Category Archives: Space Station

NASA astronauts on the International Space Station are eyeing the moon, and what it would take to get there.

SpaceX's Crew-4 astronauts spoke from the orbiting lab about how their work is linking up with NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission, which could launch in November, and with other lunar sorties in the coming years.

"A really exciting part of what we're able to do up here [is] using the International Space Station [ISS] as a testbed for future exploration," NASA's Jessica Watkins told Space.com during a live press conference on Tuesday (Oct. 11), two days before Crew-4's scheduled return to Earth. (The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Watkins and her three crewmates is scheduled to splash down Thursday, Oct. 13, at 5:41 p.m. EDT, or 2141 GMT.)

Related: The Artemis plan: Why NASA sees the moon as a stepping stone to Mars

ISS research is gearing up for a big spaceflight leap: sending humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972.

Providing the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to lunar orbit launches and lands as planned, NASA plans to send Artemis 2 around the moon with astronauts as soon as 2024. Following that, Artemis 3 is scheduled to land on the surface in 2025 or so. Watkins, a Black geologist, may be one of the people making the first lunar bootprints since Apollo 17, for NASA aims to land a woman and a person of color on Artemis 3.

A large chunk of space station research is devoted to human health, and to advancing technologies like life support or growing plants to make sure they are robust enough to take on the demanding lunar environment, Watkins explained.

"We are looking into ways to protect against some of the hazards that are associated with some of this exploration," Watkins said. Plants will need to contend with very different soil and weaker gravity, for example, while plants and machinery alike will need to deal with intense radiation at the moon's surface.

"Radiation is one of the biggest factors that needs to be mitigated as we move forward," Watkins added, which is why Artemis 1 will have so many sensors in the spacecraft to test and assess the environment.

Crew-5 members are testing out a radiation vest, AstroRad, that will also fly around the moon on an Artemis 1 mannequin. With the sun rapidly entering an active phase in its 11-year activity cycle, space radiation is reaching a high point around the solar system.

Putting AstroRad in Earth and lunar orbit at about the same time will allow scientists to compare ISS astronaut radiation exposure with the mannequin's to see how radiation is percolating across Earth's neighborhood and beyond, Watkins explained.

"The ISS is really enabling us to further technologies and understanding that will enable us to go further into the solar system," added Watkins, whose own research about Mars geology was published in a peer-reviewed journal shortly after she blasted into orbit. The topic: rocks studied by NASA's Curiosity rover.

Related: Amazing launch photos of SpaceX's Crew-4 astronaut mission

A typical space station crew looks at 200 or so investigations with the aim of banking reams of data for future crews to draw upon, no matter where they're located. Both Watkins and Crew-4 commander and fellow NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren pointed to the human body's reactions to space as a key frame of their research.

One project on immune system science was "really looking at the aging process of immune cells, to better understand the immune dysfunction that we see in astronauts here on orbit," Lindgren said, adding that a shorter-term benefit will be creating better treatments for patients on Earth. "Truly understanding that at the cellular level that was a lot of fun to participate in."

Crew-4 crewmate Samantha Cristoforetti, who last visited the ISS nearly seven years ago, pointed to big changes in science since she last undocked: a scanning electron microscope, two 3D printers and "all kinds of facilities" to gather information for future crews, she said.

"There is a whole slew of life support technological technology demos that are running on space station, again, something new," said Cristoforetti, a European Space Agency astronaut. "It's an even busier space station."

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SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts say their space station work will help get NASA to the moon - Space.com

A New Zealand research institute and U.S. commercial firm Nanoracks are combining to send a superconducting magnet technology demonstrator to the International Space Station to test a novel type of space propulsion.

The PaihauRobinson Research Institute intends to test a type of electric space thruster known as applied-field magneto plasma dynamic (AF-MPD) thrusters which uses high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology developed by the institute.

Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity with zero resistance and therefore with much greater efficiency than conventional conductive materials. Most of these superconductors, however, require temperatures close to the absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius or - 460 degrees Fahrenheit), which complicates their use. High-temperature superconductors (HTS) can operate at somewhat friendlier temperatures of 321.1 degrees F (196.2 degrees C), which makes their operations cheaper. On top of that, HTS can generate stronger fields than low temperature superconductors, have a larger operational range and can be more compact, the PaihauRobinson Research Institute wrote in a statement (opens in new tab).

Related: Nanoracks tests tech to slice up space junk in orbit for 1st time

The AF-MPD thrusters, based on the HTS technology, use a combination of magnetic and electric fields to generate thrust. The researchers believe they could potentially provide propulsion solutions for large spacecraft instead of electric thrusters.

Superconducting magnets could have a number of other important roles to play in space exploration. The Earth's magnetic field protects life on the planet from harmful solar radiation and cosmic rays. A strong magnetic field generated aboard a spacecraft could provide protection in the same way for astronauts in deep space.

The mass and power requirements of magnetic components have been a key technological barrier to using this kind of equipment in space. This is where PaihauRobinson aims to make advances using their HTS magnet technology.

The tech demonstrator will be installed onto the Nanoracks External Platform by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. A team on the ground will then operate the magnet over several months to demonstrate the ability to generate a magnetic field thousands of times stronger than that of Earth.

The operation of the demonstrator in a relevant space environment is an important step toward the validation and commercialization of this key enabling technology, project manager Avinash Rao said in the statement.

Nanoracks' Maggie Ahern says the payload is currently expected to launch no earlier than the first quarter of 2024. The Houston-based firm Nanoracks hosts payloads on the orbital outpost through an agreement with NASA, providing power, telemetry and other services.

PaihauRobinson is leading the project with support from the University of Auckland, the University of Canterbury, IDS Consulting, and Asteria Engineering Consulting.

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Novel superconducting magnet thrusters to be tested out on space station - Space.com

A couple of ground rules for living on the International Space Station: You never wear shoes (socks are just fine), and there is no shame in existing among clutter.

From my perspective, as viewed through immersive virtual reality goggles and headphones while inside a warehouse in the East Bay, the astronauts who float above Earth inside the space station are shoeless and messy.

I saw hallways crammed with boxes like ice cubes at the bottom of a glass, and there were floating wires sprouting out from the walls. The casual atmosphere helped to acculturate me to an otherwise out-of-world experience.

SFGATE travel editor Silas Valentino wears a VR headset as part of "The Infinite," an immersive space experience currently housedinside the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond waterfront.

Like a ghost of the space station, I watched as astronauts floated between their regular duties growing greens in space, pumping iron to keep their muscles active and gazing over continents on the nearby blue planet relying on a calculated schedule to keep them, well, grounded.

The space station makes 16 orbits of Earth in a 24-hour period. Meaning, the astronauts are traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets a day. To keep their sanity and busy workload, they abide by a constant schedule. Sometimes they need a reminder to return to their sleep chamber, which is attached to the ceiling and straps them in.

At 254 miles above us, the astronauts are no longer earthlings, but that doesnt mean theyve sacrificed their humanity. And drawing this connection is exactly the goal of the exhibit. Dubbed Space Explorers: The Infinite,the VR experience occupies part of the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, which was once a Ford assembly plant located along the Richmond shoreline.

Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-115 mission specialist, waves toward the digital still camera of his spacewalk colleague, astronaut Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper as the two share extravehicular activity (EVA) duties during the first of three scheduled spacewalks. The STS-115 astronauts and the Expedition 13 crewmembers are joining efforts this week to resume construction of the International Space Station.

Customers of The Infinite try out there headsets at Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Thursday Oct. 13, 2022.

SFGATE culture editor Dan Gentile wears a VR headset as part of The Infinite, an immersive space experience currently housedinside the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond waterfront, on Thursday Oct. 13, 2022.

A scene from VR scenes of The Infinite, an immersive space experience currently on display at Craneway Pavilion.

Footage from the International Space Station, upper left and lower right, is showcased in "The Infinite," which attendees view through a VR headset. (Images courtesy of The Infinite & by Charles Russo/SFGATE) Footage from the International Space Station, upper left and lower right, is showcased in "The Infinite," which attendees view through a VR headset. (Images courtesy of The Infinite & by Charles Russo/SFGATE)

The exhibition opened last week and will run until the end of the year, with the possibility of an extension. A joint venture of PHI Studio and Felix & Paul Studios, Space Explorers: The Infinite is a traveling circus that uses state-of-the-art technology (in particular, the Oculus Quest 2 headset) to place attendees inside the space station.

Each person is given a headset, and after a bit of fun initiation including a voiceover explaining how we are all a tribute to light and space you enter a large room with lightly padded flooring. After settling into your digital visuals, youre taught to avoid the red lines that indicate the barrier and to avoid stepping too close to other humans.

Jenna Starkey of San Francisco tries on the VR headset at "The Infinite," an immersive space experience currently housedinside the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond waterfront.

The experience is broken up into four sections that softly guide you along to experiencing everyday life on the International Space Station. The finale has you seated in a theaterlike chair to sit back and view a spacewalk outside the station and above Earth.

The experience ends up becoming one part Neil Armstrong and one part P.T. Barnum. It is a dazzling outing and even brought a member of my group to tears by the time we returned to Earth.

Tickets for adults range from $44 on weekdays to $54 on weekends, and for children ages 8-12, its $24 on weekdays and $29 on weekends. The experience is wheelchair accessible and lasts for about an hour.

An advertisement on the exterior of the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond advertises "The Infinite," an immersive space experience currently housed inside.

Compared to Jeff Bezos Blue Origin (where a seat on a 2021 space flight was auctioned off for $28 million) or Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo (for which tickets are $450,000), the $54 ticket price for The Infinite feels manageable for the rest of us.

The experience is based on the series Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, which is billed as the largest production ever filmed in space, and its producers are not hyperbolic. Felix & Paul Studios worked with Time Studios to collaborate with the U.S. International Space Station National Laboratory, NASA and five other international space agencies.

The footage you see was shot over three years to compile more than 250 hours of virtual reality footage. The visual insights into life in space are parsed down into 60 mini clips that attendees activate by slapping at a glowing orb. To watch all 60 orbs would take at least two hours, and you really only have 35 minutes to spend inside the experience a wise marketing move by the producers to lure visitors back.

Attendees explore virtual space inside the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond as part of "The Infinite" on Oct. 13.

The show was designed and constructed in Montreal. For footage, the producers communicated with NASA in Houston to send directives to the astronauts on the space station. This was perhaps the most elaborate movie shoot of all time, and to top it off, the Canadarm contributed to some of the exterior shots from outside the space station.

Once the exhibit was finalized, it premiered in Montreal in July 2021, staying until November 2021. The plan is to stop in three cities per year until 2026. Prior to the Bay Area, the tour stopped in Houston and Tacoma, Washington.

Co-CEO Eric Albert told me it takes three weeks to set up each installation, and they hire about 50 people from each city to help put on the show. He added that the show is continuously evolving and adding or subtracting video clips for the orbs.

The Bay Area is the first to see a new clip from September 2019 of the astronauts gathering around the dinner table on the space station to celebrate one of the International Space Station crew members. Astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri from the United Arab Emirates was gifted a harmonica by one of his crewmates.

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Hazza, I know its not your birthday, he begins to say before another astronaut cuts him off.

Every day is your birthday in space! she says, as the crew continues floating in the most peculiar way.

A scene from "The Infinite," an immersive space experience currently on display at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond.

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Bay Area's 'The Infinite' VR show is tribute to light, space - SFGATE

A deep-space mission is celebrating the first anniversary of its launch from Earth by zipping closer to the planet than the International Space Station's orbit.

NASA's Lucy mission launched on Oct. 16, 2021, bound on a 12-year journey to explore the Trojan asteroids, which no spacecraft has ever visited. These asteroids are found at the same distance from the sun as Jupiter, with one phalanx orbiting ahead of the planet and one behind it. All told, Lucy will whiz past nine different asteroids.

But in order to keep those appointments, Lucy first needs to fly past Earth to pick up speed and adjust its trajectory. The first such flyby comes Sunday (Oct. 16) at 7:04 a.m. EDT (1104 GMT); at its closest, Lucy will be just 220 miles (350 kilometers) above Earth's surface, lower than the orbit of the International Space Station, according to a NASA statement. That's close enough that some skywatchers will be able to spot the spacecraft.

"The last time we saw the spacecraft, it was being enclosed in the payload fairing in Florida," Hal Levison, Lucy principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, said in the statement. "It is exciting that we will be able to stand here in Colorado and see the spacecraft again. And this time Lucy will be in the sky."

Related: Meet the 8 asteroids NASA's Lucy spacecraft will visit

The maneuver might make for thrilling skywatching, but such a close approach is complicated.

First, Lucy must navigate the swarm of satellites orbiting Earth, more than 47,000 in total; according to a NASA statement, the spacecraft must fly through the layer in which the most satellites orbit. To tackle that challenge, mission personnel began assessing potential collisions a week in advance, as early as is helpful.

"The further you're predicting into the future, the more uncertain you are about where an object is going to be," Dolan Highsmith, chief engineer for the Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, which evaluates potential collisions for NASA's uncrewed spacecraft, said in a statement.

Mission operators had designed a plan which allowed them to conduct a small engine burn yesterday evening that would move the spacecraft's closest approach by either two or four seconds to prevent a collision.

"That's enough to avoid any one thing that could be in the way," Kevin E. Berry, Lucy's flight dynamics team lead at Goddard, said in the statement.

Satellites aren't the only threat Lucy must navigate; the spacecraft will dip far enough into Earth's atmosphere to begin experiencing drag, especially given the surface area of its two solar arrays, which each span 24 feet (7 meters).

And those arrays are more vulnerable than expected because a glitch in the system that deployed those arrays shortly after launch kept one from fully unfolding, leaving the array resembling a pie with a particularly narrow slice missing. As of NASA's latest update, in June, mission personnel were still considering attempting additional fixes after the flyby. As a protective measure, the mission team arranged for Lucy to pass Earth about 30 miles (50 km) higher than originally planned to reduce the amount of drag the spacecraft experiences.

Although Lucy is flying past Earth out of necessity, scientists are also taking the opportunity to snap a few photos of the moon as the spacecraft heads back into space. The images will help them calibrate the spacecraft's instruments on known terrain before the crucial Trojan flybys.

"I'm especially excited by the final few images that Lucy will take of the moon," John Spencer, acting deputy project scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, said in a statement. "Counting craters to understand the collisional history of the Trojan asteroids is key to the science that Lucy will carry out, and this will be the first opportunity to calibrate Lucy's ability to detect craters by comparing it to previous observations of the moon by other space missions."

Once past the moon, Lucy will continue trekking out into deep space, farther from Earth than it's ever been.

Lucy will fly past Earth again in 2024 before trekking out to the Trojan asteroids; a third flyby in 2030 will prepare the spacecraft for its final target, a binary asteroid called Patroclus and Menoetius.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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NASA's asteroid scout zips past Earth today on 1st launch anniversary - Space.com

Anyone who has ever seen Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise hanging off jet airplanes, scaling skyscrapers, or zooming through traffic on a motorcycle in countless action blockbusters knows he's truly a man without fear.

But his signature daredevil DNA doing his own insane stunts might be put to the test for one of his next film projects as he experiences a zero-gravity spacewalk that could jangle his steadfast nerves in unimaginable ways.

Donna Langley, Chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, wants to send international leading man Tom Cruise up into Earth orbit for a space-based action thriller that was originally pitched to her back in 2020 by Cruise and director Doug Liman.

Per the BBC (opens in new tab), the basic story outline begins on terra firma, with the "Top Gun: Maverick" star then ascending into the heavens via a rocket to the International Space Station where the down-on-his-luck character's arc requires him to complete a dangerous spacewalk to save the planet.

Video: Tom Cruise talks space with NASA astronaut Victor Glover

According to a BBC News (opens in new tab)interview, this movie is still in the development stages but if it does get a green light by Universal, Cruise will add the distinction of being "the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station" to his storied career.

Cruise, who narrated the 2002 IMAX documentary "Space Station 3D," has ventured into the realm of science fiction several times in his lifetime, the most notable titles being director Cameron Crowes "Vanilla Sky," "Minority Report" and "War of the Worlds" for director Steven Spielberg, "Oblivion," directed by "Top Gun: Maverick's" Joseph Kosinski, and "Edge of Tomorrow" on which he worked with Liman, the same filmmaker who boldly proposed sending Cruise up into space.

Although delivering Cruise beyond the bounds of gravity outside the space station is a risky proposition that would require some pricey insurance bonds put up by Universal, Elon Musk's SpaceX and NASA (who worked together on private spaceflights to the International Space Station on Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission earlier this year) seem to be onboard the ambitious idea so we'll keep you informed on any new developments as they're announced.

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Will Tom Cruise perform a spacewalk while shooting film on space station? - Space.com

The International Space Station will be visible in the WLKY region this month. In the video player above: International Space Station gets new commanderIt'll be visible on Thursday for seven minutes in the Louisville. You can look to the northwest in the sky around 7:57 p.m. It will end its path in the southeast just after 8 p.m.It'll also be visible on Oct. 8 for four minutes and Oct. 18 for five minutes.Click here for more information and to see about another area.The ISS is said to look like a quickly moving star, so keep your eyes peeled. More on the ISS (per NASA)The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts and cosmonauts live. The space station is also a unique science laboratory.

The International Space Station will be visible in the WLKY region this month.

In the video player above: International Space Station gets new commander

It'll be visible on Thursday for seven minutes in the Louisville.

You can look to the northwest in the sky around 7:57 p.m. It will end its path in the southeast just after 8 p.m.

It'll also be visible on Oct. 8 for four minutes and Oct. 18 for five minutes.

Click here for more information and to see about another area.

The ISS is said to look like a quickly moving star, so keep your eyes peeled.

The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts and cosmonauts live. The space station is also a unique science laboratory.

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When you can see the International Space Station fly over Louisville - WLKY Louisville

This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: The race to reinvent the space station

Sonja HutsonGood morning from the Financial Times. Today is Monday, October 3rd, and this is your FT News Briefing.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The UKs prime minister faces a growing backlash inside her own party. Meanwhile, Brits are taking to the streets to protest high energy bills. Plus, the International Space Station is being decommissioned and the US space agency Nasa is funding private companies to help continue its work.

Peggy HollingerIts not like were gonna start building another space station with Russia right now, are we?

Sonja HutsonIm Sonja Hutson, in for Marc Filippino, and heres the news you need to start your day.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Today, UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will defend his controversial tax plan to members of his party at their annual conference. His plan unleashed havoc across financial markets. It would scrap the top tax rate of 45 per cent and take on a lot of debt. Many fear it would make inflation worse. The plan is stoking a rebellion inside the Tory party as prominent members speak out against the tax cuts and other measures. The UK prime minister, Liz Truss, is also not budging on the plan, even though shes been warned she could face defeat in the House of Commons.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

As Tory party members gathered in Birmingham this weekend, protesters gathered around the country to show their frustration with skyrocketing energy prices.

[AUDIO CLIP FROM DONT PAY PROTEST PLAYING]

Dont Pay protests like this one in central London are encouraging people to not pay their power bills.

Unnamed protesterWere still here because our prices are still double from last year. What are you gonna do with your bills?

CrowdBurn them!

Unnamed protesterWhat are you gonna do with your bills?

CrowdBurn them!

Sonja HutsonOne protester stepped forward and threw a mock electricity bill into a fire that was blazing out of a metal trash bin.

Cameron JoshiMy name is Cameron Joshi. Im 27. Ive been periodically disabled with a chronic illness since I was 18, so I cancelled mine last month because I couldnt afford to pay it.

Sonja HutsonThe government began capping energy bills this weekend, but protesters say its not enough.

Unnamed protester Its absolutely ludicrous that our energy bill price cap is double what it was last winter and theyre offering us only 400, 66 a month to try and help us with that.

Unnamed protester And I know many people that are working, but they cant afford the rent. They cannot afford a normal life.

Sonja HutsonDont Pay protests werent the only demonstration this weekend against the soaring cost of living in the UK. Train drivers and postal workers were on strike, and so were nurses, teachers and public defence lawyers.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

As much of the world struggles with high energy prices, Opec and its oil-producing allies plan to prop up prices with a substantial cut in production. The group meets on Wednesday and could cut more than a million barrels a day. Thats the largest cut since the early days of the pandemic. The group is led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, and sources told the FT that the Saudis are eager to lower output, not just to prop up prices but also to keep some production capacity in reserve. Theyre nervous about a sharp drop in Russian oil output later this year when western powers tighten sanctions.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The greatest global collaboration in the history of technology has been the International Space Station, and the ISS is on its way out. After 22 years, hundreds of astronauts from 20 different countries and countless scientific advances, the ISS will be decommissioned by the end of the decade. The US space agency Nasa has already started awarding contracts to private companies to come up with a replacement. To talk more about this, Im joined by the FTs Peggy Hollinger. Hey, Peggy.

Peggy HollingerHi, how are you?

Sonja HutsonIm doing well. Thanks for asking. So, Peggy, can you remind us why the International Space Station is so important to begin with? You know, whats its value and whats its purpose?

Peggy Hollinger Thats a complicated question. Its value is not just in the fact that unique experiments can be conducted in microgravity, a sort of environment thats very difficult to replicate here on Earth, but its also in the international collaboration. In the space station, 450-80km above the earth, weve got Russians working with Europeans, working with Americans, working with Japanese. It truly is a sort of a properly working United Nations in space.

Sonja HutsonSo why is it being decommissioned then?

Peggy HollingerThe space station is already flying long beyond its expected life. Its life has been extended a few times. And really, there comes a point when technology has moved on and what youve got in the space station, you know, can be much better designed. The big question is because it costs so much to keep flying, it costs so much to build, it really did require international co-operation to build how do you replace it? Its not like were gonna start building another space station with Russia right now, are we? So whos gonna fund this?

Sonja HutsonWhy is Nasa moving towards privatisation and what would that actually look like?

Peggy Hollinger So, if youre not going to partner up with Russia again, how are you gonna fund it? And really the answer seems to be, in Nasas playbook, seems to be the private sector. So Nasa needs a low-Earth orbit capability for its own scientific experiments. The US government wants to ensure a permanent human presence in low-Earth orbit because the low-Earth orbit economy is developing so quickly. So why not bring the private sector in to help fund some of that? And why not rent space on private space stations rather than own it and have to foot the bill for the operating costs, which are, you know, 3-4bn a year.

Sonja Hutson So is this business model going to work? Nasa funding private companies to do what Nasa wants to do is that feasible?

Peggy HollingerWell, this is the big question, isnt it? Because if Nasa is going to rely on the private sector for its needs, you know, to have human presence in low-Earth orbit, it damn well better be sure that these companies it places its contracts with are viable. Its very, very clear that none of them can survive, certainly in the early years, without substantial government support, ie contracts from Nasa. And theyre all saying that they believe the contract from Nasa is likely to be around 1-1.5bn. So that will keep them going nicely until they can attract other customers for their space stations. But there are some who believe that, you know, ultimately, a) theres not much room for more than one private space station because the more you begin to spread Nasas needs across different stations, the more difficult it is to survive and build that commercial business. But then again, demand might appear from places that we cant envisage right now.

Sonja Hutson Peggy Hollinger is the FTs international business editor. Thanks, Peggy.

Peggy HollingerThank you very much.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Sonja HutsonBefore we go, Apples made a big shift. Its producing its iPhone 14 in India. Its the first time Apple is manufacturing the newest phone outside China so soon after its release. Usually, Apple only manufacturers in India or other countries once its confident that production of the new device is going smoothly. India has been trying to become a bigger player in the global electronics supply chain, so this is a big win. Other countries are also benefiting as Apple shifts production outside China. The companys already tested out AirPod production in Vietnam and plans to build iPads and Apple Watches there too.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You can read more on all these stories at FT.com. This has been your daily FT News Briefing. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the latest business news.

This transcript has been automatically generated. If by any chance there is an error please send the details for a correction to: typo@ft.com. We will do our best to make the amendment as soon as possible.

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The race to reinvent the space station - Financial Times

Hurricane Ian is pictured approaching the west coast of Florida as a category 4 storm. The International Space Station was orbiting 259 miles above the Gulf of Mexico at the time of this photograph. Credit: NASA

Hurricane Ian is pictured above in a stunning photograph that was taken by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS). When this photograph was snapped, the ISS was orbiting 258 miles above the Caribbean Sea east of Belize. At the time, Ian was just south of Cuba gaining strength and heading toward Florida. In the foreground (from left), are the Soyuz MS-22 crew ship, docked to the Rassvet module, and the Soyuz MS-21 crew ship, docked to the Prichal module.

There were a couple of other stunning photographs released by NASA of Hurricane Ian from the ISS:

A crew member onboard the International Space Station took this photograph of Hurricane Ian on September 26 while orbiting more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earths surface. At the time, the space station was located over the Caribbean Sea east of Belize, and Hurricane Ian was just south of Cuba. Over the course of the day, it grew from a tropical storm to a category-2 hurricane. Credit: NASA

Above is another photograph of Hurricane Ian captured by a crew member onboard the International Space Station. When the picture was taken, on September 26, the ISS was orbiting more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earths surface. At the time, Hurricane Ian was just south of Cuba and the space station was located over the Caribbean Sea east of Belize. Over the course of that day, it grew from a tropical storm to a category-2 hurricane.

Hurricane Ian is pictured approaching the west coast of Florida as a category 4 storm. The International Space Station was orbiting 259 miles above the Gulf of Mexico at the time of this photograph. Credit: NASA

This picture of Hurricane Ian was photographed from the ISS while the orbiting lab was over 250 miles above the Gulf of Mexico. At the time this photograph was taken, Ian was approaching the west coast of Florida as a category 4 storm.

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Hurricane Ian Captured in Stunning Pictures From the International Space Station - SciTechDaily

Oct 3 (Reuters) - The first European female commander on the International Space Station, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, answered young girls' questions -- accompanied by a lookalike Barbie doll.

Cristoforetti recently took time to describe some of the experiments conducted aboard the ISS, as well as answer questions from five girls 8 to 11 years old from across Europe. She and her spacesuit-clad Barbie floated in zero gravity, as she spoke.

Asked why she became an astronaut, the 45-year-old said, "Growing up I was fascinated by the night sky, and the idea of flying to space, and the sense of adventure and exploration.

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"And then I became interested in science and technology; and then I really loved flying, I became a pilot. And being an astronaut kind of brings all those passions and interests of me together," she said.

A handout picture shows Europe's first female commander of the ISS, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with her lookalike Barbie doll at the International Space Station (ISS). ESA/Handout via REUTERS

The video conversation, excerpts of which were released on Monday, was part of a project aimed at inspiring young girls to start careers in STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It also marks World Space Week, which begins on Tuesday

The initiative was organized by Inspiring Girls International, a charity which connects girls to international role models.

Mattel Inc MAT.O> designed a Cristoforetti lookalike Barbie doll in 2019 and put it on sale in 2021. The company donated some of the profits to the charity Women in Aerospace Europe.

The first Barbie wearing an astronaut suit was released in 1965 and was garbed in the outfits worn by astronauts in the 1960s Mercury program, which put the first American men into orbit and paved the way for future space missions.

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Reporting by Chiara Rodriguez; editing by Jonathan Oatis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Space station's Italian commander, with lookalike Barbie, tells girls about science in orbit - Reuters

By Prof. Gongling Sun and Dr. Yang Yang

ISU Space Studies Program (SSP) offers an intensive nine-week course hosted each year in the timeframe June-August in different locations in our planet earth since 1988. The SSP provides courses in all space disciplines, as well as hands-on education through workshops and professional visits for people working in space-related fields who wish to broaden their knowledge base. Particularly, participants spend more than 3 weeks working on 4 team projects to address current and future challenges in the space sector.

The Chinese space station is scheduled to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2022. This is not only a new attempt for China but also the beginning of a new era of international space cooperation for countries, organizations and individuals all over the world.

This year, Dr. Yang Yang and I, Prof. Gongling Sun, co-chaired the team project of International Cooperation on the Use of the China Space Station, which is sponsored by the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CSU, CAS).

We worked for two years for this team project preparation and invited various experts worldwide to provide the best insights into international cooperation and the utilization of a microgravity environment, especially that based on space stations.

This Team Project was completed by 23 participants from 17 countries with diverse backgrounds, ages, and experiences. Despite the varied cultural and professional origins, the team embraced the values of the ISU (International, Intercultural, Interdisciplinary), and we also offered our participants the opportunity to interact with our invited lecturers. They managed to create a cohesive team, who eagerly started the project, and quickly defined the mission statement and objectives according to the broad team project description.

The team endorsedthe UNstyleof leadership, avoiding hierarchies andfostering inclusivity. As is the nature ofthe spaceindustry, ideas were plentiful while time was limited. The team managed to overcome these challenges and finished the comprehensive report over a three-week period.

The team managed to satisfy most of the stakeholders by merging three areas of scientific and engineering exploration. Unique flight hardware was designed to satisfy a multitude of scientific objectives and an overarching outreach strategy was created which can be utilized for many other projects. The team picked up vital knowledge and skills learned in the program in the first 6 weeks and overcame multiple challenges due to the difficult climate, time pressures and last-minute curricular changes.

With the Main tasks to be accomplished including the Executive Summary of International Cooperation on the Use of the Chinese Space Station review, final report, and project presentation, our participants demonstrated their high levels of professionalism, discipline, and maturity. They have made great progress both as a team and as individuals, reinforcing the individual qualities and strengths of team members. We are looking forward to seeing what these promising future leaders of the space industry create in the future.

We organized a professional visit to a leading Portuguese space company, LusoSpace, which offers space hardware concept definition, and preliminary design, through the development, integration, testing and qualification.

Want to hear the experience of a SSP22 participant? Here you can listen to our interview with Madin Maseeh on the day of the final team project presentations.

Gongling is Professor of Space System Engineering and Space Policy at the International Space University (ISU), where he is also faculty lead to Business and Management in Masters of Space Studies Program (MSS). Mr. Sun held several senior executive positions both in China and Europe. He was a system engineer of launch vehicle design and project manager of international satellite launching services in China. He became a founding member of China Manned Space Agency in 1993 and worked as General Designer Assistant for China Manned Space Program until 2000. Then he worked as Managing Director of EurasSpace GmbH based in Munich, Germany. He played an important role in space business development, large project management, project financing and insurance, and export license management. As the founder of CASC European Office based in Paris in 2010, he served as the Chief representative for 7 years before he joints ISU in 2017.

Dr. Yang Yang is Director of international cooperation department of Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences(CSU,CAS). He has been engaging the utilization mission of China Manned Space in TG-1, SZ-8, TZ-1 and China Space Station, and has been responsible for utilization mission planning and international cooperative project management. He is the commander and manager of tens of scientific utilization projects and experiments of CMS in cooperated with ESA, DLR and ASI etc. He is expert of HSTI of UNOOSA, member of IAF Microgravity Sciences and Processes Committee, member of International Microgravity Science planning group.

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#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: ISU SSP22 Special - Team Project International Cooperation on the Use of the China Space Station - SpaceWatch.Global