Category Archives: Space Station

(CNN) High above us, beyond the skies, is the International Space Station, which weighs nearly 1 million pounds and has a wingspan the length of a football field. It has nine rooms, two bathrooms, two kitchens and two mini-gyms, and it is the largest spacecraft orbiting the Earth.

NASA announced this week that an instrument called ISS-RapidScat will be launched to the station in 2014 to improve weather forecasts, by doing things like monitoring hurricanes. It will also help scientists explore the Earths global wind field; tropical clouds and tropical systems are affected by wind variations caused by the sun.

Another experiment on board is called InSPACE, which stands for Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates From Colloidal Emulsions. All that means that scientists are studying magnetorheological fluids, which are complex substances that change form or harden when exposed to magnetic fields. These substances could one day be useful in robots, NASA says, acting as a blood to make the movement of joints and limbs like that of a living creature.

Its mission is multifaceted. One of the space stations main goals is to find ways to extend the length of time a human can survive in space. Other experiments include growing cells where there is no gravity and observing bodily fluid changes in different atmospheres. In 2003, scientists aboard the station studied the behavior, mating activity and irregular motility responses of young flies they brought with them from Earth.

The International Space Station is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, according to a NASA statement.

To lighten things up a bit (lets not forget the ISS is the astronauts workplace and their home), astronauts periodically capture breathtaking aerial views of the Earth, which they send back down to earthlings via Twitter. Recently, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield did a video while on the space station about cutting your nails when theres no gravity.

It was former President Ronald Reagan who pushed the idea of a manned space station in Earths orbit. In what he called a new frontier at his 1984 State of the Union address, he acknowledged that (t)he Space Age is barely a quarter of a century old. But already weve pushed civilization forward with our advances and technology. Opportunities and jobs will multiply as we cross new thresholds of knowledge and reach deeper into the unknown.

Sixteen years later, the U.S. partnered with Russia, Canada, Japan and several European countries to launch the space station. Since it arrived in orbit, over 200 humans have visited the station.

None of the space agencies involved with the space station has confirmed exactly when it will deorbit, though some agencies hint that it may end some time after 2020. When the space station is decommissioned, it will likely drop from space into its new home the Pacific Ocean.

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What’s happening on the space station?

MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russian astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) have transferred scientific data using a laser communication channel for the first time in international practice, the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday.

The information was transferred through the earths atmosphere at a rate of 125 megabytes per second from an onboard laser terminal, the agency said.

The total of 400 megabytes of data included earth imagery and telemetric information.

The transfer operation was part of the Laser Communication System project to exchange data between the ISS and the ground station Arkhyz in the North Caucasus.

Flight engineers Oleg Novitsky, Yevgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko are Russian team members of ISS Expedition 34. NASA astronaut Kevin Ford is the commander, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn are also flight engineers.

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Space Station Crew Uses Laser Channel to Beam Data

January 29, 2013

Image Caption: Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station observing the Earth below during Expedition 24. Credit: NASA

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

NASA is opening up the floor for suggestions, asking for proposals about how the International Space Station (ISS) can be used as a technological test tube.

The space agency said it is asking for proposals on how the space station may be used to develop advanced or improved exploration technologies. NASA is looking for proposals as to how new approaches, technologies and capabilities could utilize the unique research environment provided by the space laboratory.

The space station is a world-class facility and critical to NASAs plan to extend humanitys presence beyond low-Earth orbit, Andrew Clem of the Technology Demonstration Office in the International Space Station Program at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston said in a statement. This is an opportunity for researchers, inventors and designers to demonstrate a technology needed for future human spaceflights or to improve an existing space station capability.

NASA said it will be reviewing submissions throughout the year as they are received, and will cover launch and integration costs for selected proposals.

Proposed technologies could help advance exploration and research capabilities aboard the space station. NASA said concepts must fit within its standards for mass and volume to meet requirements for current launch vehicles.

Suggested areas include in-space propulsion; space power and energy storage; components of highly reliable, closed-loop, human health, life support and habitation systems; thermal systems; robotics, telerobotics, and autonomous systems; and human exploration destination systems, the space agency wrote.

According to NASA, the proposals for new exploration technologies could include strategies to reduce mass, maintenance and power requirements for the space station, or to help improve existing space hardware. Acceptable proposals may also have the potential to produce benefits for humanity, such as testing valuable new materials or stimulating economic growth.

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NASA Seeks Ideas For Repurposing The International Space Station

Jan. 29, 2013 In a clever reuse of hardware originally built to test parts of NASA's QuikScat satellite, the agency will launch the ISS-RapidScat instrument to the International Space Station in 2014 to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction.

The ISS-RapidScat instrument will help improve weather forecasts, including hurricane monitoring, and understanding of how ocean-atmosphere interactions influence Earth's climate.

"The ability for NASA to quickly reuse this hardware and launch it to the space station is a great example of a low-cost approach that will have high benefits to science and life here on Earth," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's International Space Station program manager.

ISS-RapidScat will help fill the data gap created when QuikScat, which was designed to last two years but operated for 10, stopped collecting ocean wind data in late 2009. A scatterometer is a microwave radar sensor used to measure the reflection or scattering effect produced while scanning the surface of Earth from an aircraft or a satellite.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have studied next-generation replacements for QuikScat, but a successor will not be available soon. To meet this challenge cost-effectively, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the agency's station program proposed adapting leftover QuikScat hardware in combination with new hardware for use on the space station.

"ISS-RapidScat represents a low-cost approach to acquiring valuable wind vector data for improving global monitoring of hurricanes and other high-intensity storms," said Howard Eisen, ISS-RapidScat project manager at JPL. "By leveraging the capabilities of the International Space Station and recycling leftover hardware, we will acquire good science data at a fraction of the investment needed to launch a new satellite."

ISS-RapidScat will have measurement accuracy similar to QuikScat's and will survey all regions of Earth accessible from the space station's orbit. The instrument will be launched to the space station aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. It will be installed on the end of the station's Columbus laboratory as an autonomous payload requiring no interaction by station crew members. It is expected to operate aboard the station for two years.

ISS-RapidScat will take advantage of the space station's unique characteristics to advance understanding of Earth's winds. Current scatterometer orbits pass the same point on Earth at approximately the same time every day. Since the space station's orbit intersects the orbits of each of these satellites about once every hour, ISS-RapidScat can serve as a calibration standard and help scientists stitch together the data from multiple sources into a long-term record.

ISS-RapidScat also will collect measurements of Earth's global wind field at all times of day for all locations. Variations in winds caused by the sun can play a significant role in the formation of tropical clouds and tropical systems that play a dominant role in Earth's water and energy cycles. ISS-RapidScat observations will help scientists understand these phenomena better and improve weather and climate models.

The ISS-RapidScat project is a joint partnership of JPL and NASA's International Space Station Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, with support from the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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NASA to launch ocean wind monitor to space station

The International Space Station continues to orbit 240-miles above earth and UND's Agricam has just wrapped up it's first mission aboard the Space Station.

It was a project enabled by retired astronaut, Mario Runco, who lectured at UND this past week.

Mario Runco, Astronaut: "You can have an asset to help monitor the crops in the field as they develop and get data, images to the user, the farmer, so that if there's a problem they can detect. It's like early cancer detection. You detect it early you can do something about it."

Images from the agricam aboard the Space Station were relayed to this UND control room. It's thermal pictures can be used to point out disease in crops and the need for different types of fertilizers.

Now, disaster workers around the globe are interested in refitting the UND camera already aboard the Space Station, so it can zoom in on disasters, like floods.

Doug Olson, UND Aerospace: "If you're trying to determine in a mud slide whether you have something like a buried car or a rock, you need something with a higher resolution."

Olson says they're still waiting to see if their agricam that's already aboard the Space Station, will now be refitted to become a disaster cam.

VIEW THE SPACE STATION THIS WEEK

If there are clear skies and you're an early riser you be able to see the International Space Station pass over the Valley this week.

Each pass lasts only 2 to 4 minutes. You'll need to be looking south by southeast, 30-degrees above the horizon. It will look like at bright star moving to the east.

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UND Camera on Space Station Wraps 1 Mission, May Get Another

WASHINGTON -- NASA wants to know how you can improve the International Space Station as a technology test bed.

NASA's International Space Station National Laboratory and Technology Demonstration offices are asking for proposals on how the space station may be used to develop advanced or improved exploration technologies. NASA also is seeking proposals about how new approaches, technologies and capabilities could improve the unique laboratory environment of the orbiting outpost.

The NASA Research Announcement, "Soliciting Proposals for Exploration Technology Demonstration and National Lab Utilization Enhancements," may be viewed at: http://go.nasa.gov/Uqkccz

The annoucement will provide successful proposers access to the space station's microgravity environment, crew support and robotic servicing. It closes Sept. 30.

"The space station is a world-class facility and critical to NASA's plan to extend humanity's presence beyond low-Earth orbit," said Andrew Clem of the Technology Demonstration Office in the International Space Station Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "This is an opportunity for researchers, inventors and designers to demonstrate a technology needed for future human spaceflights or to improve an existing space station capability."

NASA will review submissions throughout the year as they are received. The agency will cover launch and integration costs for selected proposals. Successful submissions also may be eligible for limited additional funding.

Proposed technologies should help advance exploration and research capabilities aboard the space station. Concepts must fit within existing NASA standards for mass and volume to meet requirements for current launch vehicles. Suggested areas include in-space propulsion; space power and energy storage; components of highly reliable, closed-loop, human health, life support and habitation systems; thermal systems; robotics, telerobotics, and autonomous systems; and human exploration destination systems.

Proposals for new exploration technologies could include strategies to reduce mass, maintenance and power requirements, while also increasing efficiency, reliability and safety. The idea could be a new technology or a new, improved use of existing space hardware. Proposals also may have the potential to yield benefits for humanity, such as testing a new material or stimulating economic growth.

Alternately, proposers could address improvements to the existing capabilities of the U.S. National Laboratory, such as new uses for existing experiment tools and infrastructure aboard the orbiting outpost, or potential efficiencies like advances in data communications. Other possibilities include ground equipment for space studies, in-orbit analytical tools, three-dimensional cell and tissue culture hardware, or improvements or new uses for existing station research resources.

The enhancements sought in this announcement will further efforts by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space to promote research aboard the station's U.S. National Laboratory.

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NASA Solicits Ideas for International Space Station Research

Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Thirteen - Unwelcome Unknown [HD]
In this episode Link and Andrew continue to try and enter the science sector of the station, but struggle to find an accessible doorway. During this search they hear a voice on Mason #39;s radio, laughing. We go to the medical department waiting area and contemplate what to do about the whole situation, but during this we are flashed by something and our weapons lose power. We run away and come back to only find that the medical department has its doors open. Link realises that it must of escaped now and can be anywhere in the station. They head out and come across the mysterious figure, entitled the "Unknown." Both Link and Andrew chase the Unknown door a corridor to get a smoke bomb thrown at them. It demands us to tell it where Luke is, and appears to be intent on finding him. Link and Andrew decide that telling the Unknown where Luke is unacceptable and construct a vivid plan to try and murder him. Link finally beats PunPun the monkey down into a chimpering critical condition and pretends that the carcass is Luke set as a distraction. However, when requiring ransom, Andrew unwisely tells the Unknown that the dead body is a monkey and thus foils the arrangement.

By: KinkedLink

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Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Thirteen - Unwelcome Unknown [HD] - Video

Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Fourteen - A Strong Camaraderie [HD]
In this episode we litter, ask the Unknown if it has played Assassin #39;s Creed and start to tell ourselves that we will die slow and painful deaths. Link and Andrew devour a crap load of snacks and energy drinks after being threatened by an Unknown entity. They decide to get geared up with energy machine guns and chainsaws of doom. The Unknown attempts to attack Luke when hiding out in space, but Luke manages to get away and hides again. The Unknown continues to moan and ask for Luke #39;s location; nevertheless Link and Andrew don #39;t give in to this atrocious and autocratic antihero. Consequently, the pair is then told that they will die also for aiding Luke, and with a formidable and unmoving resolve they prepare to take on the Unknown.

By: KinkedLink

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Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Fourteen - A Strong Camaraderie [HD] - Video

International Space Station greatings for European Capital Of Culture 2013 - Unravel Travel TV
The crew of the International Space Station sent greetings to Ko scaron;ice, Slovakia and its citizens - European Capital of Culture 2013 during the Grand Opening Ceremony (20 January 2013). Posdka Medzinrodnej vesmrnej stanice poslal pozdrav do Ko scaron;c, Slovensku a ich ob #269;anom - Eurpskemu hlavnmu mestu kultry pre rok 2013 v priebehu slvnostnho ceremonilu otvorenia (20. janura 2013). The background:The European Capitals of Culture is the one of the EU #39;s best known cultural initiatives. Its aim is to promote and celebrate Europe #39;s rich cultural diversity and heritage, as well as to promote mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue. The European Capitals of Culture are also an opportunity for cities to boost tourism, jobs and growth, and to transform their image. A successful Capital which embeds culture as part of a long-term development strategy can bring significant long-term cultural, economic and social benefits. On average it leads to a 12% increase in tourism and millions of visits to cultural events, with strong benefits for the retail, hotel and catering sectors. The initiative can also be a catalyst for regeneration and new cultural infrastructure, as well as promoting new skills for cultural operators and strengthening a city #39;s cultural vibrancy and international outlook. Since 2010, each European Capital of Culture meeting the commitments it made at the selection stage receives the Melina Mercouri Prize, worth euro;1.5 million. In addition, many Capitals ...

By: UnravelTravelTV

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International Space Station greatings for European Capital Of Culture 2013 - Unravel Travel TV - Video

Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Fifteen - Chaotic Conclusion [HD]
In this episode Luke does what he usually does, Link is a predator and the Unknown is something they least expected. Luke attempts to make his way to Link and Andrew for protection, but he #39;s found by the Unknown. Luke gets stabbed in the ribcage by Unknown #39;s weapon of choice outside of security and then explodes into chunks of meat and bones. Link and Andrew attempt to get into engineering after Luke tells them that Mr Unknown is in there draining power for his abnormal abilities. They manage to get in after an explosion and find that the Unknown is in a room draining electricity. The duo breach in and fire everything in an attempt to slay the scallion. This results in Link taking a laser to the chest after it reflects off a wall, smoke screens seething through the corridors and close combat. The Unknown teleports through the engineering sector as they chase it down with a resilient resolve and revengeful resentment. Link manages to strategically hit the outlandish individual. Once the Unknown collapses from its wound Link takes advantage of the moment to pull out his saw and slice into him. The Unknown somehow gets up and legs it, but Andrew sprints to the door and shoots his laser like a trigger-happy burglar. The round knocks off the Unknown #39;s mask -- it #39;s a human, a girl!? Startled by this Andrew is bedazzled and can #39;t stop her from running out of engineering. Link pursues after her again and succeeds in lobbing the saw into the back of her head like a professional ...

By: KinkedLink

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Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Fifteen - Chaotic Conclusion [HD] - Video