This week we tracked a satellite falling toward earth, applauded amateur astronomers, and delved into the origins of dinosaur-killing asteroids which are just some of the stories that came from space this past week. Vote for your top space story of the week:
NASA's Dawn spacecraft has captured a flyover video of the giant asteroid Vesta, which it's been orbiting since July. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12998-asteroid-vesta-video-nasa-dawn-spacecraft.html">Full Story</a>]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is preparing for the possibility that a dead NASA satellite that will plunge to Earth this week falls somewhere over the United States. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13009-falling-nasa-satellite-uars-fema-response-plans.html">Full Story</a>]
NASA has unveiled a billion-dollar plan to purchase flights of new private space taxis to fly American astronauts to and from Earth orbit now that the agency's shuttle fleet is retired. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13012-nasa-unveils-private-space-taxi-contract.html">Full Story</a>]
The family of asteroids some thought to be responsible for the dinosaurs' demise is likely not the culprit, new data suggests. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13008-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-mystery-nasa.html">Full Story</a>]
One of NASA's most ambitious projects, the James Webb Space Telescope, is embroiled in scientific controversy because of its budget-busting costs and repeated delays. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13023-james-webb-space-telescope-budget-controversy.html">Full Story</a>]
A NASA satellite the size of a school bus is just days away from taking a fiery plunge into Earth’s atmosphere and could set off a dazzling display when it does … if anyone is able to see it. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13036-nasa-satellite-falling-earth-skywatching-light-show.html">Full Story</a>]
Armchair astronomers may have discovered two new alien planets after sifting through data collected by NASA's Kepler space telescope. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13046-amateur-astronomers-discover-2-alien-planets-internet.html">Full Story</a>]
Astronomers are studying the asteroid 1999 RQ36 as it makes a close pass of Earth, to help prepare for the launch of NASA's Osiris-Rex mission in 2016. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13024-nasa-osiris-rex-observing-asteroid-1999rq36.html">Full Story</a>]
The United States desperately needs a way to get its astronauts to space and back — and one solution could be taking NASA's space shuttle fleet out of retirement, famed moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan told Congress today (Sept. 22). [<a href="http://www.space.com/13052-apollo-astronauts-congress-hearing-nasa-shuttle.html">Full Story</a>]
NASA's 6-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to fall back to Earth early Saturday (Sept. 24), raining more than two dozen large chunks of debris on the surface. But don't even think about keeping a piece for yourself. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13064-falling-satellite-debris-uars-nasa-property.html">Full Story</a>]
NASA's defunct UARS climate satellite fell back to Earth overnight, though agency officials are still trying to pinpoint exactly where and when. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13078-nasa-uars-satellite-falls-earth.html">Full Story</a>]
