PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — NASA’s Dawn spacecraft was captured into orbit around the massive asteroid Vesta after a 1.7 billion-mile journey and is preparing to begin a study of a surface that may date to the earliest era of the solar system, the space agency said Monday.
The entry into orbit occurred while the spacecraft’s antenna was pointed away from Earth, so mission controllers had to wait for Dawn to re-establish contact to confirm its success.
The capture was estimated to have occurred at 10 p.m. PDT Friday, when Dawn was 9,900 miles from Vesta and 117 million miles from Earth in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, according to a statement from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“We are beginning the study of arguably the oldest extant primordial surface in the solar system,” the mission’s principal investigator, Christopher Russell from the University of California, Los Angeles, said in the statement.
NASA said that after the orbital capture, Dawn sent an initial close-up image taken for navigation purposes. Before the Dawn mission, images of Vesta were obtained by ground- and space-based telescopes but did not show much surface detail.
Vesta, 330 miles in diameter, is the second-most massive object in the asteroid belt and is believed to be the source of many meteorites that fall to Earth.
Dawn will continue to approach Vesta over the next three weeks, search for possible moons and make more navigation images. It begins gathering science data in August. Vesta’s gravitational pull on Dawn will be measured to more accurately determine the asteroid’s mass.
The spacecraft will eventually get as close as 110 miles from the surface.
Dawn was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 2007 and used an ion propulsion system to reach Vesta. Ion engines provide gentle yet constant acceleration to achieve high speeds.
The spacecraft will study Vesta for a year and then continue on to the most massive object in the main asteroid belt, the “dwarf planet” Ceres. That encounter is scheduled to occur in February 2015.
JPL is managing the $466 million mission for NASA. UCLA is responsible for the mission’s science. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute also have roles in the mission.

BASTROP, Texas (AP) — Firefighters trying to control a wind-fueled wildfire that has destroyed nearly 500 homes in Central Texas were looking for a few overnight hours of diminished winds as thousands of evacuees spent the night away from their threatened homes.

Slack winds were expected after midnight Tuesday and could enable firefighters to make progress on the massive blaze racing through rain-starved farm and ranchland, authorities said. Fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, the blaze rapidly grew Monday to at least 25,000 acres.

“You have to be optimistic and at the same time prepared for the worst,” Texas Forest Service spokesman John Nichols said Monday night, acknowledging the weather’s unpredictability.

At least 5,000 people were forced from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, and about 400 were in emergency shelters, officials said Monday. School and school-related activities were canceled Tuesday.

In Bastrop, a town of about 6,000 people along the Colorado River, huge clouds of smoke soared into the sky and hung over downtown. When winds picked up, flames flared over the tops of trees. Helicopters and planes loaded with water flew overhead, and firefighters along a state highway outside the city converged around homes catching fire.

“Waiting is the most frustrating thing,” said Gina Thurman, 47, choking back tears as she sat by herself in the shade on a curb outside Ascension Catholic Church, one of several shelters in the area. “You’re sitting there and you don’t know anything but your house is probably burning.”

Rick Blakely was among about 30 people sleeping on cots at the church. The 54-year-old said he was in a state of shock and “not expecting anything to be standing” when he returned to his home.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

Strong winds coupled with drought conditions allowed the fire to travel quickly over somewhat hilly terrain, burning through pine and cedar trees and wiping out subdivisions as well as ranchland. Dry conditions were expected to persist at least through the week, according to the National Weather Service.

The fire was far enough away from Austin that the city was not threatened, but it consumed land along a line that stretched for about 16 miles, Texas Forest Service officials said.

The wildfire destroyed at least 476 homes, and about 250 firefighters were working around the clock using bulldozers and water trucks against the fire, Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, and officials said they knew of no residents trapped in their homes.

But the blaze was “nowhere near controlled” on Monday and a separate, smaller blaze south of the city was growing larger, said Mike Fischer, the county’s emergency management director. It’s unclear how the fire began.

Crews have responded to nearly 21,000 wildfires in Texas since the traditional fire season began early in the year. Outdoor burning, including campfires, is prohibited in all but three of the state’s 254 counties.

The governor’s office said at least 40 Texas Forest Service aircraft were involved in the firefighting Monday along with a half-dozen Texas military aircraft.

The new outbreak led Gov. Rick Perry to return home to Texas, cutting short a visit to South Carolina where he was campaigning for the Republican nomination for president. He also canceled a trip to California.

Perry viewed the fire from the air and conferred with local officials. He said seeing the fire was a “surreal” experience.

“I’ve seen a number of big fires in my life,” he said. “This is as mean looking as I’ve ever seen, particularly because it was so close to the city.”

Since December, wildfires in Texas have claimed 3.5 million acres — an area the size of Connecticut — and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, Perry said. The governor said it was too early to say whether he would attend Wednesday’s GOP debate in California.

“I’m not paying attention to politics right now,” he said. “There will be plenty of time for that. People’s lives and their possessions are at stake, and that’s substantially more important.”

Authorities mobilized ground and air forces to fight the largest of at least 63 fires that broke out in Texas since Sunday as strong winds from what was then Tropical Storm Lee swept into Texas, which has endured its worst drought since the 1950s.

On Sunday, about 200 miles to the northeast in Gladewater, a 20-year-old woman and her 18-month-old daughter died when a fast-moving wildfire gutted their mobile home. That fire was out Monday, although several other major blazes continued to burn in at least four other counties in central and northern Texas.

To the west of Austin in Travis County, at least 20 homes were lost and 30 others were damaged in another fire. More than 1,000 homes were under mandatory evacuation and 25 lost in a third fire also in the Austin area.

At least two-thirds of the 6,000-acre Bastrop State Park have burned. The park is home to endangered Houston toads and several historic rock and stone buildings built in the 1930s and 1940s that officials are trying to protect, said Mike Cox of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

From the park’s front gate, Cox said: “All I see is a wall of smoke.”

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian officials say a naval vessel on a trip to Vietnam was warned by China that it was allegedly violating Chinese waters.

India’s foreign ministry said Thursday the INS Airavat was sailing about 45 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam on July 22 when a caller identifying himself as the Chinese navy made radio contact and told the Indian vessel: “You are entering Chinese waters.”

The foreign ministry said no ship or aircraft were visible and that the Airavat continued its journey.

China has grown more assertive — and at times aggressive — in pressing its claims to much of the South China Sea, aided by a buildup of its navy. Chinese ships have rousted fishing vessels from Vietnam and the Philippines, both of which contest China’s claims.

The Art and Culture Exchange was arranged in Ishøj Denmark with participants from Denmark, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden. The group was missing the United Kingdom partners from Wales but the exchange was still very productive. The project arranged the Onkel Danny Plads, “Dannys Øl Have” event from July 14th til 17th 2011. There was a talent night, Battle of the Bands, and DJ night.
This short clip is from the bus ride visit to the animal farm, after visiting churches in the area.

A visit to a local job center, during The Art and Culture Exchange in Ishøj Denmark with participants from Denmark, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden. The group was missing the United Kingdom partners from Wales but the exchange was still very productive. The project arranged the Onkel Danny Plads, “Dannys Øl Have” event from July 14th til 17th 2011. There was a talent night, Battle of the Bands, and DJ night.

NEW YORK (AP) — Many travelers heading to and from the East Coast still face days of delays even as airlines start flying again Monday at major airports that closed for Tropical Storm Irene.

Ground transportation — including New York City’s subways — also started easing back into service Sunday evening, though disruptions remained widespread.

More than 11,000 flights were canceled nationwide over the weekend, and hundreds more will be scrubbed Monday morning, a flight-tracking service said.

There’s no easy way to squeeze all those displaced passengers onto scheduled flights, especially if airports around New York — the nation’s busiest airspace — encounter delays reopening Monday. And ground transport alternatives remain limited, with bus and train service disrupted into Monday as well along the East Coast.

Airlines won’t say how many passengers have been grounded since Irene came ashore in North Carolina on Saturday.

FlightAware, which tracks cancelations, put the total around 650,000, noting that many of the 11,800-plus flights canceled so far were on regional airlines that use small planes. Some travel experts suggested much larger numbers — 1 million or more.

Finding open seats will be especially difficult this week because it’s the last gasp of the summer vacation season.

“We’re coming into the Labor Day holiday weekend, so a lot of those flights are already full,” said Todd Lehmacher, a spokesman for US Airways.

Airlines resumed flights Sunday at airports around Washington, Philadelphia and Richmond, Va. But the longer closure of the New York area’s Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, N.J., airports means travel delays will continue rippling across the country.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the three airports, said late Sunday that Kennedy and Newark would open to arriving flights at 6 a.m. Monday, with departures beginning at noon. LaGuardia was to reopen at 7 a.m.

New York City officials said they weren’t sure Sunday evening when mass transit would be fully restored after shutting down Saturday. Some local bus service resumed Sunday, and the subways will resume some service Monday, though officials said commuters should expect long lines and long waits. Downed trees and high water still covered commuter train tracks across the region, according to a temporary transit information website offering periodic updates, www.mta.info.

Airline officials said those disruptions would affect their ability to get back into gear.

“It’s really dependent upon mass transit and the airport being ready to support the start-up,” JetBlue CEO Dave Barger told NBC.

Long-distance bus and train companies also saw lingering effects from Irene, which was downgraded early Sunday from a hurricane to a tropical storm as high winds ebbed.

Greyhound scrubbed bus travel between Richmond, Va., and Boston all weekend. A spokeswoman said buses would begin to roll north out of Richmond Monday morning and the company hoped to be running in New York by midday.

Amtrak said trains from New York to Florida will be canceled Monday, as will the car train between Lorton, Va., and Sanford, Fla. Some lines in North Carolina and Florida will be open.

Amtrak said in a statement Sunday evening that many routes south of Philadelphia will resume operation, while it canceled many trains between New York and points north. The railroad said separately that its inspections are revealing problems with wiring and signals, as well as trees blocking the tracks. Passengers with paid tickets on canceled trains can rebook or receive refunds by calling 800-872-7245 or visiting Amtrak.com.

But United, Continental, Delta, American, JetBlue, Southwest, AirTran and US Airways canceled hundreds of Monday-morning flights to the New York and Boston area.

Airlines said passengers should call ahead and make sure they have a confirmed seat before going to the airport, but the 670 flights that FlightAware said airlines had canceled for Monday is a small share of the nation’s daily flights.

Airlines also moved several hundred planes out of the storm’s path to avoid damage, which will further slow the return to normal service.

When blizzards hit the East Coast in December and February, it took some passengers days to get home. That could happen again.

Sara Hesselsweet of Norwalk, Conn., and her family were to fly home Sunday from vacation at Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border. After their flight was canceled, American Airlines told her it couldn’t find seats for her, her husband and 2-year-old son until next Saturday.

So the family decided to fly from Reno, Nev., to Dallas and on to Chicago, where they would rent a car to drive back to Connecticut.

“We checked Philadelphia, D.C., Boston, the Carolinas — we couldn’t get a flight anywhere,” said Hesselsweet, sitting amid a pile of carry-on bags in the Reno airport.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — About 100 people have been ordered to leave their homes as a wildfire burns outside Yosemite National Park, fire officials said Sunday.

Residents of the community of Rancheria were told to evacuate Saturday, while residents of the nearby communities of Yosemite West, Old El Portal, Incline and Jerseydale have also been told they may have leave their homes.

The blaze, which is burning in a steep and rugged area of thick forests along Highway 140, has also forced the indefinite closure of the roadway. The highway, one of the main entrances into the park, is shut down for nearly a 15-mile stretch from just east of the town of Mariposa to about two miles outside of the park’s entrance.

Park officials are suggesting tourists traveling to Yosemite take Highway 120 or Highway 41 instead. The Tioga Road is also open for visitors entering the park on Highway 395.

Despite the size of the blaze and its proximity to Yosemite, park officials said it was not affecting activities within the park.

“Smoke is not really impacting the valley today,” said Yosemite fire information officer Kass Hardy.

The blaze, which began Thursday when a motorhome caught fire, was 35 percent contained Sunday. It had burned about 4,600 acres, or just over 7 square miles.

About 850 firefighting personnel were on the scene, including helicopter crews that are taking water from the nearby Merced River and dropping it on the flames.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronauts may need to take the unprecedented step of temporarily abandoning the International Space Station if last week’s Russian launch accident prevents new crews from flying there this fall.

Until officials figure out what went wrong with Russia’s essential Soyuz rockets, there will be no way to launch any more astronauts before the current residents have to leave in mid-November.

The unsettling predicament comes just weeks after NASA’s final space shuttle flight.

“We have plenty of options,” NASA’s space station program manager, Mike Suffredini, assured reporters Monday. “We’ll focus on crew safety as we always do.”

Abandoning the space station, even for a short period, would be an unpleasant last resort for the world’s five space agencies that have spent decades working on the project. Astronauts have been

This May 23, 2011 photo released by NASA, shows the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour, top, flying at an altitude of approximately 220 miles, in an image taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking. It is the first-ever image of a space shuttle docked to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/NASA, Paolo Nespoli)

living aboard the space station since 2000, and the goal is to keep it going until 2020.

Suffredini said flight controllers could keep a deserted space station operating indefinitely, as long as all major systems are working properly. The risk to the station goes up, however, if no one is on board to fix equipment breakdowns.

Six astronauts from three countries presently are living on the orbiting complex. Three are due to leave next month; the other three are supposed to check out in mid-November. They can’t stay any longer because of spacecraft and landing restrictions.

The Sept. 22 launch of the very next crew — the first to fly in this post-shuttle era — already has been delayed indefinitely. Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft have been the sole means of getting full-time station residents up and down for two years. The capsule is parked at the station until they ride it home.

To keep the orbiting outpost with a full staff of six for as long as possible, the one American and two Russians due to return to Earth on Sept. 8 will remain on board at least an extra week.

As for supplies, the space station is well stocked and could go until next summer, Suffredini said. Atlantis dropped off a year’s supply of goods just last month on the final space shuttle voyage. The unmanned craft destroyed Wednesday was carrying 3 tons of supplies.

For now, operations are normal in orbit, Suffredini noted, and the additional week on board for half the crew will mean additional science research.

The Soyuz has been extremely reliable over the decades...

The Soyuz has been extremely reliable over the decades; this was the first failure in 44 Russian supply hauls for the space station. Even with such a good track record, many in and outside NASA were concerned about retiring the space shuttles before a replacement was ready to fly astronauts.

Russian space officials have set up an investigation team and until it comes up with a cause for the accident and a repair plan, the launch and landing schedules remain in question. None of the spacecraft debris has been recovered yet; the wreckage fell into a remote, wooded section of Siberia. The third stage malfunctioned; a sudden loss of pressure apparently was noted between the engine and turbopump.

While a crew may well have survived such an accident because of safety precautions built into the manned version of the rocket, no one wants to take any chances.

One or two unmanned Soyuz launches are on tap for October, one commercial and the other another space station supply run. Those would serve as important test flights before putting humans on board, Suffredini said.

NASA considered vacating the space station before, following the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. Back then, shuttles were still being used to ferry some station residents back and forth. Instead, the station got by with two-man crews for three years because of the significant cutback in supplies.

The space station’s population doubled in 2009, to six. It wasn’t until the space station was completed this year that science research finally took priority.

Even if the space shuttles still were flying, space station crews still would need Soyuz-launched capsules to serve as lifeboats, Suffredini said. The capsules are certified for no more than 6½ months in space, thus the need to regularly rotate crews. Complicating matters is the need to land the capsules during daylight hours in Kazakhstan, resulting in weeks of blackout periods.

NASA wants American private companies to take over crew hauls, but that’s three to five years away at best. Until then, Soyuz capsules are the only means of transporting astronauts to the space station.

Japan and Europe have their own cargo ships and rockets, for unmanned use only. Commercial front-runner Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, plans to launch a space station supply ship from Cape Canaveral at the end of November. That would be put on hold if no one is on board to receive the vessel.

Suffredini said he hasn’t had time to consider the PR impact of abandoning the space station, especially coming so soon after the end of the 30-year shuttle program.

“Flying safely is much, much more important than anything else I can think about right this instant,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll have an opportunity to discuss any political implications if we spend a lot of time on the ground. But you know, we’ll just have to deal with them because we’re going to do what’s safest for the crew and for the space station.”

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne has edged out long-time front-runner Vancouver to be rated the world’s most liveable city, a worldwide survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit said Tuesday.

The Australian metropolis topped the Global Liveability Survey’s ranking of 140 cities worldwide, ahead of Canada’s Vancouver which dominated the rankings for almost a decade but is now third behind the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Australian cities featured prominently in the top 10, with Sydney ranked sixth and Perth and Adelaide in joint eighth place, according to the survey, which is conducted twice a year.

Vancouver, edged out by Melbourne

Canada also did well, with Toronto and Calgary holding fourth and fifth places respectively. Helsinki in Finland (seventh) and New Zealand’s Auckland (tenth) rounded out the top 10.

Cities were scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure.

“Australia, with a low population density and relatively low crime rates, continues to supply some of the world’s most liveable cities,” said survey editor Jon Copestake.

“Despite the rising cost of living, driven by the strong Australian dollar, these cities offer a range of factors to make them highly attractive.”

Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, was the least liveable city

Among other well-known cities, Paris came 16th, two places ahead of Tokyo. The top-ranked American city was Honolulu which came 26th, while London was a lowly 53rd, just behind Singapore.

Against the strong performance of Australian and Canadian cities, other parts of the world saw their rankings affected by austerity measures and unrest.

The Greek capital Athens dropped five places to 67th due to recent government cutbacks and protests.

The Arab uprisings prompted a fall in liveability for affected cities in the Middle East. This was most pronounced in Tripoli, where the descent into civil war saw its ranking plummet from 107th to 135th.

Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, was the least liveable city, just ahead of Dhaka in Bangladesh and the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby.