Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Now 2nd Brightest Object in Night Sky with Final Solar Arrays Deployed

Screen shot from NASA TV during the solar array deployment. Credit: NASA TV

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The International Space Station should now be the second brightest object in the night sky, following Friday’s successful deploy of the S6 solar wings. Astronauts on board the ISS and space shuttle Discovery unfurled the arrays, successfully carrying out the main objective of the STS-119 mission. “Today was a great day,” said ISS commander Mike Fincke to mission control Friday afternoon. “Today is the day the station went to full power.” The length of the arrays unfurled Friday measures 73 meters (240 feet), tip to tip, with the S6 truss in between. The S6 solar array pair adds 2,926 892 square meters (9,600 square feet) to the station solar arrays, bringing the total surface area to nearly an acre. The station’s arrays now will generate as much as 120 kilowatts of usable electricity, enough to power about 42 854 260 square meter (2800-square-foot) homes.

The station should now be the second brightest object in the night sky –even brighter than Venus, and second only to the Moon.

The S6 blanket box before deploy (behind the arrays unfurled during a previous mission). Credit: NASA TV
The S6 blanket box before deploy (behind the arrays unfurled during a previous mission). Credit: NASA TV

The deployment proceeded without any problems, as the astronauts unfurled the arrays in a gradual process, deploying the arrays half way, then letting the sun warm the arrays to decrease the probability of the “stiction” problem, where the solar array blanket slats stick together due to a protective sticky film on the slats. The solar arrays have been in storage for several years, all folded up. The areas of “ripple” flattened out naturally and the crew and Mission Control reported the array extended to its full length of 35 meters (115 feet) on each side. The new arrays add enough power-generating capacity to double the electricity available for space station science operations, from 15 to 30 kilowatts.

This is great time to take the opportunity to view the station as it passes over North America and Europe. For more information on how to see the ISS, see our previous article on viewing the station.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Spaceship Sighting Alert!

The ISS/Shuttle taken by Tim Lovell in the UK.

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As I write this, astronauts from space shuttle Discovery are on the first spacewalk of the STS-119 mission, installing the fourth and final set of solar array wings to the International Space Station. Once the array is deployed, the station will surpass Venus as the brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. This week provides great sighting opportunities for North America and Europe to watch the station/shuttle complex as it passes overhead. You might even be able to take a picture of the event, like Tim Lovell did, who lives in the UK. Tim took this image just a short time ago, on March 19, 2009 at about 21:00 CET . If you’ve never had the opportunity to see the space station fly over your backyard, this is a great chance to do so. And for those of you that have seen the ISS before, you know what a spectacular (and sometimes spine-tingling) sight it is. And now that the station is growing (and while the shuttle is docked) the ISS will be brighter than ever. How can you find out when the station will be flying over your house?

There are a couple of different websites that provide real-time tracking data and information about the ISS sighting opportunities. NASA has a Quick and Easy Sightings by City site, where you just search for your country and city which provides local times and the location in the sky where the station will be visible.

The European Space Agency also provides their ISS: Where Is It Now site that also allows you to select your country and city to find the station’s location.

The Heaven’s Above website (which also powers ESA’s site) is also an excellent site to find out when the ISS, as well as all sorts of other satellites and other heavenly sights will be visible. At Heaven’s Above, you can plug in your exact latitude and longitude, so if you live in a remote area, you’ll be able to have exact times and locations to look for satellites instead of relying on information for the nearest city.

So take this great chance to see our orbiting outpost. If you have a strong enough and tracking-capable telescope you might even be able to spot specific modules on the station, or the solar arrays.

The solar array truss segment, known as Starboard 6 or S6 for short, weighs 14,000 kilograms (31,060 pounds) and measures 5 meters (16.3 feet) wide, 13.8 meters (45.4 feet) long in the shuttle’s cargo bay. Once deployed, the ISS will then have four panels on each end of its power truss. Total surface area of all the arrays will be roughly one acre, generating 84 to 120 kilowatts of useable power, depending on the time of year and angle to the sun.

Thanks to Tim Lovell for sharing his ISS image!

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

More Debris on Possible Collision Course with ISS

Space debris impact on Space Shuttle window. Credit: NASA


Following last week’s close call with a piece of space debris coming near the International Space Station, NASA is keeping an eye on another piece of debris which could come even closer to the station. Current estimates say the debris will approach the ISS early Tuesday morning, at about 3:14 a.m. EDT (0714 GMT) at a distance of only 2,600 feet (793 meters).

“The piece of debris which is expected to come close to ISS early tomorrow is from an explosion of a Russian navigation satellite in 1981,” NASA’s Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris Nicholas L. Johnson told Universe Today. NASA will decide by later today (Monday) if they will use the thrusters on the Zvezda module to move the ISS away from the debris. If so, the thrusters would fire for a short maneuver at 9:54 p.m. EDT tonight (01:54 March 17 GMT). Since space shuttle Discovery is on its way to rendezvous with the station on Tuesday, changes would have to made to the shuttle’s rocket firing sequence to compensate.

Johnson said that small pieces of debris have already collided with ISS on many occasions, but these debris to date have not affected the safety of the crew or the operation of the mission. “The dedicated debris shields on ISS can withstand particles as large as 1 cm in diameter,” he said.

Update: (5:35 CDT) NASA is now reporting that a maneuver will not be necessary for the ISS to avoid the orbital debris.

The ISS is said to be the most heavily shielded spacecraft ever built.

Johnson added that on average, close approaches to ISS occur about three times a month. An approach of debris is considered “close” only when it enters an imaginary “pizza box” shaped region around the station, measuring 0.75 kilometers above and below the station and 25 kilometers on each side( 2,460 feet above and below and 15.6 by 15.6 miles). NASA the size of the debris is not precisely known as yet, and how close it will come to the station. “This piece of debris and that which passed close to ISS last week are not associated with any recent events, such as last month’s satellite collision,” Johnson said.

Last week a rather large 12.7 cm (5-inch) piece of debris from a spent rocket motor came within 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) of the station. Usually, when debris is seen as on a possible collision course with the ISS, the station is able to fire thrusters and maneuver out of danger. However, because of the late notice, there wasn’t time to perform the thruster maneuvers, and the crew closed all the hatches on the station and retreated to the Soyuz capsule until the threat had passed.

Soyuz TMA attached to the ISS. Credit: NASA
Soyuz TMA attached to the ISS. Credit: NASA


According to MSNBC, the space station’s crew has taken refuge in the Soyuz as many as five times before today due to concerns about passing space debris, and the ISS has had to perform 8 collision avoidance maneuvers in the past 10 years.

Wired reported that information from a NASA database details 1,951 debris impacts to the space shuttle through 2006, requiring windows and radiators to be replaced.

“It’s yet another warning shot that we really have to do something about space debris now. We have to do something on an international level,” Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told the Associated Press.


“As we continue to put stuff up there, the predictions are that the rate (of close calls) will increase,” added William Ailor, director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at the Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo, Calif.

The U.S. Space Command tracks 13,943 orbiting objects 4 inches or larger. Only about 900 of those are working satellites, McDowell said. The rest is litter. There are thousands more smaller pieces of junk that can’t be tracked as easily.

We’ll keep you posted on the lastest space debris issue.

Sources: Email exchange with Nicholas Johnson, MSNBC, AP, Wired

Posted on by Anne Minard

Liftoff! Discovery Finally Leaves Earth for ISS

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NASA’s space shuttle discovery launched successfully from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base at 7:43 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, under flawless skies and without a single significant complication, despite past issues that had postponed the launch no less than five times.

Less than a minute after leaving the launch pad, Discovery was traveling 365 miles (578 kilometers) per hour. Less than two minutes after that, the craft was speeding away at 1,100 miles (17,000 kilometers) per hour and climbing, toward the International Space Station.

All three main engines performed perfectly throughout Discovery’s flight. Eight minutes after launch,  the twin solid rocket boosters burned out and fell away as the craft was traveling 17,500 miles (28,000 kilometers) an hour. 

Now that it’s orbiting Earth, it will take Discovery about two days to catch up to the International Space Station. 

Early Sunday afternoon, Launch Director Mike Leinbach sent a “red team” to launch pad 39A to manually correct a valve issue that caused a drop in helium pressure. But following that minor adjustment, NASA encountered no issues to delay the launch. 

In fact, the weather improved as the day went on. Original weather predictions had been 80 percent favorable for launch, but by 6 p.m. that prediction had been upgraded to 100 percent. 

Discovery’s payload includes technology to boost the station’s power capacity in line with doubling the size of the ISS crew from three to six in May.

The set of solar arrays that the STS-119 crew will be bringing up includes two solar array wings, each of which has two 115-foot-long arrays, for a total wing span of 240 feet, including the equipment that connects the two halves and allows them to twist as they track the sun. Altogether, the four sets of arrays can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity – enough to provide power for more than 40 average homes. Since the three existing arrays can handle the majority of the station’s day-to-day operational and life support needs, the newest solar array will double the amount of power available for scientific research. 

The Discovery crew has been bouncing between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, and the Johnson Space Center in Houston since late January; the first launch attempt was scheduled for early February. But four times, managers rescheduled the launch based on their concern following a hydrogen control valve malfunction on the shuttle Endeavour last fall. They wanted to rule out any similar glitches on Discovery.

Things were looking good for the fifth attempt on Wednesday — when skies would have been clear across much of the east coast — but a leak during refueling led to another cancellation.

Fueling of Discovery’s tank — with nearly 500,000 gallons of chilled liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants  — went off Sunday morning without a hitch. 

Discovery’s flight is STS-119, but NASA has actually flown 131 missions with shuttles. Under the Obama administration, the shuttle program is expected to retire next year.

Posted on by Anne Minard

Discovery Launch: Sixth Attempt a Charm?

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With just over four hours to go before launch, NASA is 80 percent optimistic that tonight’s Discovery launch will be a go — with the weather holding the only foreseeable wild card. Launch time is 7:43 p.m. local time (EDT) from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

Unfortunately for east coast skywatchers, a storm system that’s been dumping rain all weekend will obstruct a view of the launch that would otherwise be a beauty, as the shuttle will cruise northeast over the ocean nearly parallel to the shore. Without the clouds, the launch would have been visible as far west as the Appalachian Mountains, and as far north as the southern tip of Nova Scotia. 

But Florida’s weather is looking promising, partly cloudy (and 80 degrees at the time of this post) with an 80 percent chance of cooperating with the launch.

7:20 p.m. (EDT) update: With less than a half hour to go, daylight is fading under clear skies in Florida. Earlier, the weather forecast improved from 80 percent to 100 percent favorable for launch. NASA is reporting no problems.

The Discovery crew members are set to fly a new truss segment to the International Space Station and install the final set of power-generating solar arrays, boosting the station’s power capacity and paving the way for doubling the size of the ISS crew from three to six.

The Discovery crew has been bouncing between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, and the Johnson Space Center in Houston since late January; the first launch attempt was scheduled for early February. But four times, managers rescheduled the launch based on their concern following a hydrogen control valve malfunction on the shuttle Endeavour last fall. They wanted to rule out any similar glitches on Discovery.

Things were looking good for the fifth attempt on Wednesday — when skies would have been clear across much of the east coast — but a leak during refueling sent up another red flag. 

Understandably, this morning’s fueling was a bit tense. But for three hours beginning at 10:20 EDT, nearly 500,000 gallons of chilled liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants flowed into Discovery’s external tank without incident. 

Two irregularities have been reported so far this afternoon: a bat was found clinging to Discovery’s external tank, and Launch Director Mike Leinbach sent a “red team” to launch pad 39A to manually correct a valve issue that caused a drop in helium pressure. 

Neither issue is expected to interfere with launch.

Stay tuned for updates, either to this post or a new one.

LEAD IMAGE CAPTION: NASA’s Discovery shuttle pictured under a full moon on Wednesday, when its fifth launch attempt was scrapped. Tonight marks the sixth. NASA/Bill Ingalls

Source: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Close Call: Astronauts Evacuate But Space Station Avoids Debris Hit

International Space Station. Credit: NASA

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The three crew members on board the International Space Station were told to “evacuate” into the Soyuz spacecraft earlier today, when they were notified of possible debris hit to the station. However, thankfully, the debris passed by harmlessly. NASA and mission control in Moscow received a “RED threshold late notice conjunction threat alert” Thursday morning, confirming the object, cataloged as “25090 PAM-D” – said to be a piece of a spent satellite rocket motor –, would approach near the station at 16:39 GMT. Mission control radioed to the crew the possibility of impact to the station was low, but the piece of debris was large enough that if it hit the ISS, there would only be a 10 minute reserve time. NASA sources said the debris was estimated to be 0.009 meters (0.35 inches) wide, weighing less than 1 kg, (Update: NASA now says the object was about 5 inches (12.7 cm) and was expected to pass about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) from the station. That is close enough for concern in space.

The crew responded quickly and professionally throughout the close-out procedures. ISS Commander Mike Fincke, US crew member Sandy Magnus and Russian Flight engineer Yury Lonchakov followed pre-prescribed procedures in closing hatches and window shutters before climbing into the Soyuz. The Soyuz hatch, however was left open. If the debris had hit the station, the crew could have quickly shut the Soyuz hatch and flew to Earth.

The three crewmembers currently on board the ISS. Credit: NASA
The three crewmembers currently on board the ISS. Credit: NASA

The object was initially classified as a low threat of collision with the ISS. However, tracking Thursday morning suggested a greater threat. Usually, when debris is seen as on a possible collision course with the ISS, the station is able to fire thrusters and maneuver out of danger. However, because of the late notice, there wasn’t time to perform the thruster maneuvers.

Afterward, Fincke radioed to mission control that they had kept an eye out for debris passing by while they were in the Soyuz, but they didn’t see anything. The crew quickly returned to the station, opening up hatches and other systems they had shut down, resuming their schedule. Magnus calmly said she was going to go running, part of the daily exercise routine astronauts must perform in space to maintain muscle mass and bone density. Events that were previously scheduled during the time of the evacuation procedures are being rescheduled.

See more info on the debris and evacuation procedures at NASASpaceflight.com.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Crew May Need to Evacuate: Possible Debris Hit

Soyuz attached to the ISS. Credit: NASA

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According to NASASpaceflight.com, the three crew members on board the International Space Station are being prepared for the contingency of evacuation into the Soyuz spacecraft attached to the station following a “RED threshold late notice conjunction threat” alert. The object’s closest approach would occur at 11:39 CDT, slightly more than an hour from the time of this posting. The object, cataloged as “25090 PAM-D” is orbital debris, and was initially classed as a low threat of collision with the ISS. However, latest tracking suggests the threat is now greater. As a contingency, NASA’s Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke, Russian Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, and NASA’s Sandra Magnus may be asked to evacuate into the Russian Soyuz, which would serve as their means of departing from the Station – should it be required.
UPDATE: (10:45 am CDT) Communications with ISS crew from mission control confirms the crew will be going into the Soyuz in case of impact. There is a low probability of impact, but the object is large, and if it does hit, they are talking about only a 10 minute reserve time. Fincke will be closing out the hatches on the US segment.
2nd UPDATE (11:15 am CDT) ISS is closing hatches on all the modules in preparation for evacuation into Soyuz. Crew will stay in the Soyuz from 16:30 to 16:45 GMT, possible debris hit would be at 16:39.
Final update: Debris passed harmlessly. See post-event article.

Several memos acquired by NASASpaceflight.com relay the probability level of the impact, with the latest noting “It’s now in the red threshold and if it doesn’t improve between now and TCA (Time of Closest Approach) at 11:39am CDT today they will put the crew in the Soyuz per the rules.”

“The plan that has been coordinated with MCC-M (Moscow) is that if required the crew will enter the Soyuz and be in place by 16:35 staying there until at least 5 minutes post TCA,” added another memo.

“We will not be closing any additional hatches to enable us to immediately run the nominal depress procedures should they be needed.

“If the PC remains red the course of action will be to place the crew in the Soyuz from 5 minutes before TCA until 5 minutes after TCA. This is ~2 hours after crew post sleep activities (crew will be awake). ”

We’ll keep you posted.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Live From Space: Streaming Webcam Now Available

Earth as seen from the ISS. Credit: NASA

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It’s not exactly what Al Gore had in mind, but its close. Live streaming video is now available every day of the week from the International Space Station. The video will show views of Earth and the exterior structure of the station, as seen from cameras mounted outside the ISS, and other times, activities going on inside the station. If you regularly watch NASA TV online, just go to the same website, and now there’s another choice of channels. Just click on the “Live Space Station Video” tab to enjoy. The Earth views will usually be seen during what is the crew off-duty or sleep periods, usually from about 6 pm to 6 am GMT (1 p.m. to 1 a.m. CST.) During times when the crew is awake and working, selected video will be available, accompanied by audio of communications between Mission Control and the astronauts. Be advised that during working hours when there are special events going on — for example, today as I’m writing this there is a spacewalk taking place — the public channel offers better views and commentary.

During times when the shuttle is docked to the station, the stream will include video and audio of those activities. Whenever video isn’t available, a graphical world map will be shown that depicts the station’s location in orbit above the Earth using real-time telemetry sent to Mission Control from the station.
Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it sees a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but also may provide great views of city lights below.

The streaming video is being webcast as part of NASA’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of the space station in orbit.

To find out when you can go outside and look back at the station overhead, check out NASA’s page for sighting opportunities.

Source: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Will Soon Be 2nd Brightest Object in the Night Sky

Our Earth's horizon and the International Space Station's solar array panels are featured in this image photographed by the Expedition 17 crew in August 2008. Credit: NASA

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Venus is about to be ousted as the brightest star-like object in the night sky. The next space shuttle mission, STS-119 is slated to launch on Wednesday night, March 11 at 9:20 p.m. EDT (1:20 a.m. Thursday March 12 GMT), and astronauts will deliver and install the fourth and final set of solar array wings to the International Space Station. Once the array is deployed, the station will surpass Venus as the brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. The new array will increase the amount of electricity available for science experiments by 50%, providing the power needed for the ISS to house a crew of 6 astronauts instead of the current 3.

The solar array truss segment, known as Starboard 6 or S6 for short, weighs 14,000 kilograms (31,060 pounds) and measures 5 meters (16.3 feet) wide, 13.8 meters (45.4 feet) long in the shuttle’s cargo bay. Once deployed, the ISS will then have four panels on each end of its power truss. Total surface area of all the arrays will be roughly one acre, generating 84 to 120 kilowatts of useable power, depending on the time of year and angle to the sun.

“It takes up the entire payload bay, so unlike the last flight (in November), this is pretty much what our focus will be on the mission, getting the element installed and activated and the wings deployed,” said ISS program manager Mike Suffredini.

There are a few interesting aspects to this mission. Two teachers are part of the crew, but they won’t be teaching from space. Both Richard Arnold and Joe Acaba, who were selected by NASA as part of the educator astronaut initiative, will be conducting two spacewalks each – one of those together –to help outfit the S6 truss, preparing it for deploy.

“As an educator,” Arnold said, “you presumably believe in the notion that education can take you anywhere. Here we are. We’re knocking on the door. We’re about to go to space.”

They hope to demonstrate that educators can contribute as astronauts, just as well as military pilots, engineers and scientists. “Teachers have to think on their feet and be at their absolute best all the time,” Acaba said. “Our performance will speak a lot for the profession.”

The crew members for the STS-119 mission pose for a photo after arriving at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The crew members for the STS-119 mission pose for a photo after arriving at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

STS-119 also will bring up Japan’s first long-duration resident of the ISS station flier, veteran Koichi Wakata, who has flown on the shuttle twice previously. He’ll be taking the place of Sandy Magnus who has been on board the station for the past four months.

Other crew members are Commander Lee Archambault, pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists John Phillips, and Steve Swanson.

This mission has been delayed because of concerns about possible cracks in the three hydrogen flow control valves used to pressurize the hydrogen section of the external fuel tank. But the valves have now been replaced and so far, the weather looks favorable for Wednesday night’s launch.

An artist's illustration of the ISS, with the fourth set of solar array wings highlighted. (Source: NASA
An artist's illustration of the ISS, with the fourth set of solar array wings highlighted. (Source: NASA

By the time Discovery leaves the station, the mass of the ISS will increase to 669,291 pounds – 335 tons – and construction of the station be 81% complete. S6 is the last US-built piece of the station.

Despite the delay getting Discovery off the ground, NASA still hopes to launch five missions this year.

The Hubble repair mission is scheduled for launch May 12, and Endeavour returns to space around June 13 for a mission to attach an external experiment platform on the space station’s Japanese Kibo lab module. Atlantis is scheduled to fly again in late August, followed by Discovery in November or December.

Sources: CSA, CBS Space Place

Posted on by Anne Minard

Finally, It’s Go Time for Discovery Launch

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After four delays in a month’s time, NASA’s Discovery shuttle will finally depart the Kennedy Space Center at 9:20 p.m. local time on Wednesday, March 11. 

Discovery’s STS-119 mission will carry two new solar array wings, which will increase the station’s solar power capacity so it might support a larger crew. Launch was initially set for early February, but managers were worried following a malfunction of hydrogen control valves on the shuttle Endeavour last fall. They wanted to rule out any similar glitches on Discovery.

Discovery’s launch date was announced following a flight readiness review earlier today. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle’s equipment, support systems and procedures are ready.

On the resolution of the shuttle’s flow control valve issue, John Shannon, Space Shuttle Program manager said, “This is one of those problems requiring a lot of work. It was a little premature before today. The signs were there that we were safe, but the teams went off and came up with definitive data to prove it.”

Mike Leinbach, Space Shuttle launch director, added that from a processing standpoint, the shuttle is in good shape. “It feels good to be here with a firm launch date. I saw a lot of people after the meeting and the mood is really upbeat,” he said.

The launch countdown clock will begin at the T-43 hour mark at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Also on Sunday, Discovery’s astronauts are scheduled fly from their home base in Houston, arriving in arriving in Florida by mid-afternoon.

Source: NASA