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Russia's space industry is set for a hefty hike in funding. In 2006, its budget will balloon to $690 million and Russia will share fifth or sixth place with India in the global financial league table (after the U.S., the EU, Japan and China). According to Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Federal Space Agency, the new trend will continue into the future. In 2004, Russia launched two spacecraft more than in 2003, for a total of 23 launches, or 42.6% of the worldwide number. The U.S. accounted for 29.6%, China, 14.8%, the EU, 5.6% and India, 1.9%. Even if...

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed United Launch Alliance ("ULA") joint venture between the US Defence and Space contractors Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The investigation has shown that the proposed transaction will not significantly impede effective competition in the European Union. Both Boeing and Lockheed provide space launch services to governmental and commercial customers. Lockheed is active on the market with its Atlas family of launch vehicles as well as with Proton, a launcher produced in a joint venture with Russian partners. Boeing offers the Delta launch vehicles as well as launchers produced by...

A Russian Proton launch vehicle placed the AMC-15 satellite into orbit this morning, marking the ninth mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS). The Proton lifted off at 3:23 a.m. today in Baikonur (5:23 p.m. Thursday EDT, 21:23 Thursday GMT), with spacecraft separation from the Breeze M upper stage nearly seven hours later, at 10:18 a.m. (12:18 a.m. EDT, 4:18 GMT). ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Russia. ILS markets and manages the missions on the Proton vehicle and on the American Atlas rocket. “We thank...

<p>The physics lab that brought you the Web is reinventing the Internet. Get ready for the atom-smashing, supercomputing, 5-gigabits-per-second Grid Economy.</p> <p>200 feet underground, a proton does 17-mile laps at nearly the speed of light. Guided by powerful magnets, it zooms through a narrow, circular tunnel that straddles the Switzerland-France border. Then a tiny adjustment in the magnetic field throws the proton into the path of another particle beam traveling just as fast in the opposite direction. Everything goes kerflooey.</p>

The Eutelsat W3A satellite successfully launched into the early morning sky above the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Carried by the Russian-built Proton M rocket, the W3A satellite will provide telecommunications services for regions of Africa and Europe for at least 12 years. Two minutes after a flawless launch, the Proton M vehicle carrying the W3A satellite shed the first of its three stages. The second stage was successfully jettisoned about five minutes into the mission and, 10 minutes after launch, the W3A experienced the first of five burns by its Breeze M booster which will slowly push the satellite higher...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 December 17 A Proton Aurora Credit: IMAGE Satellite, NASA Explanation: What are auroras made out of? Most auroras are caused by the solar wind exciting electrons that are funneled down the Earth's magnetic field. These electrons strike air molecules, liberating other electrons that glow when re-acquired. Sometimes, however, auroras composed mostly of heavier protons impact the Earth, causing a more energetic display with strong ultraviolet emission. A...