Tag: ISS
Flames in space.
After working out the decontamination procedures against mold, ISS astronauts today finally opened the hatch on the European ATV cargo freighter, one day late.
After working out the decontamination procedures against mold, ISS astronauts today finally opened the hatch on the European ATV cargo freighter, one day late.
After working out the decontamination procedures against mold, ISS astronauts today finally opened the hatch on the European ATV cargo freighter, one day late.
Russian concerns about a build-up of mold inside the European ATV, now docked to ISS, has caused a delay in the opening of its hatch.
Russian concerns about a build-up of mold inside the European ATV, now docked to ISS, has caused a delay in the opening of its hatch.
The Spaceflight101 portal said the delay was due to possible “mold and bacteria contamination on three cargo bags that are inside the spacecraft” and that a decision is yet to be made on whether the crew should use anti-mold kits to clean ATV-4 cargo before taking it inside the ISS.
The Russians had a lot of problems with mold in their early Salyut space stations, and understand the unpleasant consequences should mold spread into the station. Thus, I am not surprised if they are taking this issue seriously.
Russian concerns about a build-up of mold inside the European ATV, now docked to ISS, has caused a delay in the opening of its hatch.
The Spaceflight101 portal said the delay was due to possible “mold and bacteria contamination on three cargo bags that are inside the spacecraft” and that a decision is yet to be made on whether the crew should use anti-mold kits to clean ATV-4 cargo before taking it inside the ISS.
The Russians had a lot of problems with mold in their early Salyut space stations, and understand the unpleasant consequences should mold spread into the station. Thus, I am not surprised if they are taking this issue seriously.
Europe’s ATV freighter has docked successfully with ISS.
Europe’s ATV unmanned freighter has docked successfully with ISS.
Europe’s ATV unmanned freighter has docked successfully with ISS.
The Russian Progress freighter got a surprise today when it undocked from ISS: the rendezvous antenna that refused to deploy when needed after launch finally deployed.
The Russian Progress freighter got a surprise today when it undocked from ISS: the rendezvous antenna that refused to deploy when needed after launch finally deployed.
The Russian Progress freighter got a surprise today when it undocked from ISS: the rendezvous antenna that refused to deploy when needed after launch finally deployed.
Astronauts on ISS this week initiated a four year study of the vision problems that scientists have discovered occur to some individuals after long exposure to weightlessness.
Astronauts on ISS this week initiated a four year study of the vision problems that scientists have discovered occur to some individuals after long exposure to weightlessness.
Astronauts on ISS this week initiated a four year study of the vision problems that scientists have discovered occur to some individuals after long exposure to weightlessness.
Europe successfully launched its heaviest unmanned cargo freighter to ISS today.
Europe successfully launched its heaviest unmanned cargo freighter to ISS today.
The docking of the ATV freighter, dubbed Albert Einstein, will take place after ten days of checkout in orbit.
Europe successfully launched its heaviest unmanned cargo freighter to ISS today.
The docking of the ATV freighter, dubbed Albert Einstein, will take place after ten days of checkout in orbit.
The next crew of astronauts to ISS blasted off today on a Soyuz rocket.
The next crew of astronauts to ISS blasted off today on a Soyuz rocket.
They are taking the fast route to ISS, which means they will dock less than six hours after launch. Update: As noted by Trent in the comments, the docking went like clockwork.
The next crew of astronauts to ISS blasted off today on a Soyuz rocket.
They are taking the fast route to ISS, which means they will dock less than six hours after launch. Update: As noted by Trent in the comments, the docking went like clockwork.
Dark matter, WIMPS, and NASA’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
Dark matter, WIMPS, and NASA’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
This very nicely written article describing the scientific goals of AMS is even better in that it emphasizes strongly the uncertainties of the data and the theories behind it.
Dark matter, WIMPS, and NASA’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
This very nicely written article describing the scientific goals of AMS is even better in that it emphasizes strongly the uncertainties of the data and the theories behind it.
Great Britain’s first official astronaut has been picked for a five month mission on ISS in 2015.
Great Britain’s first official astronaut has been picked for a five month mission on ISS in 2015.
Astronaut Michael Foale was born in Britain, but he flew on Mir as an American. Britain meanwhile had banned spending any government money on space exploration in the 1960s, and hadn’t changed that policy until about two years ago. If the reaction to Canadian Chris Hatfield’s ISS mission is any guide, this mission will liven things up a bit for space exploration in the old country.
Great Britain’s first official astronaut has been picked for a five month mission on ISS in 2015.
Astronaut Michael Foale was born in Britain, but he flew on Mir as an American. Britain meanwhile had banned spending any government money on space exploration in the 1960s, and hadn’t changed that policy until about two years ago. If the reaction to Canadian Chris Hatfield’s ISS mission is any guide, this mission will liven things up a bit for space exploration in the old country.
Three astronauts safely returned from ISS today.
Three astronauts safely returned from ISS today.
Three astronauts safely returned from ISS today.
In replacing a pump during today’s spacewalk it appears the astronauts have fixed the coolant leak.
In replacing a pump during Saturday’s spacewalk it appears the astronauts have fixed the coolant leak.
In replacing a pump during Saturday’s spacewalk it appears the astronauts have fixed the coolant leak.
Astronauts will replace a pump tomorrow on their spacewalk in the hope this will fix the leak in ISS’s solar panel cooling system.
The astronauts will replace a pump tomorrow on their spacewalk in the hope this will fix the leak in ISS’s solar panel cooling system.
The spacewalk has still not been approved, though it seems likely it will happen.
Update: As of this morning the spacewalk has been approved, set to begin at 8:15 am (Eastern).
The astronauts will replace a pump tomorrow on their spacewalk in the hope this will fix the leak in ISS’s solar panel cooling system.
The spacewalk has still not been approved, though it seems likely it will happen.
Update: As of this morning the spacewalk has been approved, set to begin at 8:15 am (Eastern).
Astronauts today spotted an ammonia coolant leak in ISS’s left-side power truss.
Astronauts today spotted an ammonia coolant leak in ISS’s left-side power truss.
They are monitoring it, but have so far not made any decision about what to do about it, if anything.
This problem is a perfect illustration of why a flight to Mars is more complicated in terms of engineering than first appears. We might at this time be able to build that interplanetary spaceship (with the emphasis on the word “might”) but could its passengers maintain it millions of miles from Earth? Right now I’d say no. We need to learn how to build an easily repaired and self-sufficient spaceship. ISS is neither. It is also not a very good platform for testing this kind of engineering.
Update: The astronauts on ISS are preparing for a possible spacewalk on Saturday to deal with the problem. More details here.
Astronauts today spotted an ammonia coolant leak in ISS’s left-side power truss.
They are monitoring it, but have so far not made any decision about what to do about it, if anything.
This problem is a perfect illustration of why a flight to Mars is more complicated in terms of engineering than first appears. We might at this time be able to build that interplanetary spaceship (with the emphasis on the word “might”) but could its passengers maintain it millions of miles from Earth? Right now I’d say no. We need to learn how to build an easily repaired and self-sufficient spaceship. ISS is neither. It is also not a very good platform for testing this kind of engineering.
Update: The astronauts on ISS are preparing for a possible spacewalk on Saturday to deal with the problem. More details here.
The International Space Station has switched all its computers from Windows to Linux.
The International Space Station has switched all its computers from Windows to Linux.
I love this quote:
“We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable.”
I’ve been on Linux for almost six years, It crashes, but that is usually user error.
The International Space Station has switched all its computers from Windows to Linux.
I love this quote:
“We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable.”
I’ve been on Linux for almost six years, It crashes, but that is usually user error.
Real vs imagined human spaceflight.
Real vs imagined human spaceflight.
He gets it. This was the same problem the Russians discovered when they were operating Mir.
Real vs imagined human spaceflight.
He gets it. This was the same problem the Russians discovered when they were operating Mir.
Russia has confirmed Sarah Brightman’s tourist flight to ISS, now scheduled for October 2015.
The competition heats up: Russia has confirmed Sarah Brightman’s tourist flight to ISS, now scheduled for October 2015.
The competition heats up: Russia has confirmed Sarah Brightman’s tourist flight to ISS, now scheduled for October 2015.
The first Cygnus/Antares demo flight to ISS has been delayed at least one month, to no earlier than August.
The first Cygnus/Antares demo flight to ISS has been delayed at least one month, to no earlier than August.
Overall, this delay is not a big deal. They want to swap out an engine to check a seal, plus they then have to coordinate the flight date with other missions to ISS.
The first Cygnus/Antares demo flight to ISS has been delayed at least one month, to no earlier than August.
Overall, this delay is not a big deal. They want to swap out an engine to check a seal, plus they then have to coordinate the flight date with other missions to ISS.
The robotic demonstration of remote satellite repair on ISS resumed this week.
The robotic demonstration of remote satellite repair on ISS resumed this week.
The latest round of demos follows a breakthrough round of ground-controlled activities in January using the 70-ft.-long Canadian robot arm/Dextre combination to sever lock wires and remove a mock fuel cap to flow 1.7 liters of ethanol fuel into the RMM.
The new tests will see if the robot arm can do even finer and more difficult tasks, such as unscrewing and storing a small screw.
The robotic demonstration of remote satellite repair on ISS resumed this week.
The latest round of demos follows a breakthrough round of ground-controlled activities in January using the 70-ft.-long Canadian robot arm/Dextre combination to sever lock wires and remove a mock fuel cap to flow 1.7 liters of ethanol fuel into the RMM.
The new tests will see if the robot arm can do even finer and more difficult tasks, such as unscrewing and storing a small screw.
The European Space Agency is investigating the possibility that the Progress docking to ISS on April 26 might have damaged equipment needed by their ATV cargo ship.
The European Space Agency is investigating the possibility that the Progress docking to ISS on April 26 might have damaged equipment needed by their ATV cargo ship.
The damage, caused by the undeployed Progress antenna, appears to have involved a navigational aid needed for ATV-4 … the Laser Radar Reflector (LRR) target. The LRR is needed for the automatic docking of the European ATV during the last part of the rendezvous operations. If the damage is confirmed, the device, recently replaced during an EVA by the Russian crew due to contamination of the optical section, will need to be replaced again. In this event, the European cargo ship could potentially be delayed for several months. ATV-4, named Albert Einstein, has been already delayed from April to June because of a glitch in an avionics box.
The European Space Agency is investigating the possibility that the Progress docking to ISS on April 26 might have damaged equipment needed by their ATV cargo ship.
The damage, caused by the undeployed Progress antenna, appears to have involved a navigational aid needed for ATV-4 … the Laser Radar Reflector (LRR) target. The LRR is needed for the automatic docking of the European ATV during the last part of the rendezvous operations. If the damage is confirmed, the device, recently replaced during an EVA by the Russian crew due to contamination of the optical section, will need to be replaced again. In this event, the European cargo ship could potentially be delayed for several months. ATV-4, named Albert Einstein, has been already delayed from April to June because of a glitch in an avionics box.
It appears the Progress freighter has successfully docked with ISS.
It appears the Progress freighter has successfully docked with ISS.
The story is not entirely clear on whether this was a successful hard dock, or only a soft dock. However, I’ve done a search on the web and it sounds like the docking was good. This story says the astronauts on ISS will conducting leak tests (a normal procedure) and then begin unloading, which suggests that all is well.
A hard docking is confirmed.
It appears the Progress freighter has successfully docked with ISS.
The story is not entirely clear on whether this was a successful hard dock, or only a soft dock. However, I’ve done a search on the web and it sounds like the docking was good. This story says the astronauts on ISS will conducting leak tests (a normal procedure) and then begin unloading, which suggests that all is well.
A hard docking is confirmed.
A new report from Russia suggests that the undeployed antenna on the Progess freighter will interfere with ISS’s docking port and prevent a docking.
A new report from Russia suggests that the undeployed antenna on the Progess freighter will interfere with ISS’s docking port and prevent a docking.
It appears that the antenna would allow a soft docking but prevent the hard docking necessary to allow for the opening of the hatch. Something similar to this had happened on the Russian Mir station in the 1987. Two astronauts did a space walk to clear the hatch of a piece of debris. Now the Russians are suggesting again that if a hard dock becomes impossible a spacewalk be performed to get the antenna out of the way.
A new report from Russia suggests that the undeployed antenna on the Progess freighter will interfere with ISS’s docking port and prevent a docking.
It appears that the antenna would allow a soft docking but prevent the hard docking necessary to allow for the opening of the hatch. Something similar to this had happened on the Russian Mir station in the 1987. Two astronauts did a space walk to clear the hatch of a piece of debris. Now the Russians are suggesting again that if a hard dock becomes impossible a spacewalk be performed to get the antenna out of the way.
An antenna used to orient a Progress freighter during docking, launched today to ISS, has failed to deploy.
An antenna used to orient a Progress freighter during docking, launched today to ISS, has failed to deploy.
Though astronauts can manually dock the spacecraft, they still need proper radar data to gauge its location, spin, orientation, speed, and distance. If the remaining four antennas cannot provide all this information, it will be very dangerous to try a docking.
A problem like this has not happened on a Progress freighter in literally decades. When I consider the spate of other recent failures experienced by the Russian space industry, I can’t help wondering whether they have developed an overall quality control problem.
Update: Russian mission control said today that even if they cannot solve the deployment failure and get the antenna working it will not prevent a docking with ISS on Friday.
I tend to believe them. With four other antennas plus additional radar equipment on ISS it does seems reasonable that there is sufficient redundancy to allow the docking to proceed. Also, considering the Russians past problems with collisions on Mir, I would expect them to be very careful about proceeding if they had any doubts.
An antenna used to orient a Progress freighter during docking, launched today to ISS, has failed to deploy.
Though astronauts can manually dock the spacecraft, they still need proper radar data to gauge its location, spin, orientation, speed, and distance. If the remaining four antennas cannot provide all this information, it will be very dangerous to try a docking.
A problem like this has not happened on a Progress freighter in literally decades. When I consider the spate of other recent failures experienced by the Russian space industry, I can’t help wondering whether they have developed an overall quality control problem.
Update: Russian mission control said today that even if they cannot solve the deployment failure and get the antenna working it will not prevent a docking with ISS on Friday.
I tend to believe them. With four other antennas plus additional radar equipment on ISS it does seems reasonable that there is sufficient redundancy to allow the docking to proceed. Also, considering the Russians past problems with collisions on Mir, I would expect them to be very careful about proceeding if they had any doubts.
A Russian spacewalk on ISS today.
A Russian spacewalk on ISS today.
What is especially interesting about this spacewalk is its participants, Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko. Vinogradov at 59 years old is the oldest person to do a spacewalk. It is his seventh EVA. Roman Romanenko meanwhile is following in the footsteps of his father, Yuri Romanenko, who spent three months in space in the late 1970s on Salyut 6 followed by a ten month mission on Mir in 1987. As far as I can remember, this makes Romanenko the first second-generation astronaut in history.
Update: a reader has noted that Richard Garriott was the first second generation astronaut, beating Romanenko by one year. See the comments.
A Russian spacewalk on ISS today.
What is especially interesting about this spacewalk is its participants, Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko. Vinogradov at 59 years old is the oldest person to do a spacewalk. It is his seventh EVA. Roman Romanenko meanwhile is following in the footsteps of his father, Yuri Romanenko, who spent three months in space in the late 1970s on Salyut 6 followed by a ten month mission on Mir in 1987. As far as I can remember, this makes Romanenko the first second-generation astronaut in history.
Update: a reader has noted that Richard Garriott was the first second generation astronaut, beating Romanenko by one year. See the comments.
What happens when you wring out a washcloth in zero gravity?
Boeing is about to begin wind tunnel tests of its CST-100 manned capsule.
The competition heats up: Boeing is about to begin wind tunnel tests of its CST-100 manned capsule.
This is good, but there is something about the pace of development of the CST-100 that seems mighty slow to me. Last September there were indications that Boeing might shelve the project, which were countered in November by word that they were instead considering increasing their investment.
The slow pace suggests to me that management has rejected the latter. It also suggests that while they haven’t shelved the project, they are not pushing it hard, which means that eventually it will die because it will fail to compete with other more ambitious and competitive efforts.
The competition heats up: Boeing is about to begin wind tunnel tests of its CST-100 manned capsule.
This is good, but there is something about the pace of development of the CST-100 that seems mighty slow to me. Last September there were indications that Boeing might shelve the project, which were countered in November by word that they were instead considering increasing their investment.
The slow pace suggests to me that management has rejected the latter. It also suggests that while they haven’t shelved the project, they are not pushing it hard, which means that eventually it will die because it will fail to compete with other more ambitious and competitive efforts.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on ISS has detected a surplus of positrons, anti-matter electrons, that physicists believe are caused by the existence of dark matter.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on ISS has detected a surplus of positrons, anti-matter electrons, that physicists believe are caused by the existence of dark matter.
The lead scientist of the experiment also emphasized that dark matter is not the only possible explanation, and that “The detailed interpretation of our data probably will have many theories.”
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on ISS has detected a surplus of positrons, anti-matter electrons, that physicists believe are caused by the existence of dark matter.
The lead scientist of the experiment also emphasized that dark matter is not the only possible explanation, and that “The detailed interpretation of our data probably will have many theories.”
After a fast four orbit/six hour flight a Soyuz capsule carrying there astronauts has successfully docked with ISS.
After a fast four orbit/six hour flight a Soyuz capsule carrying there astronauts has successfully docked with ISS.
After a fast four orbit/six hour flight a Soyuz capsule carrying there astronauts has successfully docked with ISS.
There astronauts were successfully launched today from Russia and are expected to dock with ISS later tonight.
Three astronauts were successfully launched today from Russia and are expected to dock with ISS later tonight.
They are the first crew to use the fast route to ISS, only six hours, rather than the more traditional two day rendezvous path.
Three astronauts were successfully launched today from Russia and are expected to dock with ISS later tonight.
They are the first crew to use the fast route to ISS, only six hours, rather than the more traditional two day rendezvous path.