1. Space Station

Category Archives: Space Station

Progress Departs Space Station, New Cargo Ships Awaiting Launch

Posted on by

April 8, 2014

Image Caption: A Progress resupply craft approaches the International Space Station February 11, 2013. Credit: NASA

NASA

A Russian space freighter filled with trash departed the International Space Station on time Monday at 9:58 a.m. EDT. The ISS Progress 54 will orbit Earth 11 days for engineering tests before finally deorbiting over the Pacific Ocean for a fiery disposal.

A new space delivery awaits its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan inside the ISS Progress 55 spacecraft. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:26 a.m. Wednesday with a docking to the stations Pirs docking compartment just six- hours, or four orbits, later. The Russian resupply ship is delivering nearly 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies.

As a standard precaution, cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Tyurin were practicing techniques to manually dock the 55P in the unlikely event the cargo craft loses its automated rendezvous capability. The duo were inside the Zvezda service module practicing on the telerobotically operated rendezvous system, or TORU.

Commander Koichi Wakata and Flight Engineer Steve Swanson partnered up before lunch time to prepare for another resupply ship due to launch April 14. The pair of astronauts reviewed rendezvous and berthing procedures they will use when the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft arrives for its capture by the stations robotic arm, Canadarm2.

Wakata and Swanson also participated in the Ocular Health study which observes the effects of long-term microgravity on eyesight.

Wakata also worked in the morning with NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and in the afternoon with Swanson on the Sprint experiment. The study evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and improve cardiovascular function. The Japanese commander used ultrasound gear to monitor his body during the experiment.

Mastracchio worked throughout the morning collecting and storing blood and urine samples inside a science freezer. With assistance from Wakata he also measured his blood pressure.

Originally posted here:

Progress Departs Space Station, New Cargo Ships Awaiting Launch

SpaceX to Launch Robotic Capsule to Space Station Next Week

Posted on by

A private spaceflight company will launch its third robotic resupply mission to the International Space Station next week.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's unmanned Dragon vehicle loaded down with supplies is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 14. This will be SpaceX's third official flight to the station under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly 12 missions to the orbiting outpost using the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. You can watch the SpaceX launch live on Space.com via NASA TV starting at 3:45 p.m. EDT (1945 GMT) on April 14. Launch is scheduled for 4:58 EDT (2058 GMT).

Dragon will fly to the station loaded down with 5,000 lbs. of cargo and scientific experiments, according to NASA. The supplies include legs for Robonaut 2, a humanoid robot designed to eventually assist astronauts on the station with their day-to-day tasks. SpaceX initially aimed to launch the Dragon delivery mission in March, but damage to a ground-based U.S. Air Force radar station used to support Florida launches delayed the flight. [See photos of SpaceX's third resupply trip to the station]

"These new legs, funded by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates, will provide R2 [Robonaut 2] the mobility it needs to help with regular and repetitive tasks inside and outside the space station," NASA officials said in a statement on March 12. "The goal is to free up the crew for more critical work, including scientific research."

Quiz: How Well Do You Know SpaceX's Dragon Spaceship?

The spaceflight company SpaceX is one of several firms building private space taxis and cargo ships to launch astronauts and supplies into space. But there's more to SpaceX than meets the eye. Test your SpaceX know-how here.

0 of 10 questions complete

Quiz: How Well Do You Know SpaceX's Dragon Spaceship?

The spaceflight company SpaceX is one of several firms building private space taxis and cargo ships to launch astronauts and supplies into space. But there's more to SpaceX than meets the eye. Test your SpaceX know-how here.

SpaceX's Dragon will stay attached to the station's Harmony module until mid-May when it will detach and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, NASA officials said. When it splashes down, Dragon is expected to be carrying about 3,000 lbs. of experiments and equipment that can be recovered on Earth.

See more here:

SpaceX to Launch Robotic Capsule to Space Station Next Week

Luca Parmitano for UNICEF: a message from space against child malnutrition – Video

Posted on by


Luca Parmitano for UNICEF: a message from space against child malnutrition
Luca Parmitano, 37 y.o., is an Italian astronaut selected from the European Space Agency (ESA) since 2009. In May 2013 he started a long-duration mission to ...

By: UNICEF Italia

View original post here:

Luca Parmitano for UNICEF: a message from space against child malnutrition - Video

Maxie defeated in Space Station – Twitch Plays Pokemon Official Highlights Generation 3 – Video

Posted on by


Maxie defeated in Space Station - Twitch Plays Pokemon Official Highlights Generation 3
We end up finding Maxie up to no good again with Team Magma. Steven helps us take him on in a double battle. Helix Fossil Stickers! https://www.etsy.com/list...

By: TwitchPlaysPokemon

View post:

Maxie defeated in Space Station - Twitch Plays Pokemon Official Highlights Generation 3 - Video

International Space Station Dodges Orbital Junk (Again!)

Posted on by

WASHINGTON The International Space Station had to dodge space junk again for the second time in less than three weeks.

NASA said the station fired its thrusters Thursday afternoon, moving up about half a mile, to avoid some parts from an old Ariane 5 rocket. The European Space Agency launches Ariane rockets out of South America.

The junk would have come within 1,040 feet of the outpost.

This view of the International Space Station was captured by the crew of the shuttle Discovery in 2010.

NASA said the station's six-man crew was never in danger. NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said the space agency has had to consider sidestepping space junk dozens of times since the outpost was launched in 1998, sometimes canceling the orbital dodge at the last moment.

The station moved on March 16 to avoid an old Russian weather satellite part.

First published April 3 2014, 5:43 PM

Continue reading here:

International Space Station Dodges Orbital Junk (Again!)

NASA Coverage Set for SpaceX Mission to Space Station

Posted on by

The next SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch Monday, April 14, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The company's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying its Dragon cargo spacecraft, will lift off at approximately 4:58 p.m. EDT. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:45 p.m. If for any reason the launch is postponed, the next launch opportunity is Friday, April 18 at approximately 3:25 p.m.

The mission, designated SpaceX-3, is the third of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. It will be the fourth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory.

The spacecraft will be filled with almost 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies. The Dragon will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module until mid-May and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with more than 3,000 pounds of experiment samples and equipment returning from the station.

NASA will host a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m., Sunday, April 13, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by a SpaceX science and technology cargo news conference at 2 p.m. Both briefings, which are subject to a change in time, will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website. A post-launch briefing will be held approximately 90 minutes after launch.

If launch occurs April 14, NASA TV will provide live coverage Wednesday, April 16, of the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. Grapple and berthing coverage will begin at 5:45 a.m. with grapple at approximately 7 a.m. Berthing coverage begins at 9:30 a.m.

Media may request accreditation to attend the prelaunch news conferences, events and launch online at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

The deadline for U.S. media to apply for accreditation is April 9. The deadline has passed for international media to apply.

Media credentials will be valid for mission activities from launch through splashdown at Kennedy and at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at321-867-6598.

Read the original:

NASA Coverage Set for SpaceX Mission to Space Station


  1. Space Station