The first men to walk on the Moon

Report By Jano
The crew of Apollo 11, the first men to walk on the Moon, helped their families plan for their deaths before they launched, memorabilia to be sold at auction has revealed.When the crew of Apollo 11 set off for the moon in 1969, they were feted as heroes and praised as pioneers.But mementoes to be sold at an auction commemorating the mission's 40th anniversary shows how the three astronauts secretly feared they may be on a one-way ticket – and how they helped their families to plan for their deaths.With insurance companies unwilling to cover them for such a treacherous venture, and aware that government compensation in the event of their demise could be modest, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins dreamed up an idea for securing their loved ones' futures: autographed first-day covers.One of the signed envelopes – bearing the Apollo 11 mission emblem and postmarked at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, on July 16, 1969, the day of the launch – is among 400 lots going under the hammer in a sale of rare space memorabilia at Bonhams auction house in New York."Since we were unable to obtain adequate life insurance due to the high risk nature of being an astronaut, we signed this group of covers and evenly distributed them to our families for safe keeping while we performed our mission," explained Buzz Aldrin, 79, in an accompanying letter certifying authenticity."If an unfortunate event prevented our safe return, the covers would have provided a limited financial means of support to our families."The auction, one of many events marking the anniversary later this month, is expected to draw bidding from space enthusiasts and collectors around the world, and raise at least $1.5 million. (Report By Jano)

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Lightning delays shuttle launch

Report By Jano
The launch of US shuttle Endeavour has been delayed after a thunderstorm around Cape Canaveral, Nasa officials say.Blast-off was postponed for 24 hours to allow technical teams to assess the effects of lightning strikes near the launch pad on Friday.Two previous launch attempts in June were scrapped because of a potentially hazardous leak in a hydrogen vent line.The craft is to take and install a last piece of Japan's space station lab.Lift-off had been scheduled for 1939 local time (2339 GMT) on Saturday.But on Friday evening, the area surrounding the launch pad was hit by 11 lightning strikes.Head of mission Mike Moses said the launch would take place at 1913 local time (2313 GMT) on Sunday.He added weather forecasts suggested there was a 60% chance of acceptable conditions for take-off.Nasa: 'We're just being cautious'Forecasters earlier had predicted that stormy weather could delay the launch.The launch pad is rigged with lightning protection system designed to attract bolts away from the shuttle.But Nasa said that while none of the strikes hit the shuttle or its external tank and rocket boosters, there were strikes to the lightning mast and water tower.Mike Moses, chairman of the pre-launch Mission Management Team, said checks were continuing but there was no indication so far of any damage to the shuttle's systems."We need to be 100% confident that we have a good system across the board," he said.

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China to send first woman into space

Report By Jano
China could launch its first woman into space as early as 2012, state media reported.Yang Liwei, who in 2003 became China's first astronaut and is now in charge of new recruits for the space programme, said the search for the first woman in space was under way, the China Daily said."I believe Chinese women will soon be seen in space," said Yang during a webchat, the paper reported.Sui Guosheng, an officer in charge of recruitment with the Chinese Air Force, said the female "taikonaut," China's word for astronauts, was expected to blast off in 2012.The potential female astronauts would be recruited from among 16 female fighter pilots who graduated in April, Sui told the Nanfang Weekly, according to the China Daily report.The pilots, who were chosen from 150,000 high school graduates, were the first batch of Chinese women qualified to fly fighter jets, the report said.China became the third nation to put a man in space when Yang piloted the one-man Shenzhou-5 space mission in 2003, part of the country's rising space ambitions.The Chang'e-1 probe was launched in 2007 and is the first stage of China's lunar programme, which includes landing an unmanned rover on the surface by 2012 and a manned mission by around 2020.The world's first female astronaut was the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova, who stayed in space for three days in 1963.

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