Mars rover fitted with nuclear power source for next week's launch

NEWSALERT: Friday, November 18, 2011 @ 1630 GMT
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  The latest news from Spaceflight Now


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NUCLEAR POWER GENERATOR HOOKED UP TO MARS ROVER
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Engineers installed the plutonium power source on NASA's Curiosity rover
Thursday, adding the final piece to the complex robot before its Nov. 25
blastoff to Mars.

http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av028/111117mmrtg/


MOBILE LAUNCHER ROLLOUT VIDEOS POSTED
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The mobile launch platform for NASA's heavy-lift rocket was rolled to
Kennedy Space Center's pad 39B this week. Check out these videos of the
move, posted for on-demand viewing and downloading for Spaceflight
Now+Plus users:

http://www.spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php


MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS CRAFT MOVES CLOSER TO LAUNCH
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A spacecraft that will improve communications with the U.S. military's
aerial drones currently employed in some of the world's hotspots has
arrived at Cape Canaveral to prepare for blastoff in January.

http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d358/111117wgs.html


CHINESE CAPSULE RETURNS AFTER DOCKING MISSION
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The return capsule of the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft parachuted to a safe
landing in Inner Mongolia on Thursday, wrapping up China's first docking
mission ahead of manned flights next year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/china/shenzhou8/111117landing/

VIDEO: SHENZHOU DESCENDS UNDER PARACHUTE
http://spaceflightnow.com/china/shenzhou8/111117landing/landingvideo.html


MESSENGER GETS ANOTHER YEAR EXPLORING MERCURY
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NASA has announced that it will extend the MESSENGER mission for an
additional year of orbital operations at Mercury beyond the planned end of
the primary mission on March 17, 2012. The MESSENGER probe became the
first spacecraft to orbit the innermost planet on March 18, 2011.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1111/17messenger/


VOYAGER 2 COMPLETES SWITCH TO BACKUP THRUSTER SET
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NASA's Voyager 2 has successfully switched to the backup set of thrusters
that controls the roll of the spacecraft, allowing engineers to reduce the
amount of power that the 34-year-old probe needs to operate by turning off
the heater that keeps the fuel to the primary thrusters warm.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1111/17voyager/

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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling

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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
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Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
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Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

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Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
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