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Category Archives: Space Station

International Space Station shifts orbit to prevent collision with space debris – Video

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International Space Station shifts orbit to prevent collision with space debris
Originally published March 18, 2014 The International Space Station shifted its route to avoid colliding with an incoming piece of space junk, NASA officials...

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International Space Station shifts orbit to prevent collision with space debris - Video

SpaceX cargo mission blasts off to space station

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday and sped through a cloud-covered sky on its way to deliver supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.

The Hawthorne-based rocket manufacturer launched the cargo mission despite a computer glitch aboard the space station and bad weather that threatened to push the liftoff back a day.

Promptly at 12:25 p.m. PDT, the rocket fired up its nine engines and launched into orbit, carrying a capsule packed with 5,000 pounds of supplies for the two American, one Japanese and three Russian astronauts aboard the space station.

The capsule, named Dragon, is scheduled to rendezvous with the space station on Sunday.

In a post-launch news conference, SpaceX founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said the flight was "perfect as far as we could tell."

"This is a happy day," he said. "I'm just glad we were able to do the job we were contracted for, at least thus far."

The blastoff from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred despite the failure of one of the space station's backup computers, which assists a space capsule as it docks with the station.

The launch also marked the first time that SpaceX attempted to recover the first stage of its rocket after separation. During the news conference, Musk said the effort to retrieve the part so far appeared unsuccessful and he "wouldn't give high odds that the rocket was able to splash down successfully" because of 25-foot waves and rough sea conditions.

More than 55,000 viewers tuned in to an online live stream hosted on SpaceX's website. As plumes of smoke began rising from the rocket seconds before liftoff, the chat room exploded with activity as viewers virtually cheered on the launch.

NASA kept its Twitter followers updated with images from the rocket's first minutes in flight, including the view from a SpaceX rocket camera with Earth in the background and a view of the Dragon spacecraft in orbit as it separated from the Falcon 9.

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SpaceX cargo mission blasts off to space station

SpaceX Launches Cargo to Space Station and Tries Rocket Recovery

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SpaceX launched more than two tons of cargo to the International Space Station and also conducted an experiment in rocket recovery.

The companys Falcon 9 rocket lifted off into the cloudy skies over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 3:25 p.m. ET, sending a robotic Dragon cargo capsule into orbit.

The Dragon held nearly 5,000 pounds (2,200 kilograms) of supplies and equipment for the station, ranging from the legs for a space robot to a lettuce-growing experiment. This is the third cargo delivery under the terms of SpaceX's 12-flight, $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

In addition to sending up the Dragon, SpaceX tested a landing system that could make it possible for future Falcons to return autonomously to a landing pad for reuse.

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The Falcon's first stage was prepped to fire its engines for a soft splashdown and recovery from the Atlantic. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a pre-launch tweet that heavy seas were keeping the recovery ship from reaching the anticipated splashdown zone.

After the launch, Musk reported via Twitter that the first stage executed a good re-entry burn and was able to stabilize itself on the way down. However, the rough seas were a problem. "I wouldn't give high odds that the rocket was able to splash down successfully," he said.

Later updates were more positive: "Data upload from tracking plane shows landing in Atlantic was good! Several boats enroute through heavy seas," Musk tweeted. "Flight computers continued transmitting for 8 seconds after reaching the water. Stopped when booster went horizontal."

Recovering and reusing rockets are key parts of Musk's strategy for reducing the cost of spaceflight and eventually sending colonists to Mars. The South African-born Musk, whose net worth is estimated at more than $9 billion, is in charge of SpaceX as well as the Tesla electric-car company and the Solar City power-generation venture.

Success after weeks of delay

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SpaceX Launches Cargo to Space Station and Tries Rocket Recovery

On fourth try, SpaceX capsule en route to space station

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The Dragon capsule is expected to arrive at the International Space Station on Sunday. Friday's launch was the first experiment with a new landing system designed to return the first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to its launch pad.

A cargo-laden capsule is on its way to the International Space Station after Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) successfully lofted the craft on Friday afternoon.

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The company's Dragon capsule is expected to arrive Sunday morning after the company's Falcon 9 rocket, launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station adjacent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, placed it on orbit.

Friday was the fourth try for a mission originally scheduled for launch on March 16. One delay was attributed to an oil leak in the unpressurized portion of the Dragon capsule, a second to a malfunction in one of the Air Force's tracking radars, and a third to a helium leak in the rocket.

Foul weather overnight Thursday and overcast skies Friday dropped the likelihood of launch to about 30 to 40 percent. But the weather conditions eased up enough to allow for Friday's launch at 3:25 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time.

"The rocket flight was perfect, as far as we could tell, and the Dragon deployment went well," said Elon Musk, SpaceX's chief executive officer and chief designer, during a postlaunch briefing.

With the capsule safely on its way, attention quickly turned to the performance of the Falcon 9's first stage. The company used a version upgraded with technology that will allow it to return to its launchpad and touch down under its own power. The goal is to have a rocket that is fully reusable.

Friday's launch was the first experiment with the system, which includes beefed-up thrusters and four 25-foot legs that sprout from the booster as it descends.

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On fourth try, SpaceX capsule en route to space station

SpaceX Launches Cargo Ship to Space Station and Tries Rocket Recovery

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SpaceX launched more than two tons of cargo to the International Space Station and also conducted an experiment in rocket recovery.

The companys Falcon 9 rocket lifted off into the cloudy skies over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 3:25 p.m. ET, sending a robotic Dragon cargo capsule into orbit.

The Dragon held nearly 5,000 pounds (2,200 kilograms) of supplies and equipment for the station, ranging from the legs for a space robot to a lettuce-growing experiment. This is the third cargo delivery under the terms of SpaceX's 12-flight, $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

In addition to sending up the Dragon, SpaceX tested a landing system that could make it possible for future Falcons to return autonomously to a landing pad for reuse.

It has come to our attention that the browser you are using is either not running javascript or out of date. Please enable javascript and/or update your browser if possible.

The Falcon's first stage was prepped to fire its engines for a soft splashdown and recovery from the Atlantic. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a pre-launch tweet that heavy seas were keeping the recovery ship from reaching the anticipated splashdown zone.

After the launch, Musk reported via Twitter that the first stage executed a good re-entry burn and was able to stabilize itself on the way down. However, the rough seas were a problem. "I wouldn't give high odds that the rocket was able to splash down successfully," he said.

Later updates were more positive: "Data upload from tracking plane shows landing in Atlantic was good! Several boats enroute through heavy seas," Musk tweeted. "Flight computers continued transmitting for 8 seconds after reaching the water. Stopped when booster went horizontal."

Recovering and reusing rockets are key parts of Musk's strategy for reducing the cost of spaceflight and eventually sending colonists to Mars. The South African-born Musk, whose net worth is estimated at more than $9 billion, is in charge of SpaceX as well as the Tesla electric-car company and the Solar City power-generation venture.

Success after weeks of delay

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SpaceX Launches Cargo Ship to Space Station and Tries Rocket Recovery

SpaceX launch to International Space Station threatened by storms

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May 23, 2011: The International Space Station sits at an altitude of approximately 220 miles above the Earth in this photo taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking.AP/NASA

SpaceX returned to the launch pad Friday in hopes of finally delivering supplies to the International Space Station, but stormy weather threatened to interfere.

NASA's commercial supplier was foiled by a leaky rocket valve during Monday's launch attempt. The valve was replaced, and the company aimed for a liftoff at 3:25 p.m. Friday. Forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at 40 percent.

The unmanned Dragon cargo ship contains 2 tons of station supplies, including material originally intended for urgent spacewalking repairs coming up in just a few days.

A critical backup computer failed outside the space station last Friday. Astronauts will replace it as early as Sunday; the timing for the spacewalk depends on when the Dragon flies.

The primary computer is working fine, but numerous systems would be seriously compromised if it broke, too. A double failure also would hinder visits by the Dragon and other vessels.

"It's imperative that we maintain" backups for these external command-routing computer boxes, also called multiplexer-demultiplexers, or MDMs, said flight director Brian Smith. "Right now, we don't have that."

NASA decided late this week to use the gasket-like material already on board the space station for the repair, instead of waiting for the Dragon. Astronauts trimmed the thermal material Friday to fit the bottom of the replacement computer, and inserted a fresh circuit card.

Much-needed food is also aboard the Dragon, along with a new spacesuit and spacesuit replacement parts. NASA wants these things at the space station as soon as possible.

The shipment is already more than a month late. Initially set for mid-March, the launch was delayed by extra prepping, then damage to an Air Force radar and, finally on Monday, the rocket leak.

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SpaceX launch to International Space Station threatened by storms

Space-Tested Fluid Flow Concept Advances Infectious Disease Diagnoses

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April 18, 2014

Image Caption: Rick Mastracchio conducting a Capillary Flow Experiment aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Melissa Gaskill, International Space Station Program Office, NASA Johnson Space Center

A new medical-testing device is being prepped to enter the battle against infectious disease. This instrument could improve diagnosis of certain diseases in remote areas, thanks in part to knowledge gained from a series of investigations aboard the International Space Station on the behavior of liquids. The device uses the space-tested concept of capillary flow to diagnose infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

David Kelso, Ph.D., a researcher at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., had been working for several years to develop a simple, inexpensive device that could be used in resource-limited settings to test for infectious diseases. When designs didnt work as expected in the lab, Kelso brought in Portland State University researcher Mark Weislogel, Ph.D., who is the principal investigator for the Capillary Flow Experiment (CFE) on the space station.

He came by the lab, we ran two or three experiments for him, and he explained to us that the problem had to do with capillary flow, Kelso says. Our mindset was that gravity would pull fluids through the device, but his mindset, due to his work in microgravity, was to use capillary action. His experience and work in zero-G was invaluable; he could look at something and not be constrained to just seeing the effects of gravity but other effects that we were blind to.

Cell samples in the form of blood or other bodily fluids are put into the device, where an enzyme fluid bursts the cells to release DNA or RNA. Another solution washes away the enzyme and the cellular debris, leaving behind the DNA or RNA, which is captured on a bead and used to identify infectious viruses. You only need fewer than a dozen particles, and you can detect the presence of the virus, Kelso explains. Its a phenomenal analytical technique, but it involves four different fluids that have to be moved around.

Thats where capillary forces come into play. The interaction between a liquid and a solid that draws a fluid up a narrow tube, capillary forces continue to operate in microgravity, and the low-gravity environment on the space station enabled researchers to conduct investigations into the special dynamics of this fluid behavior. The CFE series clarified the properties of the boundary between a liquid and the solid surface of its container and the flow of liquids under certain conditions. This knowledge will prove useful in designing fluid-bearing containers such as propellant tanks and water storage and management systems. It also will aid in creating instruments that use bio-fluids including the medical testing device the Northwestern lab is developing.

The capillary flow knowledge is just amazing, Kelso says. Its a way to move fluids without putting any energy into the device. We were using motors and batteries and all these things that consume power to make the device work. Doing it with capillary action uses much less energy. That makes it possible to diagnose infectious diseases in places where there is no power or where power is unreliable. It also reduces the time between sample collection and diagnosis and, therefore, initiation of treatment.

This cartridge and the way fluid moves in it are an important part of measuring viral load level, says Kara Palamountain, president of the Northwestern Global Health Foundation. Capillary flow helped us understand more about our assumptions and explains the movement we see in the cartridge, which we wouldnt have seen otherwise.

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Space-Tested Fluid Flow Concept Advances Infectious Disease Diagnoses

Storms threaten 2nd SpaceX Dragon launch try to space station

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -

SpaceX returned to the launch pad Friday in hopes of finally delivering supplies to the International Space Station, but stormy weather threatened to interfere.

NASA's commercial supplier was foiled by a leaky rocket valve during Monday's launch attempt. The valve was replaced, and the company aimed for a liftoff at 3:25 p.m. Friday. Forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at 40 percent.

The unmanned Dragon cargo ship contains 2 tons of station supplies, including material originally intended for urgent spacewalking repairs coming up in just a few days.

A critical backup computer failed outside the space station last Friday. Astronauts will replace it as early as Sunday; the timing for the spacewalk depends on when the Dragon flies.

The primary computer is working fine, but numerous systems would be seriously compromised if it broke, too. A double failure also would hinder visits by the Dragon and other vessels.

"It's imperative that we maintain" backups for these external command-routing computer boxes, also called multiplexer-demultiplexers, or MDMs, said flight director Brian Smith. "Right now, we don't have that."

NASA decided late this week to use the gasket-like material already on board the space station for the repair, instead of waiting for the Dragon. Astronauts trimmed the thermal material Friday to fit the bottom of the replacement computer, and inserted a fresh circuit card.

Much-needed food is also aboard the Dragon, along with a new spacesuit and spacesuit replacement parts. NASA wants these things at the space station as soon as possible.

The shipment is already more than a month late. Initially set for mid-March, the launch was delayed by extra prepping, then damage to an Air Force radar and, finally on Monday, the rocket leak.

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Storms threaten 2nd SpaceX Dragon launch try to space station


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