Category Archives: Space Station

Space Station Spikers left no doubt who rules the court.

The Spikers won their third consecutive title by beating KAOS 25-13, 25-17 Thursday in the Division A final. They were unbeaten in the tournament on the west court in the Marshall Wellness Center.

Three-peat, co-captain Alysse Bishop said. It feels awesome.

Is it too early to say dynasty? co-captain Erek Allen said. Building camaraderie off the court. We work hard together and we play hard together.

Members of the Space Station Spikers (5-0) are co-workers on the Space Station program at Marshall Space Flight Center. They work together in the Payload and Mission Operations Directorate.

Allen had eight kills and four blocks. Shawn Finnegan had four kills and three digs. Andrew Walters made two kills and six digs. Mikayla Kockler had three aces, two kills and two digs. Spenser Kockler made two kills and Bishop served two aces.

Tim Duquette had five kills and two digs for KAOS (4-3). Billy Carson made four kills. Patrick Sumera and Stacy Mitchell served two aces apiece. Team captain Dennis Gallagher, Sarah Champey and Jim Hartmann had two digs apiece.

We had a great night, Gallagher said. And had an uphill battle to take on the winning team but we did really well.

KAOS advanced to the final by eliminating Netropy 25-20, 25-16.

Carson had nine kills, four digs and two aces. Duquette had five kills and five digs. Sumera and Hartmann made two kills apiece. Champey had four digs and Becky Crownover made three. Mitchell served two aces.

Team captain Mallory Johnston made 11 digs for Netropy (2-4). Kirk Johnson had four kills, three blocks and three digs. Kyle Cossey made three kills. Preston Plese had five digs, Becky Papke had three and Jarrod King added two.

It was a great match, Johnston said. We had a great championship season. I think we played really, really well. KAOS is a really strong team and I wish them the best of luck.

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Space Station Spikers land third straight championship | Win Or Lose - Theredstonerocket

Lego has been making space-themed setsfor 40 years. To mark the occasion, somelazyexecutive in their marketing department put the words "Lego", "space" and "set" on a whiteboard, drew a circle around them and hit upon the bright idea of sending a Legospace stationsetinto space. Genius.

Admittedly, it makes for a pretty cool video, although theLego City Lunar Space Station setand the 3D-printed rig it is secured in only reach 33,000 metres, which is technically the stratosphere and still bloody high,butit is 67,000 metres shy of the boundary betweenEarth's atmosphereandouter spacefavoured by theFdration Aronautique Internationale, which likes to define this sort of thing.

Still, Lego spaceship! In (almost) space! It's enough to please the Benny in all of us.

If that's whetted your appetite for all things Lego, their Black Friday sale has kicked off today, err, Thursday, and they're throwing in some freebies to encourage you to splash the cash.

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Lego Sent a Lego Space Station Into the Stratosphere - Gizmodo UK

Time to break out the adult diapers. Elen11/Getty Images

Trump is designating Mexican cartels as terrorists: That way, the president said, there's a wider scope of action. He previously told Mexico that the United States was prepared to "go in and clear out" the cartels, the BBC reported. He reiterated his desire to do away with the cartels when nine US citizens (three women, six children) were killed earlier this month. The victims' community urged the US to consider the cartels a terrorist group.

Funeral procession at Sea-Tac International Airport: Don't worry, no one died. This was a protest funeral procession; there were coffins, but they were symbolic coffins. Airline caterers staged the protest to ask Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines for higher wages. They make all the food for in-flight meals, and they make less than minimum wage.

Monkey the poodle reunited with owner: I told you about the King County man whose truck was stolen with his dog inside earlier this week. After a shoot-out, the suspect was killed and the dog was recovered. Here's a video of the dog's reunion with his owner.

Remember the Apple Cup crash of 2018? The University of Washington marching band sure does. Last year, on their way to Pullman, one of the buses carrying the UW band crashed. The game day performance had to be canceled, and 39 students were taken to the hospital. Locals in George where the crash occurred brought them food and comfort. This year during the game at Husky Stadium, the band is planning a tribute to those Good Samaritans.

Windy in Western Washington: And cold. But also dry.

Meanwhile, weather elsewhere is nuts: Heavy snow has immobilized Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. A winter storm is plowing into the Midwest. There's supposed to be a "bomb cyclone" that smacks California and Oregon. Keep an eye out if you're traveling!

Chicago man charged for luring men into robbery ambushes: The 30-year-old man used Grindr, the gay hookup app, to rob men. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for nine different attacks.

Alex Pedersen is sworn in: He's District 4's new council member. The ceremony took place Tuesday night at Magnuson Park.

Texas chemical plant explosion: There was a massive explosion early Wednesday at the TPC Group plant in Texas. The blast was so strong, it shattered windows of nearby homes. One man thought someone was firing bullets into his house. Nope, sir, just a chemical plant explosion. Three people were injured. The cause of the blast is still unknown.

In case you haven't gotten your fill of fog this season: This person made a time-lapse video of fog in the region. It's better watched on mute, in my opinion.

Death rates for younger Americans are rising: In almost every state, the death rates for people aged 25 to 64 increased from 2010 to 2017, the New York Times reports. This extends to all racial and ethnic groups. While overdoses and suicides impacted numbers, the people dying young also were just plain unhealthy.

The cause of the White House lockdown yesterday: Where someone entered the restricted airspace? It was probably birds.

Measles are on the rise: Across the globe, measles cases have jumped around 300 percent. In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, 5,000 people have died from measles just this year. The World Health Organization has cited lack of access to health care, immunization gaps, and, depressingly (my word, not WHO's word, though they've got to be thinking it) a deep fear and skepticism of vaccines.

Nobody panic, but the toilets have broken down on the International Space Station: There are two toilets. They cost $19,000 each. They are both broken. Astronauts may have to start wearing diapers.

Happy holidays:

Today's EverOut picks are: Free Grilled Cheese Night at Ounces, a show with Federal Way rapper Romaro Franceswa, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Plus, check out EverOut's guide to where to eat out (or pick up food from) for Thanksgiving.

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Slog AM: Americans Are Dying Younger, Crazy Thanksgiving-Week Weather, All Toilets Broken on International Space Station - TheStranger.com

A SpaceX customer has announced that one of a future Falcon 9 rideshare missions will carry a technology demonstrator designed to prove that space stations can one day be built in space by cannibalizing expended rocket upper stages.

On November 18th, commercial space company Nanoracks revealed that it had manifested its first In-Space Outpost mission on one of SpaceXs recently-announced Falcon 9 rideshare missions, scheduled to launch as early as Q4 2020. Known for its successful efforts to use the International Space Stations capabilities to affordably deploy hundreds of commercial small satellites, Nanoracks has also branched out into organizing rideshare opportunities for smallsats on much larger launches, another method of lowering costs.

Most recently, however, Nanoracks began to pursue a new venture centered around building unprecedentedly affordable human-rated space stations in Earth orbit. While not fundamentally new, Nanoracks proposed a unique solution: modify expended launch vehicle upper stages already in orbit to build space stations in-situ.

Its anyones guess whether such a concept can actually produce safe, affordable space stations and do so more effectively than the obvious alternative of designing, building, and launching already-finished space station components. Nevertheless, Nanoracks has firmly decided to attempt the feat. The technical hurdles alone will require numerous in-space demonstrations of custom hardware, and the Outpost Nanoracks has manifested on a Q4 2020 Falcon 9 rideshare mission will be the first of those attempted demonstrations.

Asa memberof the Outpost program team,Maxarwill develop a new articulating robotic arm with a friction milling end-effector for this mission. This friction milling will use high rotations per minute melting our metal material in such a way that a cut is made, yet we anticipate avoiding generating a single piece of orbital debris.

The mission is targeting a Q4 2020 dedicated rideshare mission, will fly on an ESPA ring, and will activate after the deployment of all other secondary payloads is complete. As our mission commences, we will have 30 minutes to one hour to complete the cutting of three metal pieces that are representative of various vehicle upper stages, including the Centaur 3. Nanoracks plans to downlink photos and videos of the friction milling and cutting.

Nanoracks, 11/18/19

As described above, the first Outpost test will focus on proving that the metal tanks of upper stages can be manipulated and cut in orbit with robotic arms to be built by Maxar. The experimental mission will reportedly take place while the payload is still attached to Falcon 9s upper stage payload adaptor and will carry along three separate propellant tank coupons instead of attempted to mill and cut Falcon 9 itself.

As one of SpaceXs proposed rideshare missions, Nanoracks will likely be just one of a few dozen other customers or spacecraft catching a ride, and the Outpost experiment will only begin after all other satellites have successfully deployed. Earlier this year, SpaceX announced that Smallsat Rideshare Program and rapidly modified it soon after, adding numerous new launch opportunities and lowering the base price to from ~$2.25M (150 kg) to $1M for 200 kg (440 lb) of spacecraft or experiments. Aside from 3-4 annual dedicated launches, SpaceX also plans to reserve some amount of space on certain Starlink launches, dozens of which are currently planned annually.

Nanoracks Outpost-1 mission is expected to launch no earlier than Q4 2020.

Check out Teslaratis newslettersfor prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceXs rocket launch and recovery processes.

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare will test the tools needed to build space stations in orbit - Teslarati

Key Point: France's capabilities even verge into the area of offense against other satelittes.

France is arming its orbital satellites with lasers and machine guns.

If our satellites are threatened, we envisage blinding those of our enemies, said Defense Minister Florence Parly. We will judge the moment and the means of retaliation, but it could mean the use of powerful lasers deployed from our satellites or from patrolling nano-satellites.

The next generation of Syracuse [military communications] satellites will be equipped with cameras that will allow them to identify possible attackers, according to the French newspaper Le Point. But, in a second time, the satellites of the following generations will be equipped with weapons allowing them to fight back. This can be achieved by machine guns capable of destroying the aggressor's solar panels or by lasers to blind or destroy an enemy satellite.

The news follows French president Emmanuel Macrons announcement last month that the French military would create a space command, similar to U.S. Space Command created by U.S. president Donald Trump.

While Parly didnt specifically mention Russia as the impetus for armed satellites, she has made clear that the threat against Western targets is not theoretical, noted the Financial Times. Last year she publicly accused Russia of spying when it maneuvered a satellite to eavesdrop on a Franco-Italian military communications satellite called Athena-Fidus in 2017. We are watching it closely, and we saw that it continued to maneuver actively around other targets in the months that followed, she said then. But who can say it wont come back towards one of our satellites tomorrow?

France is an odd player in the space game. While a middleweight in conventional military power and with a small force of submarine-launched nuclear missiles, France has the biggest space program in Europe. Ariane rockets have proven formidable competitors to U.S. companies in the commercial launch market. Should Europe ever join the United States, Russia and China as a major player in militarizing space, France would play a leading role.

Nonetheless, weaponizing space is tricky. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans orbital weapons of mass destruction, as well as barring military bases on the Moon and other planets. However, there is no ban against conventional weapons in space. The most notorious example is the Soviet Salyut 3 military space station, launched into orbit in 1974 with a 23- or 30-millimeter cannon to defend the spacecraft against American anti-space weapons. Some reports say the weapon was actually tested by destroying a target satellite.

But rather than a display of Soviet might, the Salyut cannon attracted much derision from space experts who questioned how the weapon would track targets moving at orbital speeds, and how the recoil and vibration would affect the space station. Not to mention cannon shells traveling around the Earth at high speed, adding to the millions of bits of space debris that are turning Earths orbit into a minefield.

But whats interesting, if the Le Point article is correct, is that the machine guns on French satellites would target an enemy spacecrafts solar panels. This doesnt sound like a defensive weapon intended to protect French satellites from incoming projectiles. What is does sound like is an offensive weapon designed to destroy other satellites.

America, Russia, China and most recently India have tested anti-satellite weapons, or ASATs. France will be joining the club. Which means that Europeif Europe can ever form a united militarywill become a player in the arms race in space.

Michael Peck is a contributing writer for the National Interest. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook. This piece was originally featured in August 2019 but is being republished due to reader's interest.

Media: Reuters

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Russia Should Fear What France Will Do to Protect Its Satellites - The National Interest Online

The report blames commercial crew delays from Boeing and SpaceX, neither of whom are likely to be certified for regular flights to the ISS by the summer.SpaceX will have a certification review in January while Boeing will have to wait until the following month. The report concludes final vehicle certification for both contractors will likely be delayed at least until summer 2020 based on the number of ISS and CCP [commercial crew programme] certification requirements that remain to be verified and validated.

Space News report launch abort systems and parachutes are the biggest issues for both companies.

Only in April, a parachute test failure by SpaceX contributed to at least a 3-month delay in SpaceXs crewed test flight.

Boeing saw one of their three parachutes fail to open in a test earlier this month.

In the spring, the ISS crew will half from six to three with just one, Chris Cassidy from NASA.

NASA and non-Russian parters will be less able to work on the US On-Orbit Segment (USOS).

The report explains: Any reduction in the number of crew aboard the USOS would limit astronaut tasks primarily to operations and maintenance, leaving little time for scientific research.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has made a formal request for seats on a Roscosmos spacecraft.

The Russian agency is yet to respond.

READ MORE:'God of Chaos Apophis asteroid may set world back to prehistoric times

The station has two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment operated by Russia and USOS.

The station is expected to operate until at least 2030.

236 people have been on board from 18 countries.

Major Tim Peake is the only Briton to have done so.

Currently on board are Italian commander Luca Parmiitano, Russian flight engineers Aleksandr Skvortsov and Oleg Skripockhka as well as American flight engineers Andrew Morgan, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir.

All the Americans on board are on their first spaceflight.

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NASA terrified it could be shut out from the International Space Station next year - Express.co.uk

Two astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station Friday for the first of four spacewalks to repair a $2 billion cosmic ray detector, breezing through difficult work to prep the device for invasive surgery to splice in new coolant pumps and extend the instrument's life probing the composition of the universe.

"We're going to perform what could be considered open heart surgery on this amazing experiment," said Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, the current space station commander.

The 7.5-ton patient in this case is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, the most expensive science instrument aboard the space station and one that was not designed to be serviced in orbit. As such, the "operation" is considered one of the most challenging since work to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

"It's definitely towards the top of the list, if not on the top," said Tara Jochim, the AMS repair manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Floating in the station's Quest airlock, Parmitano and NASA astronaut Drew Morgan switched their spacesuits to battery power at 6:39 a.m. EST to officially kick off the year's ninth spacewalk.

The last time Parmitano walked in space in July 2013 his suit malfunctioned, flooding his helmet with water and forcing an emergency return to the station's airlock. NASA developed procedures to prevent a recurrence and no similar problems have occurred since then.

The major objectives of Friday's spacewalk were to prep the AMS for its planned surgery, setting out tools and equipment before removing a protective debris shield, giving them access to the instrument's thermal control system.

After carefully tossing the debris shield overboard, the spacewalkers attached two handrails to help them move about the device and, reaching into the AMS, snipped a half dozen zip ties and cut a cord to fold back insulation blankets.

The work went much faster than expected and the astronauts were able to work through several items originally planned for their second spacewalk next Friday. That's when the actual repair work will begin. The third and fourth spacewalks will be officially scheduled after managers assess the results of the first two outings.

Parmitano and Morgan returned to the airlock, closed the hatch and began repressurizing at 1:18 p.m. to wrap up a six-hour 39-minute spacewalk, the 222nd since the station assembly began in 1998, the ninth so far this year, the third for Parmitano and the fourth for Morgan.

"I've got to tell you, you made the ground team awfully happy and proud of you guys today, just some excellent, excellent work," Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed from mission control. "We are very, very pleased with where we stand moving forward, getting the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer back up and running. So congratulations to all of you."

It took engineers and astronauts four years to come up with a workable repair plan, developing some two-dozen custom tools and testing procedures during multiple underwater training runs. Parmitano and Morgan completed seven full-duration training exercises before launching to the station in July.

"We had to go off and figure out how to create a work site, we had to build new handrails to install on existing hardware, we had to deal with existing sharp edges and in a lot of cases, we're creating new sharp edges using tools that have sharp edges on them," said Jochim.

"We did as much as we could to minimize that risk to the crew member and then, of course, to the (repair) of the payload itself," she said. "But they are certainly very challenging and technically difficult EVAs."

Launched in 2011 on the next-to-last space shuttle mission, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, is one of the most expensive science instruments ever launched into space.

It is built around a powerful electromagnet that bends the trajectories of electrically charged cosmic ray particles created in supernova explosions and other extreme-energy events, allowing researchers studying the trajectories to characterize their velocities and energies.

The goal is to learn what happened to the antimatter thought to have been created in the big bang birth of the cosmos, to learn more about the unseen dark matter that permeates space and, possibly, gain insights into the nature of dark energy, the mysterious repulsive force that is speeding up the expansion of the universe.

Designed to operate for just three years, the AMS proved longer lived than expected, detecting more than 145 billion cosmic rays during eight-and-a-half years of operation. But the instrument has been hobbled in recent months by the staggered failures of four small pumps needed to circulate carbon dioxide coolant through its sensitive detectors.

To repair the AMS, Parmitano and Morgan will have to cut through eight small coolant lines and splice in, or "swage," new lines leading to a custom-built replacement pump module launched to the station earlier this month. The pump module will be installed during the third spacewalk.

"We're going to cut tubes, and then fuse them with other tubes (launched) from Earth and install a completely new pump to help the refrigeration work, keeping the magnet cold so the the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer can work," Parmitano said. "This is really the first time any of these actions have been attempted."

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Spacewalk today: Astronauts at International Space Station take on one of the most complex spacewalks ever - CBS News

Right now, there are six astronauts aboard the International Space Station, floating 408km above our heads. But soon things could be about to get a lot lonelier up there. Delays in building new spacecraft to get astronauts into space mean that the next trio of astronauts set to join the ISS in April 2020 are facing the possibility of being the space stations lone occupants for six months.

It'll be the first time the ISS has had only three semi-permanent occupants since 2009, when it was expanded so it could comfortably fit six occupants at any one time. But for the last 10 years a crew of six has kept up with the ISS endless list of maintenance tasks and research projects. What will happen when this floating workforce is cut in half?

The next three astronauts to be sent up American Chris Cassidy, and Russians Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin will travel in a Soyuz capsule. Since the retirement of the US Space Shuttle in 2011, all journeys to the ISS have taken place in these Russian-made spacecraft, which bring three people at a time. One Soyuz capsule is attached to the ISS, like a lifeboat, at all times, and the crew members who have been there the longest will take this capsule home. Three new astronauts arrive a couple of weeks later so apart from the short periods while crews are changed over, there are usually six astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS at any one time.

This system has worked worked for nearly a decade, but for 2020, Nasa decided that instead of buying seats on Soyuz, it would rely on contracts with commercial companies SpaceX and Boeing for extra crew launches. But development of the commercial capsules has been delayed, with Boeing having trouble with their parachutes and SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule exploding during tests.

In 2010 when Nasa prepared to shut down their Space Shuttle program, they gave commercial companies a combined $50m (38m) to design their own transport spacecraft. Its uncertain exactly when the commercial capsules will be ready as they need to pass rigorous safety tests first, so rather than paying for an extra Soyuz, Nasa has decided to prepare the next group of astronauts for what might happen if theyre left alone.

Over the years, ISS expedition experiments have made discoveries which will be vital if humanity wants to explore space further. Previous missions have revealed the effect of microgravity on the human body and the source of cosmic rays. But if the crew need to do general maintenance on the station, with fewer people on board there will be less time for other activities.

A large amount of experiments can be done with commanding from the ground so we're trying to to give preference to those, says Ruediger Seine, space training team leader at ESA's European Astronaut Centre. Space agencies managing experiments will have to pick which of their projects theyd like the astronauts to devote their limited time towards, and press pause on experiments that require more human intervention.

But some experiments might fare between without humans getting in the way. Some experiments actually might benefit from less people because of vibration, says Laura Forzcyk, founder of the consulting firm Astralytical who used to work for the ISS US National Laboratory. Even with three there are still a lot of vibrations. Some experiments just want to be left alone.

The limited crew will also mean more sharing of resources. The ISS itself is split into two sides Russian and American. The Russians usually operate on their side, while astronauts from the United States, Europe, Japan, and Canada operate on the other. However with such a small number of people on board, they need to work more cohesively. With only one American, the two Russians have been trained on how to use the US equipment. For example, each side has its own space suit both with different ways of operating but the astronauts and cosmonauts need to be trained in how to use both. Its a case of being prepared for all situations.

It's not easy to get from the Russian airlock to the American segment of the International Space Station. The additional training for the remaining crew members is to make sure that we're covering all contingencies, says Seine.

And while the experiments may appreciate being alone, the people may not. Experiments only take up part of astronaut's time on board the ISS. Like a typical working week on Earth, they have time off, in the evenings and on the weekends. Chris Cassidy, Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin may not see another person from spring 2020, to when their mission finishes at the end of the year.

And 2020 could be the last point the ISS gets this quiet for a while. In 2019, Nasa announced that it would let tourists fly to the ISS from 2020 if they were willing to pay the 27,500 for the privilege. This isnt the first time this has happened seven people who arent employed by a space agency have gone to the ISS before. And it wont mean they are dead weight; anyone who gets sent up, professional or not, will be given tasks and help out in any way they can.

But until then, the trio of astronauts will have to endure the mental stress that comes with isolation. Research has found that along with psychological effects caused by adjusting to the novel situation of being in space, astronauts also often struggle with anxiety and depression. ISS astronauts, despite being kept busy with experiments, will still have opportunities to socialise they try to have at least one shared meal a day, and receive plenty of contact from their friends and family.

Michael Lopez-Alegria, who has flown the longest US space station mission to date, went up to the International Space Station in 2006 when the crew was still small. He was there with only two other people at a time, but managed to not feel too lonely during the mission.

I like the small size crew, because we tend to bond more as a unit, he says. Sometimes there can be a divide by culture when there are more people. We had one Russian, me and then the third person was either a German or an American, and so we tended to be more cohesive and spend more time together.

Lopez-Alegria found that looking out at Earth helped him feel closer to home, and in 2010, an observatory module was added to the ISS to create an even bigger window to help with astronauts mental health. I wish I were going back myself, he says.

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Life on the Space Station is about to get really weird and lonely - Wired.co.uk

He makes no secret of his current views that the space agency is on the wrong track by continuing to put so much of its scarce resources into the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule after so many years of delays and when new and cheaper commercial alternatives are so promising.

People have fallen in love with them but they got old and expensive, and I think they're more worried about keeping some of the aerospace companies in fit shape than the American taxpayer, he complains.

Gibson supports returning astronauts to the moon, but he's also among the vocal group of space insiders who contend that building a lunar Space Station first will just slow things down.

Nor is he convinced that extending NASAs primary role in running the International Space Station makes sense, given all the other competing goals.

Gibson sat down with POLITICO last weekend on the sidelines of Space Vision 2019, hosted by Students for the Exploration and Development of Space at Arizona State University.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

You were among the first astronauts who were scientists and not military pilots.

The test pilots thought they were going to rule the world forever. Congress said, 'Youve got to get some science in the program, and the way to do that is get some who have science backgrounds to go flying in space.'

So, begrudgingly NASA did that, and I think the test pilots in the program said, 'All right, bring them in here. They'll quit, flunk out, or kill themselves. And we won't have to deal with them again.' But when we came in there, they found out we could walk and chew gum at the same time.

Once we got working with each other, we gained respect for each other and it started to come together.

Do you think returning to the moon should be NASAs main exploration goal?

I know we are very limited in our budget, and I want to see things happen quickly. I think the best place is a facility right there on the moon itself.

So, go directly to the surface and not build the lunar Gateway? I just don't see the advantage of it. I listened, and I've studied, and I've tried to see the advantage of that Space Station. But to me it never registers as superior, or even better than doing it the simple way.

Get back to the moon and forget the orbiting Space Station. If that is needed in the future, show that it really is needed.

You've got the ability to produce oxidizer and fuel from the resources on the moon. So, why don't we go there, create those things at some point on the surface either the North or South Pole?

The South Pole, I think, is a little bit better. And if you want to go up to the pole and study the ice and other resources from there, it's a small hop ... to get to any other spot in that hemisphere. And that can be happen very easily.

You've spent a lot of time in space. Are we prepared for the physical rigors of such long duration missions to deep space?

I think there's a real issue. You don't want to living in lunar orbit or Mars orbit for a long period of time. That's why I think it's great to just go to the surface to shield yourself [from the radiation].

Then, if you want to go somewhere, you go out and, obviously, you've got to suffer whatever radiation there is, and youve got to have your spacecraft or your spacesuit to give you some added protection.

You have also expressed concerns about the cost and capability of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.

SpaceX could be a lot cheaper than what we're going to do with the SLS and maybe even the Orion, as nice as those programs are.

People have fallen in love with them, but they got old and expensive. ... I think they're more worried about keeping some of the aerospace companies in fit shape than the American taxpayer.

Do you think NASA should extend operations on the ISS beyond 2024?

The question is, What are we getting for it, versus other things that we can do with that money? We can cut back a little bit, let the other nations pick up even more.

I have to ask what we're getting back from it and what else we want to do in space? I think as we get to where we're wanting to go back to the moon and onto Mars the Space Station is probably going to lose some of its support.

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'Get back to the moon and forget the orbiting space station' - Politico

Typically, this is good advice, but for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, tasked with baking the first batch of cookies in space, it may be tough to follow. And understandably so. For the last year and a half, husband and wife duo Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, founders of Zero G Kitchen, have been developing the first zero-gravity oven that could revolutionize space food and bring a taste of home to astronauts who dearly miss it. Last week, the oven arrived at the space station. No date has yet been announced for it to be tested.

The Fichtenbaums' mission is both simple and highly technical: "We want to build a kitchen in space, one piece at a time, and partner with companies, educators and researchers all along the way," said Ian Fichtenbaum.

Designing an oven capable of baking space cookies is no easy feat. Everyday tasks are more difficult in space, which lacks the force of gravity to keep objects from floating around -- and baking presents its own unique challenges. Traditional convection ovens function by utilizing gravitational properties; "the hot air rises, the cool air falls," explained Abby Dickes, Nanoracks' marketing director.

Then there's the challenge of keeping food secure and stationary while it bakes. To complicate things further, the oven must run on a limited power supply, so as not to blow a fuse on the space station.

But the zero-gravity oven was designed to circumvent these issues. It's composed of a sleek, cylindrical chamber that houses an insertable silicone frame, which surrounds the food to hold it in place. Cylindrical heating coils focus the heat on the food in the center of the chamber and rise to temperature much more slowly than traditional ovens, to accommodate the power constraints.

"The oven went through a few different iterations, but the final creation ended up being very chic, very beautiful, and now it's up on the space station ready to bake some DoubleTree cookies -- and hopefully after that, all kinds of other creations," says Ian Fichtenbaum.

What might those other creations be? "Right now it's best to stick with things that are patty-size and shape -- a roll, a meatball," said Jordana Fichtenbaum.

What about more composed dishes? A tiny casserole, perhaps? "Yeah, maybe a mini casserole," says Ian Fichtenbaum.

But first, cookies. The irony, of course, is that the cookies are not technically meant to be eaten. They are, after all, the product of a science experiment and, what's more, one that's never been conducted before.

"The top priority for everyone who works on the space station is the safety of the crew on board," said Dickes. Some cookies will be reserved for analysis. For the rest, taste-testing will be at the baker's discretion.

For astronauts who choose to eat the cookies, the real question will be whether they taste just as good as those you get at any DoubleTree here on Earth. While the proof will be in the pudding, Dickes has high hopes.

"You have to start with great ingredients, which we know we're doing because we've eaten far too many of these cookies," she said. "I think they're going to look different -- like more of a spherical blob shape, which honestly just sounds gooey and delicious."

But just in case the first batch doesn't turn out to be edible, a tin of pre-baked DoubleTree cookies was sent up to the space station along with the oven.

The shape of the cookie may lend itself perfectly for this experiment, but that's not the only reason it was chosen for the zero-gravity oven's maiden voyage.

"It's a symbol of hospitality and we're trying to make space travel more hospitable for the future," said Dickes. "A cookie represents the perfect symbol of everything we're trying to do in this mission."

Oh yeah, and it's delicious.

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The story behind the first batch of cookies in space and the first zero-gravity oven - CNN