Posted: Tue, Sep 25, 2001, 1:41 PM ET (1741 GMT)
SpaceDev announced Tuesday that it has won a contract worth up to $2.2 million. The San Diego-based aerospace company said the contract was for a "proprietary research program" and did not disclose the nature of the work nor the entity that issued the contract... The second significant solar flare in as many days was recorded early Tuesday. An M8 flare was spotted at 12:40 am EDT (0440 GMT) from the same sunspot region that generated a larger X2.6-class flare Monday. Monday's flare forced a three-day postponement in the launch of an Athena rocket from Alaska; the flare is also expected to generate major auroral events starting Tuesday night... The International Astronautical Congress will take place as scheduled next month in Toulouse, France, despite recent events, conference organizers said Tuesday. Neither recent terrorist attacks nor an unrelated explosion at a fertilizer plant in Toulouse September 21 will delay the 52nd annual meeting, scheduled for October 1-5.

Related Links:

•  SpaceDev press release
•  SpaceWeather.com
•  BBC article about aurorae from flare
•  SPACE.com article about International Astronautical Congress