Satellites

A NASA satellite designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions and pinpoint global warming dangers crashed Tuesday after a protective covering failed to separate from the craft shortly after launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The loss of the $278-million satellite came as a severe blow to NASA's climate monitoring efforts, as well as the builder of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va.

Senior government officials said Saturday that they were closely watching a failing U.S. spy satellite that had begun the process of "de-orbiting" and cautioned that the large device was no longer controllable and could hit the Earth as early as late February. "Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly.

The successful U.S. missile strike against a failing spy satellite 133 miles above the Earth on Wednesday bolstered the credibility of America's long-troubled missile defense system, according to military experts. U.S. military officials have sought to play down the strategic value of the operation, saying that it was solely intended to take out a malfunctioning satellite hurtling toward Earth with a tank of toxic rocket fuel.

The military's analysis of the missile strike on a dead U.S. spy satellite has revealed no sign of danger from debris, including no hazard from the satellite's fuel tank, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday. "As we continue to do the post-strike analysis, [it] continues to give us confidence that the hydrazine tank was ruptured. However, the analysis is still ongoing," spokesman Bryan Whitman said. U.S.

If only cars could last so long. This month, a satellite resembling a shiny spinning drum and orbiting 21,156 miles above Earth celebrated its 41st birthday, astounding engineers and scientists, some of them the children of those who built it. For years, the satellite has served as an emergency communications link for rescue operations, including the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and the 1980 Mt. St. Helens volcanic eruption.

The Chinese military shot down one of its own aging satellites with a ground-based ballistic missile last week, demonstrating a new technological capability at a time of growing Bush administration concern over Beijing's military modernization and its intentions in space. The shoot-down, which U.S. officials said occurred on the evening of Jan. 11, prompted a formal protest from Washington that was joined by allies including Canada and Australia, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The Bush administration demanded again Friday that China explain why it conducted a test of its growing anti-satellite capability last week, successfully destroying an obsolete orbiter in a move that alarmed many U.S. allies and brought diplomatic protests. The United States, Canada, Australia and Japan have questioned China's motives in launching a ground-based missile that destroyed one of its aging weather satellites about 500 miles above Earth.

Faced with international criticism, a Chinese official broke a two-week silence and confirmed that his government had successfully tested an anti-satellite weapon but insisted the action was not intended to threaten other countries. China's explanation did not satisfy the Bush administration, which said officials should provide more information.

Long Beach-based Sea Launch sends commercial satellites into space using a self-propelled former oil platform as a launch pad. The unique system uses the partially submerged platform and an accompanying command ship to launch rockets for customers that have included DirecTV and XM Satellite Radio. Its next launch, the company's 24th, is set for Saturday. How it works: Preparing for the voyage 1.

ANDRE Mueller is a virtual explorer of virgin territory. One morning, off the southwest coast of Iceland, the 25-year-old German physics student noticed a wispy line -- a wrinkle, almost -- in the elaborate patchwork of satellite imagery that makes up Google Earth. He zoomed in for a closer look. It was smoke. At the end of the trail, he discovered what appeared to be three boats.