Category Archives: Space Station

USA Today Network James Dean, Florida Today Published 12:23 p.m. ET April 18, 2017 | Updated 15 hours ago

Launched from Cape Canaveral on board an Atlas V rocket, the next round of supplies and experiments for the International Space Station. (April 18) AP

An Atlas V rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.(Photo: Craig Bailey, Florida Today)

CAPE CANAVERALGodspeed, SSJohn Glenn.

An unmanned cargo ship named in honor of the pioneering astronaut is on its way to the International Space Station after launching from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday atop a modern version of the Atlas rocket Glenn rode into orbit in 1962.

United Launch Alliances 19-story Atlas V thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations Launch Complex 41 at 11:11 a.m. ET Tuesday, punching through a few puffy clouds as it angled northeastover the Atlantic Ocean.

Twenty-one minutes later, an Orbital ATK Cygnus craft packed with more than 7,600 pounds of food, supplies and experiments separated from the rockets Centaur upper stage.

Related:What to know about Tuesday's Atlas V rocket launch

Just a fantastic launch, said Joel Montalbano, deputy manager of NASA's International Space Station program.

Rendezvous at the research outpost orbiting 250 miles overhead is planned around 6 a.m. Saturday, two days after a NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonaut are scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan and join three Expedition 51 crew members onthe station.

Research aboard the Cygnus includesa minifridge-sized plant growth chamber led by KSC, tests of a chemotherapy drug that could better target cancer cellsand a student experiment analyzingDNA to study the aging process.

Other equipment includes gear needed for aspacewalk planned next monthand 38 tiny satellites called CubeSats that will deployfrom either the station or the Cygnus.

Also on board: Easter treats.

The resupply mission originally was scheduled to launch a month ago, but was delayed by problems with hydraulics on ground systems and on the rockets main engine.

We are sorry we missed Easter, but were pretty sure (the astronauts will) be excited about their Easter baskets, said Frank Culbertson, head of Orbital ATKs Space Systems Group.

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Orbital ATK has named each of its Cygnus spacecraft in tribute to influential astronauts.

Glenn, the Mercury astronaut and former U.S. senator who died last December at 95, was the first American to orbit Earth at the dawn of the space race with the Soviet Union, and later became the oldest person in space as a 77-year-old crew member aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1998.

Culbertson, a former NASA astronaut, called Glenn's missions "pathfinding and groundbreaking," particularly the first one flown with a "primitive" Atlas rocket and Friendship 7 capsule.

"Its a real honor for us to be associated with such an American hero and a pioneer in the space program," he said. "He always set a great example for Americans American youth, American technologyin pushing us beyond what we have been able to do in the past. I hope that putting his name on the space stationis an inspiration to the next generation to aspire do similar things: Push the boundaries."

The Cygnus carried mementos for Glenn's family, who could not attend the launch due to its delays.

Launch teams on Tuesday also paid tribute to a longtime voice of NASA launches,George Diller. A member of Kennedy Space Center's public affairs team since 1979, Diller called his final liftoff on NASA TV before he retiresnext month.

"Its been a good heck of a ride," he said afterward of his career. "I couldnt do better if Id have been riding a rocket."

Tuesdays launch was the seventh of 11 Cygnus missions under a NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract worth more than $2billion. It was third of those missions launched by ULAs Atlas V, which can lift heavier loads thanOrbital ATKs own Antares rocket based on Virginias Eastern Shore. The next Antares launch is targeted for September.

ULA completed its fourth launchthis year. Its next launch, of a NASA tracking and data relay satellite,is planned in early August.

SpaceX is next up on the Eastern Range. A Falcon 9 rocket is targeting an April 30 launch of a classified National Reconnaissance Office mission from Kennedy Space Centers pad 39A, and a booster landing back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Related:Space salad? Plant experiment hitching a ride to space station

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360 Glitch

A launch pad camera promoted as providing the first 360-degree views of a rocket launch wasn't quite ready for prime time Tuesday as a United Launch AllianceAtlas V blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with nearly 900,000 pounds of thrust.

Starting about 10 minutes before the 11:11 a.m. liftoff, viewers on NASA TV's YouTube channel could manipulate the image to pan around Launch Complex 41 and look up and down the 19-story rocket. But the picture froze in the countdown's final seconds, and when itfinally refreshed, the rocket was gone.

"This is the first time that this has ever been attempted and while the 360 degreeswould have been a unique look at launch, we still have incredible video of today's successful liftoff of the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station from multiple other cameras that provide a variety of views," said United Launch Alliance spokeswoman LynChassagne. "We will review today's 360-degreesetup and endeavor to bring this new perspective of a rocket launch to everyone in the future."

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Atlas V rocket has successful launch to space station - USA TODAY

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. An Orbital ATK cargo ship bound for the International Space Station is poised for liftoff Tuesday aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

ULA's 71st Atlas V rocket is scheduled for launch at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1411 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. You can watch the liftoff live in a 360-degree view here, courtesy of NASA TV.

"We are looking forward to a great launch tomorrow and continuing our record of 100 percent mission success," Vern Thorp, United Launch Alliance's (ULA) commercial missions program manager, told reporters during a briefing Monday (April 17). [ Watch: How Orbital ATK's Cygnus Will Fly on Atlas V Rocket ]

The rocket will be carrying Orbital ATK's seventh Cygnus cargo ship under a $3.1 billion, 10-flight contract with NASA through 2018.

Orbital ATK's own midsize launch vehicle, Antares, returned to flight last October following an accident in 2014, but this time the company and NASA opted for a hired ride aboard ULA's beefier Atlas V, which can carry more cargo into orbit.

Orbital ATK previously bought two Atlas V rides to the space station to fill a gap while Antares was retrofitted with new engines.

The Cygnus cargo ship, named after Mercury astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, will be carrying about 7,635 lbs. (3,463 kilograms) of food, supplies and science experiments to the station. That is about 660 lbs. (300 kg) more than what could be packed aboard for launch on an Antares, said Frank Culbertson, a former astronaut and president of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group.

One experiment on board is a sophisticated new greenhouse that will be evaluated as a way to grow food for astronauts during long-duration stays in space. The Advanced Plant Habitat, which is about the size of a mini refrigerator, includes more than 180 sensors to measure temperature, oxygen content and moisture levels.

Unlike the station's existing plant-growth chamber, known as Veggie , the advanced greenhouse requires relatively little crew time to set up and operate, NASA officials said.

Initially, the chamber will be used to germinate and grow test samples of wheat and Arabidopsis , a small flowering plant. The first science experiments are planned for November.

Samples for several biomedical studies also will ride aboard the Cygnus, including an investigation to decrease the side effects of cancer-fighting chemotherapy drugs by incorporating antibodies that target only the diseased cells.

The capsule also is carrying 38 shoebox-size satellites called cubesats , four of which will remain on board the spacecraft and be deployed after it departs the station in July.

If Cygnus is launched as planned on Tuesday, it will linger in orbit until Saturday to allow time for a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, slated to lift off on Thursday with two new station crewmembers, to dock at the outpost.

Forecasters on Monday predicted a 90 percent chance the weather would be suitable for launch on Tuesday. The OA-7 mission has been on hold for a month due to a technical issue with the rocket's first-stage hydraulics.

Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com.

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Atlas V rocket poised for Space Station cargo run today - Fox News

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft named S.S. John Glenn is seen here inside its protective payload fairing. The Cygnus is en route to be mated to its Atlas V rocket ahead of its planned April 18, 2017, launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

You can watch the first-ever 360-degree livestream of a rocket launch on Tuesday (April 18).

Orbital ATK's robotic Cygnus cargo spacecraft is scheduled to launch toward the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, or directly at the space agency's YouTube channel.

Cygnus has flown a number of such resupply runs in the past, but this liftoff will be special, from a viewer's perspective at least: You'll be able to get a pad's-eye view, in 360 degrees.

"To view in 360, use a mouse or move a personal device to look up and down, back and forth, for a 360-degree view around Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "Those who own virtual reality headsets will be able to look around and experience the view as if they were actually standing on the launch pad."

The Cygnus is packed with more than 7,600 lbs. (3,450 kilograms) of scientific gear, hardware and supplies for the ISS crew so much cargo that the mission will employ an Atlas V rather than Orbital's own Antares booster, which is not quite as powerful. (An Antares is slated to loft the next Cygnus mission, which will lift off this summer.)

If all goes according to plan, the Cygnus dubbed the S.S. John Glenn, after the first American to orbit the Earth will chase the ISS down for four days, eventually reaching the orbiting lab on Saturday morning (April 22). It will then be grappled by the station's huge robotic arm and installed on the Unity module.

Both Orbital ATK and SpaceX fly robotic cargo missions to the space station for NASA. SpaceX, which uses its Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket, has launched 10 such contracted missions, one of which failed. Tuesday's launch will kick off Orbital's seventh contracted flight. Orbital has suffered one failure as well.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter@michaeldwallandGoogle+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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Cargo Ship Launching to Space Station Tuesday: Watch Live in 360 Degrees - Space.com

At 8:45 p.m. on Easter Sunday, the ISS will fly over Asheville and be visible as it crosses overhead for four minutes. (Photo credit: MGN)

The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth, and it's visible when it flies over Asheville-- if you know where and when to look.

At 8:45 p.m. on Easter Sunday, the ISS will fly over Asheville and be visible as it crosses overhead for four minutes. A great way to remind yourself to look for it is to set an alarm on your cell phone for just a few minutes before the ISS pass.

If skies are clear, look west at 8:45 p.m., and look for the ISS to become visible over the horizon. It will look like a bright, fast-moving star, and will travel overhead and move out of sight into the horizon to the SSE.

Check here to see if the skies in Asheville will be clear.

The ISS travels at about 17,150 mph. You can view how many people are aboard it here.

You can track where the ISS is here. There's even a livecam on the ISS, and you can see what the international astronauts are seeing here.

See you outside tonight!

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LOOK UP! The International Space Station flies over Asheville on Easter Sunday - WLOS

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., April 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Julian Rubinfien (16), winner of the Genes in Space competition and a junior at Stuyvesant High School, NY, will launch his DNA experiments to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 18th from Kennedy Space Center, Fla, on cargo resupply mission OA-7. The experiments will be carried out using miniPCR technology aboard the ISS.

Julian's experiments investigate the genetic underpinnings of accelerated aging in space. The first experiment will test if telomeric DNA can be copied in space. Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes and are known to shorten in response to stress and aging. Recently, the NASA one-year mission twin study found that Astronaut Scott Kelly's telomeres lengthened during his year in space. Julian's experiment will examine how measuring telomeres in space could enable health monitoring of astronauts during long-term missions.

The second experiment will test whether or not "on-the-spot" DNA-based diagnostic tests can be conducted on the ISS and will be the first of its kind in space. The work will make use of a new colorimetric LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) method from New England Biolabs to copy and detect specific DNA sequences. Detection of these sequences results in a change in the color of the experimental mixture.

Both experiments will use portable miniPCR DNA analysis technology. The ISS National Lab is a platform for cutting edge research and technology development that enables future deep space exploration. Julian was a student of MA Master Teacher Jessica Quenzer, who served as his mentor throughout the Genes in Space application process.

About Genes in Space Genes in Space is a national STEM contest that challenges students in grades seven through 12 to design DNA analysis experiments using the ISS National Lab (managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS.) The competition is a partnership between miniPCR, Math for America, CASIS, New England Biolabs, Inc, Boeing and is sponsored by FedEx.

The U.S. competition is accepting student research projects for 2017. Submissions are due April 25th. Learn more at http://www.GenesInSpace.org.

Media contacts: miniPCR: Emily Gleason, genesinspace@minipcr.com, 781-990-8727 Math for America: Scott Woodson, woodson@mathforamerica.org, 646-437-0944 Boeing: Kelly Kaplan, kelly.g.kaplan@boeing.com, 281-226-4367 CASIS: Patrick O'Neill,poneill@iss-casis.org, 321-480-1054 New England Biolabs: Deana Martin, martin@neb.com, 978-380-7464

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genes-in-space-student-experiment-launches-to-international-space-station-300439702.html

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Genes in Space Student Experiment Launches to International Space Station - Yahoo Finance

Astronaut Peggy Whitson looks cheerful as she tells a member of the media that she and the other station crewmembers are running low on chocolate ahead of Easter (April 16).

This Sunday (April 16) is Easter, but the current occupants of the International Space Station are running low on one crucial supply item for the holiday.

"I think we're actually a little short on chocolate right now," NASA astronaut and current space station commander Peggy Whitson said during a media interview Thursday (April 13). Chocolate is considered by many to be a staple of the holiday, and NASA has not specified how or when it plans to amend confectionary conundrum.

Whitson then added, "Maybe when the next Soyuz crew comes up, we'll get a little more chocolate." A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is set to launch toward the station on April 20. An Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft is also scheduled to travel to the station on April 18.

Whitson didn't indicate if the crew had any special plans for the Easter holiday. She is currently joined on the station by European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet of France ("Thomas and I kind of like chocolate," Whitson said) and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy. NASA astronaut Jack Fischer and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin are scheduled to fly to the station aboard the Soyuz on April 20.

In the past, space station crews have celebrated the holiday with plastic Easter egg hunts.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Space Station Crew Running Low on Chocolate Ahead of Easter - Space.com

April 14, 2017 The International Space Station is a "great model for society," said NASA astronaut and retired Army Col. Robert S. "Shane" Kimbrough, who returned to Earth on April 10 after 173 days in space.

It's a study of how six Russian, American, French and Japanese crew members can work together in confined spaces to do some really incredible science and research that will benefit all of society, said Kimbrough, who was the Expedition 50 commander on the International Space Station.

The experience on the ISS demonstrates that none of the countries could have done it alone, Kimbrough said. It takes all the international partners working together to make that space station program happen," he added.

"As space station commander, you've got to integrate all those different types of people, personalities and culture to make an effective team," he said, adding that integrating the team wasn't much of a challenge because he had a great crew. I was just fortunate enough to be up there with the people I was," he said.

Good Communication

The crew communicated well despite the variety of native languages, the astronaut said. He and another American, along with a Japanese and French astronaut, spoke to the three cosmonauts in Russian, and in turn, the Russians spoke English to them.

"We were constantly working on the language and always learning more vocabulary and different terms, and even slang," he said. The challenging he said, part was translating the technical jargon. Overall, he said, it was great working with the crew amid the differences in language, culture and cuisine, Kimbrough said. "It's always interesting learning different cultures," he added.

Besides sharing languages, the crew also shared food, Kimbrough said. The Russians would partake of the American, French and Japanese food, and they, in turn, would be offered Russian meals, particularly on weekends.

"They seemed to enjoy our food, and we enjoyed theirs," he said.

After 173 days in space, living in a confined area, it might seem easy to get on each other's nerves after a while. Not so, Kimbrough said.

"We had a lot of training before the mission in learning ways and techniques on how to not annoy people," he said. "When they pick astronauts, one of the criteria is, 'Are you going to annoy somebody if you are in a small area for a long time? Because if so, we don't want you here doing this job. You can do something else.'"

Space Travel is Fun

Kimbrough said the crew did a lot of important scientific experiments in biology and the physical sciences. Some of the biology experiments could lead to advances in medical treatment, he noted.

But besides all the work, the crew had a lot of fun, too. "Every day is fun," he said. "Everything is floating around, and you're floating around instead of walking. Eating is especially fun. You can eat upside down, right-side up, toss an M&M to your buddy across the room or send him a drink. We played around a lot with our food. We tell our kids at home not to do that, but we do it in space."

Another type of fun, he said, was "looking out the window at our beautiful planet Earth. That was really special."

Valued Army Experience

Kimbrough credits the Army with giving him many opportunities for operational experience and leadership training, beginning at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and all of the follow-on leadership courses throughout his career.

NASA is looking for astronauts with that type of experience, along with the education. Kimbrough graduated from West Point in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering, and he later graduated from Georgia Tech in 1998 with a Master of Science degree in operations research. His operational experience includes piloting an Apache helicopter during the Gulf War.

Besides education and leadership experience, NASA is looking for someone who has been exposed to unique and austere environments, something "we as soldiers experience on deployments," Kimbrough said. NASA also is interested in someone who can thrive on a team and deal with stress, he added.

"We're good at memorizing responses in critical situations," he said. "My brain was set in that mode from all of the Army training. So we're always preparing for worst-case situations and hoping we never have to go there, but if something bad would happen, we're ready to go and respond in those situations."

Mars Mission

Is a manned mission to Mars in the cards for the future? "I absolutely think having a manned mission to Mars and other places is where we need to go. That is the next frontier for humanity," Kimbrough said.

In a couple of decades, a human will land on Mars, he predicted, "but I'll certainly be too old to do that when the time comes around."

The school children he talks to today will be the generation that gets to Mars, he said. "Hopefully, we can inspire them to go down that road," he added.

Soldier for Life

It's an honor to be a soldier for life, Kimbrough said, noting that the Army instilled in him "this incredible sense of service ever since going to West Point." Working for NASA as a civil servant also is a wonderful experience, he said.

No matter where he goes or who he meets, Kimbrough said, he feels that he's representing the Army, and "that's a great feeling."

Kimbrough added that he couldn't have ever been successful in the Army or NASA without the support of his friends and family, particularly during long deployments or in space on this mission and a previous one in 2008 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour to the ISS.

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Astronaut Praises Space Station as 'Great Model for Society' - Department of Defense

Forbes

Why Doesn't The International Space Station Have Exterior Lighting At Night? Forbes Why isn't the International space station lit up at 'night'? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Jared Olson, NASA robotics instructor ...

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Why Doesn't The International Space Station Have Exterior Lighting At Night? - Forbes

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FILEOrions Quest, a national nonprofit that engages students in research, has announced that students at Washington Elementary School will participate in experiments conducted on the International Space Station.

BOUNTIFUL Orions Quest, a national nonprofit that engages students in research, has announced that students at Washington Elementary School will participate in experiments conducted on the International Space Station.

Orions Quest, based in Plymouth, Michigan, provides all materials and support free of charge. Teachers can choose to engage students in live missions being conducted on the station, or virtual missions that support past station experiments for which scientists continue to collect data.

The students at Washington Elementary will engage in the Fruit Flies in Space virtual mission. Because the fruit fly genome has genetic similarities with the human genome, information gained in studying how changes in gravity alter the flies basic signaling pathways can then be translated to complex human organisms. Other virtual missions include studies of the effects of space on microbes, plant growth, spiders, butterflies and worms.

This will be the first year that our program is at this school, and it is encouraging that they have chosen such an interesting experiment for their students, Peter Lawrie, executive director of Orions Quest, said in a statement. Their participation supports world-class scientists, and we are thrilled that Washington Elementary has seized on this opportunity to expose their students to the wonders of STEM education at this level at a young age.

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Bountiful elementary students to participate in space station experiments - Deseret News

Three space fliers have safely touched down on Earth after almost six months aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko all arrived at the station togetherfor Expedition 49/50 mission in October 2016, and they reached solid ground this morning (April 10) at 7:20 a.m. EDT (1120 GMT) in Kazakhstan. They spent 173 days in space during their flight.

"It was a textbook touchdown," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during live NASA TV commentary after the landing. "The Soyuz was pulled by its main parachute onto its side, but the crew was quickly extracted and are in good shape."

Those monitoring the launch at Mission Control, and on NASA TV, had "some of the most spectacular video we've ever seen" of the capsule's journey down and landing on the cloudless steppe, Navias said about 14 minutes of footage, from just after the chutes deployed to touchdown.

Kimbrough transferred command of the space station to NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson yesterday (April 9) before the trio left, making her the first woman tocommand the space station twice. (She was also the space station's first female commander, in 2008.)

The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying the International Space Station's Expedition 50 crew lands safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan on April 10, 2017. The capsule returned NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko to Earth after 173 days in space.

After closing the hatch to the Russian Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft near 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT) this morning, the three undocked from the station about 3 hours later. Next, the spacecraft fired its main engine for 4.5 minutes starting at 6:28 a.m. EDT (1028 GMT) to slow down by 420 feet (128 meters) per second and finally leave orbit to return to Earth in all, a much shorter journey than their two-day trip up to the station on that spacecraft last year. (The Soyuz can reach the station in as quickly as 6 hours, but on recent launches the arriving crewmembers have been testing features of the upgraded MS-02 spacecraft, and so took the longer route.)

Ryzhikov, who has now completed his first-ever space mission, commanded the Soyuz. Expedition 49/50 marked the second space missions for both Kimbrough and Ryzhikov. The three space travelers shared their ride home with science samples and other cargo along with personal items, according to NASA's space station blog.

Still on board, Whitson, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy won't be alone for long: NASA's Jack Fischer and Russia's Fyodor Yurchikhin are set to launch April 20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The two were monitoring this landing from the Cosmodrome, Navias said during the broadcast.

A Soyuz space capsule hangs beneath its parachute while returning Expedition 50 crewmembers Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko to Earth in Kazakhstan on April 10, 2017. The landing ended a 173-day mission for the crew.

Kimbrough recently performed two spacewalks one with Pesquet and one with Whitson to prepare the space station to install a second International Docking Adaptor, which will one day let commercial vehicles dock with the space station. Right now, only the Soyuz can bring humans to the station and dock.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough (left) and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov (center) and Andrey Borisenko (right) are seen seated shortly after landing their Soyuz spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan on April 10, 2017. The trio spent 173 days in space during their Expedition 50 mission.

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her@SarahExplains.Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandGoogle+. Original article onSpace.com.

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Space Station Crew Returns to Earth Safely on Soyuz Capsule - Space.com