Category Archives: Space Station

A series of spacewalks to carry out major work at the International Space Station will be delayed by a day so NASA can investigate a spacesuits problem.

'Space station managers decided Thursday to move the first two spacewalks by NASA's Expedition 42 commander Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and flight engineer Terry Virts by one day because of added analysis of spacesuits they will wear,' said a NASA statement.

Further walks will take place on February 25 and March 1.

All spacewalks are expected to last around six hours.

Their job aims to prepare the space station for the arrival as early as 2017 of US commercial crew capsules bringing astronauts to low-Earth orbit for the first time since the 2011 end of the space shuttle program.

Earlier this week, NASA said engineers are concerned about a recurring issue with a piece of equipment known as the fan pump separator, part of the spacesuit's temperature control system.

'That is the same area of concern we had back in 2013 when we had the issue of the water in the helmet,' said Kenneth Todd, International Space Station operations and integration manager, in a briefing with reporters.

The 2013 flaw allowed water to build up inside European astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet while he was doing a spacewalk, and could have drowned him. He was quickly helped back inside the space station and soon recovered.

AAP

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NASA delays spacewalk

Astronaut tributes to Mr. Spock and Leonard Nimoy, the human actor who donned a pair of pointy Vulcan ears continued Saturday.

As the International Space Station passed over Massachusetts, US astronaut Terry Virts snapped a photo of the Vulcan salute as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy on Saturday. Nimoy was born in Boston. Virts tweeted the photo andNASA posted it to its official site.

As Space.com noted,the idea for Spock's signature Vulcan salute was "actually inspired by his Jewish heritage after seeing men at his synagogue use the hand gesture during prayer. He suggested it to the director as a Vulcan greeting and it stuck, Nimoy told theYiddish Book Center in a video.

On Friday,NASA astronaut Mike Fincke and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano offered their thoughts,via a video posted to YouTube on Nimoy's role as Spock, who inspired a generation of scientists and engineers all over this planet.

"As we at NASA, with our international partners, explore the moon, Mars, and beyond, we'll take the spirit and energy that Leonard brought to his character, Mr. Spock, along with us," said Fincke. "Live long and prosper."

And ESA Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano said:

The message of Star Trek is one of international cooperation and integration. Mr. Spock, a Vulcan from another planet, was fully integrated into his crew of humans and non-humans. We at the European Space Agency believe in that message and working with our international partners, we will take that message with us as we go beyond to explore space for humanity and for our planet."

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, soon to launch on a one-year mission to the International Space Station, offered this tweet:

The official NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a research facility in Maryland, dug into its photo archives for a 1967 visit by Nimoy.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement about Nimoy: Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers. As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most. NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise. Leonard was a talented actor, director, philanthropist, and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world.

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A sign from space: Live long and prosper, Leonard Nimoy

Astronaut tributes to Mr. Spock and Leonard Nimoy, the human actor who donned a pair of pointy Vulcan ears continued Saturday.

As the International Space Station passed over Massachusetts, US astronaut Terry Virts snapped a photo of the Vulcan salute as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy on Saturday. Nimoy was born in Boston. Virts tweeted the photo andNASA posted it to its official site.

As Space.com noted,the idea for Spock's signature Vulcan salute was "actually inspired by his Jewish heritage after seeing men at his synagogue use the hand gesture during prayer. He suggested it to the director as a Vulcan greeting and it stuck, Nimoy told theYiddish Book Center in a video.

On Friday,NASA astronaut Mike Fincke and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano offered their thoughts,via a video posted to YouTube on Nimoy's role as Spock, who inspired a generation of scientists and engineers all over this planet.

"As we at NASA, with our international partners, explore the moon, Mars, and beyond, we'll take the spirit and energy that Leonard brought to his character, Mr. Spock, along with us," said Fincke. "Live long and prosper."

And ESA Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano said:

The message of Star Trek is one of international cooperation and integration. Mr. Spock, a Vulcan from another planet, was fully integrated into his crew of humans and non-humans. We at the European Space Agency believe in that message and working with our international partners, we will take that message with us as we go beyond to explore space for humanity and for our planet."

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, soon to launch on a one-year mission to the International Space Station, offered this tweet:

The official NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a research facility in Maryland, dug into its photo archives for a 1967 visit by Nimoy.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement about Nimoy: Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers. As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most. NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise. Leonard was a talented actor, director, philanthropist, and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world.

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A sign from space: Live long and prosper, Leonard Nimoy (+video)

A pair of NASA spacewalkers worked outside the International Space Station on Sunday to finish installing hundreds of feet of cable, four days after water pooled up in the helmet of one of the astronauts at the end of the previous spacewalk.

The water issue sparked concern because a much bigger buildup of water almost drowned a spacewalker in his helmet in 2013 but mission managers said the problem encountered last Wednesday by NASA astronaut Terry Virts was manageable. They said Virts' spacesuit was known to release a small amount of water condensation into the helmet when the suit is repressurized after a spacewalk.

After 2013's scare, astronauts inspected the spacesuits' water cooling systems, and corroded components were replaced. Spacewalkers also wear absorbent pads on the backs of their necks as a safety measure.

The suits' performance is being monitored closely during Sunday's spacewalk. If a problem comes up, the spacewalk would be terminated, and the two astronauts would get back inside the station immediately.

Sunday's operation the last of three orbital outings conducted over the past eight days calls for Virts and fellow NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore to install communication antennas and run about 400 feet of cable along the station's main truss over the course of about six hours and 45 minutes.

The wiring job sets the stage for the installation of new docking mechanisms later this year mechanisms that would be used by the commercial spaceships now being developed by Boeing and SpaceX to carry crew, starting as early as 2017. In the meantime, NASA is paying the Russians more than $70 million a seat to transport astronauts to and from the station.

First published March 1 2015, 3:22 AM

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'Cable Guys' Take On Spacewalk After Helmet Scare

A pair of NASA spacewalkers worked outside the International Space Station on Sunday to finish installing hundreds of feet of cable, four days after water pooled up in the helmet of one of the astronauts at the end of the previous spacewalk.

The water issue sparked concern because a much bigger buildup of water almost drowned a spacewalker in his helmet in 2013 but mission managers said the problem encountered last Wednesday by NASA astronaut Terry Virts was manageable. They said Virts' spacesuit was known to release a small amount of water condensation into the helmet when the suit is repressurized after a spacewalk.

After 2013's scare, astronauts inspected the spacesuits' water cooling systems, and corroded components were replaced. Spacewalkers also wear absorbent pads on the backs of their necks as a safety measure.

The suits' performance is being monitored closely during Sunday's spacewalk. If a problem comes up, the spacewalk would be terminated, and the two astronauts would get back inside the station immediately.

Sunday's operation the last of three orbital outings conducted over the past eight days calls for Virts and fellow NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore to install communication antennas and run about 400 feet of cable along the station's main truss over the course of about six hours and 45 minutes.

The wiring job sets the stage for the installation of new docking mechanisms later this year mechanisms that would be used by the commercial spaceships now being developed by Boeing and SpaceX to carry crew, starting as early as 2017. In the meantime, NASA is paying the Russians more than $70 million a seat to transport astronauts to and from the station.

First published March 1 2015, 3:22 AM

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'Cable Guys' Get Set for Spacewalk After Helmet Scare

Leonard Nimoys death on Friday has inspired countless actors, politicians and ordinary people to pay tribute tothe man behind Spock on Star Trek.

Then, on Saturday, American astronaut Terry Virts tweeted this photo while aboard the International Space Station:

The simple Vulcan salute, flashed back at earth from so many miles away, speaks to theimpact that Nimoy and Star Trek had on American space exploration.

Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers, NASA Administrator Charles Boldensaid in a statement. As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most. NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague.

The space agency capitalized on thepublicity generated by the popular series, and Nimoy and other actors in the series became involved with NASA and other scientific organizations. ActressNichelle Nichols, for instance, became a recruiter for the agency, which was seeking more women and minority astronauts. Nichols has said Bolden was inspired to apply for NASA because of her campaign, and Sally Ride heard about the space program first through the Star Trek-linked publicity.

In 1976, NASA unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise, named after the craft on the show. It was initially supposed to be calledConstitution, but the name was changed after Star Trek viewers started a write-in campaign urging the White House to select the name Enterprise, according to NASA.

Many scientists have said that Nimoy inspired them.Don Lincoln, a senior physicist at Fermilab, told the Associated Press that Nimoys 1970s show In Search of influenced him to get into the field.

Despite the fact he worked in fiction, anyone who can inspire that many people to look into the sky and wonder has done something really important for mankind, Lincoln told the Associated Press. The fact is that Spock was a cool geek.Scientists are not always portrayed as being very strong. Usually, theyre the guy with the tape on their glasses and their pants too high. He was clearly a person who had desirable components beyond just being smart.

Nimoy and his wife donated $1 million to theGriffith Park observatory complex. Thetheater there bears his name tohonor Leonard Nimoys expansive and inclusive approach to public astronomy and artful inspiration,a statement from theobservatory reads. Mr. Nimoy was committed to people, community, and the enlarged perspective conferred by science, the arts, and the places where they meet.

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The touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy from space

International Space Station Timelapse for Wed, 4th February 2015 UTC
This is a image taken from the live feed from the International Space Station.

By: dingo001

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International Space Station Timelapse for Wed, 4th February 2015 UTC - Video

Apple Motion 5: Space Station Tutorial Part 3
Third and final part of this epic tutorial that shows many different techniques for building a complex 3D environment in Motion. Project file here: http://to...

By: Simon Ubsdell

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Apple Motion 5: Space Station Tutorial Part 3 - Video

International Space Station Timelapse for Thu, 12th February 2015 UTC
This is a image taken from the live feed from the International Space Station.

By: dingo001

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International Space Station Timelapse for Thu, 12th February 2015 UTC - Video

Northern Lights / Aurora: Night-time Time-lapse Video From the International Space Station / NASA
OVer 20000 individual photos taken by astronauts on board the ISS have created this night time time-lapse video Bringing you the BEST Space and Astronomy vi...

By: Amazing Space - Astounding Images and Videos

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Northern Lights / Aurora: Night-time Time-lapse Video From the International Space Station / NASA - Video