New Minotaur rocket set for debut / Mars rover finds possible meteorite

     NEWSALERT: Monday, August 3, 2009 @ 1739 GMT
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NEW MINOTAUR ROCKET SET FOR DEBUT LAUNCH IN OCTOBER
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The Minotaur 4 rocket, a new military launcher derived from retired
missile parts, will debut in October with an experimental Air Force
mission that will track other satellites in space.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0908/03minotaursbss/


SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER ISSUE EXAMINED ON DISCOVERY
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An internal valve problem with the hydraulic steering system on the
left-hand solid rocket booster of space shuttle Discovery is being
analyzed in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Rollout to pad 39A has been
delayed until 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts128/status.html


OPPORTUNITY ROVER COMES UPON POSSIBLE METEORITE
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The Mars rover Opportunity has eyed an odd-shaped, dark rock that could be
a meteorite. Scientists will be testing the rock with the alpha particle
X-ray spectrometer to get composition measurements and to confirm if
indeed it is a meteorite.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0908/02marsrock/


CRATERS, LAVA AND TECTONICS SCOOPED BY MARS EXPRESS
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ESA's Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera has scooped impact
craters, ancient lava flows and evidence of tectonic activity all near
Ma'adim Vallis, one of the largest canyons on Mars.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n0907/27mars/


UNVEILING THE TRUE FACE OF BETELGEUSE
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Using state of the art imaging techniques, astronomers have revealed a
vast plume of gas and gigantic bubbles boiling on the surface of Orion's
supergiant star Betelgeuse.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n0907/29betel/


COSMIC DANCE STRIPS STARS FROM DWARF GALAXIES
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New computer simulations may provide an explanation for the origin of very
small, faint galaxies, the so-called dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n0907/30dwarf/