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News briefs: July 8
Posted: Tue, Jul 9, 2002, 7:24 AM ET (1124 GMT)
- The UK joined the European Southern Observatory, a consortium of nations that operate several telescopes on Chile, on Monday. Britain will spend over $150 million over the next ten years to be the tenth member nation of ESO, which operates the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and several smaller telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The addition of the UK adds momentum to ESO's plans to build the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope, a 100-meter telescope that would be built in cooperation with other nations, including the US.
- Lockheed Martin has set August 12 as the official launch date of the first Atlas 5 rocket, Spaceflight Now reported Monday. The launch was delayed from late July to allow more testing of a umbilical retraction system. Those tests have been completed, and August 12 was the first available launch date at Cape Canaveral.
- A bright flash seen by an Israeli pilot over the Ukraine may have been a meteor, the AP reported. The flash was seen by the pilot of an El Al jet flying between Tel Aviv and Moscow July 4, as well as by pilots on two other planes. While initially thought to be a missile explosion, Ukrainian officials said no military exercises were taking place in that area at the time, and suggested the flash may have instead been a meteor explosion.
- Laos is planning its own communications satellite, Reuters reported Monday. The satellite should be ready in 18-21 months, according to officials, who hope to make money by leasing transponders to provide coverage during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Who is building and launching the satellite has not been disclosed.
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