Category Archives: Space Station

NASA Holds Expedition 42 Space Walk Briefing from Johnson Space Center in Houston
As two NASA astronauts from the International Space Station #39;s Expedition 42 crew prepare to venture outside the orbital complex on Friday, Feb. 20, NASA Television provided a preview news...

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NASA Holds Expedition 42 Space Walk Briefing from Johnson Space Center in Houston - Video

Let #39;s Play - Alien: Isolation "Nothing Goes Wrong In Space" Part One
This Alien: Isolation walkthrough includes a commentary (aka Let #39;s Play), discussion about Alien: Isolation, thoughts on the game, and a general walkthrough. Alien: Isolation is a 2014 first-perso...

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Let's Play - Alien: Isolation "Nothing Goes Wrong In Space" Part One - Video

A pair of U.S. astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Saturday to begin rigging parking spots for two commercial space taxis.

Station commander Barry Butch Wilmore, 52, and flight engineer Terry Virts, 47, left the stations Quest airlock shortly before 8 a.m. EST/1300 GMT to begin a planned 6-1/2-hour spacewalk, the first of three outings over the next eight days.

The work will prepare docking ports for upcoming flights by Boeing Co and privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, which are developing capsules to ferry crew to and from the station, which flies about 260 miles (418 km) above the Earth.

The United States has been dependent on Russia for station crew transportation since the space shuttle were retired in 2011.

The first test flight of a new U.S. crew craft isnt expected until late 2016, but the station, a $100 billion laboratory owned by 15 nations, needs to undergo a significant transformation to prepare for the new vehicles, NASA said.

That work began on Saturday with Wilmore and Virts installing six cables to a docking port on the stations Harmony module, the same site where space shuttles used to berth.

This will be the most complicated cable-routing task that we have performed (by spacewalkers) to date, Karina Eversly, lead spacewalk official, told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.

After two more spacewalks scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, March 1, the station will be outfitted with a total of 764 feet (233 m) of new cabling, as well as a communications system to support Boeings CST-100 and SpaceXs upgraded Dragon capsules.

The work sets the stage for the launch and installation of two international docking systems, built by Boeing and scheduled for launch aboard SpaceX Dragon cargo ships later this year.

To make room for a second berthing port on Harmony and two docking slips for cargo ships, NASA also plans to relocate another module using the stations robot arm.

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Astronauts prepare International Space Station for space taxis

Cape Canaveral, Fla. Astronauts stepped out on a spacewalk Saturday to perform some tricky cable work needed before new American-made crew capsules can dock at the International Space Station.

It was the first of three spacewalks planned for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts over the coming week.

Altogether, Wilmore and Virts have 764 feet of cable to run outside the space station. The longest single stretch, for installation Saturday, is 43 feet.

NASA considers this the most complicated cable-routing job in the 16-year history of the space station. Equally difficult will be running cable on the inside of the complex.

The extensive rewiring is needed to prepare for NASA's next phase 260 miles up: the 2017 arrival of the first commercial spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab. NASA is paying Boeing and SpaceX to build the capsules and fly them from Cape Canaveral, which hasn't seen a manned launch since the shuttles retired in 2011. Instead, Russia is doing all the taxi work for a steep price.

The first of two docking ports for the Boeing and SpaceX vessels still under development is due to arrive in June. Even more spacewalks will be needed to rig everything up.

Virts, who arrived at the space station in December, savored the moment as he floated out on his first spacewalk high above the South Pacific. "Pretty cool," Virts said. The men hauled out with them a big white bundle containing cables. Saturday's space walk began at 7:45 a.m. EST and was expected to last 6.5 hours. NASA is broadcastingthe spacewalk live online.

The second spacewalk will be Wednesday and the third on March 1.

Spacesuit concerns stalled the work by a day.

NASA wanted to make certain that the suits worn by Wilmore and Virts had reliable fan and pump assemblies. Two other fan-pump units failed aboard the space station in recent months and were returned to Earth earlier this month for analysis. Corrosion was discovered, the result of water intrusion from testing.

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Astronauts as cable guys: Biggest wiring job in space station history (+video)

International Space Station Timelapse for Sun, 8th 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 Sun, 8th February 2015 UTC - Video

SPACE STATION SIM #5 [HD+] - Absturzgefahr - Let #39;s Play Space Station Sim
STRZE fehlen auf http://enorion.de/?p=1183 Forum: http://forum.enorion.de Alle Folgen Space Station Sim: http://goo.gl/ZOeT1C Untersttze mich auf: ht...

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SPACE STATION SIM #5 [HD+] - Absturzgefahr - Let's Play Space Station Sim - Video

SPACE STATION SIM #6 [HD+] - Keine Supplies [ENDE] - Let #39;s Play Space Station Sim
SURPRISES erlaubt dir http://enorion.de/?p=1186 Forum: http://forum.enorion.de Alle Folgen Space Station Sim: http://goo.gl/ZOeT1C Untersttze mich auf...

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SPACE STATION SIM #6 [HD+] - Keine Supplies [ENDE] - Let's Play Space Station Sim - Video

One of two spacewalking astronauts can be seen floating upside down at the center of this view showing the forward end of the International Space Station. The astronauts installed power and data cables to support new docking mechanisms that will be used by commercial crew capsules starting in 2017. NASA TV

Last Updated Feb 21, 2015 3:20 PM EST

Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Terry Virts floated outside the International Space Station Saturday and installed wiring needed for two new docking mechanisms that will be attached later this year for use by new Boeing and SpaceX crew capsules.

The Boeing-built International Docking Adapters, or IDAs, will allow the commercially developed ferry craft to dock at the front and top of the forward Harmony module starting in 2017. Two other ports on the Earth-facing side of the station will be available for use by U.S. cargo ships.

Floating in the station's Quest airlock module, Wilmore and Virts switched their spacesuits to battery power at 7:45 a.m. EST (GMT-5) to officially begin EVA-29, the 185th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998.

This was the first of three spacewalks by Wilmore and Virts to install more than 760 feet of cabling and to attach new antennas to prepare the space station for eventual dockings by commercial crew capsules. The two additional spacewalks are planned for Wednesday and March 1.

During Saturday's excursion, the spacewalkers spent most of their time working at the front of the station at the forward end of the Harmony module where a docking port extension known as Pressurized Mating Adapter No. 2 is attached. PMA-2 is where visiting space shuttles once docked and where one of the new IDAs will be attached later this year.

After removing micrometeoroid shields from the forward end cone of Harmony, Wilmore and Virts unplugged no-longer-needed cables and installed new power and data lines to support IDA-1. All in all, Wilmore and Virts deployed about 340 feet of cable.

The astronauts also disconnected four cables from the end cone of the Destiny laboratory module that were once used to deliver power to docked space shuttles. New cables will be plugged in later to support the new docking adapters.

With all of their primary objectives completed, Wilmore and Virts returned to the airlock, ending the spacewalk at 2:26 p.m. for a duration of six hours and 41 minutes.

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Space station "cable guys" venture out for spacewalk

Spacewalking astronauts routed more than 300 feet of cable outside the International Space Station on Saturday to prepare for the arrival of new American-made crew capsules. It was the first of three spacewalks planned for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts over the coming week.

Altogether, Wilmore and Virts have 764 feet (233 meters) of cable to run outside the space station. They got off to a strong start Saturday, rigging eight power and data lines, or about 340 feet (105 meters). The longest single stretch was 43 feet (13 meters). "Broadening my resume," Virts observed.

NASA considers this the most complicated cable-routing job in the 16-year history of the space station. Equally difficult will be running cable on the inside of the complex.

The extensive rewiring is needed to prepare for NASA's next phase in spaceflight: the 2017 arrival of the first commercial spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab. NASA is paying the Boeing Co. and SpaceX to build the capsules and fly them from Cape Canaveral, Florida, which hasn't seen a manned launch since the shuttles retired in 2011. Instead, Russia is doing all the taxi work for upwards of $70 million a seat.

The first of two docking ports for the Boeing and SpaceX vessels still under development is due to arrive in June. Even more spacewalks will be needed to set everything up.

Spacesuit concerns stalled the work by a day. NASA wanted to make certain that the suits worn by Wilmore and Virts had reliable fan and pump assemblies. Two other fan-pump units failed aboard the space station in recent months and were returned to Earth earlier this month for analysis. Corrosion was discovered, the result of water intrusion from testing. The spacewalkers' suits seemed to work fine Saturday.

First published February 21 2015, 8:23 AM

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Spacewalking Astronauts Begin Prep for Space Taxis

Spacewalking astronauts routed more than 300 feet of cable outside the International Space Station on Saturday to prepare for the arrival of new American-made crew capsules. It was the first of three spacewalks planned for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts over the coming week.

Altogether, Wilmore and Virts have 764 feet (233 meters) of cable to run outside the space station. They got off to a strong start Saturday, rigging eight power and data lines, or about 340 feet (105 meters). The longest single stretch was 43 feet (13 meters). "Broadening my resume," Virts observed.

NASA considers this the most complicated cable-routing job in the 16-year history of the space station. Equally difficult will be running cable on the inside of the complex.

The extensive rewiring is needed to prepare for NASA's next phase in spaceflight: the 2017 arrival of the first commercial spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab. NASA is paying the Boeing Co. and SpaceX to build the capsules and fly them from Cape Canaveral, Florida, which hasn't seen a manned launch since the shuttles retired in 2011. Instead, Russia is doing all the taxi work for upwards of $70 million a seat.

The first of two docking ports for the Boeing and SpaceX vessels still under development is due to arrive in June. Even more spacewalks will be needed to set everything up.

Spacesuit concerns stalled the work by a day. NASA wanted to make certain that the suits worn by Wilmore and Virts had reliable fan and pump assemblies. Two other fan-pump units failed aboard the space station in recent months and were returned to Earth earlier this month for analysis. Corrosion was discovered, the result of water intrusion from testing. The spacewalkers' suits seemed to work fine Saturday.

First published February 21 2015, 8:23 AM

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Spacewalkers Get Station Ready for New U.S. Spaceships