Category Archives: Space Station

Progress 50 Supply Ship Launches Toward Space Station

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship blasts off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on Feb. 11, 2013.

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship streaks into space on Feb. 11, 2013.

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship blasts off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on Feb. 11, 2013.

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship sits on the pad at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome a few minutes before liftoff on Feb. 11, 2013.

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship sits on the pad at Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome a few minutes before liftoff on Feb. 11, 2013.

An infographic profile of the Progress cargo ship used to service the International Space Station.

The Russian Flight Control Room is seen a short time before the scheduled docking of the robotic Progress spacecraft, Feb. 11, 2013.

The International Space Station awaits the robotic Progress 50 supply ship on Feb. 11, 2013.

This view shows how the Progress 50 robotic supply ship "sees" the International Space Station during the fly-around prior to docking on Feb. 11, 2013.

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Progress 50 Supply Ship Launches to the Space Station (Photos)

This story was updated at 3:40 p.m. EST.

An unmanned Russian spacecraft carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies arrived at the International Space Station Monday (Feb. 11) less than six hours after blasting off.

The robotic Progress 50 resupply ship docked with the orbiting lab at 3:35 p.m. EST (2035 GMT) Monday after launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EST (1441 GMT). Such unmanned cargo trips have traditionally taken about two days.

The Progress 50 spacecraft is packed with about 2.9 tons of supplies for the space station's six-man Expedition 34 crew. On Saturday (Feb. 9), the station astronauts discarded an older unmanned cargo ship, called Progress 48, in order to make room for Progress 50.

The outgoing Progress vehicle was filled with tons of trash and unneeded items and intentionally destroyed by burning up in Earth's atmosphere. [Space Station's Robot Cargo Ship Fleet (Photos)]

Progress 50, meanwhile, is delivering about 764 pounds (346 kilograms) of propellant, 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen and air, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and about 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) of spare parts, science gear and other supplies, according to a NASA description.

The Russian Federal Space Agency's Progress spacecraft are disposable vehicles similar in design to its three-segment Soyuz crew capsules, but with a propellant module in place of the central crew return capsule on the Soyuz.

Progress vehicles are designed to be disposable and are intentionally ditched into Earth's atmosphere at the end of their mission. Robotic resupply ships for the station built by Europe and Japan are also disposed of in the same way.

The only robotic supply ship for the space station that can return supplies back to Earth is the Dragon space capsule built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX.

Dragon space capsules visited the space station twice in 2012, with the next one slated to launch from Florida atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in March. Dragon vehicles are equipped with a heat shield to protect them during re-entry and are built for ocean splashdown landings in order to return experiments and other gear to Earth.

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Robotic Russian Supply Ship Docks With Space Station

NASA TV

The Progress 50 robotic supply ship approaches the International Space Station during the fly-around prior to docking on Monday.

By Tariq MalikSpace.com

An unmanned Russian spacecraft carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies arrived at the International Space Station Monday, less than six hours after blasting off.

The robotic Progress 50 resupply ship docked with the orbiting lab at 3:35 p.m. EST Monday after launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EST. Such unmanned cargo trips have traditionally taken about two days.

The Progress 50 spacecraft is packed with about 2.9 tons of supplies for the space station's six-man Expedition 34 crew. On Saturday, the station astronauts discarded an older unmanned cargo ship, called Progress 48, in order to make room for Progress 50.

The outgoing Progress vehicle was filled with tons of trash and unneeded items and intentionally destroyed by burning up in Earth's atmosphere. [Space Station's Robot Cargo Ship Fleet (Photos)]

NASA TV

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship blasts off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on Monday.

Progress 50, meanwhile, is delivering about 764 pounds (346 kilograms) of propellant, 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen and air, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and about 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) of spare parts, science gear and other supplies, according to a NASA description.

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Russia supply ship docks with space station

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched an unmanned cargo freighter to the International Space Station Monday (Feb. 11) to deliver nearly 3 tons of fresh food, water and equipment to the six men living on the orbiting outpost.

The robotic Progress 50 resupply ship and its Soyuz rocket lifted off at 9:41 a.m. EST (1441 GMT) from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome, where it was late evening local time at the time of launch.

The Progress 50 cargo ship is flying on an accelerated schedule that will deliver it to the International Space Station in three hours, instead of the two days the unmanned cargo trips have traditionally taken for much of the space station's 13 years of crewed operation. Progress 50 is expected to arrive at the space station at 3:40 p.m. EST (2040 GMT) and park itself at a Russian docking port.

You can watch the Progress 50 dock live on SPACE.com here, beginning at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), courtesy of NASA's television feed. Prior to the space docking, you can watch NASA launch the new Landsat Earth-observation satellite live at 1:02 p.m. EST (1802 GMT). The webcast for that launch begins at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).

The Progress 50 spacecraft is packed with about 2.9 tons of supplies for the space station's six-man Expedition 34 crew. On Saturday, the station astronauts discarded an older unmanned cargo ship called Progress 48 in order to make room for Progress 50. The outgoing Progress vehicle was filled with tons of trash and unneeded items and intentionally destroyed by burning up in Earth's atmosphere. [Space Station's Robot Cargo Ship Fleet (Photos)]

Progress 50, meanwhile, is delivering about 764 pounds (346 kilograms) of propellant, 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen and air, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and about 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) of spare parts, science gear and other supplies, according to a NASA description.

The Russian Federal Space Agency's Progress spacecraft are disposable vehicles similar in design to its three-segment Soyuz crew capsules, but with a propellant module in place of the central crew return capsule on the Soyuz.

Progress vehicles are designed to be disposable and are intentionally destroyed by burning up in Earth's atmosphere at the end of their mission. Robotic resupply ships for the station built by Europe and Japan are also disposed of in the same way.

The only robotic supply ship for the space station that can return supplies back to Earth is the Dragon space capsule built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX. Dragon space capsules visited the space station twice in 2012, with the next one slated to launch from Florida atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in March. Dragon vehicles are equipped with a heat shield to protect them during re-entry and are built for ocean splashdown landings in order to return experiments and other gear to Earth.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter@tariqjmalik.Follow SPACE.com on Twitter@Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook&Google+.

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Russia Launches Robotic Supply Ship to Space Station

International Space Station_Passing by on_02-09-13_0654pm to 07:00pm EST
The International Space Station Pass over on 02-09-2013 at 06:54pm EST until 07:00PM EST I captured a few shots of the pass over to create this animation as the ISS made a nice pass over John Bryan State Park Observatory in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I was hanging out with my Astronomy club (MVAS) during members night, I tested out my new Wide field Tracking platform The CG-4 mount, with Dual Modiefied DSLR cameras. The Animation Video clip shows the ISS, coming out of daylight from the South Southwest....and crossing into darkness...the high cirrus clouds were chasing the ISS. The ISS at its brightest point got to -3.1 Magnitude, brighter than Jupiter, which was at Mag. -2.5, although there was another pass ~ 90 minutes later. I recorded this one as it was the brightest pass of the two. Midway through the video clip I changed views to show the ISS as it buzzes Orion #39;s head and then splits the Gemini Twins. You can really see the ISS brightening as it passes. The first Camera was a Modified Canon Rebel Xsi 8mm fisheye F8 lens, ISO 400, I used exposures ranging from 8 seconds to 18 seconds..to help compensate for the rapidly fading light of Dusk... The still shot of the ISS above the trees was the last image I took with a 2nd camera, a modified Canon 40D 17mm lens, ISO 400, 27 second exposure, it was just below Castor and Pollux in Gemini heading East about to go below the Trees line around 7:00pm EST. Note there is another object moving through the first part of the ...

By: John Chumack

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International Space Station_Passing by on_02-09-13_0654pm to 07:00pm EST - Video

KSP - Minmus Space Station - Minmus Station Lander
In this episode I attach the new lander to the base and show how well I dock in the early morning... I should really practice more before making me episodes lol. Kerbal Space Program or KSP is a game that allows you to construct rockets and probes and explore celestial bodies. Its up to you how the future of the kerbal #39;s space program is achieved by either success or Jebidiah #39;s wife beating you to death. Version of KSP 0.18.2

By: goose79335

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KSP - Minmus Space Station - Minmus Station Lander - Video

NASA TV/collectSPACE.com

Apollo 17 moonwalker Gene Cernan, left, gives a thumbs up to the astronauts on the International Space Station from Mission Control in Houston on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013.

By Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor

HOUSTON The last man to walk on the moon made an unexpected call to the most recent men to live in space this week during a visit to NASA's Mission Control room.

Gene Cernan, who in December 1972 commanded Apollo 17, the sixth and final lunar landing mission, was touring the Johnson Space Center here with some friends when he was invited by flight controllers to talk live with Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford and flight engineers Chris Hadfield and Tom Marshburn in the U.S. Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station, 260 miles above the Earth.

"I didn't know I was going to be able to do this," Cernan told the station's crew during the visit on Feb. 5. The moonwalker, who was using a phone receiver to talk with the astronauts in space, could see Ford, Marshburn and Hadfield on the large screens at the front of the control center room.

The ISS residents were in turn able to see Cernan via live streaming video on one of their laptop computers.

"I'm personally proud," Cernan commented. "I'm at the age now where most of you were probably in diapers or knee pants when I went to the moon, but at least what we did worked because it inspired you to do what you're doing." [Apollo 17 Moonwalker Calls Space Station (Video)]

"I think I was 12 when you came home from the moon for the last time," Ford responded, "and you did inspire us for sure, just like whole world, frankly. Every place I go in the world, they know NASA because what you guys did back then that long ago."

Elbow room in space The space-to-ground conversation, which aired on NASA's television channel and was streamed through the space agency's website, showed Ford, Marshburn and Hadfield floating inside the orbiting laboratory with room to spare. And they were inside just one of the space station's dozen modules, which they share with three other crewmates, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko.

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Last moonwalker calls space station

There is a reason the phrase "shooting in the dark" refers to things that are difficult to do - and night photography is no exception. To account for low-light image scenarios, a photographer needs a steady tripod, but aboard the International Space Station, a traditional tripod isn't going to cut it. Thankfully, the European Space Agency, or ESA, developed NightPod for the crew's cameras.

This astronaut photograph of Liege, Belgium, at night was taken using the NightPod camera mount aboard the space station. The mechanism allows astronauts to capture images of the Earth at night with greater clarity and control than previously possible from orbit.

"The challenges of low-light photography from orbit - for example, the likelihood of blurry images because of the ground motion - have always frustrated astronauts," said Cynthia Evans, International Space Station associate program scientist for Earth Observations.

"Over the years, astronauts have experimented with different solutions, including high-speed films and manual tracking to compensate for the ground motion. The NightPod camera mount allows the crew to successfully track the Earth using low-light camera settings."

NightPod incorporates an ESA Nodding Mechanism, which is an electro-mechanical mount system for digital cameras designed to compensate for the motion of the station relative to the Earth. This high-tech, motorized tripod can compensate for the more than 17,000 mph (27,000 kph) speed of the station and the motion of the Earth below-no easy feat!

The crew enters the station's orbit and attitude into NightPod, enabling the instrument to automatically track a specific location on the ground and keep the target in frame for optimal focus. Since the system can be set to run automated for up to six hours, the crew can literally take pictures in their sleep.

To get an idea of just how clear images using NightPod are, look at how detailed the brightly lit core of the Liege urban area appears. It lies at the center of a network of roadways - traceable by continuous orange lighting extending out into the rural and relatively dark Belgian countryside.

For a sense of scale, the distance from image left to right is approximately 43 miles (70 kilometers). The region to the southeast of Verviers includes agricultural fields and forest; hence, it appears almost uniformly dark at night.

The image of Liege was acquired on Dec. 8, 2012, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 180 millimeter lens and the NightPod, and is provided by CEO investigators and the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 34 crew. It was cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts were removed.

Installation of NightPod was completed on Feb. 24, 2012, by astronaut Andre Kuipers, and some of the earliest images appear in this ESA story.

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NightPod Images Bring Earth to Light From Space Station

Science on the Space Station with the Science Cheerleaders!
Join the Science Cheerleaders and our partners, SciStarter.com and the University of California Davis as we conduct important research on Earth and on the International Space Station. Learn how you can get involved at http://www.SciStarter.com !

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Science on the Space Station with the Science Cheerleaders! - Video

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Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield participated in an annual event for Canadian music students from a unique location: a long-distance perch in the Cupola of the International Space Station. Before launching to the ISS in December, Hadfield wrote a song with Ed Robertson of the band Barenaked Ladies, and Friday morning the song premiered as Hadfield, Robertson and a school glee club sang together: Hadfield performed his part on the space station; Robertson did his in Toronto with the Wexford Gleeks. The song was part of Music Monday in Canada, and while todays premiere was pre-recorded, in May, students across Canada will play the song live with Hadfield in space. The song is called I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing), it begins with the words:

Eighteen-thousand miles an hour Fueled by science and solar power The oceans racing past At half a thousand tons Ninety minutes moon to sun A bullet cant go half this fast.

Music aficionados can find the sheet music here and here.

Chris Hadfield in the Cupola of the ISS. Credit: NASA

Hadfield plays the guitar and sings with a couple of bands on Earth. Before he began his Expedition on the ISS, he told Universe Today he would be doing as much singing as he could in space.

Music is really important to me, ever since Ive been a kid. Ive always played guitar and sang, he said, and Im really hoping to have the chance to sit weightless with the guitar on board and play music, and also record some of the music Ive written.

He also is working to finish some songs he started writing on Earth while living on the ISS, which he called a particularly inspirational environment and maybe write some news ones.

We have all the recording equipment we need on board, he said. It is basic but it is good enough to be able to record and Im hoping to record at least one full CDs worth of original music up there. Its neat Im writing with my brother who is a musician, and he pointed out that a lot of the traditional folk songs came from people who were the first on the frontier the early explorers, sailors, miners, and the fishermen the people who are involved in the day-to-day of a specific human experience. To think I might be involved in helping to write some of the first space faring music, music that people might play and sing as they leave Earth for Mars, it is an interesting time in history.

This isnt the first Earth-Space musical collaboration: in 2011 astronaut Cady Coleman did a flute duet with Jethro Tulls Ian Anderson.

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Space Jam: Astronaut Sings Duet From the Space Station