Category Archives: Transhuman News

Kerbal space station disaster
A short film by Theo Minetos displaying a malfunctioning space station.

By: Theo Minetos

Link:
Kerbal space station disaster - Video

Video: Reid Wiseman post-landing interview
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman speaks soon after his return to Earth after 165 days living aboard the International Space Station, describing his landing inside the Russian Soyuz capsule.

By: Justin Ray

Excerpt from:
Video: Reid Wiseman post-landing interview - Video

These days it can be hard to differentiate between computer generated imagery (CGI) and real life, particularly in a space setting.

For example, the stunning computer renditions of space vistas and supermassive black hole in the blockbuster hit movie Interstellar are nothing short of breathtaking (indeed, as I argued in my movie review, the CGI is probably the best thing about the movie, unfortunately).

GALLERY: Epic Aurora Photos From the Space Station

But as camera technology rapidly advances, the International Space Station crew are revolutionizing our once-limited view of low-Earth orbit and talented filmmakers on Earth are using this bottomless supply of stunning space imagery to create some mind-blowing videos that almost seem too good to be real.

But they are real. And they are outstanding.

This wonderfully crafted short video was created by Guillaume Juin, who edited 80 gigabytes of NASA photos from the International Space Station taken between 2011 to 2014, spanning Expeditions 28, 29, 30, 31 and 34. The final product, topped with some great dubstep by Vincent Tone, is called Astronaut A Journey Into Space. And it is wonderful.

PHOTO: Stunning View from the Space Station, Front Row Seat

I wanted to do something different from what has been done before with those shots, writes Juin. Something more dynamic and fast. After all, ISS travel(s) through space at 28.000km/h!

Make sure you go full-screen, set the resolution to HD and turn the volume up.

Watch:

Continue reading here:
This Isn't CGI, It's The International Space Station

An American, a Russian and a German returned from the International Space Station late Sunday night (Nov. 9), landing in Kazakhstan after spending 165 days in orbit.

"What a ride it has been," NASA astronaut Reid Weisman wrote on Twitter just before he, Roscosmos cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst closed the hatch separating theirRussian Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraftfrom their home of 5 1/2 months, the space station, at 4:27 p.m. EST (2127 GMT) Sunday.

Three hours later, at 7:31 p.m. EST (0031 GMT), the three Expedition 40/41 crewmates undocked the Soyuz from the orbiting laboratory's Rassvet mini-research module, setting off on their return to Earth. Monitoring their departure from onboard the station were Expedition 42 commander Butch Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyayev and Elena Serova, whoarrived at the outpost in September. [Space Station Photos: Expedition 40/41 in Pictures]

The Soyuz crew performed a 4-minute, 41-second engine burn at 10:05 p.m. EST (0305 GMT on Nov. 10), slowing the craft and causing it to fall out of orbit.

After re-entering the atmosphere and descending under a parachute, Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst touched down on the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EST (0358 GMT; 9:58 a.m. Kazakh local time on Nov. 10), northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk.

The capsule landed upright, but wind caught its parachute and pulled the spacecraft onto its side.

Poor weather conditions threatened to delay Russian search and recovery forces' arrival at the landing site, but the team's helicopters were able to touch down near the Soyuz and assist Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst with exiting the space capsule.

The three spaceflyers were provided brief medical checks before being flown to the Kazakh town of Kustanai for a traditional welcome ceremony. From there, Wiseman and Gerst were to be flown by a NASA jet to Scotland, where the two will part ways: Gerst will depart for the European Space Agency while Wiseman flies to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Suraev will be flown directly from Kustanai to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, located outside of Moscow.

The three launched together to the space stationonboard Soyuz TMA-13Mfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 28. The flight marked both Wiseman's and Gerst's first time in space. Suraev previously lived aboard the station for 169 days during Expeditions 21 and 22 from September 2009 through March 2010.

More here:
Soyuz spacecraft returns astronauts to Earth (+video)