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Butte-Silver Bow County will erect a permanent building in its TIFID for the testing of rocket engines. Kristen Rosa, administrator of the Tax Increment Finance Industrial District, said that the steel-sided structure could be in operation by next spring. "It will help them be able to test bigger and bigger rocket engines," Rosa said. (cut) Space Propulsion Group Inc., a Stanford University-affiliated company, visited Butte a number of times last year to test fuels used in hybrid rockets. The approximately eight-second tests were done on the smaller 11-inch models, but thanks to the new building companies will be able to...

A mysterious blue spiral light that appeared in the skies above Norway was likely the result of a failed test launch of a jinxed new Russian missile, the UK’s Mail Online reported. Several newspapers in Moscow today ran a story explaining that the Bulava missile was test-fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea early on Wednesday but failed at the third stage. However, earlier reports from Moscow denied a missile launch yesterday and even early today there was no formal confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry. Some speculators felt the lights were connected with the aurora borealis,...

FRYAZINO (Moscow Region), October 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos has developed a design for a piloted spacecraft powered by a nuclear engine, the head of the agency said on Wednesday. "The project is aimed at implementing large-scale space exploration programs," Anatoly Perminov said at a meeting of the commission on the modernization of the Russian economy. He added that the development of Megawatt-class nuclear space power systems (MCNSPS) for manned spacecraft was crucial for Russia if the country wanted to maintain a competitive edge in the space race, including the exploration of the Moon and...

Photographer Ben Cooper took this photo of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket launching at Cape Canaveral using a sound-activated camera. And when your camera is that close to a launch, your lens probably won't survive. The particular setup for this was sound activated. The lens was destroyed (worth it of course) but the camera survived this one despite being severed from its ratchet straps and thrown to the ground, and the sound device used for this one disconnected from the camera and thrown about 200 feet backwards into the pad perimeter fence (still worked!). All settings are preset manually. No...

India has successfully launched seven satellites in a single mission, nearly a month after the country's inaugural Moon mission was aborted. The rocket was carrying an Indian remote-sensing satellite and six smaller ones, all of them foreign.

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Israel's drive to deploy the Iron Dome anti-missile shield against short-range rockets fired by Hezbollah and Hamas has moved up a gear with the induction of the first battalion to man the batteries that will operate on the borders with Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Iron Dome intercepted three 122mm Grad rockets, the type used by Hezbollah and the Palestinians, in southern Israel July 15-16. The system came into being in response to constant rocket attacks by Hezbollah on Israel's northern front and Hamas on the southern desert frontier over the last decade. Both fronts have been relatively calm for...

South Korea will launch its first space rocket, commissioned to put an experimental satellite into orbit, at 5 p.m. local time Wednesday, the government said. Naro, or the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, will blast off from the Naro Space Center, the country's spaceport in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, 485 kilometers south of Seoul. The exact time for the liftoff of the KSLV-1 was announced at midday after a final review of preparations and weather conditions. South Korea has been working on the two-stage launch vehicle with Russia's Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center, which developed the first stage, liquid-fuel...

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2009 – U.S. forces made headway in an investigation of a rocket attack on a base in Iraq, and Iraqi-led forces detained suspected terrorists and seized weapons in recent operations in Iraq, military officials reported. U.S. soldiers pursued criminals suspected of launching a rocket attack against Contingency Operating Base Basra on July 16 that resulted in the deaths of three Multinational Division South soldiers. Following the attack, U.S. troops were flown by helicopter to the suspected launch location, northeast of Basra Airport, where the soldiers were met by 14th Iraqi Army Division soldiers. A U.S. patrol pursued...

SANTA ANA, CA—A former Rockwell and Boeing engineer from Orange County was remanded into custody this morning after a federal judge convicted him of charges of economic espionage and acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China, for whom he stole restricted technology and Boeing trade secrets, including information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket. Dongfan “Greg” Chung, 73, of Orange, Calif., who was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defense and space unit was acquired by Boeing in 1996, was found guilty by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney, who...

Israel's new anti-ballistic defense system, designed to protect civilians against terrorist rocket fire from Gaza, passed series of live tests on Wednesday. A defense official explained that the test of the Iron Dome defense system marked the first time that the system tested a mid-air deception of a target rocket, which was completely destroyed. Iron Dome works by intercepting medium-range Katyusha rockets as well as the shorter, homemade Kassam rockets and mortar shells fired by Gaza terrorists. It uses a small kinetic missile interceptor called the “Tamir.” The anti-ballistic sytem is expected to intercept rockets between the ranges of 2-45...

A post-launch examination of the Unha-2 By David Wright and Theodore A. Postol | 29 June 2009 Article Highlights * The launch vehicle North Korea tested on April 5, the Unha-2, represents a significant advance over North Korea's previous launchers. * In particular, it would have the capability to reach the continental United States with a payload of 1 ton or more if Pyongyang modified it for use as a ballistic missile. * However, if key Unha-2's components were acquired from Russia and elsewhere, North Korea's domestic missile development program may be much more limited than commonly assumed. North Korea...

U.S. 'ready' for N. Korean missile Pyongyang expected to test ICBM By Bill Gertz July 2, 2009 COLORADO SPRINGS | U.S. missile defenses are prepared to try to knock down the last stage of a Taepodong-2 missile that North Korea is expected soon to launch if sensors detect the weapon threatens U.S. territory, the commander of the U.S. Northern Command told The Washington Times. "The nation has a very, very credible ballistic-missile defense capability. Our ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California, I'm very comfortable, give me a capability that if we really are threatened by a long-range ICBM that I've...

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The long-range rocket North Korea launched in April could be converted into a ballistic missile capable of striking half of the continental U.S., two American physicists have concluded in a joint study. North Korea launched on April 5 what it claims was a rocket designed to carry a satellite into orbit. The U.S. and its allies say nothing entered orbit, calling the "Unha-2" rocket a disguised ballistic missile capable of flying over 6,700km. South Korean and U.S. officials have refrained from elaborating on the capabilities of the rocket, while media reports said the rocket flew...

(LEAD) N. Korean rocket capable of hitting half the U.S.: American scientists By Sam Kim SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- The long-range rocket North Korea launched in April could be converted into a ballistic missile that can theoretically hit half the United States with a substantial payload, two U.S. physicists have concluded from their joint study. North Korea launched on April 5 what it claims was a rocket designed to carry a satellite into orbit. The U.S. and its allies say nothing entered orbit, calling the "Unha-2" rocket a disguised form of a ballistic missile capable of flying over 6,700...

Liberty County Sheriff’s officials are expected to meet with the FAA on Tuesday to discuss what a Continental Express pilot reported as a “missile or rocket” flying near his airplane. A pilot reported to the Federal Aviation Administration that at about 8:15 p.m. Friday, an object passed within 150 feet beneath the aircraft, sheriff’s officials said. The aircraft was near the southern edge of the county, flying at about 13,000 feet, officials said. “The pilot, from what we understand, was former military. He was able to get the coordinates down real quick,” said Cpl. Hugh Bishop with the Liberty County...

MOSCOW, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia must strengthen its competitive positions on the global commercial space launch market by expanding its launch facilities and developing new types of carrier rockets, the prime minister said on Monday. "We should not simply maintain but significantly strengthen our competitive edge in the space sector, not least by developing the Plesetsk and Vostochny space centers, and producing advanced rockets and a new-generation spaceship," Vladimir Putin said. He said this would enable Russia to provide high-quality, low-cost launch services on the international market. "I believe that in the foreseeable future we'll have the ability...

An earlier thread posted another video of Mr. Clarkson shooting up cars skeet style. I love that video and decided to watch some other videos from "Top Gear's" Jeremy Clarkson. I now have a new personal favorite... Mr. Clarkson outfits a Porsche 944 Turbo with rocket launching tubes and goes hunting for traffic cams, signs and traffic cops. Too funny! Click here for the video.

WALLOPS ISLAND To take advantage of better weather, officials at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport have moved up the planned launch of a $60 million rocket to 7:35 tonight. The launch of the Minotaur I rocket, which carries several satellites, has been delayed twice because of storms. The launch window will be open until 11 p.m. today. If weather interferes again, another attempt could be made Saturday night. For updates on the launch, follow NASA_Wallops on Twitter. To watch the launch video, go to the NASA Wallops Web site: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast/ [1]

Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Ahmadinejad: Iran Developing New Rocket Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on April 14 that Iran intends to manufacture rockets with a range of 700-1,500 km that can carry heavier satellites into space than Iran has launched to date. Source: Fars, Iran, April 14, 2009 Posted at: 2009-04-16

N.Korean Rocket 'Made Using Chinese Technology' The rocket launched by North Korea last Sunday was made using the technology of the Long March-1 rocket China fired in the 1970s. After looking at video footage of the rocket launch released by AP on Tuesday, Chae Yeon-seok, a former president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, said, the external appearance of the rocket shows that the North must have used technology of the Chinese rocket to make it. The assembly method also seems to be Chinese. "The North set the first-stage booster rocket up vertically first, and then put the second and...

N. Korea warns Japan against searching for rocket debris SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military warned Japan on Wednesday against trying to find debris from its long-range rocket, saying mobilizing combat ships for the search would be a "military provocation." The Japanese government was considering salvaging parts from the North Korean three-stage rocket, fired on Sunday, whose first-stage booster fell into the East Sea. A search would be a "vicious espionage, interference in internal affairs, and an unbearable military provocation that infringes upon the sovereign right of our republic," the General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army...

For video, click the following link and scroll down until you see a video frame and click it: http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/04/07/2009040702404.html

/begin my excerpts N. Korea: U.S. Searching for 82 Pieces of Payload Debris near Hawaii Munhwa Ilbo 04/07/09 U.S. and Japan are set out to recover N. Korean rocket (debris) that fell on Pacific. Koo Sang-chan, a lawmaker from (ruling) Hannara Party and a member of Diplomatic and Trade Affairs Committee at National Assembly, said during Apr. 7 question session to government, "(N. Korea's rocket payload) fell into sea 1,500 miles to the east of Hawaii in 82 pieces of debris, and U.S. Navy ships are now searching for them." Japanese Defense Ministry is also searching for first level booster...

Satellite image shows N. rocket flying northeast while emitting flame By Sam Kim SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean rocket that apparently failed to put a satellite in orbit initially flew northeast after blasting off from its launch pad, emitting a long trail of fumes and generating a massive flame, a satellite image showed Tuesday. North Korea on Sunday launched a three-stage rocket that it claimed successfully orbited a communication satellite after being launched from the Musudan-ri base on its east coast. South Korea and the United States dispute the claim, suspecting the launch was a banned test...

U.N. Ambassador Rice: Korean missile launch no 'goofy stunt' @ 10:04 am by Michael O'Brien The North Koreans' missile launch was not a "goofy stunt," United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice said Monday. "It was something serious and we need to take it seriously," Rice said this morning during an appearance on CBS, asserting that the missile launch was a clear provocation despite some evidence that it had been a failure. "It wasn't a goofy stunt." Rice called the U.N. Security Council to be pass a binding resolution in order to force the Koreans to reenter six-party talks aimed at denuclearization....

The ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is introducing legislation that "conditions diplomatic relations" with North Korea on its abandoning its nuclear weapons program -- one of several congressional responses to news of the communist nation's defiant missile launch on Sunday. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., expressed grave concern over North Korea's continued missile tests, calling the country "a direct threat to U.S. forces stationed in the Pacific, to our South Korean and Japanese allies and to Americans living in the states of Alaska and Hawaii." "Today's actions not only show North Korea's advancing military capabilities but also the...

BEIJING – China, North Korea's chief ally, offered a muted response to its launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday, calling on all sides to maintain calm and exercise restraint. The low-key reaction indicated that Beijing, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, will likely oppose anything but a mild rebuke of Pyongyang during an emergency council session scheduled later Sunday in New York. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had telephone conversations Sunday with his counterparts in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia, participants in stalled six-nation talks on halting North Korea's nuclear programs. Yang exchanged views...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told “Fox News Sunday” that he would have disabled the long-range missile before North Korea launched it, saying too many people “do not appreciate the scale of the threat that is evolving on the planet.” “One morning, just like 9/11, there’s going to be a disaster,” Gingrich said. “I have yet to see the United Nations do anything effective with either Iran or North Korea.” Reacting to President Barack Obama’s speech in Prague, Gingrich called the plan for a Global Summit on Nuclear Security a “wonderful fantasy idea,” saying Russia and other nations can’t be...

SEOUL — South Korea and Japan scrambled to interpret the fallout from a North Korean rocket launch Sunday that the regime said placed a satellite into orbit – a claim contradicted by both Washington and Seoul. National security officials met in separate meetings in Tokyo and Seoul, where anti-Pyongyang demonstrators clashed with police for the second time in three days – this time burning a missile replica and a photograph of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Within hours after the three-stage rocket lifted off from North Korea's Musudan-ri launch facility at 11:20 a.m., the state-run North Korean press agency...

The video above shows President Barack Obama reacting to the North Korean Launch of a multi-stage rocket that took place late last night U.S. time. Obama said the launch violated United Nations Security Council resolutions. The video below shows Obama condemning North Korea's launch in a speech he gave to a massive crowd in Prague. He said North Korea broke the rules and breaking the rules "must be punished." He did not say what that punishment should be. . . . . . (Watch Videos)

Here is video of CNN's Chris Lawerence using their magic wall and satellite technology to "map" the path of the multi-stage rocket launched by North Korea late last night U.S. time. . . . . . (Watch Video)

TOKYO – Japanese broadcaster NHK says North Korea has launched a rocket, citing the Japanese government. The report came Sunday morning amid heightened tensions in the region. North Korea had informed international authorities that it planned to launch a rocket sometime between Saturday and Wednesday in order to put a satellite into orbit.

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South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said he expects North Korea to try to press on with its rocket launch on Saturday, despite mounting international calls for the regime to abandon the plan. The United States and its allies, particularly South Korea and Japan, have condemned the proposed launch as a threat to regional stability and urged the reclusive communist state to call it off at the eleventh hour. Pyongyang previously said the launch will be between Saturday and Wednesday, but speaking to a group of reporters in London, including AFP, Lee said he believed the North would press ahead Saturday,...

Japan's north prepares for North Korea rocket AKITA, Japan (AP) -- Crisis control officials opened an emergency center in northern Japan on Thursday to prepare for the launch of a North Korean rocket expected to fly over Japanese territory. Gov. Sukeshiro Terata, who heads the crisis control headquarters in Akita Prefecture, urged officials and residents to stay calm. He said the possibility of a launch failure that would send debris or fragments falling toward Japan was "one in a million." "We believe a flying object from North Korea is unlikely to land in our territory. Yet, we must be prepared...

America's top military officer said on Friday that a rocket North Korea plans to launch next month has a range that could possibly reach Hawaii. Asked if the North Korean rocket could reach the US states of Hawaii or Alaska, Admiral Mike Mullen told CNN: "In some cases, yes, they could probably get down to Hawaii." International concern has been mounting about North Korea's announcement it would launch a communications satellite between April 4 and 8. The United States, Japan and other allies believe Pyongyang is using the launch to test a ballistic missile that could, in theory, cross the...

N. Korea likely to set up rocket around weekend: source SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is likely to set up its rocket on its launch pad around this weekend, a South Korean source said Wednesday. North Korea said it will launch what it claims to be a communications satellite between April 4-8 from its east coast. Neighbors say it could be a pretext for the communist country to test-fire its most advanced missile, the Taepodong-2.

North Korea to launch rocket April 4: Report Tokyo, March 20: North Korea will launch a rocket April 4 to deliver a communications satellite into orbit, a media report said Friday. The communist state earlier announced plans to launch a communications satellite between April 4 and 8. The US and South Korea have accused Pyongyang of using the launch as an excuse to test-fire a long-range missile. The three-stage rocket will be launched from the newly constructed Musudan-ri launch pad on the country's northeast coast, Japanese news agency Jiji Press reported. The report cited diplomats in Beijing as saying that...

NORTH Korea plans to stage its rocket launch between April 4-8, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports It quoted South Korean intelligence sources as saying the North has informed the International Maritime Organisation of the planned dates. The North's official media reported earlier it had informed the IMO of the upcoming launch, which it says is aimed at putting a satellite into orbit. It gave no date. The North gave the IMO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation and other world bodies "necessary information for the safe navigation of planes and ships" as part of preparations for launching "an experimental communications...

The squad was targeted as it fired rockets toward Israel, according to Hassanain and Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmed. The Israeli military said at least five rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on Saturday, causing no injuries or damage.

$280-million mission to study global warming fails as spacecraft falls short of orbit. A rocket carrying a NASA satellite designed to study global warming crashed near Antarctica, failing to reach orbit after it was launched this morning, according to officials. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite never reached orbit after it took off about 2 a.m. Pacific Standard Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, NASA said in a posting on its website.

  "Hey. Down in front." Korean leaders ask dying citizen-slaves to kneel down so they can watch Kim Jon Il's birthday rocket ship blast off. Kim Lu thought he would never live to see the day and he just barely made it at that."I am so proud of my country," Lu said, before dying of the advanced stages of starvation and dehydration. "To see our small, but proud country use what little resources it has to build a giant starship."

(video) We’re not conspiracy theory wackos. We absolutely believe American astronauts walked on the moon. Twelve of them on six different missions. They loped around, smacked golf balls, drove that little dune buggy, all that stuff. But take a look at this video. It really makes you wonder if the entire Chinese space walk was phony. We hate the American media. They’ve proven they’re untrustworthy. But what’s this world coming to when you can’t trust the Chinese media? Watch the video.

Palestinian militants fired a long-range rocket from Gaza into southwestern Israel on Tuesday morning. It was the first such attack into the city of Ashkelon since the two sides declared a cease-fire, the Israeli military said. The missile fired from a Grad rocket launcher did not cause any injuries or damage in the coastal city, said a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces.

Iran makes first satellite launch Iran has launched its first domestically made satellite into orbit, state media reports. TV commentary said Monday's night-time launch from a Safir-2 rocket was "another achievement for Iranian scientists under sanctions". Iran is subject to UN sanctions because the US and other Western powers suspect it of trying to build a nuclear bomb. Iran denies this, saying its nuclear ambitions are limited to the production of energy. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran said the launch had been expected and is clearly timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian revolution. Iranian President...

(IsraelNN.com) The Color Red incoming rocket alert roused Sderot residents from their beds at approximately 6:00 Thursday morning, barely giving the sleepy civilians time to scramble into shelters before a short range ("Kassam") rocket slammed into the community. No one was injured and no damage was reported. The early warning system also sounded several minutes earlier in the Eshkol region, although it was not clear whether it was a false alarm, or if a missile had fallen in an as-yet-unidentified site. Shortly after midnight, the Israel Air Force bombed a weapons depot in Rafiah. According to a statement released by...

Abstract: Large scale manned space flight within the solar system is still confronted with the solution of two problems: 1. A propulsion system to transport large payloads with short transit times between different planetary orbits. 2. A cost effective lifting of large payloads into earth orbit. For the solution of the first problem a deuterium fusion bomb propulsion system is proposed where a thermonuclear detonation wave is ignited in a small cylindrical assembly of deuterium with a gigavolt-multimegampere proton beam, drawn from the magnetically insulated spacecraft acting in the ultrahigh vacuum of space as a gigavolt capacitor. For the solution...

TOKYO – The first satellite dedicated to monitoring carbon dioxide emissions was launched into space Friday from a center in Japan,... The satellite — named "Ibuki," which means "breath" — was sent into orbit along with seven other piggyback probes on a Japanese H2A rocket... Ibuki, .. will store information on greenhouse gas levels around the globe for the next five years. The data will be shared with NASA in the United States and other space and scientific organizations.

Israel's air force fired around 20 missiles at targets in Gaza City on Saturday, causing heavy damage, a Reuters witness said. The IDF has confirmed the report. (Hanan Greenberg and Reuters)