Space Station | Universe Today

On Tuesday, to help out with the 50-year anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, clips from 100 hours of restored archive footage of NASA missions were made public. At the screening, John Glenn, America's first astronaut to orbit the Earth, watched the clips and had time to reminisce over the administration's "Glory Years". He also had a very strong message for the policy makers: Extend the Shuttle program and re-commit to a long-term investment in the International Space Station. As a former Marine, Mercury astronaut, pilot and US senator, that's a hard message to ignore…
Read more…

Filed under: NASA, Space Shuttle, Space Station | 12 Comments »

For the first time since docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on April 3rd, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) "Jules Verne" has been awoken and instructed to carry out an impressive task: push the ISS to a higher orbit. The robotic supply vessel, currently attached to the station's Zvezda module carried out a 12 minute 20 second burn of its main engines. This is the first time an ESA spaceship has carried out such a task and it appears to have performed flawlessly, lifting the 280 tonne station 4.5 km (2.8 miles) to a new altitude of 342 km (213 miles). In true ESA style, they've even released a cool video simulation of the event…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Station | 12 Comments »

Humans and sports go hand-in-hand; it was only a matter of time before sports pushed into space. Whether astronauts are practicing their cosmic golf swing, throwing boomerangs (for science of course!), hurling footballs or creating their own unique zero-G activity, we will see some new and inventive space sports in the future…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 9 Comments »

Now the dust has settled news sources appear to be coherently reporting the events that unfolded early Saturday morning. As several readers have shown concern that reporting on the Soyuz ballistic re-entry makes us opposed to Russian efforts in space, I hope these points clearly show that this is not the case. In actuality, without the Russian Soyuz fleet of personnel/cargo supply spacecraft, much of the international community's plans for space would be scuppered. So, what do we know happened after the Soyuz descent capsule undocked from the space station in the early hours of Saturday?
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Station | 23 Comments »

First, Russian space officials tried to cover up the emergency landing of the Soyuz descent capsule on Saturday. Then they blamed the crew for changing their flight plan without communicating with mission control. Compounding the problem, an official cited a bad omen as a contributing factor to the hard landing. Within a couple of days, the truth behind the Soyuz "ballistic re-entry" began to come to light. Today, even more shocking revelations are being reported, including how the escape hatch nearly failed during the uncontrolled, fiery re-entry…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Station | 21 Comments »

The facts behind the "ballistic re-entry" of the Soyuz descent capsule are beginning to come to light. According to several news sources, after the capsule made an unusual steep descent through the atmosphere, putting it at least 400km off-target, the parachute was set alight causing a small bush fire on landing. The crew, who had to wait upside down, reported smoke inside the capsule. Although the Russian space agency overseeing the rescue helicopters reported that the crew were safely on the ground, in reality they were struggling to find their location. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko had to unhook himself from the askew craft, get outside and use a satellite phone to confirm they were alive and well. Tough questions are now being asked as to why mission control lost track of the capsule in the first place and why they covered up the reality of the landing till so long after the event…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Station | 23 Comments »

The Russian Soyuz re-entry capsule, carrying the first South Korean astronaut back to Earth, suffered a "ballistic re-entry" on Saturday, putting the capsule 400 km (250 miles) off-target. This is the second time in a row that the return vessel has landed off course; even officials were shocked about this inaccuracy. The astronauts endured forces of up to 10-G as the capsule took a very steep trajectory as it dropped through the atmosphere for three and half hours. Fortunately the three crew members are safe and well. What's the explanation for the mishap? An unauthorized change to the flight plan and an old naval superstition…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 11 Comments »

After all the excitement about last week's successful docking of the European ATV "Jules Verne", it's time to spare a thought for its Russian predecessor. The Progress 28 module was filled with rubbish and unneeded equipment, quietly severed from its docking bay and steered toward Earth. On Monday at 0850 GMT, the selfless module dropped through the atmosphere, burned and eventually reached the Pacific Ocean, sinking into the satellite graveyard 3000 km east of the New Zealand coast…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 20 Comments »

Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle “Jules Verne” pulled into port today, docking successfully with the International Space Station, bringing 7.5 tons of cargo to re-supply the station. The ATV’s maiden docking took place in slow, incremental steps, and included several docking run-throughs and planned aborts to test vehicle's capability of being monitored and stopped in case of any problems. But under the watchful eye of three control centers on Earth and the three astronauts on board the ISS, the Jules Verne approached and docked smoothly to the docking ring on the Zvezda module at 9:45 am CDT.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 2 Comments »

The images coming down from the STS-123 mission have been nothing short of spectacular. The pictures have included amazing EVA shots, images of the astronauts hard at work (and having fun, too) and stunning photos of the ever-growing International Space Station. Here are just a few of the latest images from the mission, and they're all so great, I've decided to give each one an award. This one gets the award for Best Group Photo Ever of the Shuttle, ISS and Earth. On Monday, shuttle Endeavour undocked from the ISS, and after the obligatory fly-around, the astronauts snapped this picture as the shuttle separated from the station. In my mind, this is one of the most amazing images from space ever. And there's more….
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 11 Comments »

Two astronauts tested a special applicator and “goo” to see how well techniques developed for repairing damaged shuttle tiles work in orbit. Shuttle astronauts Mike Foreman and Bob Behnken used a T-RAD, or Tile Ablator Dispenser to squirt a pink, caulk-like substance called Shuttle Tile Ablator-54 into intentionally damaged shuttle tiles during their six and a half hour spacewalk to test how the tool and material behaves in the weightless vacuum of space. "I'm thrilled with what we saw today," said ISS flight director Dana Weigel after the spacewalk, adding that T-RAD could also be used to mend torn shuttle insulation blankets. "It behaved very similar to what we saw on the ground, so that gives me a lot of confidence."
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 1 Comment »

Peering across 2000 km of space, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), "Jules Verne", leads the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS will now be a speck on the ATV's horizon, but only hours earlier, it completed a fly-by 30 km underneath, giving the station and space shuttle Endeavour crew a look of the precious cargo shipment. Jules Verne will now sit and wait in "parking orbit" until the coast is clear for the ATV to dock early next month…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Station | 5 Comments »

There have been some outstanding images coming in from the current space shuttle mission at the International Space Station. The crews of Endeavour and the ISS continue their near-frantic pace of spacewalks and outfitting of the station during the STS-123 mission. During the 3rd spacewalk, astronauts Rick Linnehan (right) and Bob Behnken work on the new Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM). This image highlights how big the station is getting, as the astronauts are almost dwarfted by this one area of the truss section.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 5 Comments »

Although ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will be approaching the International Space Station (ISS) at a rate slower than tortoise-pace, what would happen if the 20 tonne space truck didn't slow down as it docks with the station? It wouldn't be pretty. In all likelihood, the large mass of supplies and metal would cause significant structural damage to the ISS and could be life-threatening to the astronauts on board. To avoid a very big dent in the manned outpost, the ESA's partners insist that the ATV carry out some practice runs of the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre (a.k.a. the "emergency brake")…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Station | 13 Comments »

Problems struck the brand new ESA Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) at 260km above the Earth shortly after it was launched into orbit on Sunday. Seven of the 28 attitude control jets and a main engine shut down unexpectedly, forcing the craft to switch to backup systems. The panic has now subsided as commands sent from mission control fixed the glitch and the thrusters switched back online…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 8 Comments »

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has been successfully launched into orbit. The ATV, also known as "Jules Verne", is Europe's largest and most complex spaceship ever. Weighing in at 20 tons, the ATV needed a big push to get it into space, so the largest member of the Arianespace-built rocket family was called into use, the Ariane-5. The unmanned ATV is now en-route to the International Space Station, to make some deliveries…

(Including a cool little animation of the entire mission courtesy of ESA.)

Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 2 Comments »

The brand new ESA Columbus Module installed on the International Space Station (ISS) by the STS-122 crew last week is beginning a first run of biological experiments. This first experiment tests the reaction of root growth in different gravitational states. Of particular interest is how the roots of seeds develop in space when compared to terrestrial conditions. This has obvious applications for growing plants in space, underpinning agricultural science in some of the most extreme and challenging environments man will experience.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Space Station | 7 Comments »

We haven't had time to catch our breath after STS-122 touched down on February 20th, only nine days ago, and yet the next launch date to the International Space Station (ISS) has been announced today. The date? March 11th - only 11 days from now. This time NASA has put together a nice little interactive gadget so you can see the 17 day mission from day to day…
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 4 Comments »

After a successful visit to the International Space Station, the crew of space shuttle Atlantis said farewell and undocked from the station at 4:24 am EST Monday morning. Their busy nine-day stay included three spacewalks and the installation of the European Columbus science module, as well as a switch-out in crew. European astronaut Leopold Eyharts stays on the ISS while US astronaut Dan Tani returns home after a four-month expedition on the station.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Flight, Space Shuttle, Space Station | No Comments »

It’s been called a white elephant, an orbital turkey, a money pit, and an expensive erector set. Seemingly, there's even people at NASA who think building it was a mistake. The International Space Station has been plagued with repeated delays, cost overruns, and bad press. Additionally, the ISS has never really caught the fancy of the general public and most likely there’s a fair percentage of the world’s population who have absolutely no idea there’s a construction project the size of two football fields going on in orbit over their heads.

But I’m going to be honest. I’ll come right out and say it: I really like the ISS. In fact, I’m crazy about it, and have been ever since Unity docked with Zarya back in 1998. Yes, my heart belongs to the space station, and since its Valentine’s Day, I’m going to profess my feelings here and now with ten reasons why I love the International Space Station:
(In no particular order:)
Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 35 Comments »

The ESA Columbus module is now attached to the Harmony module on the International Space Station after a successful spacewalk by Space Shuttle Atlantis crew members Stan Love and Rex Walheim. Although Columbus installation was postponed for a day, today's (Monday) spacewalk was completed in 7-hours and 58-minutes, concluding at 5:11pm EST.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | No Comments »

In a superb video released by NASA, the Space Shuttle Atlantis' 360 degree pitch maneuver is captured prior to docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday. Atlantis' mission to the station is to deliver and install the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus science laboratory to the station tomorrow (Monday) despite the first spacewalk being postponed due to an undisclosed medical problem with one of the STS-122 astronauts, Hans Schlegel.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | No Comments »

A medical issue with a member of the space shuttle crew has forced a change in personnel for the first scheduled spacewalk of the STS-122 shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The switch has also mandated that the spacewalk be delayed one day to Monday. NASA officials would not say which astronaut was experiencing any medical problems, but did confirm that Stan Love has replaced Hans Schlegel for the initial spacewalk.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 3 Comments »

Although Atlantis is getting ready for its trip back to the International Space Station, it won't be the only visitor. An unmanned Progress cargo ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today, bringing fresh supplies to the International Space Station. The Americans call it Progress 28, while the Russians have designated it M-63.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Station | 2 Comments »

On Wednesday I reported that NASA was looking into a bent coolant hose on the space shuttle Atlantis. They weren't sure if this might cause a potential launch delay while it was repaired. Shuttle managers met over the weekend, and decided that it wasn't enough of a problem to delay the launch.
Read more…

Filed under: Space Shuttle, Space Station | 1 Comment »