1. Space Station

Category Archives: Space Station

International Space Station technology to ‘listen’ for leaks

Posted on by

3 July 2013

Astronauts onboard the International Space Station are installing technology that could listen for and locate air leaks.

Current systems detect but dont pinpoint leaks in the structures outside pressure wall, meaning if the crew cant find where the air is escaping, usually by listening for the hissing sound it produces, they would have to abandon ship.

To combat this problem, NASAs Langley Research Center has developed an ultrasonic background noise test (UBNT) to detect the high-frequency sounds made by the metal of the pressure wall as the air escapes, isolating them from the background noise of the space station.

The technology works using several distributed impact detection system (DIDS) units, which are high-speed, four-channel digitisers that record ultrasonic noises. Each unit has four pressure-sensitive transducers similar to the pickup coils on an electric guitar.

[The transducer] would essentially be stuck on the surface and anything that moves the surface up or down would be picked up, said principal investigator Eric Madaras in a statement.

Fourteen DIDS units are being installed aboard the ISS: seven in the main module Destiny and seven in Tranquility, which houses the stations life-support systems.

Once installed, the researchers hope to be able to identify and characterize the day-to-day background noises on the station and develop a system that can pick out leak-generated noises from the clutter.

The system may have other applications on Earth, for example in large pressure vessels containing radioactive material at a nuclear power station.

See original here:

International Space Station technology to 'listen' for leaks

Science Experiment Requires New Altitude For Space Station

Posted on by

July 2, 2013

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had to add a little more distance between the orbiting laboratory and Earth on Sunday for a science experiment.

NASA said astronauts raised the space stations altitude to accommodate a research project aimed at learning about Earths atmosphere and climate change.

The European scientists requested that we reposition the station slightly because by having this period of time they could bridge over the two Solar observing visibility windows, allowing them to view the sun for a full solar rotation without interruption, said International Space Station Program Scientist Julie Robinson, PhD. The International Space Station Program took a look at the request and was able to change the stations position to increase science return.

This adjustment offers an additional opportunity to follow an entire solar rotation, about 27 days as determined by viewing sunspots from Earth.

A very important contribution from the Solar bridging measurements is the possibility it brings to perform inter-comparisons over an entire period of a Solar rotation with data from other solar instruments in orbit (e.g. a comparison of ESAs Solar-SOLACES data and NASAs SDO/EVE data), said ESA Solar Project Scientist Astrid Orr, PhD. The December bridging already shows that these particular data sets agree extremely well with each other.

NASA said measurements for this Solar window run from June 18 to July 23. Normally viewing from the station only allows for short visibility windows of 10 to 12 days at a frequency of about once a month. After this, the observation window is blocked by the structure of the station. Changing the position of the station increases the visibility of the sun and enables scientists to view a full rotation from the orbital vantage point.

The bridging makes it possible for the scientists to develop a method for melting both sets of data into one reference set of data in absolute physical values for the science community, which includes both solar physicists and climate researchers, said Orr.

The stations orbit is turned so it is mostly sunlit, giving instruments optimal opportunity for measurements. This meets the solar science teams requirements to observe the sun through a full solar rotation. After observations are complete the station will return to its standard altitude, but investigators will continue to collect data.

View post:

Science Experiment Requires New Altitude For Space Station

International Space Station technology to ‘hear’ potential leaks

Posted on by

Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript. In order to enable it, please see these instructions. 22 hours ago Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, Expedition 34 Flight Engineer, is installing Ultra-Sonic Background Noise Test sensors behind a rack in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. These sensors detect high frequency noise levels generated by station hardware and equipment. Credit: NASA

The hiss of air escaping from a leaky car tire is no one's favorite sound. Even less pleasant? Hearing that hiss of escaping air 250 miles above Earth's surface while inside the pressurized confines of the International Space Station.

According to Eric Madaras, an aerospace technologist at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., if an air leak were to occur aboard the station, alarms would sound, and the astronauts would locate and correct the problem according to procedures. But with only the crew's eyes and ears to go on, pinpointing the source of a leak could be tricky.

Madaras is trying to fix that problem. As the principal investigator for the Ultrasonic Background Noise Test (UBNT) he's leading a study that potentially could help prevent a catastrophic loss of air pressure on a crewed spacecraft.

By observing the high-frequency noise levels generated by hardware and equipment operating in the Destiny laboratory and Tranquility module aboard the space station, Madaras and his team are helping to develop an automated system that would locate air leaks in a space structure's pressure wall - the outside part of the orbiting laboratory that keeps in oxygen.

"If a leak does occur, it's one of those things where you may not have a lot of time," Madaras said. "These guys can always go sit in the Soyuz capsule and close the door and go home. They've got that capability. But no one wants to just abandon ship, so there's always this desire to deal with it."

But dealing with a leak means identifying the source. Right now, that would require someone to listen for the signature hiss of escaping air - not an easy or quick task, especially on a noisy space station that has structures covering the wall where the leak might originate.

That's why, as part of UBNT, astronauts are in the process of installing several distributed impact detection system (DIDS) units on the pressure walls of the space station. DIDS units are high-speed, four-channel digitizers that record ultrasonic noises. Instead of listening for the hiss of air, these units detect the high-frequency sounds moving through the metal itself. Each unit has four pressure-sensitive transducers, which Madaras compares to the pickup coils on an electric guitar.

"That's where the rubber meets the road," Madaras said. "[The transducer] would essentially be stuck on the surface and anything that moves the surface up or down would be picked up."

Fourteen DIDS units will be installed aboard the space station: seven in Destiny and seven in Tranquility.

Read more from the original source:

International Space Station technology to 'hear' potential leaks

Russian rocket breaks up on liftoff, threatening next space station launch

Posted on by

MOSCOW A Russian rocket carrying three navigational satellites broke apart in a fiery explosion seconds after liftoff Tuesday morning, the ninth failure in the countrys troubled space program in the past 30 months and the third this year.

The rockets dramatic disintegration leaves in doubt a scheduled launch this month of a cargo vessel carrying water and other supplies to the international space station. On Tuesday, Russian officials put a hold on launches from the leased space center at Baikonur, in Kazakhstan, while they investigate the cause of the explosion and the damage to the launch site. A spokesman for the space agency Roscosmos said it is too soon to know how long the hold will be in effect.

But the RIA Novosti news agency quoted an unnamed official in the space agency as saying that there would probably be no launches for two to three months.

The next crew change at the space station is scheduled for Sept. 25, also by way of Baikonur. The United States has relied on Russian rockets to ferry astronauts to and from the station.

Analysts here say Russia has been careful to maintain standards in its manned-spaceflight program. But unmanned launches, they say, have been plagued by obsolete design, sloppy engineering, poor training and management, and conspicuous corruption.

The rocket that exploded Tuesday, on live television, was a Proton-M, derived from a 1965 Soviet predecessor. In February, a Zenit naval-launched rocket carrying a telecommunications satellite veered into the ocean. A Defense Ministry satellite also failed this year, the Interfax news agency reported.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev demanded the names of those responsible for Tuesdays crash. A criminal investigation also was opened. In Kazakhstan, an environmental commission was formed over fears of widespread rocket-fuel contamination at the site. A Kazakh official told Interfax that the rocket was carrying 600 tons of toxic substances.

When it hit the ground, it left a crater 150 to 200 yards across.

Interfax calculated the financial loss to Russia from the launch failure at about $140million.

Original post:

Russian rocket breaks up on liftoff, threatening next space station launch

NASA Announces Space Station Research and Development Conference

Posted on by

The American Astronautical Society, in cooperation with NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), will conduct the second annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference July 16-18 in Denver.

The theme of the conference is "Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities." It is the only annual conference offering details on the full breadth of research and technology development on the space station, including the full suite of prospects for future research over the life of the station.

Plenary sessions will discuss top station discoveries in microgravity; benefits and applications in Earth science, materials and education; uses of the station for medical advancements and Earth applications; and station technology applications for future space exploration. Parallel technical sessions will include findings from the life, physical, Earth and space sciences; human research; education; and technologies enabling exploration. Scientists will receive updates on significant accomplishments within their areas of expertise.

Keynote speakers include International Space Station Program Manager Michael Suffredini and CASIS Chief Operating Officer Duane Ratliff.

Special guests include NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier and station program managers from the Canadian, European, Japanese and Russian space agencies. In a recorded presentation, Nobel laureate Samuel Ting will present preliminary results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment currently under way aboard the space station. Astronaut Don Pettit will share his experiences living and working aboard the orbiting outpost. Organizations that manage and fund research on the space station, including NASA and CASIS, will provide overviews of upcoming opportunities.

The conference will include a workshop designed to help interested users develop their own ideas for experiments aboard the space station. Potential future station users will learn what they can accomplish, how to get started and sources for funding.

For details on the conference program and online registration, visit: http://www.astronautical.org

For information about research on the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.

Visit link:

NASA Announces Space Station Research and Development Conference


  1. Space Station