orbital

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched June 18 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, has beamed back its first pictures of the moon as engineers continue instrument checkout and calibration prior to the start of its primary mission.

The LRO spacecraft braked into a highly elliptical orbit around the moon June 23. A series of rocket firings have now placed the satellite in its so-called commissioning orbit, one with a low point of about 19 miles and a high point of 124 miles. Later this summer, it will be maneuvered into a circular 31-mile-high orbit around the moon's poles.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, was turned on June 30. The first test images showed cratered terrain in the lunar highlands south of the Sea of Clouds. Each picture represents a square measuring 0.87 miles wide.… Read more

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.--If you're in the planning stages of sending people back to the moon, as NASA is, you'd better know as much as possible about it.

That's one of the reasons NASA launched, in late 2007, the Lunar Science Institute (LSI), an organization with an annual budget of $10 million for the study and research of the moon, as well as the role of supporting and inspiring new generations of lunar scientists.

According to Greg Schmidt, LSI's deputy director, it is a "virtual" institute with a staff of just eight or nine … Read more

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes here at CNET Download.com, and that includes the videos we editors create for the products we find most worthy--or the ones you keep coming back to time and again.

In that vein, we've stuffed this glorious playlist with the the top 10 software videos you watched on our site in 2008. Take a look--you may wind up with a new app you never knew you needed!

(Hint: Click the word "Playlist" to view the whole list or skip ahead.)

Here are the winners:

1. AVG Anti-Virus Free 8 … Read more

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.--Scientists who want to see how the moon has changed in the years since the Apollo missions will soon have the ability to do just that.

That's thanks to a new NASA project in which the agency has restored 42-year-old images taken of and from the moon, all of which will be made freely available to the public.

And while many people will surely have an interest in examining the iconic images, several NASA personnel on hand Thursday at an event celebrating the project explained that it provides the real scientific benefit of making it possible … Read more

WideOrbit, a software developer that manages advertising sales for more than 1,000 TV stations, radio stations, cable networks, and stadiums, announced that it raised $9.5 million of Series D funding in a round led by Mayfield Fund. But according to the company, it's hoping for an additional $800,000 before it closes the round.

Although advertising is expected to slow over the coming months amid economic troubles, WideOrbit's ability to raise its latest round of funding may suggest that some venture capitalists don't necessarily trust speculation that it will be so bad. But with a … Read more

Hot on the heels of Altec Lansing's new Orbit, iLuv has announced a mini portable speaker as well. The offical name of the product is the iSP100 Mini Portable Stereo Speaker for iPod, iPhone 3G, 2G and MP3 Players and it will be available "worldwide" in the next few weeks and will carry a list price of $34.99.

Like Altec Lansing, iLuv is touting the mini speaker's "big" sound and something it calls 720? Surround Sound. It, too, features a retractable cable with a 3.5mm jack that connects to the headphone jack … Read more

We promised that a full review of Altec Lansing's just-announced Orbit MP3 iM237 was forthcoming--and now it's done. Here's the quick take with a link to the full review below.

The good: The Orbit MP3 iM237 is a compact, attractively designed portable single speaker that runs on three AAA batteries and comes with a protective carrying case; sound is OK for a speaker this small; integrated cable plugs into headphone jack of MP3 players and other devices.

The bad: While it's inexpensive, this model is a bit pricier than the previous Orbit; overall thin sound; distorts … Read more

In case you missed it, Altec Lansing has undergone a corporate makeover and is showing off a new logo along with several new products, including a pair of funky-looking PC speakers and a couple of sleek iPod speaker systems. We'll be getting review units in soon, and will actually have a full review of the new Orbit posting shortly.

Here's the rundown--and some links--for easy reading:

Two new inMotion iPod speakers from Altec Lansing

PC speaker-design alert: Altec Lansing goes mod with Expressionist Bass

Second Orbit: Altec Lansing's new iPod speaker

It's the little iPod speaker that could. The Orbit, Altec Lansing's inexpensive mobile iPod speaker has a new design and new name: The Orbit MP3 iM237. We like it better than the previous model.

This single speaker, which is about the size of two hockey pucks stacked on top of each other, runs on three AAA batteries for about 24 hours and has a hideaway cord that plugs into the headphone jack on just about any MP3 player, including all the iPods and iPhones, as well as laptops and portable DVD players. The $39.95 speaker ships with … Read more