[Wednesday, October 01, 2003] The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was born on Oct. 1, 2003, merging three organizations ISAS, NAL and NASDA. JAXA has produced an online video to commemorate the event.

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[Wednesday, October 01, 2003] Iceberg C-19 separated from the western face of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in May 2002, splashed into the Ross Sea, and virtually eliminated a valuable food source for marine life.

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[Thursday, October 02, 2003] The next ISS crew is slated to arrive onboard Oct. 20. Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri are scheduled to spend about six months aboard the ISS.

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[Thursday, October 02, 2003] Engineers at ESOC sent a command to begin the firing test, which lasted for one hour. This was similar to a trial performed on Earth before SMART-1 was launched.

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[Thursday, October 02, 2003] An experiment by Italian scientists using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, currently en route to Saturn, confirms Einstein's theory of general relativity with a precision that is 50 times greater than previous measurements.

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[Thursday, October 02, 2003] The smog-shrouded atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has been parted by Earth-based radar to reveal the first evidence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes on its surface.

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[Friday, October 03, 2003] The Hubble Heritage Team of astronomers, who assemble many of the NASA Hubble Space Telescope's most stunning pictures, is celebrating its five-year anniversary with the release of the picturesque Sombrero galaxy.

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[Friday, October 03, 2003] The third meeting in a series of ‘European Space Policy Workshops' focussed on specific challenges in the areas of global monitoring (GMES), satellite navigation (GALILEO) and human spaceflight.

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[Friday, October 03, 2003] The launch of STS-114 - the so-called "Return to Flight" mission - has been moved to extend from 12 September 2004 to 10 October 2004.

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[Friday, October 03, 2003] A small asteroid 3 - 6 meters in diameter came within 88,000 km of Earth on September 27. Less than a quarter of the distance to the Moon, this is the closest well-documented Earth encounter of an asteroid that has not struck our atmosphere.

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[Saturday, October 04, 2003] "The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was born on Oct. 1, 2003. Its acronym is "JAXA" The biggest feature of our new name is that we added the word "Exploration" that represents our activities."

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[Monday, October 06, 2003] The first set of ICESAT laser measurements is revealing features of the polar ice sheets with details never seen before, and is detecting dust storms, cloud heights, tree heights and smoke from forest fires in new and exciting ways.

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[Tuesday, October 07, 2003] The prime Soyuz TMA-3 crew of Michael Foale, Alexander Kaleri, and Pedro Duque and their back up crew arrived at Baikonur Cosmodrome on 6 October to begin final training and preparation for their mission.

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[Tuesday, October 07, 2003] NASA Watch has learned the probable cause of ICESat's Laser 1 failure. Within the laser, components made of gold and indium come in contact with one another. During the operation of the laser, these two elements have reacted together.

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[Tuesday, October 07, 2003] NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program is accepting proposals from undergraduate teams across the country to fly their experiments on a unique agency airplane.

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[Tuesday, October 07, 2003] NASA has decided to dramatically alter its approach to developing new means of cargo transport to the ISS. In a meeting on Tuesday, four companies under contract to study so called "Alternate Access" concepts, were given details of NASA's new direction.

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[Wednesday, October 08, 2003] According to a report in the state-run newspaper "People's Daily", China will launch a lone astronaut or "yuhangyuan" on a one-orbit trip around Earth on 15 October 2003.

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[Thursday, October 09, 2003] NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe sat down for another in a series of breakfast meetings with reporters on Wednesday. The topics covered a wide range of issues, but focused almost entirely on human space flight.

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[Thursday, October 09, 2003] "The conventional theory of metals is in crisis. The observation of a metallic phase for bosons directly contradicts conventional wisdom. A satisfactory explanation requires a new state of matter."

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[Thursday, October 09, 2003] A new UK project could help detect evidence for life on Mars, as well as improve our understanding of how it evolved on Earth.

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[Friday, October 10, 2003] Exploding stars, called Supernovae, that are three-quarters of the way across the universe have helped astrophysicists discover that the universe has expanded at different rates over its cosmic history.

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[Monday, October 13, 2003] China has announced that three of its astronauts have arrived at the launch site for this week's first-ever manned space mission. People are getting excited despite little media coverage in the country.

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[Monday, October 13, 2003] Elusive brown dwarfs, the missing link between gas giant planets like Jupiter and small, low-mass stars, have now been "fingerprinted" by UCLA astronomy professor Ian S. McLean and colleagues, using the Keck II Telescope at the W.M. Keck Observatory in

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[Tuesday, October 14, 2003] According to Xinhuanet "China's first manned spacecraft, the Shenzhou-5, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu at 9 a.m. Wednesday."

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[Wednesday, October 15, 2003] NASA's Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) Mishap Investigation Board (MIB) identified four possible causes for the failure of the comet-rendezvous mission launched in July 2002.

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[Wednesday, October 15, 2003] Audio and video from the International Space Station regarding China's first human space flight will be available today on NASA Television.

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[Wednesday, October 15, 2003] "Although the effects of the Columbia accident on the space station are still being explored, it is clear that the station will cost more, take longer to complete, and have further delay in the achievement of key research objectives."

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[Wednesday, October 15, 2003] The House Committee on Science will hold a hearing on October 16 which will examine the rationale for human presence in space, the feasibility and cost of various potential long-term goals, and the near-term implications of establishing these goals.

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[Wednesday, October 15, 2003] NASA has released the first revision to the Implementation Plan for Space Shuttle Return to Flight and Beyond, reflecting progress to date in responding to the CAIB, as well as additional actions initiated by the Space Shuttle Program.

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[Wednesday, October 15, 2003] According to various Chinese news agencies, Shenzhou V carrying China's first human in space, Yang Liwei, has landed safely in Inner Mongolia. The re-entry apparently proceeded without incident and recovery team personnel have reached the capsule.

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[Thursday, October 16, 2003] On 18 October the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome will be carrying European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque to the International Space Station accompanied by the two members of ISS Expedition 8 crew.

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[Thursday, October 16, 2003] Unlike last year, this was my second 'mission' to Devon Island. I have already endured the hardships, and learned what to do - and not to do. As such, this year would be less of an unknown adventure - but, an adventure, none the less it was.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] After eluding astronomers for 66 years, the long-lost asteroid Hermes has finally been retrieved.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] Integral, ESA's gamma-ray space telescope, has discovered what seems to be a new class of astronomical objects. These are binary systems, probably including a black hole or a neutron star, embedded in a thick cocoon of cold gas.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] The next crew for the International Space Station is making last-minute preparations for launch to the orbiting laboratory. The launch is scheduled for Saturday at 1:38 a.m. EDT.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] Thursday was another busy day aboard the International Space Station for the Expedition 7 crew. Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu continued to prepare for their trip home and Expedition 8's arrival at the Station.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] CDR Yuri Malenchenko and FE/SO Ed Lu then spent several hours on preparations for their return on Soyuz 6S on 10/27 (Monday), first focusing on getting personal items and equipment ready.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] The dream of a giant optical telescope has moved a step closer to reality today. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awarded $17.5 million to fund a detailed design study of the Thirty-Meter Telescope.

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[Friday, October 17, 2003] The next crew of the International Space Station is on its way to its orbital home away from home. The Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft took off from Baikonur at 1:38 a.m. EDT.

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[Monday, October 20, 2003] New residents arrived at the ISS at 2:16 a.m. CDT (0716 GMT, 11:16am Moscow time). The arrival initiated a week of intense science operations and handover activities for the newest station crew, which will stay aboard the complex for nearly 200 days.

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[Monday, October 20, 2003] NASA may soon be handed a new mandate for humans to do new things in space. Unless NASA gets its life sciences research house in order, NASA will not be able to respond to that mandate.

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[Tuesday, October 21, 2003] Vice President Cheney met with Senators today to discuss national space policy. Present at the meeting were Cheney, 3 White House staffers, Sean O'Keefe, and Senators Nelson, McCain, Hollings, Breaux, and Brownback.

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[Tuesday, October 21, 2003] Two very dynamic centers of activity have emerged on the sun. NOAA Region 484 developed rapidly over the past three days and is now one of the largest sunspot clusters to emerge during Solar Cycle 23, approximately 10 times larger than Earth.

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[Tuesday, October 21, 2003] Not seen since 1937, asteroid 1937 UB (Hermes) continues to astonish and excite astronomers worldwide. Observations revealed yesterday that Hermes is actually two objects circling around one another while about to pass by Earth again.

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[Tuesday, October 21, 2003] With the completion of its hundredth surface detector, the Pierre Auger Observatory, under construction in Argentina, this week became the largest cosmic-ray air shower array in the world.

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[Thursday, October 23, 2003] The presence of olivine, a common green mineral, on Mars suggests that the red planet could have been cold and dry since the mineral has been exposed, which may be more than a billion years.

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[Thursday, October 23, 2003] A coronal mass ejection on Wednesday morning appears to be Earth-directed. Forecasters are predicting a strong geomagnetic storm, G-3 on the NOAA Space Weather Scales, that should reach Earth on Friday, October 24.

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[Thursday, October 23, 2003] NASA and USGS have rejected the bid from Resource21 for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. This decision, amplified by the current technical problems with Landsat 7, places continuity of the 30+ year Landsat observation record at significant risk.

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[Thursday, October 23, 2003] Recently observed change in Arctic temperatures and sea ice cover may be a harbinger of global climate changes to come, according to a recent NASA study.

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[Friday, October 24, 2003] "The whole point of leaving home is, after all, to go somewhere, not to endlessly circle the block." - Wesley Huntress, Carnegie Institution.

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[Saturday, October 25, 2003] The Columbia Accident Investigation Board will release Vols. II-VI of its Final Report on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003 on its website. These volumes contain appendices that provide the supporting documentation for the main text of the Final Report.

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[Saturday, October 25, 2003] The geomagnetic storm predicted by the NOAA Space Environment Center hit the Earth's magnetic field at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Friday. It is currently at the strong G-3 level on the NOAA space weather scales -- the highest being a G5.

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[Sunday, October 26, 2003] After our 6 months in space, we will have actually aged slightly less than everyone else on the ground because of an effect called time dilation. It isn't by much (about 0.007 seconds), but it is one side benefit of flying in space!

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[Monday, October 27, 2003] Several massive wildfires were raging across southern California over the weekend of October 25, 2003. Whipped by the hot, dry Santa Ana winds that blow toward the coast from interior deserts, at least one fire grew 10,000 acres in just 6 hours.

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[Monday, October 27, 2003] Soyuz crews have been provided with a satellite phone and a handheld GPS unit so as to be able to communicate with Mission Control in Moscow in case communications problems arise and/or they land off course.

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[Monday, October 27, 2003] What is it like to ride a Soyuz back to Earth? This excerpt from NASA's daily ISS on-orbit status reports provides a glimpse.

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[Monday, October 27, 2003] The Soyuz TMA-2/6S spacecraft carrying Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu and ESA astronaut Pedro Duque landed safely in Kazakhstan this evening at 9:41 pm EST.

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[Monday, October 27, 2003] The wildfires ravaging southern California are even impressive from 240 miles above the Earth. NASA astronaut Ed Lu took still photographs of the fires through the windows of the International Space Station Sunday.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] Astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have made the most precise measurement to date of the cosmic clustering of galaxies and dark matter, refining our understanding of the structure and evolution of the Universe.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] The year-long review of future directions for the U.S. space program is rapidly drawing towards selection of a policy path, Spacelift Washington has learned from sources close to the deliberations.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] As a result of this activity a category G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm is expected with periods of category G5 (extreme) levels possible. The solar radiation storm is also expected to continue at strong (G3) levels for the next 48 hours.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] "This is the strongest flare we've seen in the past 30 years," says Leon Golub."Today's solar flare was classified as an X18-category explosion, meaning that it can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] Today, the names of the STS-107 astronauts who lost their lives during the Columbia accident joined the names of 17 other space heroes who gave their lives for the U.S. space program.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] Astronomers are embarking on a quest for a missing link in planetary evolution. Their laboratory is the universe, and their tool of choice is NASA's new Space Infrared Telescope Facility.

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[Tuesday, October 28, 2003] "From the fall of Apollo to the debris field of Texas and the quandary over the fate of ISS and its predecessors we cannot seem to get our act together or develop a vision for our space efforts."

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[Wednesday, October 29, 2003] NASA is adapting tiny laboratories embedded in compact discs (CDs) to conduct biological tests aboard the International Space Station and to eventually look for life on other planets.

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[Wednesday, October 29, 2003] Forecasters at the NOAA Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo., said that a powerful geomagnetic storm emitted from the sun sped though space at 5 million mph and reached Earth Wednesday 1:13 a.m. EST.

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[Thursday, October 30, 2003] The European Union and European Space Agency (ESA) Joint Task Force has presented its report on the Space Green Paper consultation process, focussing on the targeted workshops that took place from March through June 2003.

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[Thursday, October 30, 2003] The Expedition 8 crew's workday aboard the International Space Station had a focus on emergency preparedness. Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri participated in a two-hour emergency training drill.

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[Thursday, October 30, 2003] Just when we thought we were through the worst of it, a second gigantic solar flare has erupted, sending another coronal mass ejection directly towards Earth.

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[Thursday, October 30, 2003] The third most-powerful solar flare ever observed erupted early on October 28. A coronal mass ejection was directed almost straight at Earth. To follow up, the same spot released a large X11 flare Wednesday afternoon and it too is associated with a CME.

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[Thursday, October 30, 2003] While solar flares affected electrical grids and astronauts on the Space Station, a panel of witnesses warned of severe consequences if Congress eliminated or transferred the office charged with detecting and studying such space weather events.

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[Friday, October 31, 2003] A mysterious arc of light found behind a distant cluster of galaxies has turned out to be the biggest, brightest and hottest star-forming region ever seen in space.

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[Friday, October 31, 2003] University of Iowa Professor and Space Physicist Don Gurnett, recently used NASA's Cassini spacecraft to record the sound of one of the largest solar flares seen in decades as it moved outward from the sun.

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[Friday, October 31, 2003] The International Space Station will surpass another milestone Sunday. It will be the third anniversary of the permanent human habitation of the orbital outpost.

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