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(Reuters) - The Israeli navy seized a ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday that was carrying dozens of advanced Iranian-supplied rockets made in Syria and intended for Palestinian guerrillas in the Gaza Strip, the military said. The disclosure came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the United States to press his case for tougher international action against Iran over its disputed nuclear program and support for Islamist guerrilla groups. The Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel Klos C was boarded in international waters without resistance from its 17-strong crew in a "complex, covert operation", military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner told...

It is set to become the largest rocket ever built, dwarfing the rockets that took man to the moon and paving the way for manned missions to Mars. Nasa today reveal stunning new pictures of its SLS (Space Launch System), which will eventually be capable of lifting 130 tonnes into orbit. The rocket will be used to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, and to help us explore the outer reaches of the solar system. It is even hoped the craft could play a role in manned missions to Mars, being able to launch 'stepping stone' bases into orbit.

It is set to become the largest rocket ever built, dwarfing the rockets that took man to the moon and paving the way for manned missions to Mars. Nasa today reveal stunning new pictures of its SLS (Space Launch System), which will eventually be capable of lifting 130 tonnes into orbit. The rocket will be used to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, and to help us explore the outer reaches of the solar system. It is even hoped the craft could play a role in manned missions to Mars, being able to launch 'stepping stone' bases into orbit....

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO achieved another milestone today as it successfully launched the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle or GSLV-D5 from the space port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The advanced GSAT-14 communications satellite that GSLV-D5 is carrying has also been separated from the rocket and placed into orbit. The Rs. 350-crore mission marks India's entry into the multi-billion dollar commercial launcher market on a fully indigenous large rocket. An India-made cryogenic engine powers the GSLV-D5, which stands almost 50 meters tall (as high as a 17-storey building) and weighs a whopping 415 tons (as much 80...

An upgraded ballistic rocket was reportedly launched Tuesday from the Gaza Strip into the Mediterranean sea, presumably to test the weapon’s capabilities and range. The test caused loud explosion sounds that were audible in Israeli towns and cities adjacent to the Gaza border, Channel 2 reported. The rocket was an improved version of the M-75 missile with a slightly longer range and a larger warhead, the report said. Other Israeli news outlets, citing the army, attributed the explosion sounds to ultrasonic booms caused by Israeli jets that were participating in a drill.

A top secret surveillance satellite and 12 tiny co-passengers are ready for launch from California's hilly coastline late Thursday aboard an Atlas 5 rocket. The United Launch Alliance booster is set for liftoff at 11:13 p.m. PST (0713 GMT; 2:13 a.m. EST Friday) from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

After cleaning and replacing engine components, SpaceX is gearing up for another try to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Monday on a crucial mission to deliver the SES 8 commercial television broadcasting satellite to orbit. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad is set for 5:41 p.m. EST/2:41 p.m. PST (2241 GMT), the opening of an 86-minute launch window.

China will tomorrow become the first country in almost 40 years to soft-land a probe on the moon, in a huge step forward for its ambitious space programme. The nation will become the third in history to launch a lunar probe when the device, named 'Jade Rabbit' after a Chinese folklore character, launches at 5.30pm on Sunday evening, which is 1.30am local time. The mission forms part of a plan in which China hopes to build a permanent lunar base in order to launch future missions to Mars within the next 15 years.

Technicians are in the final stages of readying a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for launch Monday on its first mission to geostationary transfer orbit with a commercial communications satellite for television broadcasters in India and Southeast Asia. Rocket: Falcon 9 v1.1 Payload: SES 8 Launch date: November 25, 2013 Launch time: 5:37 p.m. EST/2:37 p.m. PST (2237 GMT) Launch window: 66 minutes Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida

We all have stories, as engineers, of fixing some crazy thing at the last minute right before the demo goes up. We have all encountered situations where we needed to fix something that was our fault and we needed to fix it now. This story is something that I think about in those times to remember to stay calm. No last minute fix could ever be this dramatic or important. My grandfather passed away about a week ago. At the service, I was asked to say a few words and read from his memoirs. This was my choice. RED TEAM...

UC San Diego students complete successful test of 3D-printed engine Students from the San Diego chapter of the University of California test-fire a new 3D-printed engine, making UC San Diego the very first university to “additively manufacture” a rocket engine. The engine was printed by GPI Prototype and Manufacturing Services with help from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The engine’s fabrication, from conception to its final test on October 5th, took around 8 months to complete. Already a recipient of the Student Prize award for DIYRockets, Inc’s competition, the engine’s hot-fire test was highly successful and no doubt means...

Rocket: Antares Payload: Cygnus Launch date: September 18, 2013 Launch time: 10:50 a.m. EDT/7:50 a.m. PDT (1450 GMT) Launch window: 15 minutes Launch site: Pad 0A, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Islands, VA ISS capture: Sept 22 @ 1117 GMT ISS departure: TBD 0745 GMT (3:45 a.m. EDT) The countdown began on time to begin final preps for this morning's 10:50 a.m. EDT blastoff of the 13-story Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Follow activities with this countdowntimeline. The mission will be the second launch of the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket after a...

Rocket: Minotaur 5 Payload: LADEE Launch date: September 6, 2013 Launch time: 11:27 p.m. EDT (0327 GMT on 7th) Site: Launch Pad 0B, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport City/State: Wallops Island, Va. SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013 UPDATE Technicians lifted a NASA moon probe on top of a Minotaur rocket on Saturday, crowning an eight-story, five-stage booster set for an historic liftoff from Virginia on Sept. 6. The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, a $280 million mission to measure the dynamics of the moon's tenuous atmosphere, was hoisted atop the Minotaur launcher on pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's...

Propellants offer satellites greater efficiency and lower toxicity than liquid hydrazine. It looks like chardonnay, smells like glass cleaner and packs enough punch to shift a satellite. It is a Swedish-made ‘green propellant’, one that is fast becoming a viable fuel for manoeuvring craft in orbit. Along with a US-made propellant, it is providing an attractive alternative to hydrazine, the toxic chemical that has dominated this corner of the space industry for decades. The Swedish propellant is currently nudging a satellite around in space, and may be used in a constellation of small commercial Earth-imaging satellites. The US-made fuel will...

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA Payload: Eutelsat 25B & GSAT 7 Launch date: August 29, 2013 Launch window: 2030 GMT (4:30 p.m. EDT) Site: ELA-3, Guiana Space Center, Kourou French Guiana Watch the launch at these links. www.spaceflightnow.com/ariane/va215/status.html or http://arianespace.tv/

An al Qaeda-affiliated group in Lebanon has claimed responsibility for last week’s terror attack on Israel, according to a newly released statement from the group. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, named after Osama bin Laden’s mentor, released a statement in Arabic late Monday claiming official ownership of the four rockets launched into Israeli territory on Thursday of last week. “This operation comes within the series of our jihadi work directed at the Jews,” read a translation the terrorist group’s statement, which was accompanied by several tweets from group member Sirajuddin Zureiqat, who posted photos of the rockets shot into northern Israel....

Japan cancels first launch of Epsilon rocket 19 seconds before liftoff Tariq Malik, Space.com The first launch of Japan's newest rocket, the next-generation Epsilon booster, hit a major last-minute snag Tuesday, forcing the country's space agency to abort the spaceflight 19 seconds before liftoff. The glitch occurred extremely late in the countdown for the Epsilon rocket, which was slated to blast off from a seaside pad at the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan. The rocket was set to launch Tuesday at 12:45 a.m. EDT, which was 1:45 p.m. Japan Standard Time at the launch site. /snip JAXA's Epsilon rocket...

At least two rockets slammed into an area south of Beirut that houses the Defense Ministry and presidential palace on Thursday night, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported. There were no casualties, according to the report. It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets or from where. Eyewitnesses said one rocket fell only a few meters from an entrance to the presidential palace, according to the Associated Press. Though nothing is yet confirmed, the incident may have something to do with the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria which has spilled into Lebanon on more than one occasion. Since the...

More N. Korean Long-Range Rocket Launches Expected 'Soon' Steve Herman July 31, 2013 TOKYO — Specialists following North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile development concur the reclusive state is nearly certain to continue launching long-range rockets which may be intended to improve its capability to fire weapons of mass destruction. A North Korean official in Pyongyang last week told VOA News that another launch of the Unha series vehicle will occur “soon” as part of the country's “peaceful use of space.” He did not elaborate.

A Russian rocket crash yesterday (July 1) was likely caused by an emergency shutdown of the booster's engines 17 seconds into the flight, according to news reports. The unmanned Russian Proton-M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstanat 10:38 p.m. EDT (0238 GMT). The crash of the 17-story booster destroyed three onboard navigation satellites, which were worth almost $200 million. Video of the rocket crash from Russian state-run Rossiya-24 television shows the vehicle veering off course shortly after liftoff, and then breaking apart in mid-air and exploding in a fiery blaze once it hit the ground. The rocket was...