A Russian Progress freighter has arrived at ISS with supplies and a spacesuit repair kit for fixing one American spacesuit.
A Russian Progress freighter has arrived at ISS with supplies and a spacesuit repair kit for fixing one American spacesuit.
Tag: ISS
NASA has initiated a second investigation board looking into last week’s spacesuit incident on ISS.
NASA has initiated a second investigation board looking into last week’s spacesuit incident on ISS.
The investigations will run concurrently, with the second having a broader purpose, looking into “maintenance, quality assurance, and any operations that could have had a role.”
Bigelow announces prices for visiting or renting their space station modules.
The competition heats up: Bigelow Aerospace announces prices for visiting or renting their space station modules.
For countries, companies, or even visiting individuals that wish to utilize SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, Bigelow Aerospace will be able to transport an astronaut to the Alpha Station for only $26.25 million. Using Boeing’s CST-100 capsule and the Atlas V rocket, astronauts can be launched to the Alpha Station for $36.75 million per seat. In stark contrast to the short stays of a week or so aboard the ISS that we have seen wealthy individuals pay as much as $40 million for, astronauts visiting the Bigelow station will enjoy 10 – 60 days in orbit. During this time, visiting astronauts will be granted access to the Alpha Station’s shared research facilities. Examples of available equipment include a centrifuge, glove-box, microscope, furnace, and freezer. Also, potential clients should note that as opposed to the ISS, where astronauts dedicate the lion’s share of their time to supporting station operations and maintenance, astronauts aboard the Alpha Station will be able to focus exclusively on their own experiments and activities, ensuring that both nations and companies can gain full value from their investment in a human spaceflight program. [emphasis in original]
The release also describes price plans whereby the customer can rent part of a module for a period of time, as well as the prices for the naming rights to a module.
I hadn’t heard about it elsewhere and do not remember if this is old news or not. The announcement on the website is undated. Nonetheless, as the release notes, these prices undercut the fees charged by the Russians and provide far more opportunities for the customer.
NASA is trying get some spare spacesuit parts onto a Russian Progress freighter, scheduled to launch Saturday, in its effort to fix its American spacesuits on ISS.
NASA is trying get some spare spacesuit parts onto a Russian Progress freighter, scheduled to launch Saturday, in its effort to fix its American spacesuits on ISS.
It must be emphasized that NASA still doesn’t know exactly what caused the water leak into that spacesuit during a spacewalk last week.
Engineers continue to struggle to find the cause of the spacesuit water leak during a spacewalk last week.
Engineers continue to struggle to find the cause of the spacesuit water leak during a spacewalk last week.
They have eliminated many possible causes, but have not found any clear culprit. The consequence right now? No EVAs with an American spacesuit can occur until they solve the problem.
A spacewalk on ISS was cut short today because of an unexplained dangerous build up of water inside one astronaut’s spacesuit.
A spacewalk on ISS was cut short today because of an unexplained dangerous build up of water inside one astronaut’s spacesuit.
The Proton rocket is now grounded pending an investigation into today’s launch failure.
The Proton rocket is now grounded pending an investigation into today’s launch failure.
This is no surprise. What is more significant is that the crash today will likely delay all launches out of Baikonur for at least three months.
[C]ontamination will likely suspend activities at Baikonur Cosmodrome for two or three months, Ria Novosti reported, citing an unnamed source within the Russian space industry. The launch of a robotic Progress cargo ship to the International Space Station from Baikonur, currently scheduled for July 27, will probably be delayed as a result, according to this source. The next manned launch from Baikonur is Soyuz 36, which is slated to blast off on Sept. 25 to take three new crewmembers to the International Space Station.
Two Russian astronauts completed a six-hour-plus spacewalk today, preparing the station for Russia’s science module.
Two Russian astronauts completed a six-hour-plus spacewalk today, preparing the station for Russia’s science module.
This science module is many years late, delayed due to Russia’s financial problems after the fall of the Soviet Union. That the Russians are finally about to launch it is another indication, like their recent Proton rocket launch successes, that there space program might be experiencing a resurgence.
A 3D printer intended for installation on ISS in 2014 has successfully proven it can work in weightlessness.
A 3D printer intended for installation on ISS in 2014 has successfully proven it can work in weightlessness.
Three prototype versions of space manufacturing startup Made in Space’s 3D printer showed their stuff during four airplane flights that achieved brief periods of microgravity via parabolic maneuvers, company officials announced today (June 19).
Then there’s this:
“The 3D printer we’re developing for the ISS is all about enabling astronauts today to be less dependent on Earth,” Noah Paul-Gin, Made in Space’s microgravity experiment lead, said in a statement. “The version that will arrive on the ISS next year has the capability of building an estimated 30 percent of the spare parts on the station, as well as various objects such as specialty tools and experiment upgrades.” [emphasis mine]
If this claim is true, this printer will do a lot to make interplanetary space travel far more likely. It will mean that travelers far from home will be able to manufacture the spare parts they need, on demand, should something break. This will save a lot of weight, compared to carrying pre-made spare parts.
Flames in space.
They don’t look like you expect.
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.
Europe’s ATV 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Three astronauts safely returned from ISS today.
Three astronauts safely returned from ISS today.