Category Archives: Space Station

Ghana has become the first Sub-Saharan African country to send a satellite into orbit around the earth.

Ghanasat-1 was released from the International Space Station on Friday nearly a month after its launch from the Kennedy Space Centre on Elon Musk's SpaceX flight 11.

Around 400 people burst into applause at the All Nations University in Koforidua, when the satellite began its orbit.

Weighing 1,000 grammes, the Cubesat satellite represents the culmination of a two year project which has cost 40,000.

It is being used to monitor the country's coastline as well as helping Ghana enjoy the full benefits of satellite technology.

The satellite, which was built by students at the college is equipped with low and high-resolution cameras.

It is also fitted with a device which will make it possible to broadcast the country's national anthem and other independence songs from space.

Its progress is also being followed by the JAXA Tsukuba Space Centre in Japan.

Dr Richard Damoah, the product co-ordinator, said it marked a new beginning for the country. "It has opened the door for us to do a lot of activities from space," he told the BBC.

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Ghana enters the space race sending a satellite into orbit - Telegraph.co.uk

WALLINGFORD Aarna Gupta waited patiently among 18 children for her chance to speak to two astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The Wallingford Public Library hosted a live Skype downlink with NASA astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson Thursday, and kids in grades K-5 got to ask them questions.

Gupta, 7, attends CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering Elementary School in Rocky Hill. She wanted to know what got them both interested in space to become an astronaut.

From this section: State investigating private power generation project in Wallingford

Sunnie Scarpa, head of childrens services, said the event drew more than 200 people, most of whom sat on the floor of the Community Room.

Theres no way we could have fit enough people with chairs, she said. We had a lot of interest.

A live feed played in an adjoining room and in the Collaboratory. The downlink lasted 20 minutes as the ISS drifted over South Carolina toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Kids had submitted questions for the astronauts in the weeks leading up to the event.

The questions the kids came up with were really good ones, Scarpa said. They ask whats important to them.

Fischer and Whitson were energetic and engaging, demonstrating eating, bathing, exercising and even back flips.

What was going through your mind and what were you feeling when you were taking off? Hans-Peter Hansen, 11, asked.

I was just so excited, Fischer said from space. I had flown a lot of cool planes, but nothing with as much thrust as a rocket.

Fischer is a pilot and Air Force colonel.

Hansen said he chose his question because I wanted to know what it felt like to be an astronaut, so he could put himself in their shoes, or more aptly, their spacesuit.

Whats the most interesting thing youve seen and what does it mean to the world? asked Emily Rochniak, 8.

The most interesting thing about being in space, is actually just being in space, Whitson said. This laboratory provides a unique opportunity for scientists to do lots of different kinds of studies that they cant do on Earth.

My mom helped me think of it, Rochniak said of the question, adding she wanted to know what they saw when they looked out the window.

Taryn Casanova, 8, took her question in another direction.

Which questions do you wish people would ask more, and what are the answers to those questions? she asked.

It would be, why is the space station special, Fischer said. Fifteen countries came together to build this place. We have astronauts from all over the world on here.

I couldnt think of anything else, Casanova said of the question, so I decided to ask them what (are) the questions they want people to ask.

When Whitson answered Guptas question about what inspired them to become astronauts, she said the year she graduated high school was the first year NASA picked female astronauts.

That was what inspired me to believe that I could also become an astronaut, she said.

Whitsons answer left Gupta grinning, and with even more questions for her new role model.

One of the questions (I wanted to ask) was, why did they want a girl to do it,? Gupta said.

Whitson became the first female commander of the space station in 2007. In April, she broke the record for most consecutive days in space by a NASA astronaut.

Scarpa said the addition of Whitson to the event, which originally was going to be just with Fischer, was good for all the girls This is something they can aspire to.

LTakores@record-journal.com 203-317-2212 Twitter: @LCTakores

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Astronauts aboard space station connect with children at Wallingford library - Meriden Record-Journal

Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

This composite of seven images taken in less than one second shows the International Space Station in silhouette against the sun as it passes above the Deseret News' office in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 6, 2017.

This composite of seven images taken in less than one second shows the International Space Station in silhouette against the sun as it passes above the Deseret News' office in Salt Lake City on Thursday. According to NASA, the station is the largest human made object ever to orbit the Earth. It measures 357 feet end to end, which is almost the length of a football field including the end zones, and weighs almost a million pounds. The station serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields. It completes 15.54 orbits per day. The station's first component was launched into low-Earth orbit in 1998, and it can often be seen with the naked eye. Several times a week, Mission Control at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston determines sighting opportunities for more than 6,700 locations worldwide. To look up viewing times log on to spotthestation.nasa.gov.

See the world through the eyes of award-winning photojournalists. Click through the gallery above to view the unique images our visual storytellers captured today. Don't forget to follow the official Deseret News Instagram account for more photographs and videos from the staff.

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Photos: Spotting the International Space Station - Deseret News

If youre an early riser, youll have an opportunity to watch the International Space Station fly over Southern California before dawn each of the next five days starting before dawn on Friday, NASA said.

Heres the viewing schedule for San Diego County:

Friday, July 7, 4:50 a.m.: ISS will be visibe for 4 minutes, initially appearing 23 degrees above the east-northeast horizon.

Saturday, July 8, 3:59 a.m.: ISS will be visible for 2 minutes, initially appearing 26 degrees above the northwest.

Sunday, July 3, 3:09 a.m.: ISS will be visible for about one minute, initially appearing 21 degrees above the north-northeast.

Monday, July 10, 3:51 a.m.: ISS will be visible for about 2 minutes, initially appearing 12 degrees above the northwest.

Tuesday, July 11, 3 a.m.: ISS will be visible for one minute, initially appearing 15 degrees above the north.

Twitter: @grobbins

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com

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Early birds can see space station for next five days - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Humans have been dreaming of long-term spaceflight for decades decades. While there's always been a curiosity in traveling to the stars, the Space Race of the 1960's kickstarted a desire to make concrete steps towards a future in space. An educational video from the period, dug up by by archival footage YouTube channel WDTVLIVE42, shows the first attempts to rein in sci-fi and up the science.

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While Uncle Bill probably doesn't get everything right, the basic principles he lists are sound. Interestingly enough, his vision for the future is not terribly dissimilar from Elon Musk's. When laying out his vision for space travel last year (recently published in an academic journal), Musk discusses an idea very similar to the way stations highlighted in the instructional video. Ideally, Musk wants a rocket that "would take tankers of rocket fuel into space, where the spaceships that would take people to Mars would be waiting in orbit."

While it's simplified a bitMusk doesn't seem to imagine much of a station in orbitthe principal is the same. By making a pitstop after clearing orbit, rockets will be able to get the strength to carry on into the great unknown. It's as much a dream today as it was when the instructional video was released, but Musk wants to make it happen with a decade. Maybe these dreams really will come true.

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How a Film From the 1960s Imagined Space Stations and Moon Bases - Popular Mechanics

Vice President Mike Pence addresses NASA employees on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The Trump administration will seek a heavier emphasis on human-spaceflight efforts, including crewed missions to the moon and Mars, Vice President Mike Pence said today (July 6).

During a 25-minute speech at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) here on Florida's Space Coast, Pence told the 700-plus members of the crowd that the United States is "at the dawn of a new era of space exploration," and called for a return to the moon and "American boots on the face of Mars." He also said the United States will maintain a presence in low-Earth orbit.

Pence standing on a flag-draped podium in KSC's cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building offered no time frame or budget for the expeditions, but said partnerships with commercial companies are key. He repeatedly called for a "re-establishment" of American leadership in space and made no mention of ongoing or future international partnerships or collaborations, such as the International Space Station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations. [The First 100 Days: What Trump Has Done on Space So Far]

Pence chairs the newly revived National Space Council, which will advise the White House on space policy. The council will begin its work with an initial meeting before the end of the summer, the vice president said today.

Pence also stressed that President Donald Trump's initiatives in space will extend well beyond NASA, though the heart of the program will be human spaceflight and exploration.

"President Trump's vision for space is much larger than NASA alone," Pence said, adding that the National Space Council will coordinate policy among several federal agencies and interests, including the military and commercial sectors.

Echoing Trump's "America first" theme, Pence said Trump intended to carry nationalism into space with renewed emphasis on human space exploration and discovery "for the benefit of the American people and all of the world."

"America will lead in space once again," Pence said.

The United States already has the biggest budget for space exploration, according to a 2016 World Economic Forum report.

"From the first moon landing to the International Space Station, the U.S. government agency NASA has been leading space exploration since its creation in 1958," the report states.

Trump's budget request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 drops the Obama Administration's plan to send astronauts to an asteroid as a steppingstone to Mars, but maintains the program's multibillion-dollar, heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket and deep-space Orion capsule. The Trump administration's budget request also continues previous program funding for NASA's commercial partnerships with SpaceX, Boeing and other companies.

Since the end of the shuttle program in 2011, the United States has been dependent on Russia to fly crews to and from the space station, which flies about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. NASA hopes to turn over crew ferry flights to SpaceX and Boeing before the end of 2018.

Editor's Note:Space.com senior producerSteve Spaletacontributed to this report.

Irene Klotz can be reached on Twitter at @free_space. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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Pence Calls for Return to the Moon, Boots on Mars - Space.com

Country music legends Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood serenaded NASA astronauts Jack Fischer andPeggy Whitson who are both currently on the International Space Station during a visit to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on June 29.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an inspiration to so many," Fischer said to Brooks in a video of the encounter.

Whitsontweeted her appreciationof the musical number, writing, "Loved the @garthbrooks serenade today! I hope you enjoyed meeting the #NASAvillage. Be sure to try the mac and cheese in the food lab!"

Brooks and Yearwood visited the Johnson Space Center to talk to the astronauts from mission control. Fischer confessed to being a huge fan of Brooks, noting that Brooks' song "The River" has been "pretty much my anthem for the last three decades." The song was even played for Fischer while he was waiting on the launch pad to travel to the space station, he said.

"I think that you have so many great songs and so many great messages," Fischer told Brooks. "But it's the heart you put into every performance and the soul that you put into those songs that make them so impactful."

Brooks and Yearwood then went through a few verses of "The River," singing into the telephone that links voice communications between the ground and the space station. In the video, Fischer can be seen singing along.

Brooks also took selfies with the two astronauts. "Could this be the longest-distance selfie ever?"he tweeted.

Brooks isn't the first country star to sing to the astronauts on the orbiting outpost. In 2014, Brad Paisley sent the song "American Flag on the Moon" via tweetto astronaut Reid Wiseman.

Editor's Note:Space.com senior producerSteve Spaletacontributed to this report.

Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookorGoogle+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood Sing to Space Station Astronauts (Video) - Space.com

A Dragon cargo vehicle departs from the International Space Station on July 3. Photo by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer

Astronaut Jack Fischer caught some amazing pictures of SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule leaving the International Space Station today (July 3), and shared the images on Twitter.

The first two pictures show the Dragon space capsule attached to the ISS' robot arm, called Canadarm2, and the capsule moving away from the station. The last one shows a silhouetted Earth and the Dragon streaking through the atmosphere on its way down.

The Dragon capsule, built and launched by Elon Musk's private spaceflight company SpaceX, is the first private cargo spacecraft to make a second delivery to the station. The vehicle was refurbished following its first delivery mission, which launched in September 2014.

"And there goes #Dragon Goodbye to our 1st return visitor since Atlantis in 2011--Come on back anytime, well leave the lights on for you!" ;Fischer tweeted about the departing vehicle. His tweet refers to the final flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, a reusable crewed vehicle that operated for almost 25 years.

A Dragon cargo vehicle streaks through Earth's atmosphere after leaving the space station on July 3. NASA astronaut Jack Fisher tweeted this photo with the caption: "Beautiful expanse of stars-but the 'long' orange one is SpaceX-11 reentering! Congrats team for a successful splashdown & great mission!"

The space station released the Dragon spacecraft at 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT) for its 5.5-hour journey back to Earth, where it splashed down at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 GMT). The Dragon capsule launched to the space station on June 3.

The Dragon ferried some 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of cargo to the space station and brought back 4,100 pounds (1,900 kg). Some of that returning cargo includes experiments that were sent to the space station previously, which will be analyzed in laboratories on Earth. Among the experiments were samples from mice used in testing an osteoporosis drug and one looking at the impact of microgravity on stem cells, according to a statement from NASA. The osteoporosis drug could be of particular importance to future space crews as it might help arrest the bone loss that is a symptom of long periods in microgravity, the statement said.

A Dragon cargo vehicle was separated from the space station on July 3 with help from two NASA astronauts and the orbiting outpost's robotic arm.

SpaceX's Dragon is currently the only space vehicle that can bring cargo to orbit and return intact; other operating cargo carriers Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft, Russia's Progress freighter and Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle are designed to burn up in the atmosphere after one use. Reusable vehicles could reduce the cost of launches if the cost of refurbishing and repairing the vehicle is lower than the cost of building a new one.

Another Dragon launch to the ISS is scheduled for Aug. 1, to be followed by another in November.

You can follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+.Originally published onSpace.com.

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'There Goes Dragon': ISS Astronaut Snaps Incredible Shots of Departing Capsule - Space.com

Posted: July 5, 2017

On a clear night, its often visible from Earth. For nearly 20 years, this inhabited satellite has served as a research laboratory for crew members experiments in physics, astronomy, biology, meteorology and human biology.

Yes, the International Space Station in low Earth orbit has been a marvel of science. Originally created, in part, to serve as a staging base for future missions to the Moon and Mars, the ISS now has many uses.

This Saturday, individuals can learn more about the ISS during a Mike Thomas lecture on Saturday, July 8 at Western Nevada Colleges Jack C. Davis Observatory.

The free lecture starts at 7:30 p.m.

Thomas is a science and history lecture guru in Northern Nevada. He has provided lectures at the observatory for more than a decade.

On Saturday nights when lectures arent scheduled, the observatory is open to the public from dusk to 11 p.m. Better known as Star Parties, these gatherings enable the Western Nevada Astronomical Society to convene people with an interest in astronomy.

The lectures and Star Parties are free and open to the public.

The observatory is located at 2699 Van Patten Drive in Carson City.

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Thomas to Lecture on International Space Station on Saturday at WNC - WNC News

NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer will celebrate the Fourth of July on the International Space Station.

Today (July 4), people all across the U.S. will celebrate Independence Day with cookouts, flags and fireworks. On the International Space Station, things will be a bit more subdued.

NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer will be celebrating the national holiday on the orbiting outpost, although they will not take the day off due to some scheduled science operations, a NASA representative told Space.com via email. In lieu of a July Fourth vacation, the crew members took yesterday (July 3) off, the representative said right after they released a Dragon cargo spacecraft from the station early that morning.

There are also no barbecue grills or fireworks in space (because there can be no open flames), but Whitson and Fischer did bring along some patriotic clothing to wear today, the representative said. [Holidays in Space: An Astronaut Photo Album]

At the moment, there are no plans for a special meal on the station, but that could change at the discretion of the astronauts, the representative said. And unfortunately, fireworks displays taking place on Earth are too dim to be visible from the orbiting laboratory, the representative said. (However, some NASA astronauts have said they were able to spot fireworks from the station).

This is Whitson's second July Fourth in space. On June 5, 2002, during her first space mission as a NASA astronaut, she flew to the station aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor, as part of STS-111. On the station she joined the crew of Expedition 5. Whitson recently broke the record for most cumulative time spent in space by a NASA astronaut. She and Fischer are both scheduled to return to Earth in September.

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Fourth of July in Space: How Will the Astronauts Celebrate? - Space.com