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Category Archives: Space Station

International Space Station Program, Science Briefing Set

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NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a news conference and social media event at 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT) Wednesday, May 22, to preview the upcoming Expedition 36 mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Television and the agency's website will carry the briefings live. Social media followers, who will be at Johnson for a NASA Social focusing on scientific research aboard the space station, will participate in the briefing and ask questions.

The International Space Station Program and Science Overview briefing will cover mission priorities and objectives. The two expeditions will involve increasing research on the orbital laboratory; up to six spacewalks (four Russian and two U.S.); arrival of the next European, Japanese and Russian cargo ships; and the maiden flight of the U.S. commercial resupply vehicle, Cygnus, from Orbital Sciences Corp.

The briefing participants are:

-- Michael Suffredini, International Space Station Program manager

-- Gary Horlacher, Expedition 36 lead flight director

-- Tara Ruttley, International Space Station Program associate program scientist

NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano are scheduled to launch to the station May 28 on a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan. They will join Expedition 36 crew members Chris Cassidy of NASA and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin, who have been aboard the station since late March.

Nyberg, Yurchikhin and Parmitano will remain in orbit until mid-November and will be joined in September by three additional crew members, Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, who will replace Vinogradov, Cassidy and Misurkin after they return to Earth in mid-September.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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International Space Station Program, Science Briefing Set

ESA astronaut Timothy Peake set for Space Station

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ESA's Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, announced today that ESA astronaut Timothy Peake has been proposed to fly to the International Space Station in 2015.

The decision was taken during the meeting of the ISS Multilateral Crew Operations Panel on Friday, 17 May.

"When we recruited the six new ESA astronauts in May 2009, I made a promise to secure flight opportunities for all of them. Thanks to the decisions of the Member States at the Ministerial Council last November, we will be able to fulfil our commitment to fly all six newly selected astronauts before the end of 2017.

"The first three astronauts already had their missions assigned. Today I am very happy to announce the assignment of Timothy Peake for a mission to the International Space Station. The two remaining astronauts, Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet, will be assigned before mid-2015 for flights at the latest in 2017."

Timothy Peake will join the crew of Expedition 46/47 for six months in 2015. He will be the first British citizen to live and work on the Space Station and it will be the eighth long-duration mission for an ESA astronaut.

Timothy's classmate ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano is preparing for launch to the orbital outpost on 28 May. Timothy's mission will follow those of ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Samantha Cristoforetti, both scheduled for launch in 2014.

"The value of Europe's astronauts and the training given at the European Astronaut Centre is reflected in the large number of mission assignments awarded to ESA astronauts," notes Thomas Reiter, ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations.

A former helicopter test pilot and Major in the British Army, Timothy is thrilled with his assignment: "I am delighted to be proposed for a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. This is another important mission for Europe and in particular a wonderful opportunity for European science, industry and education to benefit from microgravity research.

"Since joining the European Astronaut Corps in 2009, I have been training to work on the Station and I am extremely grateful to the ground support teams who make it possible for us to push the boundaries of knowledge through human spaceflight and exploration."

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ESA astronaut Timothy Peake set for Space Station

Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s space station guitar built in Vancouver

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For Larrive Guitars, the publicity was quite literally out of this world, and the dollar value from it continues to add up.

Images of Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield playing its Vancouver-made Parlor guitar sparked enough interest for the company to put the model back into production for a limited edition. The company has $100,000 in orders already for the commemorative model, which will sell for about $1,200, said Matthew Larrive, general manager of the companys California shop.

The three-quarter-size travel guitar, created and manufactured in the Vancouver factory of Larrive Guitars, spins around in front of the Canadian spaceman as he sings a modified version of David Bowies Space Oddity in a YouTube video that is believed to be the first music video made in space.

The video is Hadfields farewell to outer space after five months sitting in a tin can, far above the Earth, as the first Canadian to command the International Space Station.

The five-minute video has been viewed more than 14 million times since its release on May 12. Larrive said the publicity is invaluable for his company, which was founded in 1967 in Toronto but settled on the West Coast of Canada in 1977, and since 2001 also has a factory near Los Angeles in Oxnard, Calif.

You couldnt ask for that kind of advertising, Larrive said. What Chris has done for that guitar, and for space in general, has been amazing. Chris is making space cool hes made this stuff accessible to the average person.

Hadfield, 53, has been tweeting and posting photographs of Earth and videos from space on his trip to space, which was his third and reportedly last space station visit. He touched down to Earth in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz capsule on May 13.

Hadfield visited Larrives Vancouver shop in 2012 and said in a YouTube video filmed at that time that the guitar has made 50,000 trips around the globe.

Its cool playing a guitar in space because it floats in front of you and you dont need a strap, Hadfield says in the video. One of the weirdest things is to float around the room and bump into things as youre playing.

Hadfield said music is fundamental to the psychological well-being of astronauts, which is why NASA sought out a guitar for the ISS.

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Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s space station guitar built in Vancouver

1st British Space Station Astronaut Launching in 2015

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LONDON The first British astronaut ever to visit the International Space Station will launch in 2015 for a six-month mission that may involve spacewalks, wrangling visiting robotic spacecraft and space experiments, the UK Space Agency announced today (May 20).

European Space Agency astronaut Timothy Peake, 41, will be the first British astronaut to fly in space in 20 years when he launches aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2015. His mission was unveiled at London's Science Museum today.

Peake said he is "delighted and honored" to be selected for the mission. He will serve as a flight engineer during the space station's Expedition 46 and 47 crews. The mission will be the eighth long-duration mission for an ESA astronaut. [7 Notable Space Shuttle Astronauts]

"This is another important mission for Europe and in particular a wonderful opportunity for European science, industry and education to benefit from microgravity research," Peake said in a statement. He will also represent the UK Space Agency on the mission in addition to the ESA.

In training for the mission, Peake will learn how to use the European Columbus module, U.S. Destiny and Japanese Kibo laboratories on the International Space Station. His research work could include experiments in biomedicine, human physiology and the space environment. An experiment selection process is under way, officials said.

Big mission ahead

No final decisions have been made about exactly what science and other activities, such as spacewalks, he may perform on his mission. Peake's two fellow Soyuz crewmates and the rest of his six-person crew for the expeditions also have yet to be announced. [Life in Space: An Astronaut's Video Guide]

However, space station astronauts have had to perform emergency spacewalks for unscheduled repairs and maintenance, and Peake has had the necessary training for those tasks.

I am qualified on both the Russian Orlan spacesuit and American Extra vehicular and Mobility Unit, the EMU," Peak said in response to a question from SPACE.com. "I completed that training last year in Houston. My training will continue on the American spacesuit up until launch, so I will be eligible for a spacewalk.

Peake may also have to grapple with visiting spacecraft using the space station's Canadian-built robotic arm, Canadarm2.

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1st British Space Station Astronaut Launching in 2015

Star is born from space station

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Breathtaking images of WA are among the thousands of photographs captured from space by astronaut and global celebrity Chris Hadfield.

The Canadian spaceman returned to Earth this week as a social media sensation after five months on board the International Space Station.

Each day, Commander Hadfield posted photos from different parts of the globe, including many images of Australia.

WA photos included Perth and the South West region, King George Sound near Albany, Stokes National Park west of Esperance, Baker Lake near Warburton and King Sound near Derby.

Much of his photography was tied in with special events and current affairs, including cyclone Rusty swirling off the North West coast in February, photos of the UK to commemorate the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher and extra photos of Australia on Australia Day.

Cdr Hadfield's photos were shown every day to a rapt audience of millions back on Earth by his sons, Evan and Kyle, via Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

During his stint, he used a laptop in his sleeping station to access social media and answer questions from the public - even using video to demonstrate the effect of zero gravity on everyday tasks such as wringing water out of a cloth or making a sandwich.

The signal from the ISS was relayed via satellite to a mirror site at Mission Control in Houston. The ISS travels at a velocity around 28,000km/h and an altitude around 420km, orbiting the Earth once every 92 minutes.

More than 340,000 people are now following Cdr Hadfield's Facebook account and more than 950,000 follow him on Twitter.

Cdr Hadfield, who was mission commander of Expedition 35, returned to Earth on Tuesday with fellow astronauts American Tom Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko on board a Russian Soyuz-TMA capsule, landing in Kazakhstan.

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Star is born from space station

UK astronaut 'Major Tim' to join space station crew

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A former army helicopter pilot was on Monday named as the first "home-grown" British astronaut to head to the International Space Station.

Major Tim Peake, 41, will fly out to the ISS in November 2015 as part of a six-man crew, becoming the first Briton ever to travel to space on a British government-funded mission.

British-born astronauts have previously gone into orbit as US citizens through NASA, or on privately-funded ventures organised with Russian help.

Peake said it was a "true privilege" to have been chosen from more than 8,000 applicants for the six-month mission.

"The mission to the International Space Station is going to be a wonderful opportunity, not just for Europe and European science but the UK as well," he said at a press conference in London.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "a momentous day, not just for Tim Peake but for Great Britain".

"I am sure he will do us proud and I hope that he will inspire the next generation to pursue exciting careers in science and engineering," the prime minister said.

Peake, who will be on board the ISS for six months, has swiftly been dubbed "Major Tim" in reference to David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity", which tells the tale of lonely astronaut Major Tom.

He uses Twitter under the handle @astro_timpeake, and there are hopes he could take over from Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield as the ISS's chief tweeter.

Hadfield, who returned to Earth last week, delighted Twitter users during his six-month mission with spectacular images taken from the ISS and insights into daily life in space.

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UK astronaut 'Major Tim' to join space station crew

Briton given space station mission

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Briton given space station mission

9:24am Monday 20th May 2013 in National News Press Association 2013

British astronaut Tim Peake has been confirmed as one of the crew to join the International Space Station

A former helicopter pilot is to become the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS), it has been confirmed.

Major Tim Peake, 41, will be the first UK astronaut in space for more than 20 years. He will live and work on the space station for six months.

Major Peake will carry out a science programme and take part in a European education initiative before and during his mission. He is one of six astronauts selected from more than 8,000 hopefuls. The flight is expected to take place in November 2015.

Maj Peake told a news conference at the Science Museum in London: "It really is a true privilege to be assigned to a long duration mission, it feels like a real high point in a long career in aviation.

"I am really grateful to my family, friends and professional colleagues who are supporting me as I prepare for the challenge that lies ahead. The mission to the International Space Station is going to be a wonderful opportunity, not just for Europe and European science but the UK as well."

In a jokey reference to David Bowie fan, Commander Chris Hadfield, he said: "I do play the guitar, but very badly, and I wouldn't inflict my singing on anybody." Cdr Hadfield, from Canada, was his country's first professional astronaut, and gained a legion of fans on the Soyuz space capsule mission to and from the ISS, by performing a cover of the Bowie classic, Space Oddity. He now has close to one million followers on Twitter.

Answering questions, Maj Peake praised Cdr Hadfield for the "fantastic job" he had done. "I don't think I'll be able to top the tweeting, but I will also be tweeting, to encourage a generation to take an interest in space."

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Briton given space station mission

UK Astronaut Tim Peake To Visit Space Station

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A former military helicopter pilot is to become the first UK astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

Major Tim Peake will live and work on the space station for six months. He will carry out a science programme and take part in a European education initiative before and during his mission.

He is one of six astronauts selected from more than 8,000 hopefuls. The flight is expected to take place in November 2015.

Major Peake , 41, has undergone 14 months of rigorous training, which has included survival courses and exercises under water and underground.

The former British Army Air Corps helicopter pilot, who graduated as an astronaut three years ago, will be the first UK astronaut in space for more than 20 years.

Speaking after his selection, Major Peake said: "I applied to become an astronaut with the European Space Agency because I believe for me it's a unique opportunity in my life to become part of a team that can have such a positive impact on society.

"I believe humankind faces some enormous challenges this century, and the space arena is going to be fundamental in overcoming some of those challenges."

It is hoped Major Peake, who tweets with the handle @astro--timpeake , could even match the popularity of David Bowie fan, Commander Chris Hadfield.

Astronaut Ends Space Mission With Bowie Classic

Cdr Hadfield, from Canada, was his country's first professional astronaut, but gained a legion of fans on the Soyuz space capsule mission to and from the ISS,by performing a cover of the Bowie classic, Space Oddity.

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UK Astronaut Tim Peake To Visit Space Station


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