Category Archives: Space Station

Mir Mir on 9 February 1998 as seen from the departing Space ShuttleEndeavour during STS-89 Mir insignia Station statistics COSPAR ID 1986-017A Call sign Mir Crew 3 Launch 20 February 1986 23 April 1996 Launch pad LC-200/39, and LC-81/23, Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center Reentry 23 March 2001 05:59 UTC Mass 129,700 kg (285,940 lbs) Length 19m (62.3ft) from the core module to Kvant-1 Width 31m (101.7ft) from Priroda to the docking module Height 27.5m (90.2ft) from Kvant-2 to Spektr Pressurised volume 350 m Atmospheric pressure c.101.3kPa (29.91inHg, 1 atm) Perigee 354km (189nmi) AMSL Apogee 374km (216nmi) AMSL Orbital inclination 51.6 degrees Average speed 7,700m/s (27,700km/h, 17,200mph) Orbital period 91.9 minutes Orbits per day 15.7 Days in orbit 5,519 days Days occupied 4,592 days Number of orbits 86,331 Statistics as of 23 March 2001 (unless noted otherwise) References: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Configuration Station elements as of May 1996.

Mir (Russian: , IPA:[mir]; lit.Peace or World) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, owned by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986to1996. It had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft. Until 21 March 2001 it was the largest satellite in orbit, succeeded by the International Space Station after Mir's orbit decayed. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.

Mir was the first continuously inhabited long-term research station in orbit and set the record for the longest continuous human presence in space at 3,644 days until 23 October 2010 when it was surpassed by the ISS.[13] It holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight, with Valeri Polyakov spending 437 days and 18 hours on the station between 1994 and 1995. Mir was occupied for a total of twelve and a half years out of its fifteen-year lifespan, having the capacity to support a resident crew of three, or larger crews for short term visits.

Following the success of the Salyut programme, Mir represented the next stage in the Soviet Union's space station programme. The first module of the station, known as the core module or base block, was launched in 1986, and followed by six further modules. Proton rockets were used to launch all of its components except for the docking module, which was installed by space shuttle mission STS-74 in 1995. When complete, the station consisted of seven pressurised modules and several unpressurised components. Power was provided by several photovoltaic arrays attached directly to the modules. The station was maintained at an orbit between 296km (184mi) and 421km (262mi) altitude and traveled at an average speed of 27,700km/h (17,200mph), completing 15.7 orbits per day.[6][7][8]

The station was launched as part of the Soviet Union's manned spaceflight programme effort to maintain a long-term research outpost in space, and, following the collapse of the USSR, was operated by the new Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA). As a result, the vast majority of the station's crew were Russian; however, through international collaborations such as the Intercosmos, Euromir and Shuttle-Mir programmes, the station was made accessible to astronauts from North America, several European nations and Japan. Mir was deorbited in March 2001 because of a lack of funding. The cost of the Mir programme was estimated by former RKA General Director Yuri Koptev in 2001 as $4.2 billion over its lifetime (including development, assembly and orbital operation).[14]

Mir was authorised in a decree made on 17 February 1976 to design an improved model of the Salyut DOS-17K space stations. Four Salyut space stations had already been launched since 1971, with three more being launched during Mir's development. It was planned that the station's core module (DOS-7 and the backup DOS-8) would be equipped with a total of four docking ports; two at either end of the station as with the Salyut stations, and an additional two ports on either side of a docking sphere at the front of the station to enable further modules to expand the station's capabilities. By August 1978, this had evolved to the final configuration of one aft port and five ports in a spherical compartment at the forward end of the station.[15]

It was originally planned that the ports would connect to 7.5 tonne modules derived from the Soyuz spacecraft. These modules would have used a Soyuz propulsion module, as in Soyuz and Progress, and the descent and orbital modules would have been replaced with a long laboratory module.[15] However, following a February 1979 governmental resolution, the programme was consolidated with Vladimir Chelomei's manned Almaz military space station programme. The docking ports were reinforced to accommodate 20tonne (22short tons) space station modules based on the TKS spacecraft. NPO Energia was responsible for the overall space station, with work subcontracted to KB Salyut, due to ongoing work on the Energia rocket and Salyut 7, Soyuz-T, and Progress spacecraft. KB Salyut began work in 1979, and drawings were released in 1982 and 1983. New systems incorporated into the station included the Salyut 5B digital flight control computer and gyrodyne flywheels (taken from Almaz), Kurs automatic rendezvous system, Luch satellite communications system, Elektron oxygen generators, and Vozdukh carbon dioxide scrubbers.[15]

By early 1984, work on Mir had ground to a halt while all resources were being put into the Buran programme in order to prepare the Buran spacecraft for flight testing. Funding resumed in early 1984 when Valentin Glushko was ordered by the Central Committee's Secretary for Space and Defence to orbit Mir by early 1986, in time for the 27th Communist Party Congress.[15]

It was clear that the planned processing flow could not be followed and still meet the 1986 launch date. It was decided on Cosmonaut's Day (12 April) 1985 to ship the flight model of the base block to the Baikonur cosmodrome and conduct the systems testing and integration there. The module arrived at the launch site on 6 May, with 1100 of 2500 cables requiring rework based on the results of tests to the ground test model at Khrunichev. In October, the base block was rolled outside its cleanroom to carry out communications tests. The first launch attempt on 16 February 1986 was scrubbed when the spacecraft communications failed, but the second launch attempt, on 19 February 1986 at 21:28:23 UTC, was successful, meeting the political deadline.[15]

The orbital assembly of Mir began in February 1986 with the launch of the core module on a Proton-K rocket. Four of the six modules which were later added (Kvant-2 in 1989, Kristall in 1990, Spektr in 1995 and Priroda in 1996) followed the same sequence to add themselves to the main Mir complex. Firstly, the module would be launched independently on its own Proton-K and chase the station automatically. It would then dock to the forward docking port on the core module's docking node, then extend its Lyappa arm to mate with a fixture on the node's exterior. The arm would then lift the module away from the forward docking port and rotate it on to the radial port that the module was to mate with, before lowering it down to dock. The node was equipped with only two Konus drogues, however, which were required for dockings. This meant that, prior to the arrival of each new module, the node would have to be depressurised to allow spacewalking cosmonauts to manually relocate the drogue to the next port to be occupied.[6][17]

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Mir - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

14 hours ago ATV-5 firing its thrusters on Station approach in 2014.Credit: Roscosmos-O. Artemyev

Next Monday, ESA astronaut Samantha Christoforetti will float into Europe's space ferry to install a special infrared camera, set to capture unique interior views of the spacecraft's break-up on reentry.

"The battery-powered camera will be trained on the Automated Transfer Vehicle's forward hatch, and will record the shifting temperatures of the scene before it," explains Neil Murray, overseeing the project for ESA.

"Recording at 10 frames per second, it should show us the last 10 seconds or so of the ATV. We don't know exactly what we might see might there be gradual deformations appearing as the spacecraft comes under strain, or will everything come apart extremely quickly?

"Our Break-Up Camera, or BUC, flying for the first time on this mission, will complement NASA's Reentry Break-up Recorder.

"Whatever results we get back will be shared by our teams, and should tell us a lot about the eventual reentry of the International Space Station as well as spacecraft reentry in general."

Every mission of ESA's ATV ferry ends in the same way filled with Space Station rubbish then burning up in the atmosphere, aiming at a designated 'spacecraft graveyard' in an empty stretch of the South Pacific.

But the reentry of this fifth and final ATV is something special. NASA and ESA are treating it as an opportunity to gather detailed information that will help future spacecraft reentries.

Accordingly, ATV-5 will be steered into a shallow descent compared to the standard deorbit path.

This ATV's fiery demise will be tracked with a battery of cameras and imagers, on the ground, in the air and even from the Station itself, and this time on the vehicle itself.

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Camera to record doomed ATV's disintegration from inside

Washington, D.C. Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today announced details of the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, legislation intended to reaffirm Congress's commitment to NASA as a multi mission agency with programs in science, aeronautics, exploration, and human spaceflight, and make clear that Mars should be NASA's primary goal. The bill will be introduced in the House the week of February 9th. Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) was joined by Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Space Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-Md.), and Space Subcommittee Vice-Chair Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in praising the bipartisan bill.

Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas): "For more than 50 years, NASA has made the impossible possible and taken humankind to places we never before dreamed we would go. NASA is the only agency that exists to support our nation's space exploration and advancement. In Congress, we have the responsibility of ensuring that NASA has the resources and direction it needs to continue its mission for the next 50 years.

"The NASA Authorization Act of 2015 maintains sustainability of purpose and budget for NASA's programs. It balances our long-term goal of sending humans to Mars and the furthest reaches of our solar system, with the immediate needs of providing access for our astronauts to the International Space Station. It ensures NASA remains the world's premiere space agency.

"In the last Congress, this bill was approved unanimously by the House Science Committee and passed in the House by a vote of 401-2. The strong support this bill has enjoyed reflects the American public's strong interest in our nation's space endeavors. Next week, the House will have an opportunity to once more reaffirm its commitment to our nation's space programs."

The NASA Authorization Act of 2015 authorizes funding consistent with the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act of 2015. The bill continues the consistent guidance Congress has given to NASA for nearly a decade by reaffirming a stepping stone approach to exploration. The bill focuses NASA's efforts to develop a capability to access the International Space Station so that America can once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil. It also increases support for the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Vehicle systems being developed to take astronauts to deep-space destinations like Mars in an attempt to keep the programs on schedule for a 2017 launch date.

Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas): "Building on previous NASA Authorization Acts, this bipartisan legislation affirms NASA's responsibility to be a multi-mission agency, one that includes productive programs in science, aeronautics, human spaceflight and human exploration. NASA is a crown jewel of our nation's R&D enterprise. NASA's space and aeronautics programs advance our technological competence and scientific understanding, challenge our industries and workforces in ways that promote their global competitiveness, and inspire the next generation to dream big and gain the skills to turn those dreams into action. That last point cannot be overstated, our children are our future science and technology workforce. They need to be prepared. This NASA bill is the product of intense bipartisan collaboration over the past year, and I am proud to be a cosponsor."

Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.): "I am pleased that the House will take up and consider a widely-supported, bipartisan NASA Reauthorization bill so early in this year's session. It shows that once again the House is willing to lead on sustaining our nation's space program. Congress has once again demonstrated support for SLS and Orion. While last year's bill, like so many other pieces of legislation, died in the Senate, I look forward to working with Chairman Ted Cruz and Senate leadership to get this year's version over the finish line. It's time we finally returned to being able to launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil."

Space Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-Md.): "NASA continues to inspire and is a testament to the innovative American spirit. This bipartisan legislation, crafted during the last Congress and passed overwhelmingly by the House, has been updated and provides NASA with important, timely policy direction to carry out its missions in aeronautics, science, and human exploration. This legislation sets the long-term goal for NASA's human exploration program of sending humans to the surface of Mars and directs NASA to provide a Human Exploration Roadmap outlining the capabilities and milestones required to achieve the goal. NASA needs this direction now to provide the stability that will enable maximum progress on its programs. I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Palazzo, Chairman Smith, and Ranking Member Johnson for building on this bipartisan effort as we develop a comprehensive, multi-year authorization for NASA to sustain its important missions over the coming years."

Space Subcommittee Vice-Chair Mo Brooks (R-Ala.): "I'm proud to join my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to introduce the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, which is critical for the continued development and operations of America's space program. This bill is another step forward for NASA, strongly supporting human space exploration and groundbreaking scientific missions and research, while promoting our nation's leadership in space. I look forward to working with Chairman Smith and Space Subcommittee Chairman Palazzo as this bill proceeds to the House floor and enactment."

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House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Leaders Announce Bipartisan NASA Bill

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the departure and the arrival of two cargo spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) this month. The European Space Agencys (ESA) fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-5) cargo craft will departure the station on Saturday, Feb. 14. Launch and docking of a Russian Progress resupply spacecraft will follow on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

NASA TV coverage of the ATV undocking will begin at 8:15 a.m. EST on Feb. 14. The George Lemaitre ATV-5, which arrived at the orbital laboratory last August, will undock from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 8:41 a.m. After it undocks, the Georges Lemaitre will move to a safe distance from the station where it will stay for 13 days until it is deorbited on Friday, Feb. 27.

Georges Lemaitre is the fifth and final spacecraft in the series of European supply vehicles that began servicing the station in the spring of 2008. In all, the ATVs delivered approximately 34 tons of supplies to the complex while docked to the station for 776 days. The ships reentry into the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean will be documented by the Expedition 42 crew on board the station as well as NASA, ESA and other agencies around the world to gather detailed information on the mechanics of the breakup of a spacecraft reentering the Earths atmosphere.

NASA TV coverage of the ISS Progress 58 spacecraft launch will begin at 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 17. Docking coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. The Progress will launch at 6 a.m. (5 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station's Expedition 42 crew. Progress 58 will make its four-orbit, six-hour trip to the space station and dock at about noon.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

NASA TV Live

For more information about the International Space Station, and its crews and research, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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NASA TV Coverage Set For Partner Space Station Cargo Spacecraft Activities

NASA released footage showing the northern lights meeting the sunrise over Earth from the International Space Station. (Facebook: NASA)

There are few things that put ourworld into perspective like the viewfrom the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Barry Butch Wilmore captured this humbling view ofEast Coast lightsas the sun was just beginning to creep above the horizon earlier this week. The faint, blue glow of the suns rays passing through our atmosphere can be seen on the right, mirrored by a beautiful, green aurora on the left.

Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York City, and Boston can be seen whizzing by. Athin layer of mid-level clouds blurs city lights over parts of the Northeast.

Angela Fritz is an atmospheric scientist and The Post's deputy weather editor.

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Weather Gang: Sunrise meets northern lights in sublime Space Station video

SpaceX plans to try again Sunday night to land its used rocket on an unmanned barge in the Atlantic Ocean after launching it into space, an experiment seen as a big step toward making space launches dramatically less expensive.

The company is scheduled to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:10 p.m., to carry a space-weather monitoring satellite into space.

The satellite, called the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) will help NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force better monitor events such as geomagnetic storms caused by changes in the Sun's wind.

Minutes after the rocket's launch, SpaceX will attempt to land its next big dream, with ramifications for the space industry worldwide. At stake is SpaceX's plan to make its rockets reusable, which would revolutionize launches and reduce costs.

"I don't think it's too strong to say it really is a game-changing event," said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. "I think it's going to have a huge impact on the industry from a cost perspective."

If SpaceX succeeds, Stallmer and others in the industry think a price-driven space competition could spur a new boom in private and government satellite launches. Worldwide, virtually all rockets are used only once, and the rockets themselves are by far the largest factor in launch costs.

SpaceX has been coy about what it expects to save. But industry observers note that the company now charges $61 million for most launches, which already is the industry's lowest rate, and say the company might be able to get that bill to less than $10 million.

Others, however, suggest the actual savings of recycling rockets might not be great because the rockets could need significant overhauls before reuse.

"I've heard a wild range of numbers [for savings] from nothing to an order of magnitude of 10," Stallmer said.

Roger Handberg, a University of Central Florida political science professor who specializes in space policy, noted that NASA and the United Launch Alliance were able to retrieve and reuse portions of the space shuttles' solid rocket boosters, but found little if any savings in doing so. Those boosters, however, landed in the water and were retrieved and towed back to land.

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Launch industry watching SpaceX's rocket-landing plans

Let #39;s Play Paper Mario TTYD Part 70: Spatial Space Station
We explore more of the X-Naut headquarters! 🙂 Guide: http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/gc/pm2/walkthrough.shtml.

By: Fieryredhair08

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Let's Play Paper Mario TTYD Part 70: Spatial Space Station - Video

The Strange Way Fluids Slosh on the International Space Station

By: nilce bilimsel

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The Strange Way Fluids Slosh on the International Space Station - Video

ISS Evening Orbit Over Sahara Desert Middle East
Fly over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East with the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. This sequence of shots was taken October 6, 2011 during an ascending...

By: Earth Station Alpha

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ISS Evening Orbit Over Sahara Desert & Middle East - Video

Since the first crew arrived in November 2000, more than 200 astronauts from 15 different countries have visited the ISS. At its core, it's a floating lab, where for six months at a time six crew members work, exercise, sleep -- and eat.

Providing NASA astronauts with a nutritious diet is the job of food scientists at the Johnson Space Center, in Houston. There, Maya Cooper is part of the team responsible for about 40% of the food sent to the astronauts. She says her team tries to strike a delicate balance between providing home comforts and healthy food.

"There are many items that we've had on the menu that were great tasting items but recently we've had a big sodium reduction, trying to get the sodium content on the space menu down," Cooper says. "So we've had to reformulate a lot of those items, preserving the taste and the homely comfort food aspects of the food, while making sure that the nutrition is right where we need for it to be."

If Cooper makes space food sound like a science, that's because it is. Weightlessness requires more energy; your body is never truly at rest at zero gravity, so astronauts must eat accordingly, consuming 3,000 calories a day.

In the controlled environment of the ISS, scientists are able to study the astronauts' physiological processes with great accuracy. "We know exactly what they're eating," Cooper says, "so we have better data in terms of how food actually impacts the body."

Likewise, food is affected by the requirements of space. Food sent into orbit has to be preserved by heat processing which, paired with its long-term storage, causes food to lose some of its nutritional value due to vitamin degradation.

Overcoming these obstacles is one of the challenges facing Cooper, along with how to make such adulterated food appetizing.

Space food in popular culture ranges from liquid meals of various viscosities -- think Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" -- to a miracle pill containing a day's worth of nutrition.

In the space program's early days, NASA's Project Mercury did indeed experiment with "semi-liquids" in toothpaste-style tubes, and coated bite-sized cubes of solids with gelatine to stop crumbs escaping. Unsurprisingly, astronauts reported that "the food was unappetizing."

Today, space food is more "cordon bleu" than blender.

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The NASA diet: It's food, but not as we know it