The crash of the computer that runs the station’s robot arm stranded a spacewalking astronaut in space for about 20 minutes yesterday.
Take a gander at this spectacular image of the shuttle approaching ISS, taken by an amateur astronomer from the ground!
The beginning of the end: The shuttle Discovery docked successfully with the space station, its 13th and final visit to ISS.
More station news: The shuttle Discovery has lifted off on its last mission.
Europe’s Kepler cargo vehicle has docked with ISS.
The automatic docking of the European Kepler freighter to the space station is now set for 10:47 pm (Eastern) tonight.
The robot arm on ISS shifted the Japanese freighter docked there to a different port today to clear a path for the shuttle.
Meanwhile, up on ISS two Russians have successfully completed a five hour spacewalk, getting all their work done early.
Europe’s second ISS freighter, dubbed Johannes Kepler, launched successfully today.
The delay yesterday of the launch of the European cargo ship to ISS might also delay the next Shuttle launch.
The launch of Europe’s freighter to ISS was scrubbed today. They will try again tomorrow.
An extraordinary photo opportunity: Use the Soyuz to photograph ISS next month when the shuttle and the Japanese and European cargo ships are all docked to ISS.
Robots in action! The robot arm Dextre did its first work on ISS this week, unloading two payloads from the Japanese unmanned freighter that docked with the station last week.
Another freighter, this time from Russia, docks with ISS.
Another Japanese space success today: Its second robot cargo vehicle has successfully docked at ISS.
Private space marches on! NASA is in negotiations with Bigelow Aerospace to buy one of their inflatable space station modules and attach it to ISS.
How’s this for your evening television entertainment: Beginning 8 pm on Saturday, NASA TV will show the docking of the next Russian Progress freighter to ISS.
A new deal has been announced to fly tourists to ISS using Russian Soyuz capsules. According the arrangement between Space Adventures and the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) and Rocket Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia), three seats will be made available on Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS), beginning in 2013.
These seats will be made available through the increase of Soyuz production, from four to five spacecraft per year. Each flight will be short duration, approximately 10 days, and will contribute to the increase of launch capacity to the ISS.
December 14 has been set as the target date for the first test launch of Orbital Sciences’s commercial ferry to ISS. Key quote:
The flight is scheduled to include delivery of a token cargo load using Orbital’s first Cygnus visiting vehicle, a service module combined with a pressurized cargo module.
Amateur astronomer Thierry Legault traveled to Oman to not only photograph the Moon as it eclipsed the Sun on January 4, but also capture the International Space Station at the same moment. The image he took of both as they crossed in front of the Sun is amazing.
The Soyuz capsule, carrying the next crew to the International Space Station, has docked safely with the station.
This is more a kerfuffle in the press than a real emergency: for about three hours today Russian mission control had problems communicating with either ISS or the Soyuz spacecraft that is on its way to it. Neither spacecraft was in any danger during the down time.
Virgin Galactic has confirmed the story from Space News that it is part of the crew/cargo proposal that Orbital Sciences submitted to NASA this week.
At least the Russians can still do this: At 2:09 pm (Eastern) today a Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off, carrying the next crew to the International Space Station.
In an article today on spaceref.com “NASA: It’s Our Space Station – Not Yours,” Keith Cowing has some harsh words for NASA and its management of the research on ISS. Based on what he witnessed at a NASA meeting, it appears that NASA wants to retain control over all research on the space station, while denying access to outside other researchers. Key quote:
In addition to prohibiting the ISS National Laboratory contractor from getting its hands on human-based research, Mark Uhran also stated that any proposal that proposed to do anything with spacecraft systems or engineering would be similarly deemed non-responsive. In other words two of the most interesting things you can do on the ISS – the sorts of thing you’d want a larger research base to focus on (assuming you are really interested in outside participation) are off limits due to executive fiat.
Where is NASA’s justification for limiting the ability of the private and educational sectors from making full utilization of the amazing capabilities that are offered by the ISS? Answer: NASA made it up. Truth be known, NASA was dragged kicking and screaming into supporting this National Laboratory concept. Congress had to enact a law to make them do it.
None of this surprises me. NASA is a government agency, and as a government agency it is going to protect its turf, come hell or high water. It is for this reason I think it a bad idea for the new space rocket companies to take any NASA money, up front. If they do, NASA will immediately use those funds as a club to force these new companies to do things as NASA wishes, rather than being free to compete and innovate on their own. In other words, NASA will use the funds to maintain control of all space exploration.
Better the new companies build their rockets and spaceships on their own, and then sell these new inventions to NASA or whoever else wants to use them. Let the profits pay for the work, not the needs and regulations of a government agency.
Not only will this free competiton produce a lot more creativity and innovation, it will almost certainly help to reduce the cost of space travel, as these companies fight to gain market share. And most importantly, it will frame the future exploration of space in the context of freedom rather that a state-run endeavor.
And isn’t freedom the principle that the United States of America stands for?
Lockheed has won a $171 million NASA contract to pack cargo for ISS through 2017.
My question however is this: How do they plan on getting the cargo into space?
Three astronauts from ISS landed safely in Kazakhstan this morning. Meanwhile, the next crew contingent passed its exams in Russia.
