NASA has announced the launch target for Space Exploration
Technologies' (SpaceX) second Commercial Orbital Transportation
Services (COTS) demonstration flight will be February 7, 2012.
Pending completion of final safety reviews, testing and
verification, NASA also has agreed to allow SpaceX to send its
Dragon spacecraft to rendezvous with the International Space
Station (ISS) in a single flight.
Report Indicates Hundreds Of 'Astromaterials' Have Been
Lost
A report released Thursday by NASA's Inspector General indicates
that the agency has lost hundreds of samples of moon rocks and
other "astromaterials" since the first specimens were returned to
Earth by the Apollo program. NASA confirmed that 517 loaned
astromaterials have been lost or stolen between 1970 and June 2010,
including 18 lunar samples reported lost by a researcher in 2010
and 218 lunar and meteorite samples stolen from a researcher
at the Johnson Space Center in 2002, but since
recovered.
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