Category Archives: Space Station

You don't have to become an astronaut to use the International Space Station's new 3D printer.

NASA has challenged students, ages 5 to 19, to design 3D-printed tools that could be made in microgravity.

The first 3D printer to fly in space arrived at the astronaut outpost last month aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. SpaceX delivered the machine along with more than 5,000 lbs. (2,268 kilograms) of cargo on its fourth resupply mission to the space station for NASA.

The printer was built by the California-based company Made in Space, which plans to create simple plastic parts at first, to test whether 3D printing is viable in the final frontier. Now, students will have a chance to take part in that experiment.

NASAand the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Foundation launched a set of "Future Engineers" 3D Space Challenges on Sept. 21. The contest asks students in grades K-12 to create and submit a digital 3D model of a tool that they think astronauts will need in space.

"As you know we don't have overnight shipping up in space, so when we really need something we have to wait," NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, who spent six months living and working on the space station in 2010, said in a video announcing the challenge. "To be able to make parts on demand will forever change that for us."

Entries, which are due by Dec. 15, will be judged for their creativity, usefulness and adherence to design guidelines. Semifinalists will be announced in mid-January and the winners will be revealed on Jan. 30.

The grand prize for the winning teen entrant (ages 13 to 19) includes a trip to NASA's Payload Operations in Huntsville, Alabama, where the student will watch his or her print made live on the space station. The winner in the 5- to 12-year-old set will get a 3D printer for his or her school.

You can learn more about the contest and how to participate here: http://www.futureengineers.org/

Follow Megan Gannon onTwitterandGoogle+. Follow us @SPACEdotcom, FacebookorGoogle+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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NASA Launches Student Contest for 3D-Printed Astronaut Tools

Expedition 41/42 Soyuz Docks to International Space Station #Nasa
After launching in their Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 41/42 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Flig...

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Kerbal Space Program: International Space Station Build EP.6 S3/S4
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Sarychev Volcano Eruption From The International Space Station Islas Kuriles Rusia - Nasa 2014 HD
Sarychev Volcano Eruption From The International Space Station Islas Kuriles - Matua ( Russia ) - Volcan Sarychev En Erupcion Visto Desde La Estacion Espacia...

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Kerbal Space Program - Orbital Kolonization System (8)
Orbital Kolonization System allows you to build a fully self sustaining Space Station that works with TAC Life Support. Watch live at http://www.hitbox.tv/badashgames About Modular Kolonization...

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NASA is embarking on a new mission to utilize the International Space Station as a science platform for studying the Earth.

The $150 billion ISS gives scientists and engineers a unique vantage point to use Earth-observing instruments to collect data.

NASA currently plans to mount six Earth science instruments to the ISS by the end of this decade.

"We're seeing the space station come into its own as an Earth-observing platform," said Julie Robinson, chief scientist for the International Space Station Program in a statement. "It has a different orbit than other Earth-observing satellites. It's closer to Earth, and it sees Earth at different times of day with a different schedule."

Astronauts working aboard the ISS have observed and photographed several phenomena that typical orbiting satellites were unable to get. One example is detailed images of a massive ash plume from the fresh eruption of the Pavlof Volcano in May 2013.

The first instrument used for this new decade of discovery is ISS-RapidScat, which was launched on Sept. 20 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by Space Exploration Technologies.

ISS-RapidScat will monitor the changes in direction and velocity of ocean winds, which will directly impact the accuracy of hurricane predictions around the world, officials said.

Also see: Mother Nature giving no break to rain-weary residents

The next Earth science instrument to launch to the ISS in December will be the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System. It will monitor airborne particles such as pollution, mineral dust, and smoke with a laser radar.

"With the space station we don't have to build a whole new spacecraft to gather new data -- it's already there, said Stephen Volz, associate director of flight programs in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters. Designing instruments for the space station also gives us a chance to do high-risk, high-return instruments in a relatively economical way."

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Decade of new Earth-observing missions to use Space Station

he International Space Station as seen by the departing STS-134 crew aboard space shuttle Endeavour in May 2011. Credit: NASA

TORONTO, CANADA NASA isnt reading too much into a report that the Russians will spend $8 billion on the International Space Station through 2025, the head of the agency says. That date is five years past the international agreements to operate the space station.

The Russian announcement comes at a pivotal time for NASA, which is looking to extend operations on the station to at least 2024. Other space agency heads have not yet signed on. Russia is the major partner for NASA on the station, given it operates several modules and sends astronauts to and from Earth on Soyuz spacecraft.

When deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin made the funding announcement, said NASA administrator Charles Bolden, Rogozin was speaking of a budget request that is before the State Duma. The Duma is Russias lower house of government.

I am told thats why he said that, Bolden said at a press conference yesterday (Sept. 29) for the International Astronomical Congress, citing a conversation he had with Bill Gerstenmaier, NASAs human exploration associate administrator. You shouldnt read too much into that.

Canadarm2, the huge robotic arm on the International Space Station, holds astronaut Stephen Robinson during the STS-114 mission. Credit: NASA

Other member agencies of the space station gave noncommittal responses when asked if they would sign on to an extension.

The [European] member states will be invited to give their views on what [to do] after 2020, said Jean-Jacques Dordain, who heads the European Space Agency. He added that any extension would require a financial commitment, as an agreement without money is only principles.

Similarly, Canadian Space Agency chiefWalter Natynczyk said the money allocated to his agency will bring them through to 2020, but we will have a look at the entire value proposition when we put a case before the government of Canada.

The Russian agreement with NASA came under scrutiny earlier this year as tensions erupted in Ukraine while Russian soldiers were in the country. This year, Ukrainian Crimea was annexed to Russia to the condemnation of several countries, including the United States.

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Russian Space Station Extension? Dont Count On It Yet, NASA Head Says

TORONTO Moments after David Avino turned on an espresso machine in the middle of the International Astronomical Congress exhibition floor here Monday (Sept. 29), more than a dozen bystanders stopped in their tracks to watch it brew.

The machine called ISSpresso is a prototype similar to one that will fly to the International Space Station in April 2015 aboard Orbital Sciences' robotic Cygnus cargo vessel. It will take astronauts only minutes to set up ISSpresso on the orbiting lab all they'll need to do is take out the box, secure the machine to the wall with bungee cords and get some water in a standard pouch. And then astronauts can enjoy some espresso with their space food.

Avino, managing director of Italian engineering and software firm Argotec, inserted a standard Lavazza espresso capsule into the top of the device. He placed a water pouch in the bottom and put in a second, smaller pouch to collect the coffee. [Watch a video about the space station espresso machine]

Only a minute after Avino turned on the machine, coffee began filtering into the pouch. When the pouch was full, Avino offered samples for people to sip. Beside him, Lavazza USA CEO Ennio Ranaboldo said the machine is already attracting attention at NASA, even from Administrator Charles Bolden, who stopped by the exhibition floor earlier Monday which was, appropriately enough, International Coffee Day.

"People were dragging him away," Ranaboldo joked.

ISSPresso, a joint Argotec-Lavazza-Italian Space Agency project, was already underway last year when Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano said in an interview that the thing he missed most in space was a good cup of coffee.

"I was calling people, asking, 'Were you talking to Luca?'" Avino said.

Argotec modeled ISSPresso after a previously existing espresso machine. That process saved a great deal of development time; it took 1.5 years to get the machine ready, compared to about six years to design and build an espresso maker from scratch, company representatives said.

But Argotec did make some changes to the existing design, altering the brewing system to make it leak-free in orbit. (The exact changes are not being released for proprietary reasons.) The space-bound machine is so different, in fact, that only three parameters are the same as Earth-based espresso makers: the capsule of coffee, the brewing temperature of 167 degrees Fahrenheit (75 degrees Celsius) and the water pressure.

The inside was revamped to fit standard water pouches on the space station, and attachments were added to the outside so bungee cords could be used to secure the machine to a wall.

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Lattes in Space! Espresso Machine Will Launch to Space Station

SpaceX Cargo Ship Docks With the Space Station | ISS Video
More space news and info at: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com - the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle was grappled by station Flight Engineers Alexander Gerst of t...

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