Space Station | Universe Today

Update #2, 5:30 pm: NASA has now said that after further analysis, the space debris they have been tracking no longer poses any concern or threat to the ISS. Everyone can rest easy tonight! The piece of debris was only 5 cm long, and will not pass within the "pizza box" zone around the station (0.75 x 25 x 25 kilometers) that calls for an alert.

A hard-to-track piece of space junk may come within a half a kilometer of the International Space Station later today, and NASA managers are considering asking the crew to board the docked Soyuz capsules as a precaution. The time of closest approach is at 10:48 p.m. EST, and the object was detected too late for the station to do an evasive maneuver. Depending on the outcome of additional tracking data analysis, the crew may be awakened later and directed to go into the Soyuz vehicles around 10:30 pm or given the option to sleep in Soyuz tonight. NASA says they don't believe the crew is at risk, but precautions are prudent in dealing with space debris.
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The International Space Station is taking on the look and feel of a busy space way station, with three Soyuz now docked and a current crew count of nine. Expedition 21 Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev along with spaceflight participant Guy Laliberté arrived at the ISS, docking their Soyuz TMA-16 to the aft end of the Zvezda service module at 4:35 a.m. EDT Friday. Williams and Suraev are relieving Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt who will depart on Oct. 10 along with the Canadian visitor, Laliberté (the one with the clown nose, below). Watch the docking video below, along with another video of the hatch opening and the new crew members entering the station.
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It's not quite like requesting "Tea, Earl Grey, hot" and having a steaming drink appear, but almost. The Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication, developed at NASA's Langley Research Center, is an engineer's version of the science fiction replicator on Star Trek. "You start with a drawing of the part you want to build, you push a button, and out comes the part," said Karen Taminger, the technology lead for NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program.
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In a true display of international cooperation, American flight engineer Nicole Stott, using Canada's Canadarm2, captured the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), with help from Belgium's Frank DeWinne and Canada's Robert Thirsk, under the direction of Russian ISS commander Gennady Padalka. The unpiloted HTV arrived at the International Space Station Thursday and later was attached to the Harmony node at 6:26 p.m. EDT. The HTV launched on Sept. 10, and took seven days to reach the ISS so controllers could run various tests and demonstrations on its maiden voyage.
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Japan successfully launched its first re-supply spacecraft to the International Space Station today. After liftoff at 17:01 GMT (12:01 CDT) from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, flight controllers confirmed the HTV-1 spacecraft separated from the H-2B rocket and now is in its preliminary orbit. The flight profile has the HTV taking seven days to reach the ISS so controllers can run various tests and demonstrations on its maiden voyage before rendezvousing with the space station. Unlike previous re-supply ships that dock directly to the station, the HTV will fly to within 10 meters from the ISS on September 17, and then astronaut Nicole Stott will reach out and grapple the spacecraft with the space station's robotic arm, Canadarm 2, and connect it to the Harmony module on the ISS.
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Paolo Beltrame from Italy sent us this amazing montage of images he took of space shuttle Discovery docked to the ISS on September 1, 2009. See the incredible details visible of the space station and docked shuttle! Paolo is with the Circolo AStrofili Talmassons (Amateur Astronomers Club in Talmassons, or CAST) who have an impressive observatory (take a look at Paolo's website). He took these selected images from a 2-minute movie taken with a TourcamPro webcam. As impressive as Paolo's astrophotos are, however, he says his real passion is viewing the night sky with the naked eye. His motto is "Lasciate che i fotoni vengano a me!" (Let the photons come to me!) See a close up of Paolo's best shot of the ISS/shuttle below, as well as images from other astrophotographers of Tuesday evening's pass of the shuttle and ISS as they flew in tandem after Discovery undocked from the station on Tuesday afternoon. There's also video from the shuttle's flyaround.
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If you catch this post on Monday night, you might have a chance to see the International Space Station and Discovery while the space shuttle is still docked to the ISS. Flying as one, the station/shuttle complex is very bright and very easy to spot. But Tuesday evening you'll be able to see double. The shuttle is scheduled to undock from the station Tuesday at 2:26 pm CDT(19:26 GMT), and if you have clear skies, you should be able to see Discovery slightly trailing the ISS. It will be a great sight — highly recommended!

How do you find out when the duo will be flying over your backyard?
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As the crew of the STS-128 mission pack up and prepare to get ready to undock from the International Space Station on Tuesday, it's time to look back at the very successful mission that worked on space station construction. Here's some of the best images of the mission.

Above, ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang works (and waves) during the third and final EVA of the mission. Fuglesang and NASA astronaut John "Danny" Olivas installed several items and did work to prepare for the installation of Node 3, which will take place next year.
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Apparently the International Space Station is going to get bigger. According to an article on Flight Global, NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are preparing to sign an agreement to add another laboratory to the ISS by using a modified multipurpose logistics module (Raffaello) during the final Space Shuttle mission. It will be attached in September 2010 during Endeavour's STS-133 mission. The idea had originally been rejected, but earlier this year ISS program manager Michael Suffredini said using an MPLM for an additional module was being reconsidered.
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The third launch attempt was a charm for space shuttle Discovery and her crew. The STS-128 mission is now underway with a successful liftoff one minute before midnight, local time, from Kennedy Space Center. Discovery is carrying the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station, and tucked away inside is the COLBERT treadmill, along with several refrigerator-sized racks of science equipment, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment, an air purification system, and other supplies, plus another unusual object packed in Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang's belongings: a theoretical particle called a neutralino.
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Posted for your enjoyment: Just hours before the scheduled launch of the STS-128 mission, NASA TV played a message from comedian Stephen Colbert, namesake of the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT). The treadmill is on board space shuttle Discovery, which will launch at 5:36 GMT (1:36 EDT) Tuesday morning, heading to the International Space Station for a 16 day mission. As of this writing, Discovery’s external tank has been loaded with about 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in preparation for the launch. This will be Discovery's 37th mission to space and the 30th mission of a space shuttle dedicated to the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.

UPDATE: The launch was scrubbed because of stormy weather. NASA will try again at 5:10 GMT (1:10 a.m. EDT) Wednesday. The most recent forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at that time.

The launch will be shown live on NASA TV. Here's where to watch it one the web.

Spaceflightnow.com will also be hosting a live webcast with Miles O'Brien, David Waters and former astronaut Leroy Chiao starting at 9 p.m. EDT Monday evening.

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The launch of South Korea's first domestic rocket launch was aborted on Wednesday just minutes before scheduled liftoff because of a technical problem, delaying South Korea's mini space race with North Korea. The two-stage rocket, called the Naro will be South Korea's first launch from its own territory. Officials expect another liftoff will be attempted in a few days. Another launch attempt on July 30 was also aborted. The satellite was domestically built, with help from Russia and will observe the atmosphere and ocean. The launch attempt came about four months after North Korea was widely criticized for firing its own rocket in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

Meanwhile, NASA officials have cleared space shuttle Discovery to launch on August 25 for the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. As of now, weather is the only issue that might delay the mission.

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Listen my children and you shall hear
Tweets coming from up above our Earthly sphere.

The newest International Space Station astronaut has started Tweeting from space. Tim Kopra is the first ISS crew member to use the social media tool Twitter to discuss living and working in orbit. Kopra (@Astro_Tim) recently joined the Expedition 20 crew after arriving July 17 aboard space shuttle Endeavour. But the coolest thing is that his first Tweets' origin was "from Mobile Web." Yep, from the ISS, that's really mobile.
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The most famous toolbag in the world (and space) will soon be no more. The ISS Toolbag will enter Earth's atmosphere and completely burn up. Current estimates say the toolbag should become a fireball on August 3 around 1316 Universal Time. It should be visible over the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico (12.7° N, 257.1° E). Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper dropped the backpack-sized kit on Nov. 18, 2008, while she was working outside the International Space Station. Since then the toolbag has circled Earth over 4,000 times, and has even been visible from the ground. Keep track of the toolbag at Heaven's Above or on SpaceWeather.com's Satellite Tracker.

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A great opportunity tonight (July 28) to see three spaceships cross the sky at once! Endeavour just undocked from the ISS today, so they will be close to each other, plus there's another spaceship lurking nearby: a Progress re-supply ship ready to dock with the ISS. How can you find out when and where to look for the three spacecraft? There are a couple of different websites that provide real-time tracking data and information about the ISS sighting opportunities. See below for more info.

The image above is a screenshot from NASA TV of the ISS as Endeavour undocked. Notice the shadow of the shuttle on the ISS solar arrays!
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