Category Archives: Space Station

The Hindu

NASA sending new plant system to space station The Hindu NASA is sending a new, nearly self-sufficient plant growth system to the International Space Station (ISS) that will help prepare astronauts to grow their own food during deep-space exploration missions. The new plant system will this month join Veggie ... Bigelow Aerospace offers plan for an expandable space station orbiting the moon by 2020Next Big Future NASA to send new plant system to space stationThe Siasat Daily NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 March 2017 - Station Orbit BoostedSpace Ref (press release) Space.com -ScrollToday all 25 news articles »

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NASA sending new plant system to space station - The Hindu

Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert Bigelows company makes in-space habitats. One (the BEAM adds 16 cubic meters of living area to the ISS) is now attached to the International Space Station and he and his company are developing permanent, stand-alone habitats to serve as private space stations in orbit around the Earth, ready to house private astronauts.

Bigelow has talked with United Launch Alliance Chief Executive Tory Bruno about using the company's Atlas V 552 rocket, which has an extra-wide payload fairing, to deliver the B330 into orbit.

United Launch Alliance is developing an advanced upper-stage vehicle, ACES, to provide in-space propulsion.

Two ACES in tandem could be used to move the B330 into a low lunar orbit. They orbit within 75 kilometers of the lunar surface

Bigelow has spoken SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell about using the company's Dragon 2 spacecraft to transport astronauts to the B330 in deep space.

By 2020, NASA and commercial astronauts ould be living and working in lunar orbit inside a functional space station.

What if the @SpaceX V2 and/or the @LockheedMartin Orion were engaged as the transportation vehicles to and from the lunar depot?

The only accommodating launch vehicle and fairing for this large B330 spacecraft is the @ulalaunch Atlas 552, stretched fairing

Robert Bigelow @RobertTBigelow Feb 28

The B330 is designed to be a standalone space station capable of operating in LEO or beyond.

SOURCES- Twitter - Robert T Bigelow, Orlando Rising, Ars Technica

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Bigelow Aerospace offers plan for an expandable space station orbiting the moon by 2020 - Next Big Future

China will launch a space station core module in 2018 as the first step in completing the country's first space outpost, according to a senior engineer with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) on Thursday.

The core module of the space station, named "Tianhe-1" according to previous reports, will be launched on board a new-generation Long March-5 heavyweight carrier rocket, said Bao Weimin, director with CASC and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

It will be followed by a series of launches for other components of the space station, including two space labs, which will dock with the core module while in space, in the next four years or so, he said, adding that the space station will be completed around 2022.

Assembly of the core module has already been completed and tests are currently under way, said Bao, who is in Beijing for the annual session of China's top political advisory body.

Earlier reports said the new Chinese space station will initially be much smaller than the current International Space Station (ISS), which weighs 420 tonnes, but could be expanded for future scientific research and international cooperation.

With the ISS set to retire in 2024, the Chinese space station will offer a promising alternative, and China will be the only country with a permanent space station.

Bao said the Chinese outpost will function in orbit for "dozens of years," and that it had been specially designed to be able to handle space debris.

"For the big pieces (of space debris), we could conduct evasive maneuvers, and for those measuring less than 10 cm in size, we just take the hit," Bao said, adding that all key parts of the space station will be serviceable and replaceable.

He went on to say that the next five years will see some exciting advances in China's space program.

In particular, the Long March-5 launch missions have been scheduled this year, including one that will take the Chang'e-5 lunar probe to the Moon in November and return with lunar samples.

Long March-5 is a large, two-stage rocket with a payload capacity of 25 tonnes to low-Earth orbit and 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, the largest of China's carrier rockets. Its carrying capacity is about 2.5 times that of the current main model Long March carrier rockets.

The rocket will also be used in China's planned Mars probes, and possibly future missions to Jupiter and other planets within the solar system, Bao said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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China to launch space station core module in 2018 - Space Daily - Space Daily

BELLEVUE, Wash. The Open Window School in Bellevue celebrated the launch of an experiment designed by eighth graders that is now aboard the International Space Station.

In an all-school assembly on Friday, two of the three students, Subi Lumala and Catherine Whitmer, presented their experiment to their peers. Their third teammate, Vivienne Rutherford, was absent for the day.

Lumala and Whitmer returned from Florida recently where they watched the Falcon 9 Space-X rocket take off from the Kennedy Space Center with their experiment on board.

I didnt think that our little seeds would be going up to space, said Whitmer.

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In the fall of 2015, studentsat the Open Window School took part inStudent Spaceflight Experiments Program [SSEP.]Fifty teams of fourth- through eighth-grade students worked on proposals for micro gravity experiments, which were reviewed in a two-step process. This 2-step proposal review process modeled a real call for research proposals by an organization such as NASA, NSF, or NIH.

The launch was delayed 11 times. Lumala and Whitmersay they were elated the rocket finally took off.

The head of school, Jeff Strobel, believes that SSEP offered a unique opportunity for Open Window School students.

Participation in SSEP has offered our students an experience that they will remember the rest of their lives. Far more than learning science, they have had the opportunity to be scientists, developing an experiment structured identically to the work of the worlds leading researchers," said Strobel.

Lumala and Whitmer's experiment looks into how a specific seed, aradabadopisis, germinates in simulated Martian soil conditions.

"Aradabadopisis is really well-tested upon," said Lumala.

Astronauts will conduct the experiment to the students specifications over a period of 4-6 weeks while the experiment is in flight. After each interaction, astronauts will communicate with the students via an online experiment log so the Open Window School students can conduct their Ground Truth (control) experiments here at the school on the same timeline.

We got a lot of sprouts here on Earth so were hoping with this, that its possible to grow things on Mars with their lower gravity and different soil," explained Whitmer.

The experiment is housed in tubes with three compartments. The astronauts will open the compartments and shake the components so the soil containing seeds and water will mix.

"After 14 days, theyre going to un-clamp this blue part and the formalin in this blue part will halt the growth so we can get the results back to Earth," said Whitmer.

The students were mentored by staff members.

Strobel said, "It just confirms what we believe about our kids, that with the right opportunities and talented teachers kids can do amazing things.

The team prepared the experiment for flight this fall after walking through test runs last spring. The experiment had to be specially designed to work within the constraints of a Fluids Mixing Enclosure (FME) research mini-laboratory and pass a NASA Flight Safety Review.

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Local eighth-graders launch experiment aboard the International Space Station - Q13 FOX

March 1, 2017: Students at the University of Tennessee had a brief window to have a conversation with astronauts at the International Space Station.

Michael Crowe, WBIR 7:15 PM. EST March 01, 2017

On Wednesday, a group of students from the University of Tennessee tried to make radio contact with the International Space Station.

Using ham radios, the group had a 10 minute window scheduled with NASA the window is so short because the station travels overhead at thousands of miles an hour.

It travels faster than a bullet, said Bobby Williams, advisor for the club.

The group partnered with The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) for the equipment.

Gould Smith ran the radio, trying to call up the ISS. Once they made contact, several students had questions ready for the mission commander. But the group was only briefly able to connect with the space station for a few static-filled seconds then the station went silent.

Oh, I am a little disappointed, but we tried, said Smith.

Still he hopes this will inspire more interest in STEM, so that someone in attendance might someday be on the other end of one of these calls, on board the ISS.

The group plans to schedule another window with NASA to try again in the coming months.

( 2017 WBIR)

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UT radio club attempts to contact International Space Station - WBIR.com

Less is more, and that's not just a buzz phrase. Good things are coming in smaller packages (again, not just another buzz phrase). Here's one that's 'on the rocks' coming soon to a launch near you; NASA has an IceCube that will be out of this world.

IceCube, which will measure cloud ice levels using a radiometer, is the first small satellite project managed by Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility. After two years in the making, the 10-pound, breadloaf-sized satellite is poised to take flight on Orbital ATK's seventh contracted commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch March 19, 2017, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

"Bringing IceCube from concept to operational satellite ready for launch is a remarkable achievement by an incredibly talented, diverse science and engineering team," said Bill Wrobel, Wallops Flight Facility director. "Goddard Space Flight Center's expertise in engineering and project management at its Wallops campus coupled with the scientific muscle at Goddard's Greenbelt campus makes us a natural fit for small satellite work."

IceCube is a type of smallsat known as a cubesat, and more specifically, it's a 3U cubesat. Each "U" is a cubic of 10 centimeters in size; as a 3U cubesat, IceCube measures 10 by 10 by 30 centimeters. Despite its relatively small size, IceCube is a bonafide spacecraft complete with three-axis attitude control, deployable solar arrays and a deployable UHF communications antenna.

"The technologies to make these small satellites is constantly evolving, getting increasingly smaller and lighter without sacrificing capability," said Tom Johnson, Goddard Space Flight Center's Small Satellite manager. Johnson, who's stationed at Wallops, led mission management activities for the project.

Once launched and deployed from the ISS, the IceCube team will spend about two weeks conducting various check-outs on the satellite before starting the spacecraft's operational mission, which is to perform cloud ice measurements using an 883-Gigahertz radiometer. Cloud ice properties are key variables used in weather and climate models. Currently, there's a large uncertainty in measuring cloud ice in the atmosphere at altitudes between 5 to 15 kilometers. IceCube will collect the first global map of cloud-induced radiances at 883-Gigahertz.

The overall objective of IceCube is to raise the technology readiness level (TRL) of the radiometer to measure cloud ice levels. NASA uses nine TRLs to assess the maturity level of a particular technology ranging from TRL 1, meaning basic principles have been observed, expanding up to TRL 9, which means a particular technology or system is flight-proven and successful. The radiometer capability for intermediate altitude cloud ice measurements is currently at TRL 6; the goal is to get to TRL 9 with IceCube, said Johnson.

The Goddard team faced a number of challenges during the design, integration and testing of the spacecraft. Notably, to keep costs down for the project, the team used commercial off-the-shelf components to build the spacecraft. The components, coming from multiple commercial providers, didn't always "plug and play" together, said Johnson, creating significant engineering challenges.

The team persevered, integrating the radiometer to the spacecraft, building the spacecraft support systems, and conducting thermal-vacuum, vibration, and antenna testing all at Goddard and Wallops facilities.

"The team had to overcome so many challenges and they worked hard to meet the delivery date prior to the holidays," said Johnson. "I am very proud of the engineering team that worked so hard to achieve this milestone."

In addition to IceCube, Goddard's small satellite office at Wallops is providing mission management for a number of other missions, such as HaloSat and the Time-Resolved Obeservations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS). The office is also supporting 23 university cubesat missions flying as part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Undergraduate Student Instrument Program (USIP).

"It's a growth market," said Wrobel. "With cost and size coming down combined with increasing capabilities, good things are coming in these smaller packages, which is having a positive impact for science, technology and growing the workforce."

NASA's Science Mission Directorate selected the IceCube mission as part of its CubeSat Initiative and funded the project jointly with NASA's Earth Science Technology Office. Goddard Space Flight Center's Dong Wu is IceCube's principal investigator. Goddard's Microwave Instruments and Technology Branch built the primary instrument and Wallops provided all mission management, integration and testing of the spacecraft. Kennedy Space Center's Launch Services Program (LSP) is providing the launch opportunity through NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative (CSLI).

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Goddard's IceCube SmallSat Ready for Launch, Space Station ... - Space Daily

NASA has agreed to fly at least two more astronauts on upcoming Russian Soyuz missions to the International Space Station, the space agency announced in a press release. The news comes in the wake of delays to NASAs Commercial Crew Program, an initiative where two American companies SpaceX and Boeing are being paid to create spacecraft that can ferry astronauts to the ISS. Those flights were originally supposed to happen this year, but are now estimated to take place no earlier than 2019.

The additional seats are being worked into an existing contract with Boeing, which helps operate the ISS. The agreement extension covers two seats on Soyuz flights this year and next year, and includes options for seats on three Soyuz flights in 2019. Boeing acquired theses seats from Russian aerospace company RSC Energia, and has been trying to sell them to NASA since January. The total cost of all five seats is $373.5 million, or $74.7 million per seat a touch short of the $81.7 million NASA has been paying Roscosmos.

Flights with SpaceX and Boeing should be cheaper than Russia when they happen

The US hasnt had the capability to send its own astronauts to space (or bring them back) since the Space Shuttle program was discontinued in 2011. Private US spaceflight companies were growing at a rapid pace then, so NASA decided to fund these companies so they could become a sort of space taxi service for American astronauts. The Commercial Crew Program was intended to give NASA a cheaper alternative to Russia, but the program has been hampered by delays and cost issues. The space agency is also planning to fly astronauts on its own Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) maybe as early as 2019, but that program has also been delayed.

In 2015, NASA spent $490 million on six more Soyuz seats as a hedge against the possibility that the SpaceX and Boeing spacecraft wouldnt be ready in time. Seats on the Soyuz are typically sorted out three years in advance when dealing directly with Roscosmos. (NASA was able to book the two new seats with less time since they had already been accounted for when they were bought by RSC Energia.)

It was a prescient move because Boeing delayed twice the first crewed flight of its spacecraft, Starliner, in 2016. And SpaceX followed suit at the end of the year, saying in December that the human-rated version of its Dragon spacecraft wouldnt fly with a crew until at least 2018.

This is not the first time NASA has extended the contract with Russia

Two weeks ago, the Government Accountability Office a federal agency that performs audits for Congress released a report that estimated SpaceX and Boeing wont be ready to fly humans to space until 2019. The GAO cited concerns about a particular defect in SpaceXs engine turbines, as well as Boeings reliance on Russian rocket engines as some of the reasons.

NASA addressed the GAO report implicitly in the press release about the contract extension with Russia. NASAs Commercial crew transportation providers Boeing and SpaceX have made significant progress toward returning crew launches to the US, but external review groups have recommended an option to protect for delays or problems in certification, the agency wrote.

The contract extension with Russia was actually announced a week ago, and it was first spotted by SpaceNews, which points out the curious nature of how NASA quietly published the news. The agency is currently in a transitional phase as it waits for President Donald Trump to name a new NASA administrator.

NASA is waiting for Trump to name a new administrator

Robert Lightfoot, who is serving as acting administrator, recently sent a memo to NASA employees explaining his interest in accelerating NASAs plans for human spaceflight. He asked for NASA and Lockheed Martin, which makes Orion and SLS, to evaluate whether it would be possible to put a crew on the first flight of that spaceship / rocket combination in 2018 instead of 2021. Its a bold idea for a space agency that is known for caution, but it aligns with what we know the Trump administration wants out of NASA: an increased emphasis on human spaceflight and space exploration in general.

President Trump said in his inaugural address that we will unlock the mysteries of space, Lightfoot wrote. The SLS and Orion missions, coupled with those promised from record levels of private investment in space, will help put NASA and America in a position to unlock those mysteries and to ensure this nations world preeminence in exploring the cosmos.

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NASA buys two more seats to the International Space Station on ... - The Verge

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Boeing partnership with Texas firm could triple number of satellites deployed from Space Station Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) Boeing and Texas-based NanoRacks LLC have joined forces to develop the first privately funded commercial space airlock device for outer space. The companies hope their new module will enable the United States to potentially triple the number of small ...

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Boeing partnership with Texas firm could triple number of satellites deployed from Space Station - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

02/28/2017

The 10th SpaceX International Space Station cargo resupply mission delivered investigations to study human health, Earth science, and weather patterns last Thursday. It also carried a new Ericsson 2-meter handheld radio to replace one that failed a few months ago, disrupting the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. The VHF radio in the Columbus module was used for school group contacts and for Amateur Radio packet, temporarily relocated to UHF after the VHF radio failure. ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said the just-arrived Ericsson radio will, at some point, be installed in Columbus, replacing the Ericsson UHF radio now supporting APRS packet and some school contacts. Bauer made it clear that the new Ericsson transceiver is an interim measure for ARISS.

ARISS is making great progress on the development of the new interoperable radio system that we hope to use to replace our aging radio infrastructure in the Columbus module and the Service module, he said. The hard and expensive part of this effort is just beginning, with testing and human [spaceflight] certification on the horizon. ARISS was able to shift school contacts from NA1SS to the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver in the Russian Service Module. Cosmonauts use that radio to carry out their ARISS school contacts from RS0ISS.

Bauer thanked all of ARISSs partners, which include ARRL and AMSAT, as well as individuals and entities that have donated to the program. In December, ARISS announced a notable contribution from the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) to help support development and certification of new ISS radio hardware.

The Ericsson MP-A VHF handheld that ISS crew members had used to speak via Amateur Radio with students and educational groups around the world for more than 16 years began displaying an error message last fall, rendering it unusable. ARISS has said ARISSs new JVC Kenwood TM-D710GA-based radio system, once on station and installed, will improve communication capability for students scheduled to participate in educational contacts and related activities. The new system also will allow greater interoperability between the Columbus module and the Russian Service Module.

In 2015, ARISS kicked off its first fundraising program, after having relied on support from NASA, ARRL, AMSAT, and individual donors and volunteers to cover the costs of day-to-day operations and spaceflight equipment certification. NASA budget cutbacks made it less certain that ARISS would be able to cover its operational expenses going forward. ARISS leadership initiated the fundraising effort with the goal of securing greater financial stability. TheARISS website has more information on how to support the program. Thanks to AMSAT News Service, ARISS

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ARISS to Swap Out Handheld VHF Transceivers on Space Station - ARRL

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and three Knoxville area high schools earned the opportunity Wednesday to chat with an astronaut at the International Space Station.

The results of the live discussion will be presented at a public event at 5 p.m. Thursday in Dabney-Buehler Hall, Room 300, 1406 Circle Drive, on UT's Knoxville campus. UT Space Institute Director Mark Whorton and Barbara Lewis, NASA Mission Control leader at Johnson Space Center, will present research and answer questions during this time.

Students were chosen to participate in the discussion by submitting entries into NASA's "Amateur Radio on the International Space Station" contest, which highlighted some of the space-related innovations happening at UT. Students were chosen from the Tickle College of Engineering, the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Geography.

NASA chose UT as its winner, which will give the UT Amateur Radio Club time for a personal chat with space station Mission Commander Shane Kimbrough.

"We were obviously thrilled to find out that we had been selected," said Grayson Hawkins, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering who will serve as chairperson for the event. "At the same time, we wanted it to be an educational opportunity as much as something that was just a neat event."

Club members reached out to fellow UT students, as well as students from South Doyle High School, Hardin Valley Academy and L&N Stem Academy in Knoxville. Students from these schools were urged to submit potential questions for the astronauts.

"This is a great opportunity for us, not just for current students at UT, but also for the high school students involved," said Matthew Mench, head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at UT.

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UT, high school students get chance to chat with International Space Station - WVLT