Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) announced today that it is in final preparations to launch the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft aboard a Pegasus rocket. The mission is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 26, 2004, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (VAFB) during an available seven-minute launch window that extends from 11:15 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. (Pacific). This operational schedule is subject to the completion of final testing and other pre-launch activities, as well as acceptable weather conditions in the VAFB area at the time of the launch.

In this artist conception, the DART flight demonstrator, top left, rendezvous with the MUBLCOM satellite, bottom right, in orbit. Image courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corporation. Image Credit:  NASA

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Since 1998 Coronado, then doing business as Coronado Instrument Group, has been the world's leading supplier of high-quality hydrogen-alpha filters and dedicated solar telescopes, as well as various related accessories, designed to meet the needs of amateur as well as professional solar observers. The business, to be incorporated as Coronado, Inc. and operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Meade Instruments, will currently remain headquartered in Tucson, Ariz.

"Not only does the acquisition of Coronado take us into a market segment -- solar observation -- in which we do not participate," said Steven G. Murdock, president and CEO, "but it immediately establishes us as the segment leader with a line of products of unsurpassed quality and performance. With the purchase come a number of very attractive assets, including some of the most valuable intellectual property in the field, notably patents issued and pending covering both the design and fabrication of Coronado's novel etalon structure; a highly regarded brand that will, we believe, appeal to many of Meade's existing customers; a wealth of expertise in the design and manufacture of optical instruments and accessories that meet the highest standards for reliability and safety; an experienced and committed workforce; and distribution channels that complement Meade's existing channels and offer numerous opportunities for the cross marketing of products. All told, we view the acquisition as extremely attractive in its own right, and as an important step in Meade's program to become a more broadly based consumer optics company founded on strong engineering and a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio.

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Click here to watch video which looks at the first, new generation Open Bore MRI -- called the Magnetom Espree.

The new MRI also offers benefits to doctors as well. Because it's what's known in the medical world as a 1.5 Tesla system, the images derived from exams are among the best on the market. The system gives doctors a better opportunity to diagnose problems and lesions. Physicians expect the new MRI system to become a popular choice among hospitals and imaging centers nationwide, helping to provide access to the best quality of care for patients of all shapes and sizes.

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A small explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens on October 1st; the first in more than a decade—followed a week of increasing earthquake activity beneath the volcano and deformation of the lava dome. This eruption sent a steam and minor ash plume to an altitude of about 10,000 feet above sea level. Image Credit:  USGS

Friday's eruption was the first in 18 years, and geophysicist Evelyn Roeloffs of the U.S. Geological Survey says it was well below the levels of the devastating event of 1980. She says ground movement should provide warning if a larger eruption occurs.

"We were not envisioning a major eruption at this point, so it's possible that this is all that's going to happen. However, we're not going to presume that, and we certainly are pretty sure that we're not going to have anything else happening without some more increased seismic activity."

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