences corporation service providers. NSSC consolidated selected activities from all NASA Centers in the areas of: financial management, human resources, information technology, and procurement.
NASA Sun-Earth Connection Media Viewer - Allows visitors to zoom and pan live NASA solar and Earth images. It includes a scale tool. The viewer also contains video interviews with scientists and detailed scientific animations and visualizations. Requires Flash Player.
NASA Television (NTV) - A resource designed to provide real-time coverage of NASA agency activities and missions as well as providing resource video to the news media, and educational programming to teachers, students and the general public.
Planet Quest - News and information hub covering NASA's search for extrasolar planets.
Planetary Photojournal - Publicly released images from various NASA Solar System exploration programs.
Plum Brook Station -
Home of Glenn Research Center's four test facilities which are available for use by research customers interested in scheduling test programs and test-related activities. Its mission is to assure safe, cost-effective, responsive and reliable performance of research testing to accomplish the R&D missions of the Glenn Research Center, other government agencies, and the private sector.
Quest - Dedicated to bringing NASA people and science to classrooms through the internet. Space Team Online, Aerospace Team Online, Solar System Online, and Deep Space Online. NASA Quest is a great resource for educators and kids interested in meeting and learning about NASA people and space science.
Research Opportunities - Allows access to research opportunities currently being offered by NASA offices.
Science Laboratory - Researchers share the knowledge, excitement, and wonder of the latest scientific discoveries.
Solar Physics Group - An overview of solar physics along with highlights of work performed by the Solar Physics Group at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Space Calendar - Covers space-related activities and anniversaries for the coming year.
Space History - Space flight missions, launch programs, space station programs, NASA's History Office, NASA history publications online, space facts, and more.
Stennis Space Center (SSC) - Responsible for NASA's rocket propulsion testing and for partnering with industry to develop and implement remote sensing technology.
Technical Reports Server (NTRS) - The NTRS is a valuable resource for researchers, students, educators, and the public to access NASA's current and historical technical literature and engineering results. Over 500,000 aerospace-related citations, over 200,000 full-text online documents, and over 500,000 images and videos are available.
Technology Portal - Collects information from a variety of sources to provide a central point for learning about NASA Technology.
White Sands Test Facility -
Provides numerous ambient pressure and altitude simulation stands to test rocket propulsion test systems as well as single rocket engines.
National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) - Combines the basic research capabilities of some of the nation's leading biomedical research laboratories with the operational and applied research of NASA to understand and remove the impediments to safe and effective human exploration and development of space.
NetLander Mission - The NetLander mission aims at deploying on the surface of Mars a network of 4 geophysical and meteorological landers implemented by the CNES and realized by a European and American consortium: Finland (FMI), Germany (DLR), Belgium (SSTC PRODEX), Switzerland (PRODEX) and USA (JPL).
Orbital Report News Agency Useful Links - Links to available official Internet sites of the major players in the space transportation business worldwide, including:
Russian Space Web - News and history of astronautics in the former USSR.
SETI@home - A scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.
SIR-C/X-SAR Images - A joint U.S.-German-Italian project using sophisticated imaging radar to capture images of Earth useful to scientists across a wide range of disciplines.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) - Maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight.
Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) - One of the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. SEDAC focuses on human interactions in the environment. Its mission is to develop and operate applications that support the integration of socioeconomic and Earth science data and to serve as an "Information Gateway" between the Earth and social sciences.
Soyuz Spacecraft - The longest serving manned spacecraft in the world, the Soyuz was originally conceived in Sergei Korolev's OKB-1 design bureau for the Soviet effort to explore the Moon at the beginning of the 1960s. However, long after the Moon race was over, the Soyuz continued ferrying Russian crews to the Salyut and Almaz orbital stations, as well as it performed several solo flights and the historic docking with the US Apollo spacecraft in 1975.
Space.com - News, information, education and entertainment on space and all space-related subjects.
Space and Electronic Warfare Lexicon - Contains acronyms, abbreviations and terms relating to the military, space & electronic combat, electronic warfare, command and control, weaponry, general warfare, information warfare, special operations, non-lethal weapons, computers, the Internet, emerging technology, and kindred topics.
Space Elevator -
A proposed non-rocket spacelaunch structure (a structure designed to transport material from a celestial body's surface into space). Many elevator variants have been suggested, all of which involve travelling along a fixed structure instead of using rocket-powered space launch, most often a cable that reaches from the surface of the Earth on or near the equator to geostationary orbit (GSO) and a counterweight outside of the geostationary orbit. Also see:
Space Future - Space Future is for everyone who'd like to travel to space for themselves. Space Future believes that most people who are prepared to save up a few months' salary will get the chance to visit space and stay in an orbital hotel. Another way to space will be to work for one of the new industries that will quickly grow up in space once cheap launch services are developed.
Space Science Institute (SSI) - Conducts research in space and earth science along with innovative science education programs.
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This webpage last updated on
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 1:49 PM
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