CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA on Thursday halted attempts to replace a power distributor on the International Space Station after spacewalking astronauts were repeatedly stymied by a jammed bolt, officials said. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide, both station flight engineers, had planned to spend 6.5 hours outside the orbital outpost to work on its power ...
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Two astronauts battled through an extra-long spacewalk outside the International Space Station today (Aug. 30) to replace a broken power unit and other broken gear on the orbiting lab's exterior, but were ultimately stopped short by a set of stubborn bolts.
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Astronauts Battle Stuck Space Station Bolts in Marathon Spacewalk
Sticky bolts proved too much for spacewalking astronauts Thursday, forcing them to leave a new power-switching box dangling from the International Space Station instead of bolted down.
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Two astronauts struggled to replace failed equipment outside the International Space Station on Thursday, making the second spacewalk in as many weeks at the 260-mile-high lab.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Sticky bolts proved too much for spacewalking astronauts Thursday, forcing them to leave a new power-switching box dangling from the International Space Station instead of bolted down.
It was a major disappointment for NASA's Sunita Williams and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide, who spent hours struggling with the bolts. They used all sorts of tools and tactics as the spacewalk went into overtime, but nothing worked.
With time running out, Mission Control finally told them to tie down the box and head back inside. The work will be left for a future spacewalk, presumably sometime soon.
"We'll figure this out another day," Mission Control radioed.
Thursday's spacewalk was supposed to last six and a half hours but instead went for eight hours and 17 minutes. It ended up in NASA's top 10 list for longest spacewalks at the No. 3 spot.
The power router is one of four, and NASA stressed that the other three all of them redundant are working fine. Nonetheless, the electrical system will need to be reconfigured at the 260-mile-high (418-kilometer-high) lab, given Thursday's failed effort.
The old box started acting up last fall, and NASA decided to replace it before it failed altogether. This was the first spacewalk by Americans since the final shuttle flight a year ago.
Williams and Hoshide had trouble getting the old unit out because of two sticky bolts, and they found metal shavings in the area. They squirted in compressed nitrogen gas to clear the holes, and some debris came out. But still, the bolts wouldn't go back in to secure the new box. None of the tools seemed to do the trick.
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Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Saturn's shades of blue and butterscotch are changing along with the planet's seasons, as illustrated by true-color photos from the Cassini orbiter.
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Two astronauts were thwarted by stubborn bolts during a record-setting spacewalk today (Aug. 30) to repair broken equipment on the outside of the International Space Station. During the marathon eight-hour excursion, the orbiting complex passed over Tropical Storm Isaac, which was recently downgraded from a hurricane after mercilessly hammering the state of Louisiana and the U.S. Gulf Coast with ...
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Space Station Astronauts Battle Stuck Bolts in Record-Setting Spacewalk
Images taken from the International Space Station on Tuesday show Hurricane Isaac dominating the Gulf of Mexico as the storm lashes New Orleans.
The category one hurricane moved into Louisiana late on Tuesday and by Wednesday morning was sitting southwest of the city of New Orleans.
The city has been hit with winds of up to 85mph and more than nine inches of rain, with the storm due to continue for another day.
But apart from some buildings in the city suffering from minor storm damage and trees being uprooted, New Orleans appears to have avoided the worst of the storm and a repeat of the devastation caused by Katrina. Multi-billion dollar flood defences built after Katrina largely held up, according to the Army Corp of Engineers.
The eye of the storm will not move over New Orleans, and the storm is likely to be downgraded later on Wednesday.
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Published: Aug. 29, 2012 at 8:38 PM
PARIS, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Winners of a science competition will see their space experiments transmitted live from the International Space Station via YouTube, officials said.
In the culmination of the YouTube Spacelab competition held by NASA, YouTube, the European Space agency and Lenovo, astronauts will reveal the results of the two winning experiments live from the International Space Station and share them online on YouTube, an ESA release from the agency's Paris headquarters said Wednesday.
The livestream will connect the Station to YouTube's London studio on Sept. 13 and will be hosted by famous TV moderator Bill Nye, "The Science Guy."
The worldwide science competition that challenged 14- to 18-year-olds to design a science experiment for space has crowned two global winners, Amr Mohamed from Alexandria, Egypt, and Dorothy Chen and Sara Ma from Michigan.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams will perform the winning experiments during a YouTube broadcast from 250 miles above the Earth.
"The YouTube SpaceLab campaign has been an excellent, creative way of reaching out to future generations of scientists, on the ground and in orbit," said Frank De Winne, Europe's first commander of the orbital outpost who served as a judge for the competition.
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It's another week and another spacewalk at the International Space Station.
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Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station today (Aug. 30) as part of the first planned NASA spacewalk in more than a year.
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Two astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station today (Aug. 30) to perform maintenance tasks and upgrades to their home in orbit.
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Hurricane Isaac as Seen From the International Space Station
Space.com is citing a Russian media report that a one-year stay on the International Space Station is in the works, involving an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. NASA indicates that it has not gotten beyond the idea stage yet.
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Russia Proposes Year-Long Stay on International Space Station
NASA announced late last week that SpaceX, the private company that became the first non-governmental entity to fly to the International Space Station, will launch the first of its 12 planned resupply missions in October.
The announcement means NASA is comfortable with SpaceX using its Dragon vehicle for unmanned missions to the station. The agency said SpaceX's progress represents "progress toward a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next five years."
[If Curiosity FindsLife onMars, Then What?]
"We're working to open a new frontier for commercial opportunities in space and create job opportunities in Florida and across the United States," Charles Bolden, NASA's administrator, said in a statement.
Bolden said if SpaceX is successful, the company will bring manned space flights "back here to the U.S. where it belongs."
In a May test mission, SpaceX became the first company to successfully fly to the space station. It will fulfill its 12-flight contract with NASA over the next few years. This winter, another company, Orbital Sciences Corp., will make its first test flight.
Jason Koebler is a science and technology reporter for U.S. News &World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at jkoebler@usnews.com
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BOSTONAudience members sat ready for takeoff in their seats in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Mission Control in Houston appeared on a giant screen, followed by an image from inside the International Space Station.
"This is Houston. Are you ready for the event?" a voice asked.
"We are ready for the event," astronaut Joe Acaba replied from the station, circling 220 miles above Earth.
American astronauts Acaba and Suni Williams at the International Space Station answered live, pre-selected questions from the Boston audience via video chat Monday. Nearly 300 children and adults gathered at the library to talk with the astronauts.
In polo shirts and pants, Williams and Acaba floated centimeters off the floor and demonstrated zero-gravity flips from the station, which orbits Earth in 1 1/2 hours, 16 times a day.
When a young boy asked Williams why she couldn't bring her terrier, Gorby, aboard, she showed off a toy version of the dog and flipped him through the air.
"I miss him probably because he represents those cool things on Earth that you don't have up here, like wind in your face, walking on the beach," Williams said.
Both Williams and Acaba served in the military; Williams a helicopter commander in the Navy and Acaba in the Marine Corps Reserves.
Not all astronauts have military training, the two said, but Acaba reminded young audience members all astronauts have backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math.
"Your dreams can come true," Williams said. "Just do the best that you can at what you like. Somehow it seems to all line up, and you'll become what you want to become."
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Neil Armstrong inspired millions with his moonwalk. Can a feisty robotic rover exploring Mars do the same for another generation? With manned missions beyond the International Space Station on hold, the spotlight has turned on machines.
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Good evening, class.
Tonight's observing assignment for Astronomy 212A is to follow the path of the International Space Station across the sky and describe what you see. Please note: There are several opportunities to earn extra credit points!
The easiest way to start this exercise is by locating two planets. Well before 8:50 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, look very low in the west-southwest. The sky will still be illuminated with evening twilight, but you should be able to spot three stars.
The brightest of these is actually the planet Saturn. Seven degrees to its left is the planet Mars, considerably fainter. You should remember from last week's lab that if you hold your fist at arm's length, the width of your fist is about five degrees, so you should be able to easily fit your fist between the two planets.
You can earn two points of extra credit for viewing Saturn through a telescope. If you don't have one, ask your friendly neighborhood amateur astronomer. Be aware that she may be in elementary school, and getting ready for bed.
To check your identifications, look for the star Spica about five degrees below Saturn. Spica is normally midway between Mars and Saturn in brightness, but its very low altitude, only five degrees above the absolute horizon, will make it dimmer than usual.
In fact, the low altitude of all three objects will make this a challenge, and may even place them behind the trees or houses for your viewing location.
8:51 p.m. The ISS may be visible as early as this, though it's not bright at the start of a pass. Look 40 degrees, or four fist-widths, to the right of Saturn, for a star rising in the west-northwest. If you need to set your clocks, go to http://www.time.gov for a precise value, or just type current time into the Google address box for time to the nearest minute.
The Space Station will look like a star moving up and to the left. At first it won't look all that bright, because we're viewing mostly the dark side of the spacecraft. It will also be moving slowly: at this point, it's over a thousand miles away from us, and most of its motion is toward us and difficult to detect, rather than to the side.
But as it approaches us, the ISS will begin to move more quickly across the sky. 8:52. The Station arcs across the bottom of the constellation Botes, the Bear Driver. It just misses the bright star Arcturus in the west.
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If your interested in seeing the International Space Station (ISS) youll have opportunities before midnight Friday and several more chances through the weekend.
WNY weather will cooperate with high pressure in firm control, we expect mainly clear skies.
The first opportunity to see the space station will be around 8:52pm Friday night.
The station will appear in the northwest sky and move toward the southeast. The total duration of viewing is around 4 minutes. The station is easily viewable, even in bright artificial light near the city.
The second opportunity tonight will be around 10:28pm. This sighting will last less than 1 minute and will also be very close to the horizon. Youll need a wide open field for this viewing. Look west to southwest for the second chance.
Click on the link here for additional viewing times on Saturday and Sunday.
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Your Chance To See The International Space Station From Rochester
A Russian report this week claimed that an American and a Russian will launch on a one-year trip to the International Space Station in 2015. But NASA says the endurance space mission is just an idea, for now.
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Two commercial spaceflight companies have checked off vital milestones on the path toward flights to the International Space Station for NASA, the space agency announced today (Aug. 23).
The Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX has completed its Space Act Agreement under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, or COTS. The company is slated to launch the first of its 12 contracted robotic cargo flights to the space station from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in October, officials said.
Meanwhile, theDream Chaser space planebeing developed by Sierra Nevada Space Systems in Colorado has reached its first milestone a program implementation plan review under NASA's recently announced Commercial Crew integrated Capability initiative. CCiCap is part of the agency's effort to spur the development of private American crew-carrying spaceships, to fill the void left by the space shuttle's retirement.
"We're working to open a new frontier for commercial opportunities in space and create job opportunities right here in Florida and across the United States," Bolden said from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "And we're working to in-source the work that is currently being done elsewhere and bring it right back here to the U.S. where it belongs." [Top 10 Private Spaceships]
Would you take a ride on SpaceX's Dragon space capsule?
SpaceX has already flown to the space station once as part of its COTS partnership. The company's unmanned Dragon capsule docked to the orbiting lab during a historic demonstration mission in May, becoming the first private vehicle ever to do so.
The flight was designed to test whether Dragon and SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket were ready to begin the 12 official resupply flights, for which SpaceX holds a NASA contract worth $1.6 billion.
NASA also signed a $1.9 billion deal with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. for eight robotic cargo flights with its Cygnus vessel. Orbital plans to launch its first test flight with Cygnus this winter, NASA officials said.
Earlier this month, NASA announced that Sierra Nevada will receive $212.5 million under CCiCap, the latest initiative of the agency's Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX will get $440 million to help upgrade Dragon to a crew-carrying craft, while Boeing was awarded $460 million for its CST-100 capsule.
The Commercial Crew Program also awarded funding to private spaceflight firms in each of the last two years, in rounds known as Commercial Crew Development 1 and 2. Sierra Nevada got funding during both CCDev-1 and CCDev-2 as well.
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