The signs of a midlife crisis are there: A 50th birthday approaching; a longing for the glory days of youth; a hankering to dump the aging partner of 27 years; and a costly flirtation with a new young thing.
As the space agency passes the half-century mark, a look back at its genesis
NASA said Monday that it is delaying its mission to the Hubble Space Telescope until next year because of a serious breakdown of the observatory in orbit.
It may be one small step for civilian space travel, but it's a leap for education.
The sixth private citizen to go into orbit talks to TIME about the space race, Stephen Colbert and being a second-generation astronaut
NASA is delaying next month's shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope because of problems stemming from Hurricane Ike and replacement parts for the observatory
As an organization they're used to investing billions of dollars in scientific experiments that further our knowledge of earth and space. But the only bill to speak of on this occasion is orange and attached to the body of a rubber duck.
NASA's new moon rocket passed a crucial design milestone late Wednesday.
NASA moved shuttle Atlantis to the launch pad on Thursday for a flight next month to the Hubble Space Telescope after being waylaid by a pair of tropical storms
NASA says it destroyed an unmanned suborbital rocket shortly after a failed launch early this morning from an island off the Virginia coast
The signs of a midlife crisis are there: A 50th birthday approaching; a longing for the glory days of youth; a hankering to dump the aging partner of 27 years; and a costly flirtation with a new young thing.
As the space agency passes the half-century mark, a look back at its genesis
NASA said Monday that it is delaying its mission to the Hubble Space Telescope until next year because of a serious breakdown of the observatory in orbit.
It may be one small step for civilian space travel, but it's a leap for education.
The sixth private citizen to go into orbit talks to TIME about the space race, Stephen Colbert and being a second-generation astronaut
NASA is delaying next month's shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope because of problems stemming from Hurricane Ike and replacement parts for the observatory
As an organization they're used to investing billions of dollars in scientific experiments that further our knowledge of earth and space. But the only bill to speak of on this occasion is orange and attached to the body of a rubber duck.
NASA's new moon rocket passed a crucial design milestone late Wednesday.
NASA moved shuttle Atlantis to the launch pad on Thursday for a flight next month to the Hubble Space Telescope after being waylaid by a pair of tropical storms
NASA says it destroyed an unmanned suborbital rocket shortly after a failed launch early this morning from an island off the Virginia coast
A space-age version of the rusty springs under old pickup trucks will help NASA fix the most pressing technical problem with its high-tech new rocket to send astronauts back to the moon
In August, Just Imagine took a wider look at the possibilities of tomorrow, including what could be a sign that the United States is losing ground as a leading superpower in space.
NASA has put off the planned launch of its next-generation Orion spacecraft for a year, a setback to efforts to fly a successor to its aging space shuttles, the space agency announced Monday.
Pilots are complaining that their airline bosses, desperate to cut costs, are restricting fuel to a dangerous degree
Pilots are complaining that their airline bosses, desperate to cut costs, are forcing them to fly uncomfortably low on fuel
The Phoenix lander got its robotic arm onto a sample of water ice from Mars' surface and popped the ice into tiny, onboard "ovens" that will help determine if the water could support life, NASA researchers said Thursday.
The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Saturday
The debris spotted floating away from space shuttle Discovery has been preliminarily identified as a thermal clip from the shuttle's brake system, NASA said Friday.
The first pictures from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander, which successfully touched down near Mars' north pole Sunday, showed a pattern of brown polygons as far as the camera could see.
In the wake of the wildly successful Spirit and Opportunity rover missions, you would think NASA would approach the landing of the next Martian probe with high confidence.
More than 8,000 NASA contractor jobs in the nation's manned space program could be eliminated after the space shuttle program is shut down in 2010, the agency said Tuesday
NASA sent conflicting signals Monday evening about what an official told CNN is a planned $4 million budget cut in NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program.
NASA engineers are assessing two small areas on the space shuttle Atlantis that may have received some damage during Thursday's launch and ascent, officials said Saturday.
The president's 2009 budget provides money for six new NASA satellites to watch Earth's changes, costing at least $910 million over the next five years
There's been only one incident of a NASA crew member being impaired by drugs or alcohol close to a launch, but never on a launch day, according to a new survey of active-duty astronauts and flight surgeons.
Under pressure from Congress, NASA on Monday released thousands of pages of complaints from pilots about crew fatigue, air traffic congestion and communications.
NASA scrubbed space shuttle Atlantis' planned Sunday launch after a cut-off sensor designed to gauge the fuel level of the external liquid hydrogen tank failed another test, a space agency spokesman said.
NASA mission managers decided Friday to push the space shuttle Atlantis' scheduled Saturday launch to Sunday afternoon.
Here we are, nearly eight years into the 21st century, and the most spectacular manned mission NASA can pull off is a trip to the International Space Station, a mere 210 miles above the Earth.
NASA's unmanned aerial vehicle Ikhana is a cousin of the Predator B, an Air Force tool used for wartime surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but this drone is on a more benevolent mission: assessing the damage from wildfires in Southern California.
After finding no evidence of astronauts drinking before launching into space, NASA said Wednesday it is considering limited alcohol testing of its employees, including astronauts
A NASA review released Wednesday found no evidence that astronauts flew aircraft or spacecraft while under the influence of alcohol.
A recent study showed that the U.S. and China are the nations most vulnerable to a devastating meteorite strike. With funding uncertain, astronomers are struggling to contain the threat of a civilization-ending galactic visitor.
Space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the international space station a day early Sunday, as NASA kept a wary eye on Hurricane Dean.
The space shuttle Endeavour came home a day early on Tuesday after NASA decided to cut short its mission in case Hurricane Dean shut down Johnson Space Center, which directs the shuttle's re-entry and landing.
The space shuttle Endeavour began its return to Earth Tuesday morning. Commander Scott Kelly and pilot Charles Hobaugh fired Endeavour's engines at 11:25 a.m. ET to begin the descent to Earth.
Their mission cut short by Hurricane Dean, astronauts aboard the shuttle Endeavour wrapped up their work in orbit Monday and prepared to come home.
NASA on Saturday ordered space shuttle Endeavour back to Earth a day early out of fear that Hurricane Dean might disrupt flight operations.
The ghosts of Challenger and Columbia notwithstanding, NASA's top mission manager decides the gouged shuttle Endeavour can withstand re-entry without repair
Repairing the gouged shuttle is going to take more than technology: it must reflect a transformed bureaucracy
Two days after liftoff, a gouge is discovered on the underside of the space shuttle. Whether or not it needs fixing, it's already re-ignited safety concerns
NASA said Friday it was going to take immediate action after a report raised safety questions about astronauts drinking before flying missions.
Someone intentionally damaged a computer intended for the International Space Station, NASA said Thursday.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science calls it a crisis. Atmospheric scientist Timothy L. Killeen, the president of the American Geophysical Union, says it "could harm our ability to protect our citizens." We call it plain old scary.
Viewpoint: The latest breakdown poses little threat to the astronauts. But it proves again that the International Space Station and the Shuttle are clunkers
Cosmonauts aboard the international space station struggled for a second day Friday to try to reboot failed computers that control the orbiting outpost's orientation
Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy Space Center Friday evening on an 11-day mission to the international space station.
A NASA engineer Friday shot and killed another engineer and then turned the gun on himself at the Johnson Space Center, police and NASA officials said.
A scheduled March 15 launch has been delayed after the external fuel tank attached to the shuttle Atlantis and possibly the orbiter itself were damaged by a hailstorm at the launch pad Monday afternoon.
If something goes wrong in the tense moments before a space launch, such as an explosion of noxious gases or a fire on the launchpad, future astronauts could escape harm -- on a roller coaster.
NASA officials said Wednesday it will review psychological screening assessments of astronauts after the recent arrest of Lisa Nowak, who is charged with attempted first degree murder.
Astronaut Lisa Nowak's career was on the rise at NASA. The naval captain completed her first space shuttle mission in July. Years of hard work and dedication were paying off.
What should we do if an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth? This question is being taken increasingly seriously by scientists as more is learnt about the impact a near earth object (NEO) would have on the future of civilization.
Progress is being made on defining a human mission to an asteroid. Experts at several NASA centers are sketching out a prospective piloted stopover at an asteroid -- a trek that could return samples from a targeted space rock as well as honing astronaut proficiency and test needed equipment for other space destinations.
When, after an eight-month voyage, NASA's Mariner 4 spacecraft beamed back the first images of Mars in 1965 -- to score a victory over Russia's Mars 1 in the Cold War space-race -- it changed the way scientists thought about the Red Planet.
The race to return to the moon is on. Earlier this month NASA unveiled its mission statement to revisit earth's satellite and create a permanent base there. While it may become the jumping off point for further exploration of our solar system and beyond, there are more earthly prizes in sight, with some scientists believing that it has the potential to solve the world's dependence on fossil fuels.
Space shuttle Discovery lifted off Saturday evening, beginning a 12-day mission with the first night launch in four years.
NASA's plans for returning people to the moon -- an objective called for by President Bush in 2004 -- includes establishing a permanent outpost that would be used to prepare for a manned trip to Mars.
Potentially dangerous small space rocks are smashing into the moon a lot more often than was expected, according to an ongoing NASA study.
NASA is set to roll out next month a U.S. national strategy for lunar exploration, one that outlines both robotic exploration needs and the rationale for sending humans back to the Moon.
No space programs have captured the public imagination quite like NASA's exploration of the moon in the early 1970s. Now, earth's satellite is in national space agencies' sights again.
NASA started it all back in 1976 with an image of an interesting mountain on Mars and a caption that described it as appearing to have eyes and nostrils.
NASA scrubbed the much-delayed liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on Friday amid concerns about a faulty sensor on the external fuel tank.
NASA has awarded Lockheed Martin the contract to build the Orion spacecraft, which is to be used in the effort to return astronauts to the moon.
NASA will not launch the space shuttle Atlantis on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Ernesto threatens Florida, the space agency said Monday.
NASA officials will wait until 7 a.m. Monday to decide which path the space shuttle Atlantis will take: a slow ride back to shelter as Tropical Storm Ernesto approaches, or staying on the launch pad for a scheduled liftoff Tuesday afternoon.
The launch of space shuttle Atlantis on Sunday was scrubbed for 24 hours because of lightning striking the launch pad Friday and other weather worries, NASA announced.
Atlantis' astronauts strapped into the space shuttle Thursday for a practice launch countdown more than two weeks before they are scheduled to blast off on a mission to resume construction of the international space station.
Despite the success of NASA's second shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia tragedy, the decision to launch astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope remains uncertain as top agency officials debate its safety.
With Discovery back on Earth, NASA is confident the orbiter can be turned around in time for a December 2006 launch, though ground crews have their work cut out for them to redress the orbiter for that STS-116 mission.
The space shuttle Discovery wrapped up its 13-day, 5.3-million-mile mission on Monday with a picture-perfect landing at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
Technicians called on to inspect a pencil-size crack in the foam insulation of the space shuttle Discovery came up with a novel way to get to the site of the fissure.
The space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew roared into space Tuesday afternoon -- NASA's first manned launch on Independence Day and its second shuttle flight since the Columbia accident of 2003.
NASA will go ahead with Tuesday's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery after examining a pencil-sized crack in the foam insulation around the shuttle's fuel tank, the space agency announced.
NASA postponed the launch of the space shuttle Discovery a second time Sunday because of bad weather.
The possibility of thunderstorms and lightning near the launch pad postponed the liftoff of the space shuttle Saturday afternoon. NASA said it will try again Sunday.
Vultures and space shuttles do not fly together well.
NASA managers have set July 1 as the date the space shuttle Discovery will rocket into space, the agency's first manned space flight in nearly a year.
Two years ago several members of the Discovery space shuttle crew faced their first big decision: whether to summit Wind River Peak. After a four-day hike carrying 50-pound bags through a snowstorm...
The space shuttle Discovery is all but ready for launch in July, NASA officials said Wednesday following a review of the hazards posed by falling foam during liftoff.
Preparing for a return to flight in July, NASA will move the space shuttle Discovery into the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, on Friday morning for mating with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters.
NASA is on track to launch the space shuttle Discovery in July after analysis of wind tunnel tests determined that the external fuel tank was safe, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said Friday.
After a series of delays, a pair of NASA satellites blasted off early Friday on a mission to study how clouds affect weather and climate.
In July, the space shuttle Discovery is slated to deliver two tons of hardware and supplies to the partially built international space station. This mission is paid for.
NASA has scrubbed the May launch of the space shuttle Discovery to replace four low-level sensors in the external fuel tank -- a process that will take three weeks, space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale announced Tuesday.
Attention, people of Earth: We are going to Mars. This is no sci-fi fantasy; for the past two years, NASA has been gearing up to meet the Bush administration's goal of landing humans on Mars by around 2030. The agency plans to set up a base on the Moon by 2020 to act as a staging area; that effort alone is projected to cost at least $104 billion. Throw in the round-trip voyage to Mars, and John Edwards, space systems analyst at Forecast International, estimates that the total cost of the program will top $400 billion--making it history's largest government-backed science project.
NASA's latest mission to Mars could eclipse all previous ones if it can get into orbit on Friday.
Attention, people of Earth: We are going to Mars. This is no sci-fi fantasy; for the past two years, NASA has been gearing up to meet the Bush administration's goal of landing humans on Mars by aro...
SPACE HOTELS
NASA officials are hoping that the launch of the shuttle Discovery can take place in May, but still-vexing problems with foam breaking away during launch have not been resolved.
The Bush administration's 2007 budget calls for $16.8 billion for NASA, a 3.2 percent increase over this year's allocation. But the space agency still finds itself having to make tough funding choices in order to accomplish all the tasks on its "to-do list."
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft roared into space Thursday afternoon bound for the planet Pluto. The spacecraft is the fastest ever launched, according to NASA.
Make way rovers Spirit and Opportunity -- the next wheels on Mars will belong to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) -- a huge step in how that planet is further poked, probed, and more fully plumbed for new information.
NASA officials have scrubbed Wednesday's launch attempt of the New Horizons spacecraft because of an unresolved power outage. Tuesday's launch was scrubbed because of strong winds.
NASA officials scrubbed the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft Tuesday because of strong winds. They will try again Wednesday at 1:16 p.m. ET.
NASA is set to launch a space probe called New Horizons today to capture the first up-close imagery of Pluto, its moons and a region of the outer solar system called the Kuiper Belt.
NASA will pay the Russian Federal Space Agency $21.8 million per passenger for Soyuz rides to and from the international space station (ISS) starting this spring.
Under mandate to keep space shuttles grounded until its issues with foam insulation are resolved, NASA discovered nine small cracks in the foam coating on an external tank that had been slated for use by space shuttle Discovery, the agency said Tuesday.
NASA managers said Friday that the space agency is working to resume shuttle flights as soon as next May, even as teams of engineers continue to analyze what caused a potentially critical problem during the Discovery's launch.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin rolled out NASA's plan for the future Monday, including new details about the spaceship intended to replace the shuttle and a timeline for returning astronauts to the moon in 2018.
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