The ongoing debate as to what exactly constitutes a "planet" has aroused some ire among astronomers at the meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Prague. The planet definition committee offered three new definitions in an attempt to mollify the scientists that had rejected the first proposal. However, most of the scientists in attendance rejected these as well.

The latest proposal continues to define planets as round objects that orbit the Sun, but adds the following: "In our solar system, we distinguish between the eight 'classical' planets as the dominant objects in their local population zones, and 'dwarf' planets, which are not." This is an attempt to find common ground with the astronomers who had come up their own definition last week.

"They have presented practically the same resolution as before," says Julio Fernandez of the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay. Fernandez was one of the authors of last week's  proposal.  He added, "Most of the people here think it makes no sense."

It seems like hair-splitting. Everyone agrees that objects in Solar orbit fall into one of three categories: – the big planets from Mercury to Neptune; a number of "dwarf" planets (i.e. Pluto, Ceres, et.al.); and asteroids.  What subject of just what constitutes a "dwarf planet" seem to be the problem. Fernandez says they aren't planets at all, while the Committee says they are.  It's a small thing until you have to answer the question of exactly how many "official" planets actually orbit the Sun. 

A lunchtime meeting turned hostile when Fernandez tried to read his alternative definition.  He was cut off by Ron Ekers, the IAU president.  "I think it was disgraceful treatment," says Brian Marsden, formerly head of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As more questions were prevented, one astronomer cried out: "If there is democracy, listen to the questions. Let the people speak!" More of the scientists became angered when a  member of planet committee, MIT's Richard Binzel, said: "You can vote based on physics, or maybe you have some preconceived idea of what a planet should be."

Irish astronomer Mike Bailey said "With the present state of knowledge, it's impossible to draw the line between dwarf planets and asteroids." A final resolution declaring that a planetary companion can be a full-fledged planet  if its center of gravity of the system is out in space was rejected by most of those in attendance. That resolution would have made Charon a planet, leaving other planetary companions as moons.

Now there is an attempt to reconcile the warring parties' views in preparation of a vote on the subject coming up this Thursday.

35-year-old Internet tycoon Daisuke Enomoto (affectionately known as "Dice-K") has been found physically unfit for space travel by Russian doctors and will not be traveling into orbit next month. Enomoto (above, left) would have paid $20 million USD for a flight to the International Space Station. He has been training for the trip for several months. A self-confessed "cartoon geek," Enomoto's dream was to look down upon the planet dressed as one of his favorite cartoon characters, an ace pilot from an animated Japanese TV series.

Igor Panarin, spokesman for the space agency Roskosmos said "It is not ruled out that after additional measures are taken, he could fly in the future. But this will take time." Anousheh Ansari, a U.S. sponsor of the $10 million X Prize for private spaceflight awarded in 2004 is the most likely candidate to take Enomoto's place on the Soyuz flight.

The first space tourist was US millionaire Dennis Tito in 2001. He was followed  by South African Mark Shuttleworth in 2002 and US businessman Greg Olsen in 2005.

At a recent conference attended by 2,500 astronomers, the president of the International Astronomical Union Ronald D. Ekers has put his foot down on one important issue: the definition of the word "planet".

In the dictionary, "planet" is defined as "A nonluminous celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves."

To most of us mere mortals, this would have already been sufficient explanation, however, recent debates as to whether Pluto, long believed to be a planet, is still worthy of its title has also dragged in the innocent word into a whole arena of argumentation. All this has happened after recent studies have revealed that it may just be an asteroid or simply a floating piece of space rock. This has caused a lot of confusion within the scientific community with one school of thought's definition differing from the other's, and thus a universally-accepted definition of the word is being sought out.

Until now, there have been no definitive criteria, with most simply describing a planet as a large, round object that orbits the Sun. Scientists will work on establishing criteria for planet status — including the object's mass, orbit and distance from the Sun — and then whether Pluto will meet the definition.

Until then, we shall stick with the belief that Earth is either a "planet" or just the "third rock from the sun".

The planet Pluto is facing a serious demotion.

Soon, school kids may have to get used to saying that the solar system is consists of eight planets, not nine. At an International Astronomical Union (IAU) conference to be held later this month at Prague, a resolution that defines a planet is scheduled to be heard and considered. Pluto has always been different from the other planets - too small, erratic orbit, not enough of a rocky center etc. And this conference might decide if Pluto is indeed the ninth planet of the Solar System or just one of thousands of small, icy objects in the decidedly less glamorous Kuiper Belt, just beyond Neptune.

The IAU faces a dilemma here, if they decide that Pluto is a planet, then they should also consider Pluto-like masses as planets. If they decide that it isn't one, then a major change in Science will take place, starting with the Science textbooks. Some speculations say that it is unlikely for Pluto to be demoted because "egos" have gotten in the way, specifically US pride. Pluto is the only planet discovered by an American - Clyde W. Tombaugh. Whatever the International Astronomical Union decides on, we will surely keep you posted.

A Japanese civilian communications satellite and a French military communications satellite was put into orbit via an Ariane-5 rocket. The launch happened in French Guiana, at Europe's space base in Kourou, on the northeast coast of South America.

Aboard the blasted rocket was a JCSAT-10 satellite for Japan's JSAT Corporation. Built by Lockheed Martin in the United States, the satellite - released into the orbit twenty-seven minutes after the launch - was designed to broadcast high definition television to the Asia-Pacific region. Explained by JSAT Corporation officials, it would be the "Sky Perfect TV" system that broadcasts 251 television channels.

Five minutes later, Syracuse 3B, a military communications satellite built by a European industrial consortium for France's Defense Ministry, was released as well into space. According to the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), it was necessary to have a dedicated military communications satellite network as satellites shared with civilian operators risked being immobilized by relatively unsophisticated means.

The Ariane-5 rocket was the third to be launched this year.

A new telescope specifically designed to find Earth-sized planets around other stars  has been scheduled for a June 2008 launch.

The Kepler telescope will observe slight dips in brightness that occur when a planet passes in front of its parent star. It will spend four years focusing on one region of the galaxy, and monitor the brightness of 100,000 stars. The telescope will be stationed behind the Earth in a heliocentric orbit. Gradually, it will drift farther behind the Earth, eventually reaching a distance of 75 million kilometers (about 47 million miles).

Kepler's main mirror was made by an Pittsburgh optics company L-3 Communications Brashear. At a diameter of four and a half feet (1.5 meters), it is the largest mirror ever built for a space mission traveling beyond Earth orbit. It has been delivered to Ball Aerospace the Boulder, Colorado company responsible for the spacecraft's assembly.

We already assumed that there would be major setbacks to the scientific community with the (nasty) budget cut NASA received, but we never really though the impact would be as bad as the Space Frontier Foundation says it would be.

This space advocacy group has just submitted its assessment regarding NASA's space exploration plans - and what they're saying is far from good. Titled "Unaffordable and Unsustainable - NASA's failing Earth-to-Orbit Transportation Strategy," this, for one, calls for the immediate elimination of work on Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) block 1 and for the delay of Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) program.

The CEV Block 1 has been designed for ISS missions, which according to the group should be handed to private space firms.

According to Space Frontiers Foundation, NASA should also be considering taking more private partners if they intend to continue with space exploration. The agency should buy a service from US companies, as NASA doesn't have the capability to build, develop and operate crew or cargo missions anymore.

Space Frontier Foundation is also calling for the government to transfer $2B to $3B to the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program which currently has a budget of just $500M until 2010. This will result to additional COTS competition, promoting six to eight more contracts.

Their major concern, according to Space Frontier Foundation's co-founder Rick Tumlinson, is that science might also suffer if NASA's incapability (budget, engineering, space access systems) starts to affect space exploration.

NASA is now more confident it can make minor in-flight repairs to a shuttle’s heat shield in orbit after the successfully testing of the repair techniques during the Wednesday spacewalk outside the Discovery.  According to Tony Ceccacci, lead shuttle flight director for the STS-121 mission, the preliminary results are positive. However, the repair technique will likely be limited to the types of repairs they performed.

During a seven-hour and 11-minute spacewalk, Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum tested application methods for a sticky, black material dubbed NOAX (non-oxide adhesive experimental). The space age material was formulated to fill in cracks and gouges to the carbon composite panels lining a shuttle’s nose cap or wing leading edges. Using spatulas and caulk gun-like tools, they applied NOAX to squares of reinforced carbon carbon used to protect the shuttle nose and wings from reentry temperatures. Then they spent three hours testing the technique by perching themselves on the space station’s robotic arm and a shuttle foot restraint to recreate the types of positions that would likely be used in the event of an actual repair.

Today’s spacewalk adds to the initial tests conducted during NASA’s STS-114 astronauts in July 2005 to determine the basic behavior of NOAX under actual flight conditions. “For STS-114, the conditions that we did the NOAX repair was more of a science project to see if we could throw it on the piece of RCC and determine what the results were,” Ceccacci said. “For 121, these guys went through a lot of work to determine exactly how you would repair [damage].”

The Genesis craft which was built by Bigelow Aerospace has blasted into space via a Dnepr rocket from Siberia's Dombarovsky missile base at 7:53 AM Pacific time.

The inflatable spacecraft was built by the commercial company owned by hotel tycoon Robert Bigelow. A converted Russian intercontinental ballistic missile carried the spacecraft into space.

Genesis was based on a NASA-discarded design and will be inflated to a its full size (from its 15 ft. by 8 ft. size) once it's in orbit.

The goal of sending and testing the inflatable spacecraft is to make space access cheaper - and perhaps easier. Because it would be less expensive to send a craft that's one-third the size of a typical spacecraft ("hard" habitation, as they call it), it would also translate to a less costly stay for people who want to go to space.

The Genesis craft is also tough and durable, and willbe able to withstand space debris. The craft is made of a variety of materials, including a fibrous textile called Vectran and Kevlar which is used in bullet-proof vests. Once inflated, the walls of Genesis will be 16 inches thick. The 13 cameras onboard the craft will also be activated then to monitor the living inhabitants of the said module - cockroaches and Mexican jumping bean moths.

If this test (and succeeding ones) show promising results, expect space to be commercialized accessible soon.

Amidst all the work that the guys and gals of STS-121 have to do, they of course still have time to engage in some friendly and encouraging banter with the President of the United States. Nine crew members are responsible for transferring two tons of cargo (obsolete equipment, tools and other unnecessary items) between the shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station.

On the lighter side of things, President Bush was able to speak with the astronauts during a private ground-to-orbit telephone call. The President told the astronauts that he watched closely as STS-121 spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum worked outside their spacecraft, and invited the astronauts and their families to the White House. The President was also proud of the fact that Fossum is a graduate of Texas A & M University.

Discovery will return about 5,421 pounds (2,458 kilograms) of material to Earth, more than 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms) of which will be stowed in Leonardo during the descent, NASA has said. Among the first things to be unpacked were 82 containers of food and about 187 pounds (85 kilograms) of other provisions for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, who joined station commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeffrey Williams as a member of the ISS Expedition 13 crew. Mr. Reiter obviously doesn't pack light (kidding)!

Also, astronauts Fossum and Sellers readied their U.S.-built spacesuits for one last spacewalk outside Discovery. They will spend roughly 6-7 hours working inside Discovery’s payload bay to test an experimental black, heat-resistant non-oxide adhesive (NOAX) material for use in repairing small cracks in the carbon composite panels that line the shuttle’s wings and nose. They will also test a new infrared camera by recording about 20 seconds of video of the carbon composite panels along Discovery’s wing edge. Let's wish these two brave men the best of luck as they spacewalk today!