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Category Archives: Space Station

International Space Station Astronauts Do An Experiment for ‘Cosmos’ TV Show – Video

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International Space Station Astronauts Do An Experiment for #39;Cosmos #39; TV Show
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 38 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio ...

By: Thunder Aerospace

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International Space Station Astronauts Do An Experiment for 'Cosmos' TV Show - Video

Space Station Live: Protein Crystallization Experiment Launching on SpaceX – Video

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Space Station Live: Protein Crystallization Experiment Launching on SpaceX
Space Station Live commentator Amiko Kauderer interviews CASIS PCG HDPCG-2 Principal Investigator Dr. Stephen Aller regarding the Advancing Membrane Protein ...

By: Waspie_Dwarf

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Space Station Live: Protein Crystallization Experiment Launching on SpaceX - Video

SpaceX delays Dragon cargo launch to space station until March 30

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The planned Sunday launch of a commercial Dragon space capsule packed with food and supplies for astronauts in orbit has been delayed until at least March 30, its SpaceX builders said Thursday.

SpaceX planned to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the robotic Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station early Sunday, March 16, from Florida to mark the firm's third delivery mission for NASA under a $1.6 billion contract. But due to "remaining open items," SpaceX is now targeting a launch on March 30, with April 2 as a backup day.

"Both Falcon 9 and Dragon are in good health," SpaceX officials said in a statement announcing the delay. "Given the critical payloads on board and significant upgrades to Dragon, the additional time will ensure SpaceX does everything possible on the ground to prepare for a successful launch." [See photos from SpaceX's latest Dragon spacecraft mission]

SpaceX launches its Dragon missions to the space station from a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It launched the first Dragon mission in 2010, and has flown two of 12 cargo missions under its NASA deal since then.

Sunday's mission, called the Commercial Resupply Services 3 (CRS-3) flight, was slated to launch at 4:41 a.m. EDT (0841 GMT) to begin a four-week trip to the International Space Station. The capsule was slated to return to Earth on April 17, if all went well.

The CRS-3 Dragon spacecraft is packed with about 4,600 lbs. of supplies and gear. That haul includes equipment for more than 150 experiments scheduled for the station's current Expedition 39 crew and its follow-on Expedition 40 increment.

The spacecraft is also expected to carry a prototype laser communications experiment, a new spacesuit to replace a leaky suit on the station, as well as prehensile legs for NASA's Robonaut 2 robot aboard the orbiting lab. Four tiny "cubesat" satellites will also launch as piggyback payloads on the mission.

The Dragon capsule, which is equipped with a heat shield, is expected to return about 3,600 lbs. of cargo, experiments and other gear back to Earth, SpaceX officials said.

SpaceX is one of two U.S. spaceflight companies currently launching delivery flights to the space station for NASA. The U.S. space agency also flies cargo to the space station on vehicles built by Russia, Europe and Japan.

The other U.S. firm with a NASA cargo delivery deal is the Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp., which launched its first cargo mission to the International Space Station in January. Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract for eight delivery flights using its own Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rockets, which launch from Wallops Island, Va.

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SpaceX delays Dragon cargo launch to space station until March 30

Space station to transmit video via laser

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Scientists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Ca, USA, have developed a new method of transmitting video and large volumes of data from the International Space Station back to Earth.

A team of 20 researchers working on the labs Phaeton program, have developed the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) investigation, which is being prepared for a March 16 launch to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX-3 mission. Their goal is to achieve NASAs first optical communication experiment on the orbital laboratory.

Scientific instruments used in space missions increasingly require higher communication rates to transmit data back to Earth or to support high-data-rate applications, such as high-definition video streams.

"Optical communications has the potential to be a game-changer," said mission manager Matt Abrahamson. "Right now, many of our deep space missions communicate at 200 to 400 kilobits per second. OPALS will initially demonstrate up to 50 Mbit/s and future deep space optical communication systems will provide over 1 Gbit/s from Mars, he added.

"It will be like upgrading from dial-up to DSL," added project systems engineer Bogdan Oaida. "Our ability to generate data has greatly outpaced our ability to downlink it. Imagine trying to download a movie at home over dial-up. Its essentially the same problem in space, whether were talking about low-Earth orbit or deep space."

After the Dragon capsule docks with the station, OPALS will be robotically extracted from the trunk of the Dragon, and then manipulated by a robotic arm for positioning on the stations exterior. It is the first investigation developed at JPL to launch on SpaceX's Falcon rocket.

As the space station orbits Earth, a ground telescope tracks it and transmits a laser beacon to the OPALS. While maintaining lock on the uplink beacon, the orbiting instruments flight system will downlink a modulated laser beam with a formatted video. Each demonstration, or test, will last approximately 100 seconds as the station instrument and ground telescope maintain line of sight.

It will be used to study pointing, acquisition and tracking of the very tightly focused laser beams, taking into account the movement of the space station, and to study the characteristics of optical links through Earths atmosphere. NASA will also use OPALS to educate and train personnel in the operation of optical communication systems.

About OPALS

OPALS is a partnership between NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.; the International Space Station Program based at Johnson Space Center in Houston; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Advanced Exploration Systems Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

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Space station to transmit video via laser

SPACE STATION 76’s Matt Bomer, Patrick Wilson, & Marisa Coughlan on the Present Future! – Video

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SPACE STATION 76 #39;s Matt Bomer, Patrick Wilson, Marisa Coughlan on the Present Future!
YH hangs out with the stars of the super-buzzy sci-fi flick, #39;Space Station 76 #39;, at the SXSW Festival in Austin! Matt Bomer, Patrick Wilson, and Marisa Cough...

By: Young Hollywood

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SPACE STATION 76's Matt Bomer, Patrick Wilson, & Marisa Coughlan on the Present Future! - Video

Earth vs Astronauts: ‘Let’s Play’ Alex Brooker | Space Week Live | Channel 4 – Video

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Earth vs Astronauts: #39;Let #39;s Play #39; Alex Brooker | Space Week Live | Channel 4
Alex Brooker takes on the Astronauts and, well, does pretty good actually. Play the game here: http://space.channel4.com/game/ It #39;s pretty easy to hit a targ...

By: Channel 4

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Earth vs Astronauts: 'Let's Play' Alex Brooker | Space Week Live | Channel 4 - Video

Koichi Wakata becomes International Space Station first Japanese commander – Video

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Koichi Wakata becomes International Space Station first Japanese commander
The International Space Station has a new commander. Koichi Wakata took over the reins during a ceremony on the ISS which was watched by ground control. He i...

By: Universal Moves

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Koichi Wakata becomes International Space Station first Japanese commander - Video


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