Category Archives: Space Station

Not Telling

In August 2018, flight controllers detected a tiny, easily-plugged hole in the International Space Station. Now, the head of Russias space agency is claiming it has finally figured out the cause of the mysterious puncture but its keeping the information under wraps.

We know exactly what happened, but we wont tell you anything, Roscosmos Director Dmitry Rogozin told attendees at a youth science conference, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Young space enthusiasts arent the only people Roscosmos isnt sharing the info with, either. It seems NASA Russias primary partner in the ISS is still in the dark, too.

They have not told me anything, NASA head Jim Bridenstine told the Houston Chroniclein reference to Roscosmos claim. I dont want to let one item set (the relationship) back, but it is clearly not acceptable that there are holes in the International Space Station.

Initially, officials assumed the hole was caused by a micrometeorite that punctured a compartment. But further investigation revealed that the hole appeared to have been caused by drilling from inside the capsule, prompting Rogozin to suggest it could have been an act of deliberate sabotage.

Whether thats the conclusion Russia ultimately reached or not, everyone involved in the ISS deserves to know what caused the hole especially if it involved foul play.

READ MORE: Roscosmos Knows What Caused The Hole in The ISS, and NASA Wants Answers [ScienceAlert]

More on the ISS hole: Cosmonaut: Hole Was Drilled From Inside Space Station

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Russia: We Know Cause of Space Station Leak but Haven't Told NASA - Futurism

Russia is getting readyto launcha Soyuz MS-15 spaceship with a Soyuz FG booster rocketto the International Space Stationfrom Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

Along for the ride will be the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, Hazzaa Al Mansouri,as well asU.S. astronaut Jessica Meirand Russian cosmonautOleg Skripochka.

Russia's Soyuz-FG booster rocket with the Soyuz MS-15 space ship that will carry new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) is transported from its hangar to the launch pad at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. The new Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled on Wednesday, Sept 25 with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, U.S. astronaut Jessica Meir and United Arab Emirates astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

After the United States' Space Shuttle program ended in 2011,the Soyuz rocket program became the sole transportation method for the American astronautstraveling to the International Space Station.And as a result, the price of booking a ride for American astronauts on Russia's rocket is very high; the current cost of a ticket is $80million.

The Soyuz rocket first was usedin 1966.

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The launch is scheduled for 9:57 a.m. ET Wednesdayfrom Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Link:
Russia shows off rocket that will launch astronauts to International Space Station - Fox Business

By Christopher Burns, BDN Staff September 25, 2019 2:42 pm Updated: September 25, 2019 3:23 pm

Jessica Meir will complete her six-hour space flight Wednesday afternoon when she reaches the International Space Station, some 220 miles above the Earth.

Meir, along with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and Emirati astronaut Hazz Al Mansouri, blasted off aboard the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. They will reach the International Space Station about 3:45 p.m.

Meir, a Caribou native, is the third Mainer, and first Maine woman, to slip the surly bonds of Earth.

You can read more about todays launch here.

You can rewatch this mornings space launch here.

You can read more about Meir here.

Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

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Watch as Maine astronaut Jessica Meir arrives at the International Space Station - Bangor Daily News

People along the East Coast will be able to catch a glimpse of the International Space Station as it flies over part of the United States two nights this week.

The space station will light up the sky Thursday and Friday. As long as skies are clear, people all across the eastern U.S. from Atlanta up to Boston will be able to see the station twinkling amongst the stars around 8:46 p.m. ET on Thursday and around 7:58 p.m. ET on Friday.

However, the orbiting laboratory will only be visible for a few momentsit travels at a speed of 17,500 miles per hourand the time in which it passes over each state will vary. The space station is typically the brightest and most visible during dusk and dawn. Viewers can get a more accurate time frame of when the station will be visible in their state by checking NASA's website.

The space station will be the third brightest object in the sky, according to NASA. The high-flying spacecraft orbits at an average altitude of roughly 250 miles above the Earth. Its passage over the Eastern U.S. marks the completion of one of the many orbits around the globe the station has made this year. A new international crew of six astronauts is expected to board the station on September 25.

The station was first launched into space in 1998 and the first crew arrived in November 2000. Astronauts have occupied the spacecraft, which is about the size of an American football field, continuously ever since. The ship features six sleep quarters, two bathrooms and a gym.

The spacecraft serves as a science laboratory for astronauts where they can conduct research that couldn't be achievable on Earth and conduct experiments that can be applied to everyday life on Earth. They also study the effects of microgravity on the human body along with learning how to keep a spacecraft functioning properly for extended periods of time. Peggy Whitson, who spent 665 days aboard the station, holds the record for the most days any human has ever spent in space.

More than 2,400 research investigations have been completed by scientists from more than 103 countries.

Astronauts are responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the space station, which means they often have to go outside the spacecraft to fix things, resulting in crews conducting more than 200 spacewalks outside the space station.

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How to Watch the International Space Station Fly Over the US: Flight Path, Time and More Info - Newsweek

Two Allen County companies have produced bags protecting batterieson their way to the InternationalSpace Station.

Brimstone Fire Protection supplied 20 fire containment bags for lithium-ion batteries aboard an unpiloted cargo ship launched Tuesday by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The spacecraft isscheduled to reach the space station on Saturday.

Lee Hershberger, owner of Brimstone Fire Protection, said the batteries are mainly for laptopcomputers used on the space station.

Hershberger designs the bags, which he said aremanufacturedby Excellon Technologies in Fort Wayne. They are composed of "my secret recipe of materials," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Brimstone said in a news release thatit collaborated withNASA contractor Leidos, a science and technology company based in Reston, Virginia,to design and test fire containment bagsthat would improve the safety and storage of batteries while in orbit. Lithium-ion batteries used in consumer electronicscan igniteor explode if they overheat or are damaged.

Daniel Barineau, senior project manager at Leidos, said in the news release that Brimstone "modified their off-the-shelf designs to meet our needs and have shown a willingness to go above and beyond to make our efforts a success under a compressed schedule." Barineau also said that inthe 30 yearshe has worked on projects for the space station and the space shuttle, "I have never come across a company that was as responsive, customer focused, and easy to work with as Brimstone."

Hershberger started Brimstone, which has a Spencerville address, in 2016. It has produced fire containment products fortheNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, all branches of the U.S. military, the U.S. Forestry Service, airlines, corporate jet fleets and such companies as General Electric,General Dynamics,Hewlett Packardand Facebook,according to the company's website.

bfrancisco@jg.net

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Bags made by local companies headed to space station | Local | Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

PUBLISHED: 15:58 24 September 2019 | UPDATED: 17:10 24 September 2019

The International Space Station has good visibility over Norfolk this month. Photo: NASA

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According to NASA's Spot The Station website the International Space Station will be appearing over Norfolk until October 4.

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The NASA website has provided the dates and times people in Norfolk can view the station as it moves west to east.

The dates and times are as follows.

Tuesday, September 24: 8.22pm, 9.59pm

Wednesday, September 25: 7.34pm, 9.10pm

Thursday, September 26: 8.23pm, 9.59pm

Friday, September 27: 7.35pm, 9.10pm

Saturday, September 28: 8.23pm, 9.58pm

Sunday, September 29: 7.35pm, 9.11pm

Monday, September 30: 8.23pm

Tuesday, October 1: 7.35pm, 9.10pm

Wednesday, October 2: 8.22pm

Thursday, October 3: 7.35pm, 9.10pm

Friday, October 4: 8.22pm

The duration of the space station's appearance at these times ranges from less than one minute to six minutes.

According to NASA: "The space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesn't have flashing lights or change direction.

"It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane."

No special equipment is needed to see the station as it is visible to the naked eye.

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When can I next see the International Space Station over Norfolk? | Tech - Eastern Daily Press

A relaxed and cheerful Hazza Al Mansouri joined fellow astronauts for a final press conference before his historic journey into space on Wednesday evening.

Saying he had the good wishes of the whole Arab world and my whole country, the first UAE astronaut added that all humankind had contributed to his mission.

He was watched by family and friends, including his brothers, as well dozens of the worlds media, who have taken a keen interest in the UAEs first space mission.

The three astronauts, who include Russian commander Oleg Skripochka and Nasas Jessica Meir, were dressed in their blue mission suits and spoke behind protective quarantine glass to ensure they did not catch any infection prior to heading to the International Space Station.

There was applause across the room as Major Al Mansouri was introduced as representing the UAE, with the pioneering astronaut raising his hand in acknowledgment and giving the three-fingered salute made famous by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

In official business, the Russian space agency first confirmed what everyone already knew. That Soyuz Mission MS-15 will lift off on Wednesday just before 6pm, UAE time, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and head to the ISS.

Maj Al Mansouri was then able to take questions in three languages; Arabic, Russian and English from journalists.

It is a requirement of training that all astronauts learn Russian before flying on a Soyuz space ship.

Fellow astronaut Jessica Meir, from the US, who is also making her first flight, praised Maj Al Mansouri as great, saying his personality was a perfect match for the team.

His training as an F-16 fighter pilot made him a natural candidate for astronaut training, she said, along with his sense of enthusiasm and motivation.

The crew were able to communicate easily using a language she described as Ronglish, a mixture of Russian and English.

Many of the questions during the hour-long press conference were directed to Maj Al Mansouri and his backup - or colleague on standby should he fall ill - Sultan Al Neyadi.

Maj Al Mansouri told journalists he would be dedicating a song to his mother in a mix tape chosen by astronauts to play in the two hours they spend strapped in their space capsule before the launch.

The importance of family and his children was something the astronaut repeated several times, saying he hoped to inspire young people with his mission and would return for the good of my children and my family.

It was a great honour to be chosen to take the UAE into space for the first time, he added.

He also paid tribute to some of the pioneers of space travel, singling out Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon.

His mission, he said, was realising the dream of Sheikh Zayed, who met Nasa astronauts twice in the 1980s and spoke of his vision of the UAE becoming a major player in space exploration.

[For] more than one year I was afraid to say I wanted to be an astronaut because it cannot happen in our country, said Maj Al Mansouri.

Thanks to our leadership they have made it real and possible, and we proudly say in our country we have astronauts.

During his time on the space station, Maj Al Mansouri will carry out several experiments relating to health and host an evening of Emirati food specially prepared to eat in zero gravity. His crew mates were also particularly fond of dates he added, with a supply travelling as cargo.

Questioned about observing his Muslim faith, he explained he had become used to praying in the cockpit of his fighter aircraft, even at high speed.

He also plans to make a live broadcast showing how to pray on the Space Station, which makes a full orbit of the Earth, seeing sunrise and sunset, every 90 minutes.

Asked about humourous moments in training, he recalled having to put out a non-existent fire during a simulated exercise on a mock-up of the space station.

For Dr Al Neyadi, it was the moment he nearly accidentally choked Maj Al Mansour during another training exercise. People will think I am the worst backup ever, he joked.

To end the conference, Maj Al Mansouri even managed to turn the tables on his interrogators, gathering his two crew members and a smart phone to record a final selfie with the media as a backdrop.

For rest of the evening, the three crew of MS-15 will observe a pre-launch tradition by watching the 1970 Russian cult film White Son of the Desert.

In the morning they will put on their space suits and leave their home at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur City for the drive to the launch pad and a day of destiny.

Updated: September 25, 2019 09:50 AM

Continued here:
'Sheikh Zayed's dream is coming true': Major Hazza Al Mansouri reveals pride before blast-off - The National

The International Space Station transits the sun during the solar eclipse.

Look closely at this photo of the great North American solar eclipse. You'll notice the sun and the moon's rounded bite taken out of the side. Most of the dark specks are sunspots. But there's something else notable. A larger speck near the curve of the moon's shadow is the International Space Station.

The International Space Station Twitter account shared the photo on Monday with the message "It's the moon, sunspots AND the station in front of the sun. @NASA photographer captures station transiting sun during #Eclipse2017."

The ISS looks different from the sunspots. You can even make out the station's distinctive solar arrays.

The incredible photo took a combination of skill and luck to achieve. It stands with some of the great ISS transit photos of the past, including one from 2015 showing the station's path across the sun. This latest one is all the more spectacular with the backdrop of the eclipse.

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Solar eclipse 2017: Here's what people saw

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NASA sees space station cross the solar eclipse - CNET

Updated: Aug 21, 2017 11:24 AM ET

As millions of Americans look up to the sky to catch the total solar eclipse on Monday, or watch TIME's live broadcast , astronauts on the International Space Station are gearing up for multiple views of the phenomenon.

The crew on the Expedition 52 will not be in the eclipse's path of totality, but will see a partial view of the solar eclipse three times as they orbit the Earth from the station. The International Space Station will pass through moon's penumbra shadow, giving the crew a partial view each time. Since the station won't pass through the moon's umbra, the astronauts will not see the total eclipse, according to NASA . Each astronaut will have their cameras outfitted with special filters so they can photograph the solar eclipse aboard the station.

"We get three different looks at the eclipse," astronaut Randy Bresnik said during a NASA Facebook session on Friday. "Because we are going around the Earth every 90 minutes and about the time it takes the sun to cross the U.S., we'll get to see it three times."

NEXT: Watch the Whole Total Solar Eclipse in 4 Minutes

The International Space Station will first see the eclipse just before it begins in the U.S. The total solar eclipse is set to start in Lincoln Beach, Ore. around 9:05 a.m. PST. The crew should see a partial eclipse with about 38% of the sun obscured by the moon.

The second time, the International Space Station will see about 43.9% of the sun covered by the moon. Astronauts will also see the moon's shadow as it passes over parts of Illinois and Kentucky.

"As we come around the Earth again, this time on the second pass, we will actually cross over," Bresnik said. "We will be north of Lake Huron in Canada when we will be able to see the umbra, or the shadow of the moon, of the eclipse on the Earth. [Mission Control is] telling us around Tennessee-Kentucky, the western side of those states, that area, that we will be able to see it close to the horizon."

On its third orbit, the crew will see the eclipse as it passes over the East Coast. In the partial eclipse, 84% of the sun will be covered by the moon at its maximum point. The moon's shadow will not be visible.

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International Space Station Astronauts to See Solar Eclipse ...

During the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse, the International Space Station (ISS) passed three times through the penumbral shadow of the moon on Earth. Astronauts aboard ISS captured images of the moons shadow on Earth, as did other earthly spacecraft. During the eclipse, people using the right equipment and located in the right place could catch the fleeting pass of ISS across the suns face. That pass was seen from a very thin ground track from California through Canada. Meanwhile, there was only one place where you could witness both a transit of the ISS across the partially eclipsed sun and the total solar eclipse later in the morning; it was at the intersection of this transit path with the moons shadow path in Wyoming. The video above from Destin Sandlin at the educational video series Smarter Every Day, and from professional photographer Trevor Mahmann, who earns his living in part via his Patreon page shows that ISS transit.

Its an amazing video and a tribute to our modern information world. Its only now through information sharing and combined knowledge that such things as videos of ISS transits across the suns face during eclipses have become possible!

Great job, guys, and awesome video!

Transit of the International Space Station across the partial eclipsed sun, August 21, 2017. Image via Trevor Mahmann. Find him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Bottom line: Video showing a transit of the International Space Station across the face of the sun during the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse.

Visit the educational video series Smarter Every Day

Read more here:
Space station transits sun during eclipse - EarthSky