Category Archives: Space Station

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two Russian cosmonauts will venture outside the International Space Station Thursday, Aug. 17, to deploy several nanosatellites, collect research samples and perform structural maintenance. Coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 10 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Expedition 52 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, will don their spacesuits and exit the station's Pirs airlock at approximately 10:45 a.m.

Ryazanskiy will begin the schedule of extravehicular activities with the manual deployment of five nanosatellites from a ladder outside the airlock. The satellites, each of which has a mass of about 11 pounds, have a variety of purposes.

One of the satellites, with casings made using 3-D printing technology, will test the effect of the low-Earth-orbit environment on the composition of 3-D printed materials. Another satellite contains recorded greetings to the people of Earth in 11 languages. A third satellite commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch and the 160th anniversary of the birth of Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

The spacewalkers also will collect residue samples from various locations outside the Russian segment of the station and install handrails and struts to facilitate future excursions.

Yurchikhin will be designated extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1) for this spacewalk, the ninth of his career. Ryazanskiy, embarking on his fourth spacewalk, will be extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2). Both will wear Russian Orlan spacesuits bearing blue stripes. The spacewalk will be the 202nd in support of space station assembly and maintenance and the seventh spacewalk this year.

Check out the full NASA TV schedule and video streaming information at:

NASA TV Live

Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram and Twitter at:

http://instagram.com/iss

and

Tweets by Space_Station

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NASA Television to Air Six-Hour Spacewalk at International Space Station - PR Newswire (press release)

August 9, 2017 by Kristine Rainey NASA Astronaut Jack Fischer works within the Japanese Experiment Module on CASIS PCG 6. CASIS PCG 7 will utilize the orbiting laboratory's microgravity environment to grow larger versions of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), implicated in Parkinson's disease. Credit: NASA

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is targeted for launch August 14 from Kennedy Space Center for its twelfth commercial resupply (CRS-12) mission to the International Space Station.

The flight will deliver investigations and instruments that study cosmic rays, protein crystal growth, stem cell-mediated recellularization and a nanosateliite technology demonstration. The vehicle will also deliver crew supplies and equipment to crew members living aboard the station.

Here are some highlights of research that will be delivered:

Investigation studies cosmic rays

Cosmic rays reach Earth from far outside the solar system with energies well beyond what man-made accelerators can achieve. The Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) instrument, attached to the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility, measures the charges of cosmic rays ranging from hydrogen to iron nuclei. The data collected from the CREAM instrument will be used to address fundamental science questions such as:

Tested in several long duration balloon flights, the CREAM instrument holds the longest known exposure record for a single balloon-borne experiment at approximately 160 days of exposure. CREAM's three-year mission will help the scientific community build a stronger understanding of the fundamental structure of the universe.

Microgravity-grown protein crystals aid in understanding of Parkinson's disease

The microgravity environment of the space station allows protein crystals to grow larger and in more perfect shapes than earth-grown crystals, allowing them to be better analyzed on Earth. Developed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Anatrace and Com-Pac International, the Crystallization of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) under Microgravity Conditions (CASIS PCG 7) investigation will use the orbiting laboratory's microgravity environment to grow larger versions of this important protein, implicated in Parkinson's disease.

Defining the exact shape and morphology of LRRK2 would help scientists to better understand the pathology of Parkinson's and aid in the development of therapies against this target.

Telescope-hosting nanosatellite tests new concept

The Kestrel Eye (NanoRacks-KE IIM) investigation is a microsatellite carrying an optical imaging system payload. This investigation validates the concept of using microsatellites in low-Earth orbit to support critical operations, such as providing lower-cost Earth imagery in time-sensitive situations such as tracking severe weather and detecting natural disasters.

Sponsored by the space station U.S. National Laboratory, the overall mission goal for the investigation is to demonstrate that small satellites are viable platforms for providing critical path support to operations and hosting advanced payloads.

Growth of lung tissue in space could provide information about disease pathology

The Effect of Microgravity on Stem Cell Mediated Recellularization (Lung Tissue) uses the microgravity environment of space to test strategies for growing new lung tissue. Using bioengineering techniques, the Lung Tissue investigation cultures different types of lung cells in controlled conditions aboard the space station. The cells are grown in a specialized framework that supplies them with critical growth factors so that scientists can observe how gravity affects growth and specialization as cells become new lung tissue.

Tissue mimic models such as this also have the potential to be used for assessing drug or chemical toxicity by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and could allow for rapid testing of new chemicals and compounds, considerably lowering the overall costs for research and development of new drugs. The ultimate goal of this investigation is to produce bioengineered human lung tissue that can be used as a predictive model of human responses allowing for the study of lung development, lung physiology or disease pathology.

These investigations and others launching aboard CRS-12 will join many other investigations currently happening aboard the space station. Follow @ISS_Research for more information about the science happening on station.

Explore further: Crystals grown aboard space station provide radiation detecting technology

Research into crystal growth in microgravity was one of the earliest investigations conducted aboard the International Space Station and is continued to this day. The unique microgravity environment of space provides an ideal ...

A wide variety of research relies on growing cells in culture on Earth, but handling these cells is challenging. With better techniques, scientists hope to reduce loss of cells from culture media, create cultures in specific ...

Models of human disease are beneficial for medical research, but have limitations in predicting the way a drug will behave within the human body using data from non-human models because of inherent differences between species. ...

Growing significant numbers of human stem cells in a short time could lead to new treatments for stroke and other diseases. Scientists are sending stem cells to the International Space Station to test whether these cells ...

Crew members aboard the International Space Station will begin conducting research this week to improve the way we grow crystals on Earth. The information gained from the experiments could speed up the process for drug development, ...

SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Dragon spacecraft for its eleventh commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station June 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center's historic pad 39A. Dragon will lift into orbit atop ...

New evidence from ancient lunar rocks suggests that an active dynamo once churned within the molten metallic core of the moon, generating a magnetic field that lasted at least 1 billion years longer than previously thought. ...

A new study by an international team of astronomers reveals that four Earth-sized planets orbit the nearest sun-like star, tau Ceti, which is about 12 light years away and visible to the naked eye. These planets have masses ...

As the hullabaloo surrounding the Aug. 21 total eclipse of the sun swells by the day, a University of Colorado Boulder faculty member says a petroglyph in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon may represent a total eclipse that occurred ...

After conducting a cosmic inventory of sorts to calculate and categorize stellar-remnant black holes, astronomers from the University of California, Irvine have concluded that there are probably tens of millions of the enigmatic, ...

Studies of molecular clouds have revealed that star formation usually occurs in a two-step process. First, supersonic flows compress the clouds into dense filaments light-years long, after which gravity collapses the densest ...

A group of astronomers led by Javier Lorenzo of the University of Alicante, Spain, has discovered that the binary star system HD 64315 is more complex than previously thought. The new study reveals that HD 64315 contains ...

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Research to advance disease therapies, understand cosmic rays among cargo headed to space station - Phys.Org

The United States is just four days away from sending a SpaceXrocket to theInternational Space Stationwhose cargo will include a Parkinsons diseaseexperiment.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said the experiment will involve growingleucine-rich repeat kinase 2protein crystals in the near-zero-gravity conditions of space.

Scientists hope the LRRK2 crystals will be larger and more regular in space, allowing them to see the proteins structure for the first time. They have been unable to obtain an image of the protein on Earth that is high-resolution enough to display its structure. Until they know what the structure is, they will be unable to design a Parkinsons therapy around the protein.

The Dragon spacecraft will carry hardware, supplies for the space stations crew, and scientific research material. It will be SpaceXs 12th mission to the orbiting laboratory.

Funding for the Parkinsons experimentis coming from theMichael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Researchand theCenter for the Advancement of Science in Space.

Marco Baptista, the Fox foundations director of Research and Grants, and Dr. Sebastian Mathea of the University of Oxford discussed the experiment during amedia teleconferenceabout the launch on Aug. 8.

Only about 10 percent of Parkinsons cases stem from genetic mutations. Of those,LRRK2 mutations are the most common.

The percentage of LRRK2-linked Parkinsons cases is much higher in someethnic groups, however. They account for 40 percent of cases amongNorth African Arab Berbers, for example, and 15 to 20 percent of cases amongAshkenazi Jews.

Parkinsons researchers hopelarger, better-formed protein crystals with fewer defects can yield the high-resolution views of LRRK2 they need.

A detailed view of the shape and form of LRRK2s crystalline structure could be an important step toward understanding and accelerating development of LRRK2 inhibitor therapies that can prevent, slow, or stop the progression of Parkinsons.

The unique environment of the International Space Station untethers research from restrictions imposed by gravity, Gregory H. Johnson, executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, said in a press release. The organization is glad to partner with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to explore the structure of this important piece of the Parkinsons puzzle, he said.

Launch is scheduled for Aug. 13 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Other scientists who participated in the teleconference included:

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Parkinson's Experiment to Be Aboard Next Flight to International Space Station - Parkinson's News Today

Photo: Contributed / Contributed

From left to right, Fairchild Wheeler studentsKiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, Uchenna Oguagha, Kiana Laude, and Jucar Lopes.

From left to right, Fairchild Wheeler studentsKiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, Uchenna Oguagha, Kiana Laude, and Jucar Lopes.

Fairchild Wheeler Aerospace students get their experiment ready for the space shuttle

Fairchild Wheeler Aerospace students get their experiment ready for the space shuttle

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

Bridgeport high school sending experiment to International Space Station

BRIDGEPORT If all goes as planned a mission to the International Space Station with 21 student experiments on board, including one from Fairchild Wheeler will finally take off on Sunday.

Delayed four times already, the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) Mission 11 is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Bridgeport experiment comes from four students at the Aerospace/Hydrospace Engineering and Physical Sciences School at the Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet Campus in Bridgeport.

The team included Jucar Lopes of Milford, Uchenna Oguagha of Bridgeport, Kiana Laude of Trumbull and Raysa Leguizamon of Bridgeport.

Entitled Microgravity's Effect on Immune System Response of Model Species: An Interaction between Daphnia magna and Pasteuria ramosa, the experiment looks at the effects of microgravity on the human immune system.

The experiment substitutes water fleas for humans and looks at how well they can fight off a foreign invader in this case a bacteria called Pasteuria romosa.

On earth, water fleas can handle that bacteria pretty well. In space, against freeze dried samples of the bacteria? Time will tell.

Once the experiment is completed by astronauts on the space station, the water fleas will be returned to Earth to measure the protein levels in their blood.

The Fairchild experiment was selected from among 1,959 student team proposals, engaging 9,870 grade 5-16 students in microgravity experiment design. Fairchilds is one of two experiments from Connecticut. The other comes from East Hartford.

Others originated in California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and two from Canada.

Before it was sent to SSEP, there was an internal competition among Fairchild seniors all working on capstone research projects exploring solutions to real world problems. Three were submitted for consideration.

Fairchild Wheelers participation in the SSEP was funded in part by the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. Community partners include the University of Bridgeport and the Discovery Museum and Planetarium.

It is expected the mission will last five weeks.

Because of the launch delays, a backup team of students met on campus in July to pack up and ship the experiment to Florida, said Jay Lipp, principal of the Aerospace school.

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Bridgeport high school sending experiment to International Space Station - CT Post

By Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor | August 8, 2017 08:14am ET

NASA'sNeutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) was installed on the International Space Station in June 2017. This time-lapse video was created using cameras on the orbital lab and shows the orbital outpost's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), aka Dextre, transporting NICER.

NICER launched to the space station on June 3 aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship. The experiment is designed to studyneutron stars, the densest observable objects in the universe, NASA officials have said. NICER officially began science operations in July.

"No instrument like this has ever been built for the space station," NICER principal investigator Keith Gendreau of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland said in a statement. "As we transition from an instrument development project to a science investigation, it is important to recognize the fantastic engineering and instrument team who built a payload that delivers on all the promises made."

Note: Space.com senior producerSteve Spaletacontributed to this report.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him@tariqjmalik.Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandGoogle+. Original article onSpace.com.

Tariq joined Purch's Space.com team in 2001 as a staff writer, and later editor, covering human spaceflight, exploration and space science. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq onGoogle+,Twitterand onFacebook.

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Space Station Robot Installs Neutron Star Explorer: Watch the Time-Lapse Video - Space.com

A Caversham man will be talking to an astronaut while he orbits the earth as part of an international radio challenge.

Jonathan Sawyer, of Waller Court, is one of three young radio amateurs representing the UK at the Youngsters on the Air event.

He joins 80 other young people aged 15 to 25 at the event, held between Saturday, August 5 to Saturday, August 12.

And on Tuesday, August 8 at 7.30pm the 24-year-old will talk with astronaut Paulo Nespoli who is currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Mr Sawyer said: "I am excited to be part of this prestigious youth event and know that the amateur radio contact with the ISS will be something special to remember."

Attendees will also be able to see Mr Nespoli live in the station via Amateur TV.

Mr Sawyer went to the Highdown Sixth Form in Emmer Green , and currently works for Martin Lynch & Sons in Staines, which is one of the biggest suppliers of radio equipment in the UK.

He said: "It's very exciting. This type of event [Youngsters on the Air] is completely unique in the world.

"I know it's been running for the last six years and its great for the UK to be the hosts this year.

"I got a letter through last year inviting me to apply to be a representative for the UK so I went ahead and applied.

"Then this February I got a letter saying I was one of three people who were successful!

"The programme from last year looked pretty exciting so I was really excited to attend this year!"

Other young radio amateurs have come from a diverse range of countries including Croatia, Tunisia, South Africa and Japan. The event is being held at Gilwell Park, near London.

Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby and volunteer public service that was first used in space shuttle missions in 1983 to develop, build and launch satellites.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station is working with NASA to facilitate the ISS contact and a live web cast of the contact will be streamed by the British Amateur Television Club .

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Reading man to chat to astronaut live from the International Space Station - getreading

TACOMA, Wash. NASA astronaut Jack Fischer will be in the hot seat on the International Space Station on Friday, Aug. 11. He will be under the scrutiny of dozens of American and Russian middle school children watching from Earth, as he referees a microgravity game of program your robot to grab the most floating objects in the finals of the international Zero Robotics tournament.

Among the faces watching the livestream at the Museum of Flight: 18 schoolchildren from Tacoma and Gig Harbor whose team beat out three regional rivals to face off on the big day against 12 other finalist teams from the United States and Russia.

The local group of seventh- and eighth-grade students are participants in University of Puget Sounds Summer Academic Challenge, a science and math-based enrichment program run by the colleges Access Programs for underrepresented students from Tacoma Public Schools.

Astronaut Scott Kelley plays with the SPHERES on the International Space Station (Photo credit: NASA/ISS)

The annual Zero Robotics game on the space station is led by NASA and MIT Space Systems Laboratory, with Schools Out Washington coordinating the Washington state competition. The game challenges schoolchildren from across the country and overseas to design a robotics program to solve a problem of genuine interest to NASA and MIT.

The Puget Sounders team from University of Puget Sound came first in the state by designing the best program to control NASAs colorful sphere-shaped robots or SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites). Their program, in a real-life scenario, potentially could pick up spacecraft spare parts or broken satellite items that are floating in space and bring them to the space station.

The 13 finalist student teams will be watching their robots in action, via a livestream feed, in venues from Massachusetts to Alabama to California. The Puget Sounders team will view the tournament at 8:20 a.m. on August 11 from the Space Gallery of the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, just south of Seattle. You can watch it live on University of Puget Sound Access Programs Facebook page.

The kids got five weeks to train and experiment with a graphical simulator, which has on-screen elements that look rather like a puzzle, and that have their movements translated into computer code, said Joseph Coln 10, Puget Sound Access Programs coordinator. They had to come up with a strategy for collecting high-value objects floating in the station that would also give them the scope to defend their own bin of objects or to try to grab competitors objects.

On the big day, each teams computer code will be loaded on to computers on the space station. The team that scores the most points for collecting objects will win. All teams participating in the program receive trophies to recognize their work.

Amy Gerdes, the Access Programs teacher guiding the Puget Sounders, said the Zero Robotics experience in coding and its real-world application help prepare the students for studies and careers in the sciences, math, computer technology, and engineering.

Win or lose, the code will be archived by Zero Robotics and potentially used in the future by space agencies on missions to Mars or for ongoing cleanup of Earths atmosphere, she said. Thats pretty special.

WHAT: The Zero Robotics competition finals, involving 13 student teams (12 in the U.S.; one in Russia) will be held on the International Space Station. There will be four Washington state teams, including the state winner, the Puget Sounders, watching the contest via a livestream feed. The media are invited.

WHEN: Friday, August 11, 8 a.m.11 a.m. Tournament starts at 8:20 a.m.

WHERE: Museum of Flight (Space Gallery), 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, WA 98108

The Puget Sounders team members: Adrianna Pettway, Aunya Crow, Gabriela Lizarraga, Gabrielle Mullen, Jasmine Chhang, Jasmine Jackson, Jenica Truong, Joseph Irish, Lavina Polk, Micah Long, Miguel Angel Davila, Mikyla Fowler, Monee Dubose, Nicholas Yeun, Quienten Miller, Quinton Pettison, Tyler Budd, and Yahbi Kaposi.

The Zero Robotics Middle School Summer Program provides students with a five-week curriculum introducing them to computer programming, robotics, and space engineering. It is provided through a partnership between the MIT Space Systems Lab, Innovation Learning Center, and Aurora Flight Sciences. It is sponsored by NASA, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), and the Northrup Grumman Foundation.

University of Puget Sounds Summer Academic Challengeis run by the colleges Access Programs, which promote academic excellence for middle and high school students, in partnership with Tacoma Public Schools. The Summer Academic Challenge is a tuition-free summer math and science enrichment program that helps underrepresented students prepare for their next academic year. The program is an integral component of University of Puget Sounds commitment to diversity and its strategic goal to increase the enrollment of individuals from underrepresented minoritized groups, to improve structural diversity, and to promote students retention and success.

Schools Out Washingtonsmission is to ensure all young people have safe places to learn and grow when not in school. The nonprofit group is dedicated to building community systems to support quality afterschool, youth development, and summer programs for Washingtons children and youth ages five through young adulthood.

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Found in Space: Zero Robotics Kids compete - The Suburban Times

By Sophia Porter

I stepped into the D.C. Metro station with a handful of people from the International Space Station Conference. Our conversation paused as we approached a mother struggling to balance a two-seat stroller on the escalator, her toddler son trailing behind. A man from my group offered his hand to the toddler and they rode down the escalator together. As I watched the mother ferry her children into the train car, it struck me that the boy would never know he'd been helped down an escalator by a man who had piloted a spacecraft.

Image caption: Sophia Porter meets astronaut Chris Cassidy in the foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building

Image credit: Sophia Porter

Interning in the International Space Station Division at NASA HQ, I frequently find myself wondering how such accomplished people can remain so humble. I shook hands with a man named Robert who turned out to be the billionaire founder of Bigelow Aerospace, and I sat in the back seat of the NASA director of astrophysics' car as we drove to a lab at the University of Maryland. Once, scanning the crowd at a conference, I noticed Buzz Aldrin had quietly taken a seat at the table next to mine.

As an intern, I have spent my time piecing together a report to Congress on the future of the Space Station. Part of my job is to summarize NASA Inspector General audits of the Space Station programa task, my coworkers joked, that was bound to send me running from the field of space exploration.

Certainly, the hundreds of pages of reports were notHarry Potter, but they tossed me neck-deep into the fascinating minutiae of the Station program. And, more than budgets, contracts, and operations, I began to see the grander story that it takes a villagetruly, thousands upon thousands of the sorts of people who sit at Mission Control in silence at 3:26 a.m. while the crew sleep 400 miles overheadto build the parts, design the experiments, and write the reports that keep Station thriving.

There is an unspoken acknowledgment here that space is a powerful motivator.

It's one of only a handful of bipartisan endeavors and one of the best-faring agencies amid heavy proposed federal budget cuts for 2018, and the air is thick with genuine camaraderie. No individual soaks up the limelight because space is not an individual pursuit.

Regardless of what's happening on the ground, on Station, 15 nations including the U.S., Russia, and Japan will forget their differences for the sake of joint exploration. Because of its modest air, the industry has a feeling of inclusivity. Its achievements are worldwide triumphs. Every contribution matters.

What a place to be an intern.

Sophia Porter is a member of the Johns Hopkins University Class of 2019. She is a physics and applied mathematics and statistics double major who is interning this summer for the International Space Station Division of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Have a story to share as part of the Hub's Summer Gigs series? Email Taylor Jade Powell to contribute.

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Out of this world: Working on the International Space Station project ... - The Hub at Johns Hopkins

Source:Chuck McPartlin, ISS

The International Space Station is back for some early August Santa Barbara appearances. To get the latest predictions, visit Heavens Above.

On Monday, August 7, the ISS will rise in the NNW at9:54 PM, and pass low over our mountain horizon to disappear in the NNE at9:56 PM, entering Earths shadow just as it reaches the bent W of Cassiopeia.

The first passon Tuesdaywill rise in the N at9:02 PM, and cruise low across the mountains to set in the ENE at9:05 PM. It will pop up briefly again at10:37 PMin the NW, vanishing at10:38 PMafter a short climb.

On Wednesdaywe will get a bright pass that begins at9:45 PMin the NW, passes the bowl of the Big Dipper and crosses the handle of the Little Dipper to fade away just above the North Star, Polaris, at9:47 PM. Notice that Polaris isnt all that bright, but it shows you true North, and its altitude gives you your latitude.

Thursdaywill have a bright pass rising at8:53 PMin the NNW, and vanishing in the ENE at8:57 PM, just as it reaches the chest of Pegasus. It will pop up again at10:29 PMin the WNW, and disappear at10:30 PMin the W, just below the bright orange star Arcturus.

OnFriday, August 11, the ISS will rise at9:37 PMin the WNW, sail brightly past Arcturus, and fade away in the WSW as it reaches Serpens Caput at9:40 PM.

The best and brightest pass of this series will coincide with the monthly Star Party at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, rising at8:44 PMin the NW, going by the bowl of the Big Dipper, along the length of Draco, across the Summer Triangle, and disappearing in the ESE at8:49 PM, just above the dim triangle of Capricornus, the Big Bikini Bottom of autumn.

Sundays pass will rise at9:29 PMin the W, pass low above Jupiter, and fade away in the head of Scorpius in the SW at9:32 PM.

The station will rise in the WNW at8:36 PMon Monday, and pass higher, between Scorpius and Saturn, to disappear in the SSE in Sagittarius at8:42 PM.

No pass will be visibleon Tuesday, and the final pass of this series will happen onWednesday, August 16, appearing at8:28 PMin the W, cruising low through Leo, below Jupiter and Spica, and setting beneath the stinger of Scorpius in the S at8:32 PM.

Hasta nebula!

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International Space Station for August - Santa Barbara Edhat

The GhanaSat-1Ghanas first satellitebegan its orbit recently, with a little help from some friends.

The cubesat, built by a Ghanaian engineering team at All Nations University, was delivered to NASAs International Space Station in June on a SpaceX rocket that took off from pad 39a at Kennedy Space Center, a NASA spokesperson confirmed.

The GhanaSat-1 deployed into orbit from the Center in July, and is now operational, according to project manager Richard Damoah, a Ghanaian professor and assistant research scientist at NASA.

This particular satellite has two missions, Damoah told TechCrunch. It has cameras on board for detailed monitoring of the coastlines of Ghana. Then theres an educational piecewe want to use it to integrate satellite technology into high school curriculum, he said.

GhanaSat-1 will send a signal to a ground station at All Nations Universitys Space Systems and Technology Laboratory. Thats where it was developed by a team of engineers that included Benjamin Bonsu, Ernest Teye Matey, and Joseph Quansah.

While Ghanas president Nana Akufo-Addo applauded the launch and congratulated the team directly, the project did not receive official Ghanaian government support, according to Damoah. Instead, Japans national space agency, JAXA, provided the bulk of the resources and training to develop the satellite.

The GhanaSat-1 deployment marks increased interest and activity in Africa toward space exploration. Nigerias first cubesat launched on the same SpaceX mission. Several nations, such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia have space agencies. Angola announced its intention to launch a satellite over the coming year, said Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa at the World Economic Forum.

She also pointed to Pan-African efforts to coordinate space efforts, such as the African Unions African Space Policy and Strategy initiativeadopted last yearthat prompted AU members states to realize an African Outer space Programme, as one of the flagship programmes.of the AU Agenda.

Damoah believes the GhanaSat-1 deployment could prompt Ghanaian government resources toward a second satellite project coordinated by All Nations University and the countrys Science Space and Technology Center. After this launch, we now have the support of the president and cabinet support, he said. We are looking to develop a GhanaSat-2, with high resolution cameras, that could monitor things such as illegal mining, water use, and deforestation in the country.

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Africa has entered the space race, with Ghana's first satellite now orbiting earth - TechCrunch