Soyuz capsule had docked with ISS
The Soyuz capsule with three astronauts has successfully docked with ISS.
Tag: ISS
Scheduling the next Dragon flight, the first to dock with ISS
Scheduling the next Dragon flight, the first to hopefully berth with ISS.
Presently they are saying early January, though it appears that no one will be surprised if it gets delayed to February.
Soyuz rocket successfully launches three astronauts into orbit
A Soyuz rocket has successfully launched three astronauts into orbit.
This is the first manned launch since the shuttles were retired, and the first Russian manned mission since the failure of a Soyuz rocket in August. If all goes well, the astronauts will dock with ISS in two days.
First manned Soyuz launch set for Sunday night
The first manned Soyuz launch since the launch failure in August is set for Sunday night.
The first in orbit tests of Robonaut halted because the robot did not carry out its commands as expected.
HAL lives! The first in-orbit tests of Robonaut were halted today on ISS because the robot did not carry out its commands as expected.
NASA robot operator Phil Strawser said joint movements in the weightless space environment have proven to be different than those performed in normal gravity on Earth. Consequently, software used to operate the robot needs to be “fine-tuned,” he said.
A new study has been released detailing the vision problems experienced by astronauts on space flights longer than six months
A new study has been released detailing the vision problems experienced by astronauts on space flights longer than six months. Hat tip to Clark Lindsey.
The visual system changes discovered by the researchers may represent a set of adaptations to microgravity. The degree and type of response appear to vary among astronauts. Researchers hope to discover whether some astronauts are less affected by microgravity and therefore better-suited for extended space flight, such as a three-year round trip to Mars.
In their report, Drs. Mader and Lee also noted a recent NASA survey of 300 astronauts that found that correctible problems with both near and distance vision were reported by about 23 percent of astronauts on brief missions and by 48 percent of those on extended missions. The survey confirmed that for some astronauts, these vision changes continue for months or years after return to Earth.
Sailing to Mars
With the end of the Mar500 simulated mission this coming Friday, the Russians are now proposing an eighteen month simulated Mars mission on board the International Space Station.
The Russians have been pushing to do this on ISS for years. Unfortunately, NASA has always resisted.
Yet, as I wrote in Leaving Earth, we will never be able to send humans to any other planets until we have flown at least one simulated mission, in zero gravity in Earth orbit, beforehand. Wernher von Braun pointed out this reality out back in the 1950s, and that reality has not changed in the ensuing half century. Not only will such a mission tell us a great deal about the medical issues of living in weightlessness for years at a time — issues that are far from trivial — it will give us the opportunity to find out the engineering problems of building a vessel capable of keeping humans alive during interplanetary flight, far from Earth.
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Progress freighter has docked at ISS
The Progress freighter launched three days ago has docked successfully at ISS.
Russians successfully put Progress freighter into orbit
Russians successfully put Progress freighter into orbit.
Progress freighter undocks from ISS
A Progress freighter has now undocked in preparation for the arrival of its replacement, scheduled for launch on Sunday.
Sunday’s launch will be the first test of the Soyuz rocket since the failure in August. A lot rides on this liftoff’s success.
NASA negotiating an extension of its deal with the Russians to fly astronauts to ISS
How our government gets Americans in space in the modern era: NASA is negotiating an extension of its deal with the Russians to fly astronauts to ISS.
Orbital announces revised schedule for its initial Taurus 2 and Cygnus flights
Orbital Sciences has announced its revised schedule for the initial Taurus 2 and Cygnus flights.
Orbital will conduct a test of the Taurus 2’s first stage on the launch pad in late January [2012], and the inaugural Taurus 2 flight in late February or early March. This will be followed, in early May, by a Taurus 2 flight carrying the Cygnus station cargo vehicle, a flight during which Cygnus is expected to demonstrate its ability to berth with the station. The first operational space station cargo-delivery mission for Taurus 2 and Cygnus will occur in late August or early September under this revised schedule, Orbital officials said.
Based on conversations I’ve had with people at Orbital, this delay was expected, and is a good thing. The company was under incredible time pressure to get ready for a December launch. Given that this will be the first test flight of Taurus 2, and it must work for the Cygnus cargo flights to follow, better they give themselves some working room to get it right.