Category Archives: Space Station

The crew of the International Space Station evacuated its U.S. section on Wednesday morning after an alarm sounded, indicating a possible ammonia leak.. (Reuters)

Update:NASA has now confirmed that the leak was a false alarm, and U.S. astronauts will return to their segment of the space station. They'll wear oxygen masks while conducting tests for ammonia, and remove them once they confirm that the air is clear.

A portion of the International Space Station was evacuated followingcoolant loop pressure increases that possibly indicated a toxic leak of ammonia at 4 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.All six members of the space station's crew are safe. An afternoon update from NASA confirmed that the problem was not an actual gas leak but a computer error that caused an alarm to sound unnecessarily.

The U.S. side of the space station was sealed off,the Russian Federal Space Agency said on itsWeb site. The statement characterized the situation as a leak of "harmful substances."

"The safety of the team was preserved thanks to swift actions of the cosmonauts and astronauts themselves and the team on the ground in Moscow and Houston," Maksim Matyushin, head of Russian Mission Control, said in the statement, as translatedby NBC News.

The currentExpedition 42 crew of the ISSincludes three Russians, an Italian and two Americans.

"The crew is safe, they're in the Russian segment, and we're working on understanding exactly what went on, NASA spokesperson Kelly Humphries told The Post on Wednesday morning. Humphries explained that we saw an increase in water loop pressure, on the crew cabin pressure, that could be indicative of an ammonia leak in a worst-case scenario.

Although some reports, citing NASA officials, characterized the issue as an ammonia leak, NASA tweeted Wednesday morning that there is "no ammonia leak confirmed."

This was repeatedduring an emergency newsconference at 7:55 a.m.,when NASA representatives said they wished to emphasize that there was "no hard evidence" of a real ammonia leak on the space station. The U.S. crew did indeed don oxygen masks and move into the Russian segment of ISS, shutting down non-essential equipment and shutting the hatch behind them.

But as of that newsconference, equipment in the U.S. segment was already being turned back on. Flight control teams on the ground will continue to monitor the data from ISS, which they believe is indicative of a perfect storm of sensor errors not an actual leak of toxic fluid.

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Reported ammonia leak on the International Space Station proves to be false alarm

The crew of the International Space Station evacuated its U.S. section on Wednesday morning after an alarm sounded, indicating a possible ammonia leak.. (Reuters)

Update:NASA has now confirmed that the leak was a false alarm, and U.S. astronauts will return to their segment of the space station. They'll wear oxygen masks while conducting tests for ammonia, and remove them once they confirm that the air is clear.

A portion of the International Space Station was evacuated followingcoolant loop pressure increases that possibly indicated a toxic leak of ammonia at 4 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.All six members of the space station's crew are safe. An afternoon update from NASA confirmed that the problem was not an actual gas leak but a computer error that caused an alarm to sound unnecessarily.

The U.S. side of the space station was sealed off,the Russian Federal Space Agency said on itsWeb site. The statement characterized the situation as a leak of "harmful substances."

"The safety of the team was preserved thanks to swift actions of the cosmonauts and astronauts themselves and the team on the ground in Moscow and Houston," Maksim Matyushin, head of Russian Mission Control, said in the statement, as translatedby NBC News.

The currentExpedition 42 crew of the ISSincludes three Russians, an Italian and two Americans.

"The crew is safe, they're in the Russian segment, and we're working on understanding exactly what went on, NASA spokesperson Kelly Humphries told The Post on Wednesday morning. Humphries explained that we saw an increase in water loop pressure, on the crew cabin pressure, that could be indicative of an ammonia leak in a worst-case scenario.

Although some reports, citing NASA officials, characterized the issue as an ammonia leak, NASA tweeted Wednesday morning that there is "no ammonia leak confirmed."

This was repeatedduring an emergency newsconference at 7:55 a.m.,when NASA representatives said they wished to emphasize that there was "no hard evidence" of a real ammonia leak on the space station. The U.S. crew did indeed don oxygen masks and move into the Russian segment of ISS, shutting down non-essential equipment and shutting the hatch behind them.

But as of that newsconference, equipment in the U.S. segment was already being turned back on. Flight control teams on the ground will continue to monitor the data from ISS, which they believe is indicative of a perfect storm of sensor errors not an actual leak of toxic fluid.

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A false alarm for crew on the International Space Station

Crew members aboard the International Space Station have returned to the American segment they were forced evacuate early Wednesday due to fear of a possible ammonia leak.

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore, commander of the current mission, and Terry Virts, a flight engineer, wore black and pink protective masks as they opened the hatch and tested the air inside the cabin.

The tests turned up no indications of any ammonia, according to NASA.

Ground crews became concerned that the deadly gas may have escaped from the heat exchange system that helps cool the space station about 1 a.m. PST. Mike Suffredini, NASAs program manager for the ISS, said the water level in one of the coolant loops was off scale which could have been a sign of an ammonia leak.

That prompted the first of two evacuations from the U.S. segment of the space station, which has the ammonia system mounted on its exterior , to the Russian segment, which includes the service module.

The astronauts returned after getting an all-clear, but then the ground crew detected a change in cabin pressure.

If youre leaking ammonia into the water loop and it eventually finds its way into the cabin, then you would expect the cabin pressure to go up, Suffredini said. The evacuation procedure was then repeated.

It now appears that the pressure rose as a result of various actions taken during the first evacuation, not because of any leak, Suffredini said.

The initial problem was traced to a faulty card inside one of the space stations computer relay systems. After rebooting the computer equipment in question, the error message cleared and the relay box returned to good operating condition, NASA said.

Mission managers at Johnson Space Center in Houston had informed the crew several hours earlier that the ammonia system was probably fine.

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Space station evacuation ends; crew returns to work after ammonia scare

Space Station 13 Episode 39: An Old Atmos Tech.
The Atmospheric Technician makes a comeback, unfortunately the new station has no place for him.

By: Yorpyorpyorp

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Space Station 13 Episode 39: An Old Atmos Tech. - Video

SpaceX Dragon Captured And Docked To Space Station | Video
The CRS-5 cargo mission has arrived at the International Space Station on Jan. 12, 2015. It is carrying two tons of supplies and experiments for the crew.

By: VideoFromSpace

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SpaceX Dragon Captured And Docked To Space Station | Video - Video

SpaceX Dragon Docking With ISS: Cargo Ship Delivers Goods to ISS
NASA video showing the SpaceX Dragon resupply module docking with the International Space Station #spacex #dragon #iss #internationalspacestation Bringing you the BEST Space and Astronomy...

By: Amazing Space - Astounding Images and Videos

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SpaceX Dragon Docking With ISS: Cargo Ship Delivers Goods to ISS - Video

Pixel Gun 3D - Out Of The Map: Space Station!
Hey guys! ExxotikGaming back with another Pixel Gun 3D out-of-the-map glitch, tutorial, and today #39;s tutorial is on the map Space Station! As I said in the video, this is not a tutorial to get...

By: ExxotikGaming

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Pixel Gun 3D - Out Of The Map: Space Station! - Video

How Is Life In Space, NASA Space Station Tour Documentary part 1
How Is Life In Space, NASA Space Station Tour Documentary part 1 For part 2 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hEAS-YLSQ.

By: Discovery Documentary

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How Is Life In Space, NASA Space Station Tour Documentary part 1 - Video

[image-50]More than two tons of supplies and NASA science investigations are on the way to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft launched Saturday on the companys Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 4:47 a.m. EST.

The mission is the company's fifth official cargo delivery flight to the station through NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support more than 250 experiments that will be conducted by the stations Expeditions 42 and 43 crews.

We are delighted to kick off 2015 with our first commercial cargo launch of the year, said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.Thanks to our private sector partners, we've returned space station resupply launches to U.S. soil and are poised to do the same with the transport of our astronauts in the very near future. Todays launch not onlyresupplies the station, but also delivers important science experiments and increases the stations unique capabilities as a platform for Earth science with delivery of the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System, or CATSinstrument. Icongratulate the SpaceX and NASA teams who have made todays success possible. We look forward to extending our efforts in commercial space to include commercial crew by 2017 and to more significant milestones this year on our journey to Mars.

The CATS instrument measures the location, composition and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, aerosols and other particulates in the atmosphere. CATS will be attached outside the station on the Japanese Experiment Module. By gaining a deeper understanding of cloud and aerosol coverage, scientists can create a better model of their role in Earth's changing global climate.

A new biological study will use flatworms as a model organism to see how gravity affects tissue regeneration and the rebuilding of damaged organs and nerves. Flatworms regenerate their cells, replacing them as they age or are damaged. This investigation studies the cell signaling mechanisms the worms use while regenerating their tissue in microgravity. Its results could provide insight into how wounds heal in space.

Also making the trip as model organisms will be fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Scientists will study the flies immune systems as a model for the human immune system, to explore how spaceflight can make organisms more susceptible to disease, especially since microbes can become more virulent in space.

The new Micro-5 investigation aims to understand the risks of in-flight infections in space explorers during long-term spaceflight. It will study the interactions between the host and bacteria, cellular responses and the effectiveness of countermeasures during spaceflight. The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (roundworm) will be studied along with the microbe Salmonella typhimurium, which is known to cause food poisoning in humans.

Dragon will be grappled at 6:12 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, by Expedition 42 Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore of NASA, using the space station's robotic arm to take hold of the spacecraft. European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will support Wilmore in a backup position. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a month attached to the space station before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, Mexico, carrying more than 3,800 pounds of cargo, including crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, space station hardware and trash.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.

For more information about SpaceX's mission to the International Space Station, visit:

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NASA Cargo Launches to Space Station aboard SpaceX ...

It is said that great things can come in small packages. In this case, one key to keeping astronauts healthy on long-duration space missions may be found in a tiny roundworm barely a millimeter long.

Two Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) investigations on the International Space Station help researchers seek clues to physiological problems found in astronauts by studying Caenorhabditis elegans - a millimeter-long roundworm that, like the fruit fly, is widely used as a model for larger organisms.

The results of the investigation could lead to new treatments for bone and muscle loss in humans living in space. Findings may also be beneficial to people on Earth suffering from muscle and bone diseases.

"Spaceflight-induced health changes, such as decreases in muscle and bone mass, are a major challenge facing our astronauts," said Julie Robinson, NASA's Chief Scientist for the International Space Station Program Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"We investigate solutions on the station not only to keep astronauts healthy as the agency considers longer space exploration missions, but also to help those on Earth who have limited activity as a result of aging or illness."

We rely on gravity to develop stronger muscles and bones. Athletes will lift weights - resisting the pull of gravity - to make their bodies even stronger. When gravity is greatly reduced - as in spaceflight - we don't use those muscles to resist the force of gravity, and muscles and bones can slowly start to deteriorate. Even with assigned daily exercise, the bodies of astronauts in microgravity lose bone and muscle mass.

This is the same problem facing people who are on prolonged bed rest. The inactivity, even removing simple daily movement, can have a negative effect on the bones and muscles of the infirm or elderly. Patients on prolonged bed rest experience muscle atrophy, bone density loss and changes in metabolism, similar to the effects of long-duration spaceflight.

One investigation, scheduled for launch to the station on the SpaceX's sixth space station resupply mission in 2015, is called Alterations of C. elegans muscle fibers by microgravity (Nematode Muscle). It will look into the muscle fibers and cytoskeleton of the roundworm to clarify how those physiological systems alter in response to microgravity.

Space station crew members will grow these worms in microgravity, as well as another batch in one-g using a centrifuge. This will simulate the force of gravity while the C. elegans remain physically in orbit, allowing a direct comparison of the effects of different gravity levels on organisms in space.

A different JAXA investigation currently on station is taking a much closer look at C. elegans by examining their DNA. The Epigenetics in spaceflown C. elegans (Epigenetics) study launched to the space station on the SpaceX CRS-5 resupply mission.

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Space station worms help battle muscle and bone loss