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Education and research - project web site

1999 Earth Observing System Reference Handbook

The purpose of this Reference Handbook is to provide a broad overview of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program to the science community and those interested in NASA's Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE). It includes a brief history of EOS from its inception, science objectives, mission elements, currently planned launch schedules, descriptions of each instrument and interdisciplinary investigation, background information on team members and investigators, international and interagency co-operative efforts and information on the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS). A number of figures and tables are included to enhance the reader's understanding of the EOS Program. [Taken from the abstract]. This Handbook exists online in a PDF format, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

ACRIMSAT : Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite

The ACRIMSAT Mission was aimed at measuring Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) during its five-year mission life. The spacecraft was launched on December 20, 1999 as a secondary payload on a Taurus launch vehicle. The mission was funded by NASA through the Earth Science Programs Office at Goddard Space Flight Center. The main objective of the mission is to measure incoming solar radiation and adding measurements of ocean and atmosphere currents and temperatures, as well as surface temperatures, climatologists would be to improve their predictions of climate and global warming over the next century. This website provides an overview of the mission, description of its science goals and objectives, key publications and links to related educational sources.

AIM : Exploring Clouds at the Edge of Space

The AIM mission, scheduled to be launched in late September 2006, will explore Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs), also called noctilucent clouds, to find out why they form and why they are changing. This is a collaboration project of NASA and Hampton University (HU). The website deals with the AIM mission objectives and details of scientific instruments. It also has a link to the references for the mission and other educational resources.

AIM Mission : Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere

The overall goal of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) experiment is to resolve why Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) form and why they vary. By measuring PMCs and the thermal, chemical and dynamical environment in which they form, the connection between these clouds and the meteorology of the polar mesosphere will be understood. This will provide the basis for study of longterm variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global change. The site provides details of the project partners, the personnel, and the science.

Analysis of Research & Development in EUROCONTROL Programmes (ARDEP)

The ARDEP programme co-ordinates European Air Traffic Management R&D activities by collecting and disseminating information about R&D projects and analysing results and trends. The ARDEP system includes two main components: the ARDEP database, and the ISN (Information Support Network). The searchable database contains project details from 1995 to the present. It provides access to ATM R&D Project Synopses which describe research projects carried out by the main air traffic research bodies and ATM service providers in Europe. The ISN is made up of coordinators participating in the ARDEP data collection exercise. It includes ATM service providers, the EUROCONTROL agency and the European Commission. The site also contains descriptive information about ATM2000+ strategy items, performing organisations, and ARDEP domains. The ARDEP pages are part of the EUROCONTROL web site.

Apollo by the Numbers : a Statistical Reference

Written by Richard W. Orloff of the NASA History Division, this full text report is available in HTML format. It is an update of NASA publication 2000-4029, and incorporates comments, suggestions and corrections received by the author since its original publication. This version contains the complete text, tables and updated information, but lacks many of the images included in the printed copy. The report presents statistical information about each of the Apollo flights that was not previously easily accessible. Information provided includes: crew information, launch vehicle/spacecraft key facts, launch vehicle propellant usage, ground ignition weights, ascent data and lunar surface experiments.

AQUA

The Aqua mission is a part of the NASA-centered international Earth Observing System (EOS). Aqua was launched on May 4, 2002, and has six Earth-observing instruments on board, collecting a variety of global data sets. Aqua was the first member launched of a group of satellites termed the Afternoon Constellation, or sometimes the A-Train. The mission is focused on the multi-disciplinary study of Earth's interrelated processes (atmosphere, oceans, and land surface) and their relationship to changes in the Earth system. This website provides the details of Aqua mission including its objectives; description of scientific instruments; news updates; and references.

Aquarius

Aquarius is a collaborative mission of NASA and the Argentine space program CONAE. In all, over 17 universities and corporate and international partners will be involved in this mission. The mission aims to observe and model the processes that relate salinity variations to climatic changes in the global cycling of water and to understand how these variations influence the general ocean circulation. Scheduled to be launched in late 2010, Aquarius will begin its 3-year mission with on a Delta II rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This mission website provides background and overview of the mission; its objectives; description of payload; educational links; reference publications; and image gallery.

Army.ca

This is an unofficial Canadian Army website, which was created to provide information to past and present members of the military, military and civilian organizations, and anyone with an interest in Canada's Army. It provides information about the combat arms (artillery, armour, infantry, engineers), recruiting, rank insignia, battle honours and colours. Also provided is a junior officers' guide and other historical information. There are also several discussion forums and a photo gallery of weapons, vehicles, operations and humourous images.

ASPERA-3 : Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms

The ASPERA-3 device was created to study the interaction between the solar wind and the Martian atmosphere. It travelled on the ESA/NASA Mars Express mission launched in June of 2003. The ASPERA-3 was designed to study the solar wind-atmosphere interaction in the near-Mars space through ENA (energetic neutral atom) imaging and in-situ plasma measurements. This website provides information related to the ASPERA-3 including its description and science objectives; its utility on the Mars Express mission; photo gallery; and links to reference publications.

Assessment of the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center

This is a report providing expert assessment of the research, development and engineering organization including products and technologies at the RDEC. The report is searchable on the web site and there is an HTML summary. Price and purchase details are also available.

Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards

This site from the NASA Ames Space Science Division is concerned with the possibility of the Earth being hit by an asteroid or comet. The site links to the full text of the Spaceguard Survey report in HTML format, provides general information on the likelihood of an impact and the full text of several reports, including an AIAA position paper, US Congressional hearings and statements, as well as a gallery of images. It is also possible to access a catalogue of known potentially hazardous asteroids and a listing of all known near Earth asteroids with orbital elements. There is also information on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which is a system of categorising the Earth impact possibility of newly discovered asteroids and comets.

ASTRA : Australian Strategic Air Traffic Management Group

This is Australia's whole of industry Air Traffic Management (ATM) planning body. ASTRA stakeholders include Airlines, Airports, Regional Aviation, Pilots, GA and various government organisations. It is responsible for defining and implementing the strategic plan for the future development of ATM in Australia. The site provides an overview of Astra, and its organisation and structure. There are implementation and working groups covering activity areas such as GNSS, ADS-B, strategy development, operational strategy, capacity and service improvement, marketing, security and performance management. Other sections of the site cover projects and programmes and publications. The site provides online access to the ASTRA newsletter and to the Australian Air Traffic Management Strategic Plan. This is presented in three volumes: Optimising Safety, Efficiency, Capacity and the Environment; ATM Operational Futures; and, Communication, Navigation and Surveillance. An executive summary of each volume is available in HTML and the full text can be dowloaded in PDF format.

Athena Missions to Mars

This is a Cornell University site focussing on the Athena payloads for the 2003/2005 Mars Exploration Rover missions. It includes information on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers and their instruments, Mars facts, press releases, and daily mission updates. An image gallery and related space articles are also provided. For educators, there are lesson plans and lists of online resources to facilitate teaching this subject.

Aura

The Aura mission is a part of the Earth Observing System (EOS), a program dedicated to monitoring the complex interactions that affect the globe using NASA satellites and data systems. This mission researches the composition, chemistry and dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere as well study the ozone, air quality and climate. The Aura spacecraft launched July 15, 2004. The design life is five years with an operational goal of six years. This website provides in-depth information about the mission including its goals and objectives; instrumentation; the spacecraft and its subsystems; FAQs; related links; and news updates.

Aviation Security Biometrics Working Group (ASBWG)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have established the ASBWG in order to accelerate its study of the integration of biometrics into airport security systems. Areas that have been identified for consideration include access control, the protection of the public in and around airports, and passenger and aircrew identification. The multi-agency group is co-chaired by the FAA and the Department of Defense Counterdrug Technology Development Program Office. Other representatives include the U.S. Customs Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institute of Justice, Technical Support Working Group, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Of particular note on the Web site is the Biometrics Catalog, a U.S. Government sponsored database of information about biometric technologies including research and evaluation reports, news articles, vendors and consultants, government documents and legislative text.

Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics

This site is produced by the NASA Glenn Research Center as part of their Learning Technologies Project (LTP) to provide introductory information about aerodynamics to support school teachers' maths and science lessons. Each topic addressed is accompanied by a slide and explanatory text. Problems for students to work on are also provided. Subjects covered include basic aerodynamics problems, Newton's laws, static gases, moving gases, the atmosphere, forces, and aeroplane parts and motion.

Beyond Intractability

Provided by the Conflict Research Consortium at the University of Colorado, this is the web site of the Intractable Conflict Knowledge Base Project which advertises itself as A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict. The site provides summary articles on topics that cover understanding conflict problems, and intervention processes and outcomes, as well as links to recommended resources such as web sites, interviews, news stories, books and articles, affiliated projects and conflict organisations. There are also case studies of real world conflicts; educational resources for students and teachers such as research tools and online courses; user guides and search tools.

Boeing Space Systems : International Space Station

This is the home page of the International Space Station (ISS). This site contains an overview of missions accomplished and continued assembly, mission modules, components and structures and systems such as crew return vehicles, communications and tracking and solar arrays.

Bosnia

This web site provides information on the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It contains links to articles and websites which give a brief history of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina; the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Srebrenica Massacre, military positions, maps, facts and ethnicity information; images of the conflict; information on the major war criminals and suspects including Slobodan Milosevic; NATO and UN operations; articles, interviews and letters and news.

Britannia : The Roman Army and Navy In Britannia 55 BC - 410 AD

This site provides information on the history of the Romans in Britain. There are specific details about the structure of the Roman army and maps indicating where forts were once based. Other resources include a military bibliography, photographs of Roman sites such as Hadrian's Wall, a glossary of terms and links to further relevant sites.

Build A Plane

Build A Plane is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting aviation and aerospace careers by giving young people the opportunity to build real airplanes. Aircraft construction projects provide an exciting opportunity to motivate kids to learn virtually any facet of science, technology, engineering and mathematics applied to the program.The site includes information on the current projects and photo gallery as well.

C-MAP : Clean Air Mapping and Analysis Program

Provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this project is a geographic information system (GIS) aimed at assessing the success of US pollution emission reduction programmes. The site provides two major resources - a gallery of maps which illustrate the spatial relationships between emissions and the environment, and a download facility. This allows you to download GIS datasets to be uploaded into GIS software, or a spreadsheet. Categories covered include air, water, land, deposition and emissions. The data covers the North American continent.

Canadian American Strategic Review

Provided by Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, CASR provides information and a forum for discussion on Canadian defence policy, foreign policy and Canadian US relations. The site contains policy papers and articles on: defence budget and procurement practices; Canada US relations and military cooperation; coastal defence, maritime and port security; border patrol and homeland security; threat assessments and US foreign policy. There is also a DND 101 section which provides brief information and images of major land, air and naval forces equipment.

Canadian Military Heritage Project

This site provides information on conflicts and wars which Canadians have participated in. Conflicts covered include the French-Indian Wars, War of 1812, Rebellion of 1837, World War One, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan 2001, and peacekeeping missions. It provides an historical background to the conflicts, timelines, battles, letters home, guest author submissions, links to further resources and guidelines for tracing family history.

Capanina : Stratospheric Broadband

This EU-funded research programme aims to develop broadband capability from aerial platforms and high altitude platforms (HAPs)(airships) powered by solar power in order to meet the ever growing demand for higher data rate communications. This site provides details of the project partners, an FAQ, a project summary and explanations of why the technology is being developed. The news section provides links to articles on other web sites about the project. Parts of this site were still under construction in May 2004.

Centre for Defence Economics

The Centre for Defence Economics is based at the Department of Economics and Related Studies at the University of York. This centre conducts research on items relating to defence expenditure including public financing of defence, weapon conversion costs, peace and disarmament. Information is available on current and past research, including publications, and content pages of the journal Defence and Peace Economics can be viewed.

Centre for the History of Defence Electronics

The Centre for the History of Defence Electronics (CIHDE) is based at the History of Technology Research Unit at Bournemouth University. It specialises in the development of equipment during the 1930's, forties and fifties. Its research activity has been taken on by the Oral History Research Unit. The oral history section contains links to a presentation on radar and one on the Wireless Set No.10, which was the first radio unit to offer multi-channel communication. There are also transcribed contributions to the history of defence electronics.

CHAMP : Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload for Geo-scientific Research and Applications Program

CHAMP is a cooperative project between US and Germany with NASA providing a GPS Blackjack Flight receiver built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The CHAMP satellite was launched with a Russian COSMOS launch vehicle on July 15, 2000 into an almost circular, near polar (i = 87?) orbit with an initial altitude of 454 km. The design lifetime of the satellite system is 5 years. CHAMP is aimed at generating simultaneously highly precise gravity and magnetic field measurements over a 5 years period. This will allow scientists to detect besides the spatial variations of both fields also their variability with time. It will perform the following three tasks: 1) Mapping of the Earth's global long to medium wavelength gravity field and temporal variations with applications in the geophysics, geodesy and oceanography; 2) Mapping of the Earth's global magnetic field and temporal variations with applications in geophysics and solar terrestrial physics; 3) Atmosphere/ionosphere sounding with applications in global climate studies, weather forecasting, disaster research and navigation. This website provides in depth information about CHAMP mission background; objectives; description of satellite and its subsystems and instruments; science results; mission, orbit and operations data; and links to reference materials and news updates.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. Chandra is designed to observe X-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as the remnants of exploded stars. This website provides a host of information resources related to the Chandra X-ray Observatory mission, which include Chandra's mission objectives and instrument details; photo gallery; news updates and publications related to the mission; and links to future X-ray missions, amongst others.

Chinese Defence Today

This is an unofficial web site which collates data on China's military power and capabilities. It provides news, information and reports on China's military research and development and procurement programmes; Chinese weapon systems; the organisation of China's armed forces including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces; information operations; and space programmes. The site also contains information on recommended reading and links to further related web sites.

Chinese Military Power

Sponsored by the Project on Defense Alternatives at the Commonwealth Institute, this site provides access to online resources about Chinese military capabilities and defence policy. It contains regularly updated links to full text articles, reports, and government documents covering issues such as US policy towards China, the Taiwan confrontation, Chinese military policy, nuclear resources and strategic development. The site also provides a bibliography of key readings and links to research and specialist sites that relate to China and defence.

CHIPS : Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer

The Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) is a University-Class Explorer (UNEX) mission of University of California and funded by NASA. A successful launch occurred at 16:45 Pacific time on Sunday January 12, 2003. The mission is aimed at helping scientists determine the electron temperature, ionization conditions, and cooling mechanisms of the million-degree plasma believed to fill the local interstellar bubble. The website includes the latest news on the mission; science and instrument description; links to educational resources; papers and publications; and FAQs.

CINDI : Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation

The Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) is a NASA sponsored Mission of Opportunity conducted by the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). CINDI will discover the role of ion-neutral interactions in the generation of small and large-scale electric fields in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Ion-neutral interactions are a key process in controlling the dynamics of all planetary atmospheres and their understanding is important to describing the electrodynamic connections between the Sun and the Upper Atmosphere.The CINDI investigation is carried out as an enhancement to the science objectives of the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) undertaken by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Space and Missile Command Test and Evaluation Directorate (SMC/TEL). This is the CINDI project website which provides information about the mission background, objectives, science and spacecraft details. There is also access available to CINDI science data. Also available is a CINDI quick fact sheet in PDF form. Please note that some of the links may be broken.

Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) Project

This is an official NASA weblink to the CALIPSO project. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite is aimed at providing new insight into the role that clouds and atmospheric aerosols (airborne particles) play in regulating Earth's weather, climate, and air quality. The CALIPSO satellite will be launched in the summer of 2005 with the cloud profiling radar system on the CloudSat satellite. The website consists of the overview and background of the project, the science objectives and CALIPSO payload.

CloudSat

CloudSat is an experimental satellite that will use radar to study clouds and precipitation from space. The CloudSat is aimed at filling a significant gap in the existing and planned Earth observation missions by measuring the vertical profile of clouds using active remote sensing. The launch of CloudSat is planned for Summer 2005 from Vandenberg AFB in California. The Web site consists of background information of the project, description of instruments, publications, partners and educational resouces. There is also a link to the upcoming events and updates of the project.

Cluster

The aim of the ESA's Cluster mission is to study small-scale structures of the magnetosphere and its environment in three dimensions. To achieve this, Cluster is constituted of four identical spacecraft that will flight in a tetrahedral configuration. The Cluster spacecrafts were launched in July, 2000 and August, 2000 and would be operational till December 2009. The mission is currently investigating the small-scale structure (in three dimensions) of the Earth's plasma environment, such as those involved in the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetospheric plasma, in global magnetotail dynamics, in cross-tail currents, and in the formation and dynamics of the neutral line and of plasmoids. The mission website provides the summary of the mission; fact sheet; launch details; instrument description; latest updates; paper and publication and links to related resources.

CMR Network

CMR (Civil-Military Relations) Network is an electronic journal published quarterly available free on the internet. Funded by the Ministry of Defence and the Economic and Social Research Council, it is part of the Transformation of Civil-Military Relations Research Project. Its focus is on relations in Central and Eastern Europe and it aims to promote discussion about civil-military relations and security sector reform. The site provides the full text of each issue from January 2001.

Concorde

This is a personal site created by Gordon Roxburgh which provides a lot of detailed information about the 20 Concordes that were built. The site includes photographs and fleet details, information about the work undertaken to get Concorde flying again after the crash, technical specifications (weights, performance, dimensions, accomodation, powerplant, cockpit systems, fuel system, droop nose, the delta wing, landing gear, flight systems and modifications) and an FAQ.

Cosmos 1

Cosmos 1, the world's first solar sail spacecraft, is a project built in collaboration of the Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios with the Lavochkin Association and the Space Research Institute in Russia and will be launched on June 21, 2005. The website includes a host of resources related to the mission, which include: the basics of a solar sail; mission timeline; orbital parameters; schematic drawings showing the spacecraft and sail dimensions; testing and development information; news updates; press room; and images and animation.

Cost of War: The Cost of War to the USA

This web site is maintained by citizen activists Niko Matsakis and Elias Vlanton. The site provides access to economic data about the financial cost of the Iraq war to the USA. Figures are compiled from Congressional Budget Office data and comparisons can be made with money spent on education, housing and health. Information on how the site is compiled is available.

Dawn : A Journey to the Beginning of the Solar System

Scheduled to be launched in June 2006, the mission Dawn's goal is to characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch by investigating in detail two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formations. This website consists of the Dawn mission and launch details; science goals and instruments; spacecraft details; operations information; background of the mission; news updates; and images. There is also a link to Dawn mission report presented at the 2002 Asteroids, Comets and Meteors Conference in PDF format and also to the Dawn full press package.

Defense Strategy Review Page

Sponsored by the Project on Defense Alternatives, this site provides access to full text articles, reports, defence policies and analysis on the United States' defence reviews and national security strategy. It covers topics such as the Quadrennial Defense Review, military transformation and homeland security and provides links to useful websites on these subjects.

Deformation, Ecosystem structure and Dynamics of Ice (DESDynI)

This mission combines two sensors that, taken together, provide observations important for solid-Earth (surface deformation), ecosystems (terrestrial biomass structure) and climate (ice dynamics). The sensors are: 1) an L-band Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) system with multiple polarization, and 2) a multiple beam lidar operating in the infrared (~ 1064 nm) with ~ 25 m spatial resolution and 1 m vertical accuracy. The mission using InSAR to meet the science measurement objectives for surface deformation, ice sheet dynamics, and ecosystem structure has been extensively studied. It requires a satellite in 700-800 km sun-synchronous orbit in order to maximize available power from the solar arrays. An eight day revisit frequency balances temporal decorrelation with required coverage. Onboard GPS achieves cm-level orbit and baseline knowledge to improve calibration. The mission should have a 5 year life time to capture time-variable processes and achieve measurement accuracy. For ecosystem structure, L-Band InSAR measurements allow estimating forest height with meters accuracy; polarimetry allows estimation of three-dimensional forest structure. The sensitivity of backscatter measurements at different wave polarizations to woody components and their density makes UHF radar sensors suitable for direct measurements of live above ground woody biomass (carbon stock) and structural attributes such as volume and basal area. The multi-beam laser altimeter (lidar) system would accurately measure the distance between the canopy top and bottom elevation, the vertical distribution of intercepted surfaces, and the size distribution of vegetation components within the vertical distribution. Multiple beams measure different size components of vegetation. Although this measurement is the most direct estimate of the height and the vertical structure of forests, the lidar measurement samples the Earth's surface at discrete points, rather than imaging the entire surface. DESDynI combines the two approaches, taking advantage of the precision and directness of the lidar to calibrate and validate the InSAR, especially in ecosystem types where field campaigns have not occurred. These two measurements do not need to be made simultaneously, but could be separated by up to a few weeks because ecosystem structure typically does not evolve significantly on shorter time scales. Whether both instruments are flown on the same platform or separate platforms should be determined by a more thorough study. For example, it might be possible to upgrade the ICESat-II mission to include multi-beam performance in order to meet the ecosystem requirements so long as the two missions are launched within the same time frame and take measurements within a few weeks. The InSAR instrument consists of an L-band (1.2 GHz) radar to minimize temporal decorrelation in regions of appreciable ground cover. Two sub-bands separated by 70 MHz allow correction of ionospheric effects. The viewable swath width must be larger than 340 km to obtain complete global access. Other parameters include ground resolution better than 35 m to characterize fault geometries, noise equivalent less than -24 dB to map radar-dark regions, electronic beam steering to minimize spacecraft interactions for acquisition and allow ScanSAR operation, and a data rate less than 140 Mbps. Multiple polarization is required for the canopy density profiles needed for ecosystem structure. As noted above, the lidar in DESDynI is a multi-beam laser ranger operating in the infrared.

Departure 2093

The airline Finnair has undertaken a study on what they think the world of aviation will be like 85 years from now. This web site is part of the study. It is divided into 5 sections in which experts from different fields envision the future of air travel. There is also a gallery of future fleet images and descriptions and a discussion forum which encourages debate about the issues raised on the site.

Disappearing the Dead : Iraq, Afghanistan and the Idea of a "New Warfare"

This report, dated 18th February 2004, was written by Carl Conetta for the Project on Defense Alternatives Research Monograph series. The report discusses the issues of civilian casualties and collateral damage during the US-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and their political implications. Topics covered include America's perception of war, US media communication on collateral damage, precision attack and new methods of warfare, damage limitation and casualty agnosticism.

E-Mine: The Electronic Mine Information Network

This organisation was founded as a result of the United Nations Secretary General's reforms. The mine-related activities of 11 different UN departments have been co-ordinated to form UNMAS. Its mission is to monitor mine-clearance programmes around the world, funded by voluntary and other means. It develops and implements policy, and sends missions to assess global mine-threat. The web site provides links to the 11 departments which form UNMAS and gives details about the service. It provides a map of the world from which documents projects and reports on individual countries can be accessed. The site also provides a standards and documents database, information on research projects, and information regarding mine clearance, awareness, stockpile destruction and victim assistance. The site is also available in French and Spanish.

Emerald : Space Tether

This is a senior design project report submitted by Russell Dunning, Steve Millward and Seamus Porter of Santa Clara University, California in 2003. The Emerald Nanosatellite Project is a two-satellite mission to explore enabling technology for multi-satellite formation flying. Emerald's relative position sensors and inter-satellite communication systems, have limited range specifications which have motivated the need for space tether. The Space Tether team of the Emerald Nanosatellites designed, tested and analysed a tether deployment system to be utilized by the Emerald Nanosatellites. The system includes deployment of a Teflon based line called Spidewire, attachment of tether and final cutting of tether. The greatest challenges that correspond to the project are the reduction of initial seperation velocity of the two Emerald Nanosatellites, and the prediction of tether performance once in space. A complex experiment and empirical analysis was done to ensure the appropriate performance of deployment and to prevent mission failure. The full text of the project report is available as PDF document.

EO-3-GIFTS : Earth Observing-3-Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer

The New Millennium Program's (NMP) Earth Observing 3 (EO3) mission, called GIFTS, is a step towards improving the operational weather observing systems. To accomplish the GIFTS mission NASA has partnered with the US Department of Naval Research's (ONR). ONR's Indian Ocean Meteorological Imager, called IOMI, will demonstrate GIFTS concepts and technologies. The launch has been planned for 2005/06 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This website provides the EO-3 mission objectives; science and instrument technology descriptions; links to other educational resources; and quick facts about the mission along with news updates.

ESA Science : Rosetta

This is part of the European Space Agency's ESA Science web site. The Rosetta pages describe the ESA misssion to catch comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014 and accompany it into the interior solar system. The site includes a mission overview, news announcements, and sections on the background science of asteroid encounters, information on the orbiter and lander, the launcher, and mission operations. The site also provides access to relevant publications including a factsheet, status reports, as well as an orbit view, images and video clips.The link below is the ESA website for additional details. http://sci.esa.int/home/rosetta/index.cfm

ESA Science and Technology : Venus Express

The mission homepage brings together a range of information resources relating to the European Space Agency's (ESA) first mission to Venus. It contains a mission summary, fact sheet, objectives and orbit view. Further sections of the site provide descriptions of the spacecraft, instruments, launch vehicle, and mission operations. A number of online publications are available as well as a collection of images and video clips and a news archive.

Estimation of cirrus cloud effective ice crystal shapes using visible reflectances from dual-satellite measurements

This article is written by Helene Chepfer, Patrick Minnis, David Young, Louis Nguyen and Robert F. Arduini and was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research in December 2002. The study develops and examines a multiangle, multisatellite method for determining effective cloud particle shapes from reflectances observed at visible wavelengths. The technique exploits the significant differences in the various cloud particle shape phase functions near the backscatter direction to infer particle shape from a combination of views from a near-backscatter angle and a side scattering angle. Adding-doubling calculations confirm that the optimal viewing combinations include one near-backscatter angle and another between 60
and 150
. Sensitivity to shape increases with solar zenith angle. A total of 28 collocated, visible images from pairs of currently operating meteorological satellites with the desired viewing combinations were analyzed for particle shape. Matching reflectances from images with optimal viewing angles clearly separates water droplet from ice crystal clouds. Reflectance pairs from matched pixels containing ice crystals can be explained by the range of selected microphysical models. The most common retrieved shapes correspond to combinations of hexagonal compacts (aspect ratio of unity), hexagonal columns, and bullet rosettes. Although no single microphysical model can account for the observed variability, taken together, the models used for retrieving cloud particle size by the Clouds and the Earth?s Radiant Energy System and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Projects can account for most of the reflectance variability observed in this limited data set. Additional studies are needed to assess the uncertainties in retrieved shapes due to temporal and spatial mismatches, anisotropic and bright background reflectances, and calibration errors and to validate the retrieved shapes. While applicable to a limited number of dual-satellite viewing combinations for current research and operational meteorological satellites, this approach could be used most extensively to derive effective particle size, shape, and optical depth from a combination of an imaging satellite in an L1 orbit, like Triana, and any other lower Earth orbiting satellites. The report is available in PDF form.

Eurofighter Typhoon

This is the homepage of the Eurofighter, a combat aircraft developed by Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). The site provides details of the aircraft's capabilities and specifications, as well as information on materials and production, airframe performance, avionics and sensors, sub-systems, swing role, costs and logistics support. In addition to information about the aircraft itself, the site provides details on the organisations behind the Eurofighter, latest news, a news archive, full text factsheets on topics such as the ejection seat, and a photograph library.

European Aeronautics Science Network (EASN)

This is a three year funded project which aims to bring the European universities with aeronautics activities into an integrated network, operating in parallel with industry and the national research establishments. EASN has a Steering Committee representing partners to oversee the activities of the network, as well as a number of Interest Groups (IGs) addressing various thematic issues. There are 10 interest areas covering Flight Physics, Aerostructures, Propulsion, Aircraft Avionics Systems and Equipment, Flight Mechanics, Integrated Design and Validation, Air Traffic Management, Airports, Human Factors, and Innovative Concepts and Scenarios. Within these areas several Interest Groups have been established for Advanced Combustion Chambers, Ageing Aircraft, Crashworthiness and Structural Impact, Emission Minimizing Flight Operations, Fault Tolerant Systems, Increased Exploitation of Composites, Manufacturing Processes and Technologies of Aero-Engines, Risk Analysis Based LCE in Aeronautics, Surface Engineering Treatments, Vortical Structures and IG Innovative Contacts and Scenarios. The central element is an open, Internet based network that will enable communication between groups and will provide access to a database. The Network Database contains Information on the university institutes with their aerospace competence profiles, companies and organisations in the aerospace supply chain, research establishments and information on national aeronautics research programmes. The web site describes the network members and provides details of each of the regional contact points. It identifies R&T areas and Interest Groups and the Universities who are engaged in research activities in these areas. The site also provides news and a list of related links.

European Airport Movement Management by A-SMGCS

'EMMA'(European Airport Movement Management by A-SMGCS)is a European project which aims to become the most significant research and development contribution to an integrated air-ground system, seamlessly embedded in the overall Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. This web site provides information about the structure of the consortium, project information, links to partners and EMMA documents will become available.

European Asteroid Research Node (EARN)

EARN is an informal association of European research groups active in asteroid research. Their site is designed to promote communication and data exchange between participating groups. A variety of information resources is available including a database of properties of near Earth objects (NEOs), details of participants with links to their home pages, a list of related articles providing preprints in PostScript format and links to other relevant sites.

European Commission : Research and Technology Development Beyond 2002 : Aeronautics and Space

These web pages are provided as part of the Commission's Community Research and development Information Service (CORDIS). They provide information and support for the Framework 6 RTD funding programme. This site will provide details, as they become available, of the various papers and positions emerging from the main stakeholders on the aeronautics and space activities proposed for the Sixth Framework programme.

European Space Agency (ESA) : Integral Science and Technology Homepage

The International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (Integral) is the first space observatory that can simultaneously observe objects in gamma rays, X-rays, and visible light. Its principal targets are violent explosions known as gamma-ray bursts, powerful phenomena such as supernova explosions, and regions in the Universe thought to contain black holes. This ESA Science and Technology site ficusses on the science background to the mission, the science and mission operations. The site also provides links to related publications, events, images and videos.

European Space Agency : SMART1 Mission

This website contains information about the SMART1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology) mission. A milestone of this mission will be the testing and proving of an ion drive, along with investigations for ice at the south Lunar pole. It will also test miniaturisation technology while exploring the Moon from orbit. It will be the first space probe ESA has ever sent to the Moon and it will also be the first of ESA's missions to test advanced technology needed for future scientific planetary missions. The site contains links to a fact shee, summary and objectives, news and announcements, a calendar of events and bibliography as well as background to the mission and information on the instruments.

European Space Agency : Solar Orbiter

This is the home page of the Solar Orbiter mission, due to launch in October 2013 no later that May 2015 and is confirmed in the cosmic vision programme. By approaching as close as 48 solar radii, the Solar Orbiter will view the solar atmosphere with unprecedented spatial resolution circa 100km pixel size. Over extended periods the Solar Orbiter will deliver images and data of the polar regions and the side of the Sun not visible from Earth. The site provides a lot of information including a fact sheet, technical documentation in PDF format.

ExoMars Urey Instrument

NASA-funded researchers are refining a tool that could not only check for the faintest traces of life's molecular building blocks on Mars, but could also determine whether they have been produced by anything alive. The Urey instrument: Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector, has already shown its capabilities in one of the most barren climes on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile. The European Space Agency has chosen this tool from the United States as part of the science payload for the ExoMars rover planned for launch in 2013. Last month, NASA selected Urey for an instrument-development investment of $750,000. The European Space Agency plans for the ExoMars rover to grind samples of Martian soil to fine powder and deliver them to a suite of analytical instruments, including Urey that will search for signs of life. Each sample will be a spoonful of material dug from underground by a robotic drill.

Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere and the Local Interstellar Medium : A Workshop Report

This is a full text workshop report produced by the Committee on Solar and Space Physics, National Research Council and was produced by National Academies Press in 2004. In May 2003 the Space Studies Board's Committee on Solar and Space Physics held the Workshop on Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere to synthesize understanding of the physics of the outer heliosphere and the critical role played by the local interstellar medium (LISM)1 and to identify directions for the further exploration of this challenging environment. At the workshop, a suggestion was made that the low-energy cosmic rays showed evidence that Voyager may have crossed the termination shock completely unexpected observations illustrating the Voyagers promise for returning results with a capacity to surprise and baffle for years to come. To further the exploration of the outer heliosphere four strategic directions became clear in workshop discussions: making use of existing assets, developing new outer heliosphere missions, continuing support of theory and modeling, preparing for Interstellar Probe. Significant questions about the outer heliosphere and the LISM were also addressed. The text of the report is available in open book PDF form.

FAA Human Factors Division

This Web site gives information about human factors research and applications as part of the National Plan for Civil Aviation Human Factors. The aim of the site is to provide information on human factors programs, products, and activities within government, academia, and industry. Information on STARS (Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System), the National Plan for Civil Aviation Human Factors and Human Performance Integrity are amongst the resources available

Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)

FUSE is a NASA-supported astrophysics mission that was launched on June 24, 1999, to explore the Universe using the technique of high-resolution spectroscopy in the far-ultraviolet spectral region. FUSE was developed in collaboration with the space agencies of Canada and France. FUSE looks at light in the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (approximately 90 to 120 nanometers), which is unobservable with other telescopes. FUSE observes these wavelengths with much greater sensitivity and resolving power than previous instruments used to study light in this wavelength range. This is a FUSE academic website and brings together basic information about the mission including the background, mission objectives, spaceraft and instruments used. The mission ended in mid-october 2007. Links are available to access the FUSE science data summaries, FAQs and publications. There is also a link to FUSE newsletter and photo file. Project website link is also present.

FAST Explorer : Fast Auroral SnapshoT Explorer

FAST, the second mission in NASA's Small Explorer Satellite Program (SMEX), is a satellite designed to study Earth's aurora. FAST's primary objective is to study the microphysics of space plasma and the accelerated particles that cause the aurora. FAST was launched on August 21, 1996 from a Pegasus rocket into a highly elliptical orbit. This website provides a background of Earth's aurora; FAST mission objectives; details of the spacecraft instruments and data; launch and orbit information; links to other educational resources; and images.

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

Fermi (formerly called GLAST) is a next generation high-energy gamma-ray observatory designed for making observations of celestial gamma-ray sources in the energy band extending from 10 MeV to more than 100 GeV. Fermi was launched on 11 June 2008 and is part of NASA's Structure and Evolution of the Universe space science theme. The web site provides overviews of the mission, instruments such as the GLAST Burst Monitor, the Large Area Telescope and its key components, and the science objectives. There is a resouces section which contains images, video clips, and presentations.

Flying Into the Future

This article appeared in Georgia Tech Research News in February 1998. It was written by Amy Stone of the Georgia Institute of Technology's department of Aerospace Sciences and Electronic Systems and introduces the concept of micro air vehicles (MAVs) and the project that is being undertaken to design a microflyer.

FoilSim - Basic Aerodynamics Software

This is the down load page for both FoilSim and the CurveBall applet. Both pieces of software have been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). FoilSim is an interactive simulation software that determines the airflow around various shapes of airfoils. The software displays plots of pressure or airspeed above and below the airfoil surface. A probe monitors air conditions (speed and pressure) at a particular point on or close to the surface of the airfoil. The software calculates the lift of the airfoils, allowing students to learn the factors that influence lift. Using the CurveBall applet, students learn more about aerodynamics by controlling the conditions of a big league baseball pitch. The site provides links to a range of supporting material including: the Glenn Learning Technologies Project, the Beginner's Guide Home page (includes Beginner's Guides to aerodynamics, propulsion, hypersonics, compressible aerodynamics, model rockets and kites, and more free software (including EngineSim, Undergraduate Computer Programs, RangeGames, RocketModeler, KiteModeler, Atmosphere Applet, and GasLab Program. There is also a link to an aerospace activities and lesson plans page which includes FoilSim Problem Sets.

GALEX : Galaxy Evolution Explorer

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is an orbiting space telescope that is iamed at observing galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history. Led by the California Institute of Technology and NASA, GALEX was launched in April, 2003 with a mission lifetime of 29 months. This site provides GALEX mission information along with news updates, quick facts and links to educational resources.

Galileo : European Satellite Navigation System

This European Commision Directorates-General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) site describes the programme which aims to provide the European Union with its own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It provides a programme overview, potential applications and benefits, as well as the international partnerships and collaborations which underpin Galileo. The site provides access to a set of supporting information resources including two videos, Galileo: Europe shows the way, and GALILEO - The European initiative. Both of these can be viewed online (RealVideo format) or downloaded in either MPEG or WinZip formats. The documents section includes brochures, press releases, official documents, speeches, presentations, and technical reports. The latter includes The Galilei Project - GALILEO Design consolidation; Inception study to support the development of a business plan for the GALILEO Programme: Executive summary Phase I; and, Inception study to support the development of a business plan for the GALILEO Programme: Executive summary Phase II.

Genesis Mission Home Page

This site provides detailed information about NASA's Genesis mission. It was launched in August 2001 and will collect samples of the solar wind, material flowing outward from the Sun, and return these samples to Earth. Scientists will compare the compositions of these samples with known compositions of the planets. This will help the effort to understand how the solar system and its planets formed. The site provides easily understandable information about the science and technology behind the mission, the people who are contributing, a multimedia area and an image gallery. Learning resources for students and teachers, activities for children and news and resources for media professionals are also provided.

Georgia Institute of Technology : Aerial Robotics

This web site brings together a number of resources related to the International Aerial Robotics Competition and is hosted at the School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. The site provides details of the competition which is organised by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems. There are also links to the School of Aerospace Engineering's UAV Laboratory and Controls Group. There is an International Aerial Robotics Competition Discussion Forum, as well as a couple of related newsgroups and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The site provides links to the web sites of other academic groups involved in the Competition.

Geostationary Operational Environment Satellites (GOES) Project

This site describes the Geostationary Operational Environment Satellites (GOES) Project. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program (GOES) is a joint effort of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These spacecrafts help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events, including thunderstorms, tornadoes, fog, flash floods, and other severe weather. In addition, GOES observations have proven helpful in monitoring dust storms, volcanic eruptions, and forest fires. GOES-N, the first spacecraft in the new GOES-N/O/P series, lifted off aboard a Boeing Delta IV rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. at 6:11 pm EDT on May 24, 2006. GOES-O is scheduled to launch on April 28, 2009. The website consists of project information, specifications of GOES spacecrafts and the instruments on-board, launch information and other educational resources.

Geotail

This is a NASA web site that brings together a range of information regarding the Geotail mission. This is a collaborative project undertaken by the institute of space and astronautical science (ISAS) and NASA. The objective is to study the dynamics of the earth magnetotail over a wide range of distance extending from extending from the near-Earth region (8 Earth radii (Re) from the Earth) to the distant tail (about 200 Re). The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by ISAS and first launched on July 24, 1992. Its mission is divided into two phases. During the initial two-year phase, the orbit apogee was kept on the night side of the Earth by using the Moon's gravity in a series of double-lunar-swing-by maneuvers that resulted in the spacecraft spending most of its time in the distant magnetotail (maximum apogee about 200 Re) with a period varying from one to four months. In February 1995, phase two was commenced as the apogee was reduced to 30 Re to study the near-Earth magneto-tail processes. The website provides an overview of the project and access to data, as well as links to principal investigators and instrumentation.

GPM : Global Precipitation Measurement

GPM is a joint mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other international partners. The GPM mission is aimed at providing improvements in water resource management, agriculture, policy and planning, transportation, forestry, natural hazards assessment, hydrology, oceanography and weather forecasting. It is scheduled to be launched in 2010 from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan and has a mission lifetime of 3 years. The website provides information about the mission including objectives; science and instrument description; library; image gallery; and newsletter.

Gravity Probe B : Testing Einstein's general theory of relativity

Gravity Probe B (GP-B) is the relativity gyroscope experiment developed by NASA and Stanford University to test predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. The mission was launched in April 2004 and was completed by september 2005. The mission is being controlled from Stanford University and this site describes the experiment, provides progress updates and links to other relevant sites, including a video clip of the launch and the full-text of the GP-B launch companion document. The engineering history to the mission over the last 40 years is also available with full-text technical papers available in pdf format.

Gravity Probe B Home Page

NASA's Gravity Probe B mission, also known as GP-B, was launched in April 2004. It will use four ultra-precise gyroscopes to test Einstein's theory that space and time are distorted by the presence of massive objects. To accomplish this, the mission will measure two factors: how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and how the Earth's rotation drags space-time around with it. This site provides news, status reports, facts, photographs, and multimedia QuickTime movies related to the mission.

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

GRACE mission is a joint partnership between the NASA in the United States and Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Germany. The primary goal of this mission is to accurately map variations in the Earth's gravity field over its 5-year lifetime. The GRACE twin satellites were launched in March 2002 and are currently making detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field. The key facts and mission overview, alongwith the news updates and GRACE orbit data are available from this website.

Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission was competitively selected through the Discovery Program. GRAIL would use high-quality gravity field mapping of the moon to determine the moon's interior structure. GRAIL’s primary science objectives will be to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the Moon. As a secondary objective, GRAIL will extend knowledge gained from the Moon to the other terrestrial planets. Science investigations will include: • Map the structure of the crust and lithosphere • Understand the Moon’s asymmetric thermal evolution • Determine the subsurface structure of impact basins and the origin of mascons • Ascertain the temporal evolution of crustal brecciation and magmatism • Constrain deep interior structure from tides • Place limits on the size of a possible solid inner core GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the Moon to precisely measure and map variations in the Moon's gravitational field. This detailed information will reveal differences in density of the Moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the Moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. GRAIL will carry a science payload derived from GRACE and a spacecraft derived from the Lockheed Martin Experimental Small Satellite-11 (XSS-11) launched in 2005. GRAIL will use JPL’s Lunar Gravity Ranging System instrument to map lunar gravity variations by measuring the change in distance between the spacecraft as they orbit the moon. Planned for launch in 2011, the twin GRAIL spacecraft will fly in a low-altitude, near-circular, polar lunar orbit to perform high-precision range-rate measurements between them using a Ka-band payload. Analysis of the spacecraft-to-spacecraft range-rate data will provide a direct measure of the lunar gravity.

Herschel Space Observatory

The European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory, formerly called Far Infrared and Submillimetre Telescope (FIRST), scheduled to be launched in the early part of 2009, will be the first space observatory covering the full far infrared and sub-millimetre waveband, and its telescope will have the largest mirror ever deployed in space. It is intended to assist astronomers to gain a better understanding of the formation of stars and galaxies. The web site provides an overview of the mission, the science objectives, a mission fact sheet, launch, orbit and navigation information, and descriptions of the payload and service modules. There are also news and services sections which contains full text papers, press releases, news items, images, video clips, and a calendar of events. There is also a brief biography of Sir William Herschel. Alternative web page from ESA is http://sci.esa.int/home/first/index.cfm.

High Energy Transient Explorer-2 (HETE-2)

HETE-2 is using UV, X-ray and gamma ray instruments to study gamma ray bursts (GRBs). HETE-2 can localize bursts with several arcsecond accuracy, in near real-time aboard the spacecraft. The coordinates of GRBs detected by HETE are distributed to interested ground-based observers within seconds of burst detection, thereby allowing detailed observations of the initial phases of GRBs. The HETE program is an international collaboration led by the Center for Space Research at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology. Our collaborating institutions include the Institute for Chemistry and Physics (RIKEN), the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements (CESR), the University of Chicago, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Santa Cruz, the Centre Nationale d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the Ecole Nationale Superieure de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace (Sup'Aero), the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). The primary goal of HETE-2 is to determine the origin and nature of cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). This is accomplished through the simultaneous, broad-band observation in the soft X-ray, medium X-ray, and gamma-ray energy ranges, and the precise localization and identification of cosmic gamma-ray burst sources (GRBs). The original HETE spacecraft was lost as a result of a launch failure on November 4, 1996

Hinode (SOLAR-B)

The Hinode (Solar-B) project is one of the projects of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) programme. It is a Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) mission proposed as a follow-on to the Japan/US/UK Yohkoh (Solar-A) collaboration. This website includes an overview brochure and Hinode fact sheet which consist of the scientific goals of the Hinode Mission. More scientific details can be found in the Hinode Science Definition Team Report. Updates on the status of the Hinode mission are also available from the Solar-B Status Page.

History of Shuttle-Mir

This large site is provided by NASA Human Spaceflight and is devoted to the Shuttle-Mir Program, when American astronauts spent more than 1000 days living with Russian astronauts aboard Mir. The site provides historical detail, organisational, cultural and operational information,personal accounts from the astronauts and details about the scientific experiments they undertook. Descriptive information about both craft is available whilst the reference section includes a site map, timeline, glossaries and related links. Five pre-arranged tours offer different perspectives on the Program and aid navigation.

HyperWar : A Hypertext History of the Second World War

This site is a collection of material about World War Two. The majority of the source material is from the United States government and so this site provides a perspective on the war from the American viewpoint. The site is divided into resources on the Pacific, European, China-Burma-India, and American theatres of operations.

Ice, Clouds, and Land Elevation Satellite (IceSAT)

IceSAT (Ice, Clouds, and Land Elevation Satellite) is an approved satellite mission being developed by NASA. It is part of the Earth Observing System and was launched in January 2003. The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on ICESat will measure ice sheet elevations, changes in elevation through time, height profiles of clouds and aerosols, land elevations and vegetation cover, and approximate sea ice thickness. Future ICESat missions will extend and improve assessments from the first mission, as well as monitor ongoing changes. Together with other aspects of NASA Earth science and current and planned EOS satellites, ICESat will enable scientists to study the Earth' climate and, ultimately, predict how ice sheets and sea level will respond to future climate change.

IMAGE : Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration

The IMAGE spacecraft was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 25, 2000, at 20:34:43 UT. IMAGE was the first of NASA's Mid size Explorer (MIDEX) missions, and was dedicated to imaging the Earth's magnetosphere, the region of space controlled by the Earth's magnetic field and containing extremely tenuous plasmas of both solar and terrestrial origin. It is currently operating in its fifth year. The IMAGE mission details; spacecraft and instrument description; operations information; IMAGE photo gallery; and current updates are available from this site.

Infanteria de Marina

The Infanter�a de Marina is part of the Armada Espa�ola (Spanish Navy). Spanish Marines are sea soldiers- they belong to the Navy and have Navy regulations, but they will always be Marines, serving in marine units and performing marine tasks. This unofficial website for the Spanish Marines provides information about their history, background, badges and units. There is also an image gallery and links to other related sites. There is a brief overview of the Spanish -Italian Amphibious Force (SIAF). The site is also available in English.

International Earth-Sun Explorer-3

The International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) program consisted of 3 satellites-- ISEE-1 and ISEE-3 were the principal US contribution to the International Magnetospheric Study, and ISEE-2 which was built and managed by ESA. ISEE-1 and -2 were launched on 22 October 1977 into almost coincident orbits. The orbital period was 57 hours, and their separation in the orbit was controlled by manuvuering ISEE-2. ISEE-3 was launched on 12 August 1978. It was inserted into a "halo" orbit about the libration point some 240 Earth radii upstream between the Earth and Sun. ISEE-3 was renamed ICE (International Cometary Explorer) when, after completing its original mission in 1982, it was gravitationally manuvuered to intercept the comet P/Giacobini-Zinner. On September 11, 1985, the veteran NASA spacecraft flew through the tail of the comet. The ISEE-3/ICE bit rate was nominally 2048 b/s during the early part of the mission and 1024 b/s during the P/Giacobini-Zinner encounter. The bit rate then dropped to 512 b/s on 9/12/85, 256 b/s on 5/1/87, 128 b/s on 1/24/89, and finally 64 b/s on 12/27/91. An extended ICE mission was approved by NASA in 1991 for the continued investigation of coronal mass ejections, continued cosmic ray studies, and coordinated observations with Ulysses. As of January 1990, the satellite was in a 355 day heliocentric orbit with an aphelion of 1.03 AU, perihelion of 0.93 AU, and inclination 0.1 degree. It will return to the vicinity of the Earth-moon system in August 2014.

International Lunar Network (ILN)

NASA will undertake landed lunar missions and is architecting a conceptual “global lunar network” as a backbone of its envisioned robotic surface activities. This concept, called the International Lunar Net-work (ILN), aims to provide an organizing theme for all landed science missions in the 2010s by involving each landed station as a node in a geophysical network. Ultimately, this network could be comprised of 8-10 or more nodes. Because some are desired to be located on the lunar far side, NASA will study a lunar communications relay satellite capability as part of its contribution to this potential endeavor. In the ILN concept, each node would include some number of “core” capabilities (e.g., seismic, heat flow, laser retro-reflectors) that would be extant on each station, reflecting prioritized lunar science goals articulated in the National Research Council’s study, “The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon”. Individual nodes could and likely would carry additional, unique experiments to study local or global lunar science. Such experiments might include atmospheric and dust instruments, plasma physics investigations, astronomical instruments, electromagnetic profiling of lunar regolith and crust, local geochemistry, and in situ resource utilization demonstrations.

International Relations and Security Network - Limited Area Search Engine (ISN LASE)

The International Relations and Security Network provides a limited area search facility for the fields of international relations and security. It is possible to search in English, German, French, Italian and Russian. The search can be on the whole document collection or restricted to subcollections. It is also possible to set a time period to search within. The site provides information about the ISN, their search policies and frequently asked questions (FAQs). There is also a help facility.

Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-8 (IMP-8)

IMP-8 was instrumented for interplanetary, magnetotail, and magnetospheric boundary studies of cosmic rays, energetic solar particles, plasma, and electric and magnetic fields. The objectives of the mission were to provide solar wind parameters as input for magnetospheric studies and as a 1-AU baseline for deep space studies, and to continue solar cycle variation studies with a single set of well-calibrated and understood instruments. IMP 8 (Explorer 50), the last satellite of the IMP series, was a drum-shaped spacecraft, 135.6 cm across and 157.4 cm high, instrumented for interplanetary and magnetotail studies of cosmic rays, energetic solar particles, plasma, and electric and magnetic fields. Its initial orbit was more elliptical than intended, with apogee and perigee distances of about 45 and 25 Earth radii. Its eccentricity decreased after launch. Its orbital inclination varied between 0 deg and about 55 deg with a periodicity of several years. The spacecraft spin axis was normal to the ecliptic plane, and the spin rate was 23 rpm. The data telemetry rate was 1600 bps. The spacecraft was in the solar wind for 7 to 8 days of every 12.5 day orbit. Telemetry coverage was 90% in the early years, but only 60-70% through most of the 1980's and early 1990's. Coverage returned to the 90% range in the mid to late 1990's. The objectives of the extended IMP-8 operations were to provide solar wind parameters as input for magnetospheric studies and as a 1-AU baseline for deep space studies, and to continue solar cycle variation studies with a single set of well-calibrated and understood instruments. Launched on October 25, 1973, IMP 8 was built and operated at Goddard, and provided important space physics data as part of NASA's Sun-Earth Connection research program. Last commands were sent to the spacecraft on Oct. 28 2001. Telemetry acquisition resumed after about three months at Canberra only (30-50% coverage), as an adjunct to the Voyager and Ulysses missions. As of August 2005 IMP 8 continued in this mode.

James Webb Space Telescope- the first light machine

The goal of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is to observe the first stars and galaxies in the Universe. This grand effort is embedded in fundamental questions that have been posed to NASA's Space Science program. There is a link to the JWST Deployment video.

Jason-1

Jason-1 is the first follow-on to the TOPEX/Poseidon mission that measured ocean surface topography to an accuracy of 3.3 cm. It is a joint project between NASA and France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. Launched in December 2001, Jason-1 now begins an extended mission to continue collecting detailed sea-surface topography data. This website provides mission information and quick facts related to Jason-1 mission. It also has links to Jason's predecessor, the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. Details of OSTM mission, which will follow Jason-1 are also available.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory : Mobility and Robotics System Section

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mobility and Robotic Systems Section has designed and fielded a series of prototypes of robotics for space exploration and related terrestrial applications. For example, Software has been written that drives rovers on Mars, and operations software to monitor and control them from Earth and new systems are being developed with many limbs for walking and climbing. To achieve mobility off the surface, prototypes are being created of airships to fly through the atmospheres of Titan and Venus, and drills and probes to go underground on Mars and Europa. Past examples include the Lightweight Survivable Rover (LSR), the Sample Return Rover (SRR), the Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover, and the Legged Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR)as well as the FIDO rover to support the NASA/JPL Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Project. Videos and images are available from the site as well as information about the projects, research staff, news and publications.

Joint Bradford - SIPRI Chemical and Biological Warfare Project

Hosted by the University of Bradford Department of Peace Studies in the School of Social and International Studies. This site combines the SIPRI Chemical and Biological Warfare Project and the Bradford Project on Strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and Preventing Biological Warfare. The site contains video footage, full text reports and papers. It also provides links to the home page for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford.

Joint Study of the Sino-Japanese War 1931-1945

This project seeks to expand research into Sino-Japanese conflict between 1931 and 1945 by promoting cooperation among scholars and institutions in China, Japan, the United States, and other nations. Sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace, Lee Folger, the Reischauer Institute, the Harvard Asia Center, and the Fairbank Center. The site contains full-text conference papers, bibliographies and further links to other similar sites of interest. Also contains Chinese and Japanese language sources of information.

Julian Nott's Home Page : nott.com

Julian Nott is a key member of the modern ballooning movement, and has broken many ballooning records. This web site describes his career and his favourite ballooning flights from history. It also details some of his record setting flights, including designing and building the world's first pressurised cabin for a hot air balloon and his flight over Nazca to prove the theory that manned smoke balloons may have been used to ancient condor designs in South America.

Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Spacecraft (Prometheus I)

The primary objective of NASA's Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology mission is to develop and demonstrate that a nuclear reactor-powered spacecraft can be operated safely and reliably in deep space on long-duration missions. The first Prometheus mission proposed to take advantage of these revolutionary capabilities is the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), which would fly on the Prometheus 1 spacecraft. JIMO is an ambitious mission to orbit three planet-sized moons of Jupiter ? Callisto, Ganymede and Europa ? which may harbor vast oceans beneath their icy surfaces. JIMO would orbit each of these moons for extensive investigations of their makeup, their history and their potential for sustaining life.To allow sufficient development and ground-testing time, the mission would not launch before 2015. A heavy-lift launch vehicle would lift Prometheus 1 into high Earth orbit, and the ion-propulsion thrusters would then be used to propel the spacecraft to Jupiter. This website highlights the background information and vision of the NASA's Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology mission. Information is also available on the use of in-space use of nuclear power to meet higher power needs in future missions. There are links available to interactive sources, learning centre and other educational resources.

Keck Interferometer

The Keck Interferometer (KI) is part of NASA's overall effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It is a ground-based component of NASA's Origins Program. Origins addresses fundamental questions about the formation of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems, the prevalence of planetary systems around other stars, and the formation of life on Earth. The Keck Interferometer will be capable of carrying out a variety of scientific studies integral to NASA's search for new worlds. Its primary goals are the characterization of exozodiacal dust, which can obscure the infrared signature of orbiting planets; direct detection of giant planets and brown dwarfs; high-resolution imaging of protoplanetary disks; and the astrometric detection of planets. It will combine the light from the twin Keck telescopes to measure the emission from dust orbiting nearby stars, directly detect the hottest gas giant planets, image disks around young stars and other objects of astrophysical interest, and survey hundreds of stars for the presence of planets the size of Uranus or larger. This website brings together a host of information resources including the background information about the interferometer; the KI scientific goals and results; and other technical rescources. There is a section dedicated to the historical perspective of interferometry also. Information is also available on supporting internet resources. The site can be browsed by taking a virtual interactive tour which is available in QuickTime (2.3MB) or Real Player (190KB).

Kepler Mission

This is the web site of the Kepler mission, a NASA Discovery Program for detecting potentially life-supporting planets around other stars. This is achieved by employing the transit method - observing repeated transits of planets passing in front of the parent star at regular intervals. This suggests that a planet exists, and from the time between transits the size of the planet's orbit can be calculated and the planet's temperature estimated. These qualities determine possibilities for life on the planet. The site provides background information, including a factsheet and lithograph, details of the spacecraft and photometer, links to the mission science website at NASA Ames Research Center and educational resources and classroom activities.

Landsat 7 Gateway

Landsat 7 is a U.S. satellite used to acquire remotely sensed images of the Earth's land surface and surrounding coastal regions. The web site provides access to a variety of information resources. The Project section contains background information relating to the program's history, organization, and funding. There is a data section which describes the searching and ordering of Landsat 7 data. Sample browse data and images are available. There is an extensive documentation and tools section which includes general information about the Landsat Program, as well as scientific guides, processing algorithms, documentation and tools necessary for the practical use of Landsat 7 digital data. The systems engineering section contains technical information related to each Landsat 7 system element. The international ground stations section includes a directory of contact information and world coverage maps for the U.S. and international Landsat ground stations. The site also includes: a news section containing announcements and official press releases, conference and meeting schedules, recent publications; a people and organizations section which has links to all of the organizations involved in the Landsat Project, a section containing educational resources; and a links to related sites section.

Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value.

Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI)

The goal of the LBT project is to construct a binocular telescope consisting of two 8.4-meter mirrors on a common mount. This telescope will be equivalent in light-gathering power to a single 11.8 meter instrument. Because of its binocular arrangement, the telescope will have a resolving power (ultimate image sharpness) corresponding to a 22.8-meter telescope. The telescope was completed in Italy and shipped to Arizona in the summer of 2002. Its used to image planets outside our solar system and is the world's first optical telescope of this capacity. The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is a collaboration between the Italian astronomical community (represented by the Instituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)), The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, the LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft in Germany (Max-Planck-Institutfür Astronomie in Heidelberg, Landessternwarte in Heidelberg, Astrophysikalisches Institut in Potsdam, Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik in Munich, and Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie in Bonn), The Ohio State University, Research Corporation in Tucson, and the University of Notre Dame.

LAser GEOdynamics Satellite (LAGEOS 1 & 2)

LAser GEOdynamics Satellite-1 (LAGEOS) was designed by NASA and launched in 1976. It was the first spacecraft dedicated exclusively to high-precision laser ranging and provided the first opportunity to acquire laser-ranging data that were not degraded by errors originating in the satellite orbit or satellite array. LAGEOS-2, based on the LAGEOS-1 design, was built by the Italian Space Agency and was launched in 1992. There are plans for the launch of LAGEOS-3, which is a joint multinational program with collaboration from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and the United States. Data from LAGEOS-3 would be used to measure, for the first time, a quasi-stationary property of the Earth - its gravitational magnetic dipole moment as predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Lean Advancement Initiative

This is the Web site of the Lean Advancement Initiative (LAI) formerly known as Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI), a collaboration formed by the US Air Force, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), trade unions, and defence aerospace businesses with the aim of revitalising the industry by applying lean concepts. The site contains information about its sponsors, an overview of the programme, details of its research including research plans, a selection of full text reports, working papers and conference papers in PDF format and staff and student contact details. Some resources are accessible only to members of the LAI programme.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

LRO is the first of the NASA's Robotic Lunar Exploration Program, planned for launch by late Fall 2008 and will orbit the Moon nominally 1 year. The LRO mission emphasizes the overall objective of obtaining data that will facilitate returning men safely to the Moon where testing and preparations for an eventual manned mission to Mars will be undertaken. This website brings together information about the LRO mission, spacecraft designs, intial mission timeline and links to related educational resources.

Magellan

The Magellan spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, was launched 4 May 1989, and arrived at Venus on 10 August 1990. Magellan collected radar images of 98 percent of the planet's surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera 15 and 16 missions. Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and electrical characteristics. The mission concluded with the spacecraf plunging into the planet's dense atmosphere on Tuesday, 11 October 1994 to gain data on the planet's atmosphere and on the performance of the spacecraft as it descended. This website provides in-depth information related to the Magellan mission objectives and spacecraft details. Latest status reports are also available alongwith news updates and press releases. Information is also available on the planet Venus and there is also a link to image and photo gallery.

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar-Terrestrial Probe mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma-physical process that converts magnetic energy into heat and the kinetic energy of charged particles. In addition to seeking to solve the mystery of the small-scale physics of the reconnection process, MMS will also investigate how the energy conversion that occurs in magnetic reconnection accelerates particles to high energies and what role plasma turbulence plays in reconnection events. These processes -- magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration, turbulence -- occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth's magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the phenomena known as "space weather." SMART, for "Solving Magnetospheric Acceleration, Reconnection, and Turbulence," is the name of the MMS science investigation. SMART will be carried out by a team headed by Principal Investigator James L. Burch of Southwest Research Institute and consisting of researchers from a number of U.S. and foreign institutions. The MMS spacecraft are being developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. GSFC is also responsible for the overall management of the MMS mission and mission operations. MMS is scheduled for launch in 2014. MMS was ranked as the highest-priority moderate-size mission in National Research Council's 2002 Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey.

Mars Exploration Rover Mission

This site provides detailed information about the Mars Exploration Rover Mission which is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. The twin rovers were launched in 2003 in search of answers about the history of water on Mars. One of the mission's major scientific goals is to search for and characterise a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. The site provides a great deal of easily understandable information about the science and technology behind the mission, informal mission news, a timeline, information about the launch vehicle and spacecraft, and a multimedia area which includes images and video.

Mars Global Surveyor

This Nasa/Jet Propulsion Laboratory web site brings together a range of information resources relating to the MGS mission. The site contains overviews of the mission, spacecraft, and scientific activities. There are real-time images which show the position of the spacecraft in relation to Mars as well as up to date orbit and telemetry data. The site provides access to many images of Mars that have beed recorded in the course of the mapping exercise. A link is provided to a collection of over 57,000 images contained in the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Image Gallery.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Home Page

This site provides detailed information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. It is scheduled for launch in 2005 and will search for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time as it is unknown whether water was ever around long enough to provide a habitat for life. The site provides a great deal of easily understandable information about the science and technology behind the mission, the launch vehicle, spacecraft and rover, the timeline, people who are contributing and a multimedia area which includes images and video.

MESSENGER Home Page

This is the home page of NASA's MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) mission. Introductory information is given, including detailed mission objectives and information on Mercury itself. Mission and spacecraft design, trajectories, planning and instrumentation are also described. Several animations are available for viewing using Quicktime.

Micro Air Vehicle "Entomopter" Project

This site describes the development of an electromechanical multimode (flying/crawling) insect, by a design team from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Cambridge University and ETS Labs. The mechanical insect, known as an "Entomopter" is based around a new development called a reciprocating chemical muscle (RCM) which is capable of generating autonomic wing beating from a chemical energy source. The site includes a description of the project and the full text of a number of research papers relating to the project are available, as well as a Quicktime movie (1.7 MB) of the RCM testbed. The site includes a 57 MB mpg resizable animation of the Entomopter-based aerial Mars Surveyor mission.

Military History Online

This is a privately-owned site aimed at bringing together military history enthusiasts. It publishes articles written by history writers covering ancient battles during Roman times, the United States Civil War, World War One and World War Two, the Vietnam War and the history of wargaming. There are discussion forums on all of the subjects, and lists of recommended books and videos featuring reviews by Military History Online members.

Military Technology and International Security (SIPRI)

This page has information about the current work that the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is carrying out in this area, including missile and nuclear weapons proliferation, and military technology and the risk of war. Completed research and details of research underway are available.

Multilaterals Project

The Multilaterals Project, begun in 1992, is an ongoing project at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts to make available the texts of international multilateral conventions and other instruments. Although the project was initiated to improve public access to environmental agreements, the collection today also includes treaties in the fields of human rights, commerce and trade, laws of war and arms control, and other areas. Although the vast majority of texts date from the second half of this century, the collection also includes historical texts, from the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia to the Covenant of the League of Nations. The site covers multilateral conventions which are organised by subject(Atmosphere and Space, Flora and Fauna -- Biodiversity, Cultural Protection, Diplomatic Relations, General, Human Rights, Marine and Coastal, Other Environmental, Trade and Commercial Relations, Rules of Warfare; Arms Control). It is also possible to reach information from the United Nations Treaty Collection database.

NASA : Hypersonic X-43A Takes Flight

The X-43A is a hypersonic, scramjet-powered research aircraft designed to fly at speeds up to Mach 10. This is a NASA mission web site which brings together the latest news, features and supporting resources. There are a number of high resolution images, as well as video clips, including that of the historic flight of November 16 2004 during which the X-43A's scramjet air breathing engine pushed the aircraft to nearly Mach 9.8, or 7,000 mph, as it flew at about 110,000 feet. The site also provides access to a PDF format X-43A Fact Sheet.

NASA : Improving Flight

This site is part of the larger 'Life on Earth' NASA site which aims to show how NASA is contributing to research to understand and protect the planet. The improving flight part of the site provides more information on work being undertaken to advance military and civilian aircraft.

NASA Advanced Air Transportation Technologies (AATT)

The project web site provides an introduction and overview to this NASA project whose lead centre is NASA Ames. The project aims to explore the possibilities of the concept of 'free flight'. The objectives of the project are covered, as is the organisation behind it, current research being undertaken, support contractors and links to related projects.

NASA Apollo Mission : Apollo-1

This website provides description and review of the tragedy of Apollo-1 mission of the NASA's Apollo program, in which a flash fire occured in the command module 012 during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn launch vehicle, killing all the three astronauts on-board. The site consists biographies of the crew members; accident events timeline; investigation results, conclusions and recommendations; and a gallery of images. There is also a link to related sources and bibliogrpahy.

NASA Quest : Aerospace Section

This is an educational Web site aimed at teachers, children and space enthusiasts with the intention of "bringing NASA people, space and science to classrooms through the Internet". It contains biographies of people who work for NASA in an aerospace context, a calendar of events, news, facts and statistics, FAQs and images/video clips. Primarily interactive, there are Web chats and discussion areas. The Quest Project is a service of the Education Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is located at Ames Research Center.

NASA Space Mission: JUNO

The Juno mission is the next scientific investigation in the NASA New Frontiers Program. The mission's primary science goal is to significantly improve our understanding of the formation and structure of Jupiter which should advance our understanding of the origins and early evolution of our own solar system at the most fundamental level. In addition, a camera called JunoCam will be used by student participants in the Juno Education and Public Outreach program to take the first images of Jupiter's polar regions. Juno will achieve the mission science goals by sending a spinning, solar-powered spacecraft into a unique Jupiter polar orbit with close perijove. Juno is currently planned to be launched in August 2011 and after a five year journey the spacecraft arrives at Jupiter in 2016.

NASA Space Science : Missions

This web site provides links to the home pages of all of NASA's space science missions. The links take you directly to the mission home page and are organised into four categories - under study, in development, operating and past missions. There is also a link to a page which includes very preliminary mission concepts.

NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) : Data Services

This site provides links NASA EOS data services' resources and help. The ESO programme aims to study the Earth and its environment by observing the atmosphere, oceans, land, ice and snow to understand their influence on climate and weather. Access to the following resources is given - Earth Observing System Data and Information System (ESODIS), EOSDIS Data Gateway, EOS Data Information, the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAAC) and others.

NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) : Missions

This site provides information about the missions that comprise NASA's EOS programme. This aims to study the Earth and its environment by observing the atmosphere, oceans, land, ice and snow to understand their influence on climate and weather. Each mission is listed and a brief description is provided, along with a link to the mission homepage.

NASA's Origins Programme

This is part of NASA's Space Science Enterprise initiative. The aim of Origins is to address the fundamental questions of 'Where do we come from?' and 'Are we alone?'. This site provides background information about the programme including missions, astrophysics, the novel telescope technology being developed to fulfill the aims of Origins, PlanetQuest, and Astrobiology. The 'Library' section provides access to documentation relating to the project including full text technical reports, fact sheets, speeches and presentations and online tutorials. Latest news is also available.

NASA's Solar System Exploration Programme

This is part of NASA's Space Science Enterprise initiative. The goal of the programme is to understand the nature and history of the Solar System and the differences and similarities between Earth and other planets. The site gives details of the aims of the programme, details about past and present missions and the technology being developed and used. Visitors to the site can also interrogate the Planetary Data System (PDS), an archive of information from NASA planetary missions, amongst other resources.

NASA's Structure and Evolution Programme

This is part of NASA's Space Science Initiative. The aim of this particular programme is outlined in three Quests - 'How did structure in the Universe form?', 'What are the cycles of matter and energy in the evolving Universe?' and 'What are the ultimate limits of gravity and energy in the Universe'. The site provides detailed information on these topics and provides the full text of NASA's 'roadmap' which develops a research outline to fulfill the Quests in PDF format. Visitors to the site can view information on past and planned missions as well as a resource centre which provides video footage (requiring RealPlayer to view), image libraries, full text documents and papers and presentations.

NASA's Sun Earth Connection Programme

This is part of NASA's Space Science Enterprise initiative, the aim of which is to understand more about the Sun and and its influence on the Earth and other bodies. The site provides background information on the programme including missions, the strategic plan or Roadmap, research announcements, missions, the 'Living with a star' (LWS) initiative, the Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) programme and an image gallery.

National Audit Office : Defence Value for Money

This is the web site of the NAO Defence Value for Money Team, whose aim is to gain a better understanding of the key performance drivers of major defence projects and to gather information on best practice from overseas ministries and UK commercial organisations in tracking the progress of major projects. The web site outlines the phases of the project, which will result in a publication of a report on good practice, lessons and improvement for the Ministry of Defence's management of major projects in December 2004. The site also contains a link to the full text of the consultation document Driving Successful Delivery of Major Defence Projects; a causal map of key factors influencing project performance; and a questionnaire for project directors which will form the consultation to learn lessons from outside practice.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NOAA-N is the latest polar-orbiting satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-N will collect information about Earth's atmosphere and environment to improve weather prediction and climate research across the globe. NOAA-N is the 15th in a series of polar-orbiting satellites dating back to 1978. NOAA uses two satellites, a morning and afternoon satellite, to ensure every part of the Earth is observed at least twice every 12 hours. Severe weather is monitored and reported to the National Weather Service which broadcasts the findings to the global community. With the early warning, effects of catastrophic weather events can be minimized. NOAA-N also has instruments to support an international search-and-rescue program. The Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System, called COPAS-SARSAT, transmits to ground stations the location of emergency beacons from ships, aircraft and people in distress around the world. The program, in place since 1982, has saved about 18,000 lives. NOAA-N is the first in a series of polar-orbiting satellites to be part of a joint cooperation project with the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMESTAT).

New Horizons : NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission

This is the first spacecraft designed by NASA to study Pluto, the solar systems farthest planet. It was designed and built at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and is currently in the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for its next round of pre-launch tests. This Web site provides a host of information resources related to the mission and includes the mission overview information, science objectives, mission timeline, spacecraft details, educational links, news section, a gallery of images and other related links.

NMP EO-1 : New Millenium Program Earth Observing-1

Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) is an advanced land-imaging mission and is a part of NASA's New Millenium Program (NMP). The mission objective was to demonstrate new instruments and spacecraft systems. The EO-1 spacecraft was launched on a Delta 7320 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, November 21, 2000. EO-1 had a 1-year primary mission lifetime but was designed to operate for an additional year. The mission has been successful in developing and validating a number of instrument and spacecraft bus breakthrough technologies designed to enable the development of future cost and mass efficient earth imaging observatories. This website provides the description of mission's general and extended baseline; spacecraft and instrument technologies; mission's investigation and validation reports in PDF formats; and a host of other educational resources.

NPP : NPOESS Preparatory Project

The National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) is a joint mission involving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) and the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO). The NPP mission aims at measuring the atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, humidity sounding, land and ocean biological productivity, and cloud and aerosol properties. The launch is scheduled for late in 2006 on the Delta II launch vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. The website provides information on the NPP science objectives and instruments; partnering organizations; and project details.

NuSTAR

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is an Explorer mission that will allow astronomers to study the universe in high energy X-rays. Launching in 2011, NuSTAR will be the first focusing hard X-ray telescope to orbit Earth and is expected to greatly exceed the performance of the largest ground-based observatories that have observed this region of the electromagnetic spectrum. NuSTAR will also complement astrophysics missions that explore the cosmos in other regions of the spectrum. X-ray telescopes such as Chandra and XMM-Newton have observed the X-ray universe at low X-ray energy levels. By focusing higher energy X-rays, NuSTAR will start to answer several fundamental questions about the Universe including: * How are black holes distributed through the cosmos? * How were heavy elements forged in the explosions of massive stars? * What powers the most extreme active galaxies? NuSTAR's primary science objectives include: * Conducting a census for black holes on all scales using wide-field surveys of extragalactic fields and the Galactic center. * Mapping radioactive material in young supernova remnants; Studying the birth of the elements and to understand how stars explode. * Observing relativistic jets found in the most extreme active galaxies and to understand what powers giant cosmic accelerators.

Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)

The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) will be a follow-on to the TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) and Jason mission to accomplish two decades of observations and will launched into the same orbit as Jason in April of 2008. The OSTM will measure sea surface height to an accuracy of < 4 cm every ten days. The OSTM is a cooperative effort between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the space agency of France. This website consists of mission overview; technology and scientific instruments; news updates; and a gallery of images and videos. There are also links to OSTM predecessors TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) and Jason missions.

Focus On Film

This resource is primarily aimed at teachers and learners and is part of the Public Record Office's National Archives Learning Curve project. The website contains a film archive database of short clips that can be viewed online using Apple Quicktime. The films cover the Abyssinian War, the Cold War and aspects of World War Two such as evacuation, women at war, spies, the bombing of Britain and preparations and everyday life on the Home Front.

Operations Other Than War (OOTW): The Technological Dimension

This is a report, following a workshop on the subject, written by The Center For Advanced Command Concepts And Technology (ACT) at the National Defense University (NDU). It considers command and control in operations other than war, and the need to create Mission Capability Packages in support of combined and coalition operations. The technologies discussed include mine-clearance, counter-sniping, counter-mortar capabilities, language interpretation, and training.

Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Project (ESSP) mission designed to make precise, time-dependent global measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide from an Earth orbiting satellite. After mission launch in 2007, the OCO will provide space-based observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the principal human-initiated driver of climate change. This mission will use mature technologies to address NASA's highest priority carbon cycle measurement requirement.The other partnering orgainsations are the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hamilton Sundstrand Sensor Systems. This website provides an overview of the mission alongwith its objectives and desription of the technology and scientific instruments. There is link to reference and project publications which are available in PDF format. There is a news update sections and also link to educational resources.

PCUAV (Parent-Child Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

This is the home page of the MIT/Draper Technology Development Partnership Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It details the PCUAV Project which has been under development since 1998 and is concerned with demonstrating key technologies of long distance unmanned surveillance. The site provides an overview of the project including photographs and video footage and ongoing research areas.

Phoenix Mars Lander

The Phoenix Mars Mission, a joint mission of NASA and the University of Arizona, is scheduled for launch in August 2007 and is the first in NASA's "Scout Program." Phoenix is designed to measure volatiles (especially water) and complex organic molecules in the arctic plains of Mars, where the Mars Odyssey orbiter has discovered evidence of ice-rich soil very near the surface. This website consists of the overview of the mission; its objectives and goals; description of the probe and its scientific instruments; news updates; launch timeline; calender of upcoming events; and videos and images.

Planck

Planck will help provide answers to one of the most important sets of questions asked in modern science - how did the Universe begin, how did it evolve to the state we observe today, and how will it continue to evolve in the future? Planck's objective is to analyse, with the highest accuracy ever achieved, the remnants of the radiation that filled the Universe immediately after the Big Bang, which we observe today as the Cosmic Microwave Background.

Planck

The Planck is the ESA's mission which will collect and characterise radiation from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) using sensitive radio receivers operating at extremely low temperatures. An Ariane-5 launcher will carry Planck into space in July 2007. The website consists of detailed resources like the Planck's mission objectives and scientific instruments; spacecraft 3D models; launch details and information on launch vehicle and orbits/navigation; Planck's research information; news updates and publications; and images and videos.

Planetary Image Atlas

Made available by NASA, this service can be searched in order to display or download images and other data from planetary missions. Missions which are covered include Galileo, Voyager, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Viking Lander, Viking Orbitor, Magellan and Clementine.

POES : Polar Operational Environmental Satellites

The Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) Program is a cooperative effort between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United Kingdom (UK), and France. Currently, the POES mission is composed of two polar orbiting satellites known as the Advanced Television Infrared Observation Satellites (TIROS)-N (ATN). NOAA-N and NOAA-N', are the latest in this series of advanced TIROS-N (ATN) satellites. NOAA-N was successfully launched in May 2005 and NOAA-N'is scheduled to be launched in 2007. This website consists of a host of information resources related to the project history and current status; science objectives and instruments; launch information; and other related links. There are also multimedia links for the launch of NOAA-N spacecraft.

Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow

This site is about the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow which takes forward the commitment made in the Government's White Paper 'The Future of Air Transport' to examine how to make best use of Heathrow's existing two runways, and how a third runway could be added after a new runway at Stansted, whilst complying with strict conditions on air quality, noise and improved public transport access. The project aims to reach a view about whether further development is likely to be consistent with the environmental conditions laid down in the White Paper. An FAQ is available as is a feedback form.

Providing Security For People: Security Sector Reform in Africa

This is a full text pdf document written by staff of the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR). It is GFN Paper No. 23.

QuikSCAT : Quick Scatterometer

QuikSCAT mission is intended to record sea-surface wind speed and direction data under all weather and cloud conditions over Earth's oceans. QuikSCAT was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a Titan II vehicle. The mission science objectives; spacecraft and instrument description; measurements; and news updates are available from this website.

Remembering Columbia STS-107

This website presents detailed description and investigation of the catastrophic failure of the Columbia Space Shuttle on February 1, 2003, which led to the loss of all its seven crew members approximately 15 minutes before the shuttle was scheduled to touch down at the Kennedy Space Centre. The site covers information about the Columbia Shuttle; biographies and profiles of the crew members; accident related events timeline; documents pertinent to the accident and investigation; and Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) recommendations. There is also a link to an image gallery and bibliography.

RHESSI : Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager

RHESSI is a NASA Small Explorer and was launched on February 5, 2002. RHESSI's primary mission is to explore the basic physics of particle acceleration and explosive energy release in solar flares. The quick science and technical facts about the RHESSI explorer are available from this site. The website also provides news updates; instrument and spacecraft desriptions; and presentations and publications. Links are available to related resources.

Science@NASA : the Space Mission Directorate Website

Recently NASA began the transformation of its Earth and space science programs by combining them into an integrated Science Mission Directorate. The new Directorate will be closely involved in the Vision for Space Exploration through its support of science that both enables, and is enabled by, NASA's exploration activities. The site provides multimedia resources, mission information and resources for scientists, engineers, teachers and children.

SeaWinds ADEOS II

SeaWinds is a part of the Earth Observing System (EOS) which is designed to address global environmental changes, and is a joint mission with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). Winds are a critical factor in determining regional weather patterns and climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of Earth's surface, and as the only remote-sensing system to provide accurate, frequent, high-resolution measurements of ocean surface wind velocities, under all weather conditions, scatterometers play an increasingly important role in oceanographic, meteorological and climate studies. As part of the SeaWinds Project, NASA sponsors a team of scientific investigators who advised the project during the development of the instrument and ground data processing system. The science team will conduct research with SeaWinds data; their studies are expected to lead to improved methods of global weather forecasting and modeling. The SeaWinds scatterometer is a specialized microwave radar that measures near-surface wind velocity (both speed and direction) under all weather and cloud conditions over Earth's oceans. The experiment is a follow-on mission and continues the data series initiated in 1996 by the NSCAT. SeaWinds uses a rotating dish antenna with two beams. The antenna radiates microwave pulses at a frequency of 13.4 gigahertz across broad regions on Earth's surface. SeaWinds will collect data in a continuous 1,800-kilometer-wide band, making approximately 400,000 measurements per day.

Sentinels

The primary scientific objective of the LWS Sentinels element is to discover, understand, and model the connection between solar phenomena and interplanetary disturbances, particularly those impacting geospace. The Sentinels scientific objectives provide a natural coupling between the solar and geospace segments of LWS. The Science and Technology Definition team report was published in September 2006. NASA’s Sentinels mission is a multispacecraft mission that will study (1) the acceleration and transport of solar energetic particles (SEPs) and (2) the initiation and evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and interplanetary shocks in the inner heliosphere. Sentinels observations will be supplemented by observations both from other spacecraft such as the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories (STEREO), the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and Solar Orbiter and from ground-based observatories such as the proposed Advanced Technology Solar Telescope as well as existing radio and optical telescopes. Theory and modeling will play an integral role in the Sentinels mission during both the development and operations phases of the mission. Sentinels is a key component of NASA’s Living With a Star (LWS) program and as such is designed to advance our knowledge and understanding of those processes and phenomena in the space environment that can adversely affect life and society. The Sentinels mission is of particular importance to efforts to characterize, understand, and eventually forecast the radiation environment that will be encountered during human expeditions to the Moon and Mars.

Separatist, Para-Military, Military, Intelligence and Aid Organizations

This web site has grown from a network security consulting project into a list of terrorist organisations who make use of the internet (or at least have an internet presence) and ultimately includes freedom fighters on the side of good, and quasi-national groups as well as the military professionals and aid organisations of the title. There is a warning on the site that some organisations or government bodies who check http traffic may be averse to their employees exploring such sites.

SETI@home : The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

SETI@home is an experiment that uses the internet to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. By downloading a screensaver you and your computer can help analyse radio telescope data by listening for artificial radio signals coming from other stars, in the search. This site provides the downloads and further information including statistics, how the screensaver works, links to news and foreign SETI@home language sites.

Smaller than Small, Faster than Fast, Cheaper than Cheap : The BARNACLE Satellite Project

This is a technical paper prepared by John O. O'Boyle, Pascal P. Stang and Nick J. Woods of SCREEM laboratory, Santa Clara University, California and was presented at the 12th Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites in September, 1998. The BARNACLE microsatellite is an extremely simple low-cost space vehicle for the characterisation of electronic instruments in space. The satellite was developed in less than one year by a group of seven undergraduate engineering students with no previous spacecraft design experience. After testing, the satellite will be launched in a tube configuration aboard a non-orbital sounding rocket. The full text of the paper can be accessed as a PDF document.

SOFIA : Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

The is a weblink to SOFIA, which is the NASA and the DLR, German Aerospace Center collaboration project. SOFIA is an airborne observatory that will study the universe in the infrared spectrum. The website consists of a variety of resources related to the project including the project background information, science objectives and intstruments, the SOFIA aircraft, SOFIA mission schedule, a section on information for researchers and FAQs. There is a link to the articles on SOFIA mission and its predecessor, the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The articles are available in PDF form. There is also a link to the multimedia gallery which has a host of pictures of SOFIA mission. The news section is also available and consists of the latest updates of SOFIA mission.

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is the first mission to be launched for NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) Program, a program designed to understand the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth. SDO is designed to help us understand the Sun's influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously. SDO's goal is to understand, driving towards a predictive capability, the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems by determining * how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and structured * how this stored magnetic energy is converted and released into the heliosphere and geospace in the form of solar wind, energetic particles, and variations in the solar irradiance.

Solar Probe Plus

Solar Probe Plus will be an extraordinary and historic mission, exploring what is arguably the last region of the solar system to be visited by a spacecraft, the Sun’s outer atmosphere or corona as it extends out into space. Solar Probe Plus will repeatedly sample the near-Sun environment, revolutionizing our knowledge and understanding of coronal heating and of the origin and evolution of the solar wind and answering critical questions in heliophysics that have been ranked as top priorities for decades. Moreover, by making direct, in-situ measurements of the region where some of the most hazardous solar energetic particles are energized, Solar Probe Plus will make a fundamental contribution to our ability to characterize and forecast the radiation environment in which future space explorers will work and live. Approaching as close as 9.5 solar radii* (8.5 solar radii above the Sun’s surface), Solar Probe+ will repeatedly sample the near-Sun environment, revolutionizing our knowledge and understanding of coronal heating and of the origin and evolution of the solar wind.

Sorce : Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment

SORCE is a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that is aimed at providing state-of-the-art measurements of incoming x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. The SORCE spacecraft launched on January 25, 2003 on a Pegasus XL launch vehicle to provide NASA with precise measurements of solar radiation. This website provides an in depth information about the Sorce mission including the mission overview and background; science objectives and description of intruments; educational resources; news updates; and references.

Space Environment Testbeds (SET)

The Space Environment Testbeds (SET) Project performs flight and ground investigations to address the Living With a Star (LWS) Program goal of understanding how the Sun/Earth interactions affect humanity. The SET Project is the element of the LWS Program that characterizes the space environment and its impact on hardware performance in space. the project goal is to improve the engineering approach to accommodation and/or mitigation of the effects of solar variability on spacecraft design and operations. Objectives: * Define the mechanisms for induced space environment and effects * Reduce uncertainties in the definitions of the induced environment and effects on spacecraft and their payloads * Improve design and operations guidelines and test protocols so that spacecraft anomalies and failures due to environmental effects during operations are reduced.

Space Environments and Technology Archive System

Provided by the NASA Langley Research Center, the Space Environments and Technology Archive System (SETAS) has been created to organise the collection of space environments and technology (SET) resources. The resources are organised according to technical disciplines and data sources. Subjects covered include ionizing radiation, meteoroids and debris, neutral external contamination, plasmas and fields, thermal and solar, electromagnetic effects, materials and processes, and systems. Space missions and experiments covered include the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the European Retrievable Carrier (EuReCa), and Clementine / Deep Space Probe Science Experiment (DSPSE).

Space Technology 5 (ST5)

ST5's objective is to demonstrate and flight qualify several innovative technologies and concepts for application to future space missions. The goal of this project managed at Goddard Space Flight Center is to build three miniaturized satellites called smallsats which will perform some of the same functions as their larger counterparts. Planned launch date is 2005. Small satellites have advantages in that they are easier to build, move and launch. The site describes the technology and science behind the mission.

Space Technology 6

Space Technology 6 (ST6) has developed two advanced experimental technologies for use on spacecraft of the future. These technologies are the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment and the Inertial Stellar Compass. These will improve a spacecraft's ability to make intelligent decisions on what information to gather and what to send back to the ground, and to determine its own attitude and adjust its pointing without human intervention. This mission is a NASA project based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The site provides an introduction to the mission, information about the technology behind it, benefits, quick facts and educational resources.

Space Technology 7

The Space Technology 7 (ST7) mission is managed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Astronomy and Physics Directorate manages ST7's DRS (Disturbance Reduction System) technology development, in partnership with Goddard Space Flight Center, Stanford University, and the Busek Company, Incorporated. This mission is aimed at aiding NASA scientists in their quest to detect and measure gravitational waves, and will be flight tested in late 2009 or 2010 according to NASA's New Millenium Program (NMP). This website consists of background information about the mission; detailed information about the spacecraft technology and scientific instruments; benefits of the mission; educational links; quick facts about the mission and launch information; and details of the partners. A Spanish version of the site is also available.

SpaceShipOne : Tier One Private Manned Space Program

Tier One project, by Scaled Composites, is the world's first privately funded manned space program and this site provides information on SpaceShipOne and its carrier aircraft White Knight. Information on the site covers the latest news, test logs (with details from every flight, press releases, photographs and FAQs.

Spacewatch Project

This project is based at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. The aim of the project is to investigate small objects in the solar system, and study the statistics of asteroids and comets in order to explore the evolution of the solar system. The site provides background information to the project including a history, latest news, information on discoveries, pictures, the telescopes and details of selected publications.

Spitzer

The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility)is a space-borne, cryogenically-cooled infrared observatory capable of studying objects ranging from our Solar System to the distant reaches of the Universe. It was launched into space by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 25 August 2003. During its 2.5-year mission, Spitzer will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space between wavelengths of 3 and 180 microns (1 micron is one-millionth of a meter). Spitzer will be the final mission in NASA's Great Observatories Program - a family of four orbiting observatories, each observing the Universe in a different kind of light (visible, gamma rays, X-rays, and infrared). Other missions in this program include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory(CXO). Spitzer is also a part of NASA's Astronomical Search for Origins Program, designed to provide information which will help us understand our cosmic roots, and how galaxies, stars and planets develop and form. This website provides information about the mission history, science and spacecraft technology and mission current status. There is a news gallery which consists of host of images and videos related to the spacecraft hardware, launch and collected data. Links are also available to feature articles and news updates.

Stardust : Bringing Cosmic History to Earth

This is the site for NASA's Discovery mission 'Stardust'. The aim of the mission is to collect particles from Comet Wild 2 using a material called aerogel. The site provides a history and overview of the mission, frequently asked questions (FAQ), information about comets themselves and factsheets and models in PDF format. In addition, there is a latest news facility and a gallery containing images relevant to the project including launch and mission photographs.

Stardust : NASA's Comet Sample Return Mission

Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the Moon. The Stardust spacecraft was launched on February 7, 1999, from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, aboard a Delta II rocket. The primary goal of Stardust is to collect dust and carbon-based samples during its closest encounter with Comet Wild 2 - pronounced "Vilt 2" after the name of its Swiss discoverer - is a rendezvous scheduled to take place in January 2004, after nearly four years of space travel. This website brings together wealth of information about the mission like mission timeline; mission current status; and spacecraft and instrument details. There is also background information available about the mission goals and science objectives. Links are available to news updates, reference publications and sites and other educational resources. There is also an image gallery which has spacecraft and mission pictures.

STARDUST-NExT

STARDUST-NExT - short for “New Exploration of Tempel-1” is a follow-on mission for STARDUST, one of the great successes of NASA's Discovery program. STARDUST returned a capsule of dust samples to Earth from an encounter with the comet Wild-2 and will now fly by comet Tempel-1 to observe the crater left over from the DEEP IMPACT mission. On July 4, 2005, DEEP IMPACT’s high-speed copper projectile slammed into the surface of Tempel-1 leaving a crater and excavating fresh material from beneath the comet’s surface. DEEP IMPACT then observed the fresh ejecta as it flew by the comet at a high rate of speed, but unfortunately, had a very limited view of the crater which was obscured by dust. STARDUST-NExT is due to reach Tempel-1 in 2011 in which time the dust cloud will have cleared, allowing scientists an unprecedented view beneath the comet’s surface. The encounter will occur very close to one “comet year” (one orbit of Tempel-1 around the sun) since the DEEP IMPACT collision and scientists will observe changes to the comet’s surface which may have resulted from solar heating, landslides or shifting of material, or impacts by other small objects. The Stardust-NExT mission will also offer a unique opportunity to compare particle analysis from two comets, Wild 2 and Tempel-1, taken with the same instruments -- and to compare two observations of a single comet, Tempel-1, taken before and after a single orbit around the sun. It will also allow the correlation between the two spacecraft’s instruments to further help refine the original data obtained by each individual spacecraft. Recycling STARDUST to perform this mission required creative thinking, planning and is a wonderful example of engineering versatility, but is also a prime example of using an existing resource for very little cost. DEEP IMPACT has also been recycled to perform the EPOXI mission to study extra-solar planets and the nucleus of comet Hartley-2. Comets and their asteroid kin are the leftover building blocks of planets, and might have contributed water and organic material to the ancient Earth, aiding the start of life. By observing comets, scientists can start to understand more about the formation and evolution of the solar system and how life came to exist on Earth.

STEREO : Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Mission

The STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program (STP). It is a 2-year mission employing two nearly identical observatories to provide 3-D measurements of the Sun to study the nature of coronal mass ejections. This site consists of the background information of the mission; details of the spacecraft, instruments and launch schedule; news sections about the current status of the mission; learning centre; gallery of images of the mission; and links to related resources.

Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) : Aviation and Sustainable Development :

This is one of the SEI project pages and is concened with sustainable policy options for aviation. The primary resource available is the SEI's report which was published in July 2004 Aviation and Sustainability prepared by Prof John Whitelegg and Howard Cambridge. The report is intended to draw the attention of the global community to the urgent need for demand management in aviation. It makes nine recommendations all of which are aimed at recognising the sustainable development agenda and ensuring that aviation plays its full proportionate part in delivering sustainability. It is aimed primarily at the international policy-making community (e.g. UNEP, and ICAO) through to the European Union and national administrations especially in the USA, Europe and those countries that are moving rapidly up the demand curve (India and China). It is aimed at airlines and airports and is intended to stimulate a constructive debate. The text of the whole report can be downloaded in PDF format (1.3 Mb)

Storm Shadow Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicle Design Project

This site presents information on the Storm Shadow Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) design project. This is the work of a group of seniors in the Department of Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering at the University of Illinois. The design was undertaken in the spring of 1998 to satisfy a senior design project requirement. The site provides information on the design, the project and the team. Further information is presented under the following headings: payload, mission scenarios, performance, aerodynamics, propulsion, stability and control, structures, weight and balance, auxiliary systems, and cost analysis. There is also an image gallery, glossary, reference list, and a page of related links.

Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE-3) Meteor

SAGE III is a joint mission between NASA and the Russian Space Agency (RSA). The SAGE III instrument was developed and managed by NASA Langley Research Center and was built by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, CO. It is one of nine experiments on the Russian Meteor-3M (1) spacecraft. It provides accurate, long-term measurements of ozone, aerosols, water vapor and other key parameters of Earth's atmosphere. NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) consists of a series of spaceborne instruments to monitor crucial components of the Earth system, an advanced data handling system, and teams of scientists who will evaluate on-going climate change and predict future changes. SAGE III's role in the EOS program is to provide global, long-term measurements of key components of the Earth's atmosphere. In addition, SAGE III also provides unique measurements of temperature in the stratosphere and mesosphere and profiles of trace gases such as water vapor and nitrogen dioxide that play significant roles in atmospheric radiative and chemical processes. The SAGE III was successfully launched onboard a Meteor-3M spacecraft on December 10, 2001 at 17:18:57 UTC from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellite is in a sun-synchronous orbit with an ascending node time of about 9 AM. This website brings together information about the mission like mission, spacecraft and science details, library of reference articles and publications and a link to access satellite measured data.

Study of Armed Conflicts Project (SIPRI)

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's research project into contemporary armed conflicts is divided into two distinct areas: Conflict and Peace enforcment, and Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution. The research area and mission of each of the two projects are listed and related publications are available.

Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer

Although gamma ray bursts are the largest known explosions in the Universe, outshining the rest of the Universe when they explode unpredictably in distant galaxies, their underlying nature and the cause of the explosion are true mysteries of astrophysics. Swift, a US, UK and Italian collaboration project, is a three-telescope space observatory for studying the position, brightness, and physical properties of gamma ray bursts. Within seconds of detecting a burst, Swift will relay a burst's location to ground stations, allowing both ground-based and space-based telescopes around the world the opportunity to observe the burst's afterglow. Swift is part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program and was launched into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on November 20, 2004. The site provides the background information about the Swift telescope. Information is also available on Swift results and latest updates. There are links to operations and timelines; supporting information about Swift science objectives and other educational resources.

Swift Home Page

This NASA mission was launched in September 2004 with the objective of studying gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. It will determine the origin of GRBs, classify them and search for new types, determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use them to study the early universe and perform a sensitive survey of the sky in the hard X-ray band. The site provides background information for the public and for the scientific community outlining the instrumentation, science and objectives. There is also an education and public outreach area of the site which provides classroom materials, amongst other things.

Sydney University : Unmanned Aircraft Research Group

The web site provides information relating to current UAV and RPV research activities in the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Sydney. A number of full text papers are available such as: "Maturing UAV Capabilities - Stepping from Technology Demonstrators to Mission Specific Systems"'; and "UAVs Over Australia - Market and Opportunities", paper presented to the Bristol RPV/UAV Systems Conference, Bristol, UK 30 March to 1 April 1998. The site also includes a QuickTime video clip of the first flight of Sydney University Aeronautical Engineering's Rapid Prototype Delta UAV, UAV Brumby.

Terra

Terra is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary mission involving partnerships with the aerospace agencies of Canada and Japan. Managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the mission also receives key contributions from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Langley Research Center. Terra is an important part of NASA’s Science Mission, helping us better understand and protect our home planet.

Terrestrial Planet Finder(TPF)

The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) concept, currently under study by NASA, comprises a suite of two complementary observatories that would study all aspects of planets outside our solar system: from their formation and development in disks of dust and gas around newly forming stars to the presence and features of those planets orbiting the nearest stars; from the numbers at various sizes and places to their suitability as an abode for life. By combining the high sensitivity of space telescopes with revolutionary imaging technologies, the TPF observatories will measure the size, temperature, and placement of planets as small as the Earth in the habitable zones of distant solar systems. In addition, TPF's spectroscopy will allow atmospheric chemists and biologists to use the relative amounts of gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone and methane to find whether a planet someday could or even now does support life. Our understanding of the properties of terrestrial planets will be scientifically most valuable within a broader framework that includes the properties of all planetary system constituents, including both gas giant and terrestrial planets and debris disks. Some of this information, such as the properties of debris disks and the masses and orbital properties of gas giant planets, will become available with currently planned space or ground-based facilities. However, the spectral characterization of most giant planets will require observations with TPF. TPF's ability to carry out a program of comparative planet studies across a range of planetary masses and orbital locations in a large number of new solar systems is by itself an important scientific motivation for the mission. However, TPF's mission will not be limited to the detection and study of distant planets. An observatory with the power to detect an Earth orbiting a nearby star will also be able to collect important new data on many targets of general astrophysical interest.

The Great War 1914-1918

The focus of this website is on the First World War Western Front. It provides a map of the battles on the Western Front and details the armies invloved in fighting. The main feature of the site is a detailed study of the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. It covers the prelude and build-up to the Second Battle of Ypres from the German and Allied perspectives and the Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge.

The Hubble Space Telescope

Named after the trailblazing astronomer Edwin P. Hubble (1889-1953), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a large, space-based observatory which has revolutionized astronomy by providing unprecedented deep and clear views of the Universe, ranging from our own solar system to extremely remote fledgling galaxies forming not long after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. Launched in 1990 and greatly extended in its scientific powers through new instrumentation installed during four servicing missions with the Space Shuttle, the Hubble, in its eighteen years of operations, has validated Lyman Spitzer Jr.'s (1914-1997) original concept of a diversely instrumented observatory orbiting far above the distorting effects of the Earth's atmosphere and returning data of unique scientific value. Hubble's coverage of light of different colors (its "spectral range") extends from the ultraviolet, through the visible (to which our eyes are sensitive), and into the near-infrared. Hubble's primary mirror is 2.4 meters (94.5 inches) in diameter. Hubble is not large by ground-based standards but it performs heroically in space. Hubble orbits Earth every 96 minutes, 575 kilometers (360 miles) above the Earth's surface.

The International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL)

The International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) of the European Space Agency was successfully launched on October 17, 2002. It was lifted off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on a Russian Proton launcher and is now on a 72-hour elliptical orbit, ranging from 9,000 km up to 155,000 km from Earth. INTEGRAL is the successor of the ESA gamma-ray observatory Cos-B and the NASA gamma-ray Observatory CGRO. It will produce a complete map of the sky in the soft gamma-ray waveband and it is capable of performing high spectral and spatial observations in gamma rays. The observatory is also equipped with X-ray and optical detectors to provide simultaneous observations in these wavebands.

The Long, Long Trail: The History of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918

The objectives of this site are to build a comprehensive order of battle for the First World War covering all British Army Units. The site provides information on British Army Units, regiments and battalions and where they were based during the War, they are separated into infantry, artillery, cavalry, yeomanry, machine gunners, tanks, medical, transport, engineers, corps and divisions. There is also a section about life in the British Army covering recruitment, uniforms, training and trench life; a section providing information on the battles on the Western Front, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt. The site also contains further resources including war diaries, a biography of senior figures, facts and figures, links and bibliographies. A further section contains advice on how to research British Soldiers involved in World War One.

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is the next generation of low earth orbiting environmental satellites. The NPOESS will circle the Earth approximately once every 100 minutes. During these rotations, the NPOESS will be providing global coverage, monitoring environmental conditions, collecting, disseminating and processing data about the Earth's weather, atmosphere, oceans, land, and near-space environment. Citizens will benefit from the satellite's data in the areas of general aviation, agriculture, and maritime activities. Military users will benefit from the NPOESS as well, tactically and strategically. The NPOESS will permit the military to capitalize on favorable weather conditions or avoid harsh weather conditions that could hinder maneuverability. The Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES), operated by the Department of Commerce supports a broad range of environmental monitoring applications. The parallel polar program in the Department of Defense is the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) , which has been collecting weather data for U.S. military operations for almost four decades. In 1994, The National Performance Review, initiated during the Clinton Administration reported that converging the existing polar systems from the Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of Defense (DoD) would result in a higher performance integrated system. Converging U.S. polar-orbiting satellite programs, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System will reduce the number of polar-orbiting systems from four U.S. satellite groups to three. As a result, in May 1994, a convergence plan was submitted to the U.S. Congress stating NPOESS can eliminate the financial redundancy of acquiring and operating polar-orbiting environmental satellite systems, while continuing to satisfy U.S. operational requirement for data from these systems. The President endorsed this initiative, signing Presidential Decision Directive NSTC-2. The current NPOESS mandate extends to the year 2026. The NPOESS increases the timeliness and accuracy of severe weather event forecasts. To achieve its mission, NPOESS has undertaken a far-reaching program of sensor development and satellite transition and evolution to provide complete coverage of meteorological conditions for civil, military, and scientific purposes. The NPOESS Program is managed by the tri-agency Integrated Program Office (IPO), employing personnel from the Dept. of Commerce (DOC), Dept. of Defense (DoD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Integrated Program Office has initiated planning and development programs of satellite transition, sensor and system development and user training.

The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP)

The Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission, part of NASA's Living With a Star program, will provide unprecedented insight into the physical dynamics of the radiation belts and give scientists the data they need to make predictions of changes in this critical region of space. Beginning in 2011, two spacecraft will orbit the Earth, sampling the harsh radiation belt environment where major space weather activity occurs and many spacecraft operate. The two spacecraft will measure the particles, magnetic and electric fields, and waves that fill geospace. Only with two spacecraft taking identical measurements and following the same path, can scientists begin to understand how the belts change in both space and time.

The Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP)

The Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission is one of four missions recommended by the U.S. National Research Council Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space for launch in the 2010-2013 time frame ("Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond," National Academies Press, 2007). SMAP will use a combined radiometer and high-resolution radar to measure surface soil moisture and freeze-thaw state, providing new opportunities for scientific advances and societal benefits. Direct measurements of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state will aid understanding of regional and global water cycles, ecosystem productivity and the processes that link the water, energy, and carbon cycles. Soil moisture and freeze/thaw state information provided by SMAP at high resolution will enable improvements to weather and climate forecasts, flood prediction and drought monitoring, and measurement of net CO2 uptake in forested regions. The website gives details of the mission, instrumentation, goals and ojectives set for the project. Also, details of the team and upcoming events and workshops are briefed on its webpage.

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)

SWAS is one of NASA's Small Explorer Program (SMEX) missions. The overall goal of the mission is to gain a greater understanding of star formation by determining the composition of interstellar clouds and establishing the means by which these clouds cool as they collapse to form stars and planets. It was launched into low Earth orbit on December 05, 1998. The SWAS Science Operations Center is located at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This website brings together information about the mission like spacecraft and instrument details, satellite current status, and images and photos. There is a link to reference publications and other educational resources.

The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)

This project is a collaboration between the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC). The aim of the project is to scan the entire sky in three near-infrared bands to detect and characterise point sources brighter than 1 mJy in each band with signal-to-noise ratio greater than 10. This site provides background information, documentation, an image gallery and survey data processing information.

The Viking Mission

Vikings 1 and 2, designed to study Mars in detail, were launched in 1975 and arrived at Mars in 1976. Each spacecraft consisted of two parts: an Orbiter and a Lander. The Viking 1 and 2 Orbiters studied Mars from orbit for six and for years respectively while the two Viking Landers descended through the thin atmosphere and landed on the surface of Mars. The Web site gives details of the Viking mission, including pages on the touchdown on Mars, experiments from the laboratory, the deep space network for receiving data from Viking spacecraft and images of the surface of Mars. The site is maintained by the US National Air and Space Museum.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

The Washington Institue for Near East Policy was founded in 1985 and is a public education institution dedicated to scholarly research and informed debate on matters of US interest in the Middle East. The Institute provides policymakers, journalists, and diplomats with new ideas to promote peace and security through research, seminars, conferences and publications. There are full text documents on military/security; terrorism; countries of the Middle East; the peace process; and economics/oil. There is a link to focus on Iraq.

THEMIS : Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms

This mission is being undertaken by the University of California, Berkeley and is funded by NASA. It will launch in 2007 and is a five-satellite mission with the job of determining the causes of the global reconfigurations of the Earth's magnetosphere that are evidenced in auroral activity. The site provides a mission summary, fact sheet, information about the scientific goals and objectives, and has an education and public outreach area.

Thermal Camouflage

Web site covering aspects of thermal camouflage. It provides background information, descriptors, specifications and supplier details of thermal imagers and camouflage, thermal and solar covers, low observability and stealth and radar signature reduction.

TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics)

The TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) mission is studying the influences of the Sun and humans on the least explored and understood region of Earth's atmosphere - the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/ Ionosphere (MLTI). The MLTI region is a gateway between Earth's environment and space, where the Sun's energy is first deposited into Earth's environment. TIMED is focusing on a portion of this atmospheric region located approximately 40-110 miles (60-180 kilometers) above the surface.TIMED was launched aboard a Delta II launch vehicle on Dec. 7, 2001 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

TIMED : Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics

The TIMED mission is aimed at studying the influence of the Sun and humans on the least explored region of Earth's atmosphere- the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/Ionosphere (MLTI). The TIMED spacecraft was launched in December, 2001, from Vanderberg Air Force Base, California aboard Delta II launch vehicle. The TIMED current mission data and news updates are available from this site. There are also links to educational resources which contain the TIMED mission details. Links to TIMED mission photos and movies are available.

Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) - Earth Probe (EP)

The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, launched in July 1996 onboard an Earth Probe Satellite (TOMS/EP), continues NASA's long-term daily mapping of the global distribution of the Earth's atmospheric ozone. The TOMS instrument has mapped in detail the global ozone distribution as well as the Antarctic "ozone hole," which forms September through November of each year. In addition to ozone, TOMS measures sulfur dioxide released in volcanic eruptions. The extremely high quality of TOMS ozone data has also helped scientists in detecting a small but steady long-term damage to the ozone layer over several parts of the globe, including most of the heavily populated areas in the northern mid-latitudes. This website brings together information on the TRMM mission, spacecraft and instrument details, and plots of measured data. There are links available to images and video, educational resources and reference publications.

Transforming Remote Sensing Data into Information and Applications

This is a full text report produced by the Steering Committee on Space Applications and Commercialization, National Research Council and was published by National Academies Press in 2001. This report draws on data and information obtained in the workshop planning meeting with agency sponsors, information presented by workshop speakers and in splinter group discussions, and the expertise and viewpoints of the authoring Steering Committee on Space Applications and Commercialization. The recommendations are the consensus of the steering committee and not necessarily of the workshop participants. The steering committee focused on civilian remote sensing applications in the coastal environment. The workshop featured three case studies in coastal management involving (1) the application of Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) data in monitoring harmful algal blooms, (2) the use of airborne lidar bathymetry for monitoring navigation channels, and (3) the use of both satellite and aerial remote sensing to identify sewage outflows. All three provided detailed information on the applications as well as problems encountered in developing them, allowing the steering committee to learn from the real-world experiences of particular users. In addition, participants in five workshop splinter sessions on education and training, institutional, technical, and policy issues in technology transfer, and user awareness and needs identified and discussed more general barriers and bottlenecks that interfere with the development of remote sensing applications and also explored ways to overcome such problems.This material provided a basis for much of the steering committee's analysis and figured significantly in its development of the report's findings and recommendations. The report is available in PDF.

Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE)

The objective of the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) is to explore the three-dimensional magnetic structures which emerge through the visible surface of the Sun -- the Photosphere -- and define both the geometry and dynamics of the upper solar atmosphere - the Transition Region and Corona. The magnetic field geometry can be seen in images of solar plasma taken in wavelengths emitted or absorbed by atoms and ions formed in different temperature ranges. The transition from the 6000 degree K Photosphere, where magnetic fields and plasma are in rough equipartition (low beta), to the multi-million degree Corona, where the magnetic fields dominate (high beta), is extremely difficult to model. Many of the physical process that occur here -- plasma confinement, reconnection, wave propagation, plasma heating -- arise throughout space physics and astrophysics. And to date, no images have ever been collected that show the required temperature range nearly simultaneously with both high spatial and temporal resolution. The TRACE data will provide quantitative observational constraints on the models and thus stimulate real advances in our understanding of the transition from low to high beta plasma. The solar atmosphere is constantly evolving because the magnetic fields which dominate the Corona are continuously being displaced by the convective motions in the outer layers of the sun just below the Photosphere. A major objective of the TRACE investigation is to explore the relation between diffusion of the surface magnetic fields and the changes in heating and structure throughout the Transition Region and Corona. The simultaneous movies of the 6000 to 10,000,000 degree K volume of the solar atmosphere will allow us to determine the rate of change of the magnetic topology and the nature of the local restructuring and reconnection processes. Occasionally new magnetic flux emerges through the solar surface and organizes into local concentrations the largest of which are sunspots. The emergence of new flux has profound effects on the overlying atmosphere and often triggers a variety of phenomena which release significant amounts of energy and which can result in major restructuring of the Corona, the interplanetary medium, and the Earth's magnetosphere. Therefore, TRACE will observe nearly continuously for an extended period to study not only the "quiet" solar atmosphere but also the more episodic active Sun.

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. TRMM is particularly devoted to determining rainfall in the tropics and subtropics of the earth. These regions make up about two thirds of the total rainfall on Earth and are responsible for driving our weather and climate system. This website provides information on the mission details, spacecraft and instrument description, news updates and images and videos. There are also links available to educational resources and reference publications.

Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS)

The Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS) mission provides a new capability for stereoscopically imaging the magnetosphere. By imaging the charge exchange neutral atoms over a broad energy range (~1-100 keV) using two identical instruments on two widely spaced high-altitude, high-inclination spacecraft, TWINS will enable the 3-dimensional visualization and the resolution of large scale structures and dynamics within the magnetosphere for the first time. In contrast to traditional space experiments, which make measurements at only one point in space, imaging experiments provide simultaneous viewing of different regions of the magnetosphere. Stereo imaging, as done by TWINS, takes the next step of producing 3-D images, and will provide a leap ahead in our understanding of the global aspects of the terrestrial magnetosphere.

UARS : Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

UARS is the first spacecraft launched as part of NASA's systematic, comprehensive study of the Earth system. It was launched on 12 September 1991 and deployed in a near polar orbit on 15 September 1991 from the Space Shuttle Discovery. UARS, the first satellite dedicated to studying stratospheric science, focuses on the processes that lead to ozone depletion, complementing and amplifying the measurements of total ozone made by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) onboard NASA's Nimbus-7 and the Russian Meteor-3 satellites. UARS also measures winds and temperatures in the stratosphere as well as the energy input from the Sun. In its first two weeks of operation, UARS data confirmed the polar ozone-depletion theories by providing three-dimensional maps of ozone and chlorine monoxide near the South Pole during development of the 1991 ozone hole. UARS, developed and managed by GSFC, in Greenbelt, Md., provides information that nations around the world can use to guide decisions on environmental policies, according to scientists. UARS was designed to last 18 months, but parts of it are still operational. The United Kingdom and Canada both provided instruments for this mission. This website provides a detailed description of UARS project including information about its instruments; movies and images; project's current status; data plots; orbital information; and UARS brochure and link to publications and reference material.

UK Lean Aerospace Initiative

The UK Lean Aerospace Initiative (UKLAI) is a collaborative programme between the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), representing the UK aerospace industry, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and a consortium of four universities. It was established in April 1998 to support member companies in meeting their improvement objectives and to establish an expertise and resource for the UK Aerospace industry. This site is part of the SBAC's Best Practice Centre. It contains background information on the UK-LAI programme, descriptions of products and services, member listsings, details of publications and a link to the UK-LAI Newsletter. Please note in order to access these resources you will need to search via the Best Practice Centre web page. Please note, access to some content and pages is limited to SBAC website members only.

Ulysses

Ulysses is a joint NASA and ESA mission to study the sun at all altitudes. ESA provided the spacecraft and NASA provided the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG), the launch vehicle, the payload assist module and is providing data reception via deep space network. The Shuttle Discovery launched the Ulysses spacecraft on October 6, 1990. To reach high solar latitudes, the spacecraft was aimed close to Jupiter so that Jupiter's large gravitational field would accelerate Ulysses out of the ecliptic plane to high latitudes. After more than 12 years in flight, Ulysses has returned a wealth of data that has led to a much broader understanding of the Global Structure of the Sun's environment-the heliosphere. This website brings together mission information; science and spacecraft details; and image and photo gallery. There is a link to news updates and information resources.

University of Texas Human Factors Research Project

The main aim of this project is to investigate individual, team, and organizational factors determining performance and safety in aviation, space, and medicine. It is also charged with developing new measures of performance in these environments and assessing the impact of human factors training on attitudes and behavior. It is funded by grants from NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration and contains an overview of the project in addition to listings of recent publications by the project group. The latter are available in PDF format, so you will require an Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view them.

Urban Operations Journal

Maintained by Dave Dilegge, a former urban operations analyst for the United States Marine Corps, the site provides information on urban military operations. The site contains full text documents relating to Military Operations on Urbanised Terrain (MOUT) doctrine and Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTP). There is also documentation on current and future technologies, links to sites on operations in different countries, an image library and glossary.

US Army Center of Military History

The US Army Center of Military History maintains the official history of the US army in terms of organisation, structure and operations. The web site provides access to many full text documents including online papers and reports on the major conflicts which the army has been involved, from the 1800's to the present day. Included are: the War of Independence; First and Second World Wars; Vietnam War; Korean War and the Cold War. Battle accounts, financial documents and military law are also included. Access to the centers library catalogue is possible,there are guides to researching military history. Information on the history of organisational changes in the American Army and news on military history events are all included on the web site. There is also an image archive.

Utilization of Operational Environmental Satellite Data : Ensuring Readiness for 2010 and Beyond

This a a full text book produced by the Committee on Environmental Satellite Data Utilization (CESDU), National Research Council and was published by National Academies Press in 2001. The focus of this report is the use of satellite data for civilian rather than defense or national security purposes. It is expected that as a result of expanding Earth-observing capability, novel ways of using satellite data that will have an increasing impact on citizens' daily lives will be developed. Thus satellite data providers will have to continuously evolve, revise, and in some cases radically redefine their role as well as plan for increased research, operations, and infra- structure. The high-level training required by such personnel and the continuing education of users are equally important and also must be planned and provided for. In this report, the CESDU offers findings and recommendations aimed at defining specific approaches to resolving the potential overload faced by the two agencies, NOAA and NASA, responsible for satellite data. The committee has focused on the end-to-end utilization of environmental satellite data by characterizing the links from the sources of raw data to the end requirements of various user groups, although, given its limited scope, the committee could not thoroughly examine every link in the chain. CESDU's goal is to characterize and provide sensible recommendations in three areas, namely, (1) the value of and need for environmental satellite data, (2) the distribution of environmental satellite data, and (3) data access and utilization. The committee's findings are based on its members knowledge of trends in technology; past lessons learned; users stated requirements; and other supporting information. The text is available in open book PDF form.

V2 Rocket.com

Provided by Tracy Dungan, this is an enthusiast site which provides information and resources on the first long range ballistic missile to be actively used in combat, the German V 2 or Aggregat 4 (A 4) rocket. The site looks at the design, production and deployment of the weapon during the Second World War. The resources available include images, blueprint drawings, technical data and specifications, details on its production, operations outlines and deployment details.

Venus Express

This site has been created by The European Space Agency (ESA) to provide ongoing coverage of the Venus Express mission. The site provides access to news bulletins and progress updates, VideoTalk, a multimedia feature that discusses the latest developments in space exploration, a webcam from the ESOC Main Control Room, a press kit, brochure (PDF format), image gallery, video clips, and a 3D Flash 'model'. In addition to this emphasis on live coverage the site also provides access to more in depth information sources on Venus and on the mission. The latter includes mission facts, objectives, and descriptions of the spacecraft, the orbiter instruments, the launcher and communications and control.

Vietnam: Yesterday and today

Created by Oakton Community College in Illinois to provide students and teachers with resources for the study of the Vietnam War. There is a chronology of the war and bibliographies of books of the war. These bibliographies are linked to certain aspects of the war which include, the Vietnamese perspective, the experiences of women during the conflict, Vietnam war films and articles on teaching the history of the war to students. Also available on the site are links to internet resources on the Vietnam War including electronic journals and discussion lists.

Voyager : the Interstellar Mission

The twin Voyager spacecraft were launched in 1977 and are still sending data regarding new characteristics of the effects of the sun in the distant solar wind. The site provides an overview of the mission and its history, the science behind the mission and what it aims to achieve, details about the spacecraft, and related news, images and multimedia.

Warp Drive When?

The site is aimed principally at the general public and is concerned with the feasibility of instellar travel. Contents include a discussion on the problems and challenges, a brief description of past proposals, and some explanation of the physics behind possible future technologies. The site also contains links to other related web sites, plus an annotated bibliography of publications on interstellar travel and frequently asked questions. Last major update on 11-30-2004.

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

WISE is a NASA-funded Explorer mission that will provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Among the objects WISE will study are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the most luminous galaxies. WISE is an unmanned satellite carrying an infrared-sensitive telescope that will image the entire sky. Since objects around room temperature emit infrared radiation, the WISE telescope and detectors are kept very cold (below -430° F /15 Kelvins, which is only 15° Centigrade above absolute zero) by a cryostat -- like an ice chest but filled with solid hydrogen instead of ice. Solar panels will provide WISE with the electricity it needs to operate, and will always point toward the Sun. Orbiting several hundred miles above the dividing line between night and day on Earth, the telescope will look out at right angles to the Sun and will always point away from Earth. As WISE orbits from the North pole to the equator to the South pole and then back up to the North pole, the telescope will sweep out a circle in the sky. As the Earth moves around the Sun, this circle will move around the sky, and after six months WISE will have observed the whole sky. As WISE sweeps along the circle a small mirror scans in the opposite direction, capturing an image of the sky onto an infrared sensitive digital camera which will take a picture every 11 seconds. Each picture will cover an area of the sky 3 times larger than the full Moon. After 6 months WISE will have taken nearly 1,500,000 pictures covering the entire sky. Each picture will have one megapixel at each of four different wavelengths that range from 5 to 35 times longer than the longest waves the human eye can see. Data taken by WISE will be downloaded by radio transmission 4 times per day to computers on the ground which will combine the many images taken by WISE into an atlas covering the entire celestial sphere and a list of all the detected objects.

Wind - Understanding interplanetary dynamics

Wind was launched on November 1, 1994 and is the first of two NASA spacecraft in the Global Geospace Science initiative and part of the ISTP Project. The science objectives of the WIND mission are: * Provide complete plasma, energetic particle, and magnetic field input for magnetospheric and ionospheric studies. * Determine the magnetospheric output to interplanetary space in the up-stream region. * Investigate basic plasma processes occurring in the near-Earth solar wind. * Provide baseline ecliptic plane observations to be used in heliospheric latitudes from ULYSSES.

Wind mission (Understanding Interplanetary Dynamics)

This is a NASA website that brings together a range of information regarding related to Wind mission. Wind was launched on November 1, 1994 and is the first of two NASA spacecraft in the Global Geospace Science initiative and part of the ISTP Project. The objectives of the mission are to provide complete plasma, energetic particle, and magnetic field input for magnetospheric and ionospheric studies. Its mission also aims to determine the magnetospheric output to interplanetary space in the up-stream region and investigate basic plasma processes occurring in the near Earth solar wind. Finally, another objective is to offer the baseline ecliptic plane observations to be used in the helliospheric latitudes from ULYSSES. The website offers useful links to data, instrumentation, educational links, orbits and many more.

Wings for Freedom : The History and Heritage of Canada's Air Force

This site plots the history of the Canadian Air Force. It is divided into five main sections; formation 1914-1938, war years 1939-1945, Cold War 1946-1968, unification 1969-1996, and the present. Each section contains an overview of events during the period, aircraft datafiles and profiles, photographs, details on squadrons and stations both at home and overseas, and articles and stories.

Witness to the Holocaust

This web site is maintained by Georgia Tech Library. It provides free Internet access to a collection of photographic images of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps in Europe at the end of the Second World War and eye witness testimonies. The materials are based on that collected by the Fred Roberts Crawford Project held at Emory University. They include a background history of the Jewish Holocaust and the liberation of Belsen, Dachau and Buchenwald. The site includes bibliographies of further readings for students. Please note that the nature of the subject matter means that some images are graphic and potentially shocking.

WMAP : Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

WMAP is NASA Explorer mission measuring the temperature of the cosmic background radiation over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy. The WMAP mission reveals conditions as they existed in the early universe by measuring the properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the full sky. This microwave radiation was released approximately 380,000 years after the birth of the universe. WMAP creates a picture of the microwave radiation using temperature difference measured from opposite directions (anisotropy). WMAP was launched in June of 2001 and has made a map of the temperature fluctuations of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) radiation with much higher resolution, sensitivity, and accuracy than NASA's earlier satellite COBE(Cosmic Background Explorer). This site provides in depth information about the mission, spacecraft and instrument details, current status and image gallery of collected data. Background information and news updates are also available.

World War II Timeline

Provided by Steve Schoenherr, Professor of History at the University of San Diego, this site provides a breakdown of the history of the Second World War from 1917 to its end in 1945. The site provides a summary of key events during each period, images, maps and documents. There is also an extensive links section which provides access to key web sites on the development of the atom bomb, aviation, battles, documents, espionage, archives, propaganda and personal narratives.

World War One : Naval Combat

The focus of this site is on surface ship warfare between the Imperial German Navy and the British Royal Navy during the First World War. The battles covered include, the Battle of Heligoland Bight, Coronel, the Falklands, Dogger Bank, Jutland and the scuttling at Scapa Flow. It also details major warship losses and gives an overview of the warships, battleships and cruisers involved. It also contains linked to further recommended sites.

WW2 People's War

The aim of this BBC web site is to create an archive of memories of the experience of the Second World War. It contains first hand accounts and recollections of people who lived through World War Two and articles from military history experts.

Xeus : X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy mission

The web site brings together a range of information relating to this European Space Agency mision to establish a permanent space-borne X-ray observatory. The introduction includes an MPG format (8.7 Mb) video clip. The mission concept section presents information on the mission profile, spacecraft design, current status and design goals. There are also explanations of the science goals of the mission and the specific technologies that will be employed. A resources section provides access to other supporting material available on the web.

YES2 : Young Engineering Satellite

This is a European Space Agency (ESA) sponsored collaborative project which is intended to encourage students and staff at participating universities to assist with the design and building of a low-cost satellite. This is a technology demonstration scheduled for launch in 2006. The mission will pave the way for a tethered inflatable sample return capability (SpaceMail) for the International Space Station (ISS). The project web site provides access to documents and videos which describe the underlying technologies. There is a downloads section and a list of participating institutions.

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