Space Station Archives

February 20, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Help NASA Name the Next ISS Module

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The next module for the International Space Station needs a name; something with a little more pizazz than its current appellation, Node 3. NASA is seeking opinions and suggestions for new names, for the component – a connecting module and its cupola, targeted to launch in December 2009. The cupola looks very cool, almost like a starship bridge – with six rectangular windows and one circular window overhead, providing a panoramic view that will be unrivaled by any other spacecraft ever flown. Node 3 itself will connect to the port side of the Unity Node and will provide room for many of the station’s life support systems. NASA has a few names picked out, so you can vote for those, or suggest your own designation. NASA says the name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station, and follow in the tradition set by Node 1- Unity- and Node 2- Harmony. Here are the choices so far:

Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, Venture, or, suggest another name.

Voting/suggesting is open until March 20 here.

More about Node 3:

Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the Node 3 components during the STS-130 mission, currently schedule for December 2009. Once the cupola is attached to one of the module’s six ports, it will offer astronauts a spectacular view of both their home planet and their home in space. Aside from providing a perfect location to observe and photograph the Earth, the cupola also will contain a robotics workstation, where astronauts will be able to control the station’s giant robotic arm.

After Node 3 is installed, the station’s crew will transfer over many of the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) currently stored in various places around the station, including:

The Oxygen Generation System (OGS), which takes the station’s water and splits it apart into hydrogen, which gets vented into space, and oxygen, which is returned into the cabin for the crew to breathe
Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS), which controls the station’s carbon dioxide levels and maintains the temperature and atmospheric pressure at comfortable levels.

The Water Recovery System (WRS) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), which take waste water from the station’s shower and toilets and purify it, separating any contaminants and making it safe for the crew to drink.

The Waste and hygiene compartment, which provides a place for the crew to shower and use the bathroom in a way that allows the station to process the majority of the water used onboard so that it may be used again, greatly lessening the need for resupply flights from Earth.

NASA and its station partners traditionally have named each habitable part of the station, including its three laboratories (the U.S lab- Destiny, the European lab- Columbus, and the Japanese lab- Kibo or Hope), two airlocks (Quest and Pirs), and two Russian-built modules (Zvezda or Star, and Zarya or Dawn).

Source: NASA

February 19, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Next ATV Will Be Named Johannes Kepler

Jules Verne arrives at the ISS. Johannes Kepler is next... (NASA)

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The next Automated Transfer Vehicle (A T V) to be launched to supply the International Space Station (ISS) has been officially named. Currently being assembled in Germany, the next ATV will honour the great 17th Century German scientist, Johannes Kepler.

The very first ATV was named after the legendary French science fiction writer, Jules Verne, and launched on an extended 5 month mission to the orbiting outpost where it delivered supplies, gave the station a helpful re-boost and then carried out an extreme garbage disposal effort, burning up over the Pacific Ocean on September 5th, 2008.

After it is launched on a similar resupply mission in 2010, the same fate awaits ATV Johannes Kepler. Or does it…

The ATV is Europe’s most advanced spacecraft ever built. Last year, Jules Verne wowed the world as it was launched into orbit, completed a flyby of the station (at a distance of 30 km) and then carried out a series of tests (including the critical Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) before waiting in a parking orbit, 2000 km from its destination.

This was a particularly busy time for the ISS as Jules Verne had to wait for Space Shuttle Endeavour to finish its mission (STS-123) to attach the Japanese Kibo module and Canadian robotic arm. After Endeavour returned to Earth, the ATV was clear to dock on April 3rd.

So next year, it will be ATV Johannes Kepler’s turn to carry out a fully automated docking procedure with the space station to deliver food, water, propellant and oxygen. As with Jules Verne, Johannes Kepler is expected to provide a re-boost option, pushing the ISS to a slightly higher orbit.

However, Johannes Kepler might be saved from the fiery re-entry its predecessor had to endure. The European Space Agency, overjoyed at the success of Jules Verne, has asked the space industry for advice on how the ATV might be upgraded, to allow for the safe return of cargo to Earth and possible astronaut transportation. A feasibility study was approved at a meeting in The Hague in November 2008.

Interestingly, there will be another mission already in space in 2010 bearing the same name as the second ATV. The exoplanet-hunting Kepler telescope is set for launch next month.

Source: BBC

February 3, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Has the ISS Suffered Structural Damage?

The ISS after the STS-126 shuttle mission in November 2008. Credit: NASA

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NASA canceled a re-boost of the International Space Station scheduled for tomorrow (Feb. 4) and is investigating whether engine firings last month to put the orbital outpost into a higher orbit caused any structural damage that could possibly reduce the station’s useful life. On January 14 the service module (Zvezda) main engines on the station were fired for 2 minutes and 22.4 seconds. The engines cut off abruptly instead of gradually, causing higher than usual structural oscillations. The extra vibrations may have caused damage to the station that could affect its longevity, said NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries in an article in USA Today. “Anytime you impart a vibration to the station it has potential implications” for the station’s solar panels and the connections between the station’s parts, Humphries said.

The cancelled reboost was supposed to bring the station into a better position for the arrival of the Progress M-66 re-supply vehicle, which is scheduled to launch on February 9 and dock on February 13. According to NASA, the decision to cancel the reboost will not affect the Progress flight or the STS-119 shuttle mission, which is scheduled for launch on February 12.

Reportedly, after the re-boost abruptly ended the station’s solar arrays began swaying back and forth, and an interior camera showed views of equipment and cables flopping back and forth.

NASA’s on-orbit daily status reports stated on January 29 that “As of now, evaluation of the external video survey conducted over the last weekend and a review of subsystem data have not shown any off-nominal results” from the higher oscillations. The station was built with extra structural strength, Humphries said, and the current analysis is “just making sure we haven’t eaten into that margin.” Engineers also want to make sure the abrupt stop by the engines won’t occur again.

A view of ISS modules and solar panels. Credit: NASA

A Janaury 26 report said that engineers in Moscow “reported that the root cause of the observed strong structural oscillations was an error in parameter settings uploaded to the service module (SM) engine gimballing control system, which then caused a malfunction of a dynamic (frequency) control filter. Both the MCS (Motion Control System) and the filter itself are continuing to function properly. Corrective measures are underway.”

The mean altitude increase was for the January reboost was 5.36 km (2.89 nmi).

The rockets on the station are also used to move the station out of the path of any oncoming debris that could puncture its exterior shield. Humphries said he did not know whether such maneuvers would be performed given the current uncertainty over the rockets’ performance.

The station also needs another reboost in March so it can receive the Russian Soyuz TMA 14 spacecraft carrying two new residents and space tourist Charles Simonyi to the ISS.

Later in 2009, the crew size for the ISS is supposed to increase from three to six to allow more science activities, finally bringing the station to its full potential.

NASA is hoping no structural damage occured that could possibly shorten the life of the station. However, how long the station will be in operation is unclear. NASA has no firm plans to make use of the orbiting laboratory after 2015. Many of the other 13 nations that helped build and operate the outpost want to keep it going until at least 2020.

Sources: USA Today, ISS On-Orbit Status Reports

January 31, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Russia Wants to Build New Space Station, Extend Life of ISS to 2020

The Mir space station hangs above the Earth in 1995 (photo by Atlantis STS-71, NASA)

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The Russian space agency (Roscosmos) has announced that it will lobby Moscow with a proposal that would see the construction of a new Russian space station in low-Earth orbit. Also, the agency has expressed a desire to extend the operational lifespan of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2020 (the outpost is set for retirement in 2015). Building a Russian space station will aid Russia’s desire to kick-start their lunar program, possibly acting as a staging post for future missions to Mars…

The ISS has been a hot topic over the last few months, but not always for the right reasons. Its construction is behind schedule by at least five years, primarily due to the Columbia disaster in early 2003 plus some funding problems in the Russian space agency. However, despite its problems, the ISS was 76% complete as of July 2008 and it is set for completion in 2010. This may be the case, but the station is scheduled to be retired in 2015, meaning science on the completed ISS only has a period of five years before it is de-orbited and sent the same way as Mir in 2001 (i.e. down).

The thought of disposing of the ISS so soon has led to some speculative “alternative uses” for the ISS; one of the most outlandish being the conversion of the ISS into some kind of International Space Ship, retrofitting the station with rockets and sending it to the Moon and/or Mars to act as a manned mothership for planetary activities. Although this excites my science fiction imagination, this possibility seems unlikely (it would be cool though…).

It seems that Roscosmos has made their feelings clear about the whole situation, making an announcement on Thursday wanting to drum up support for an ISS extension to 2020 and start the construction of a Russian replacement space station, forming the back bone of Roscosmos’ ambitions to set up a base on the Moon and then make a manned expedition to the Red Planet.

“We will soon propose to our government a project to construct a low-orbit complex, which could serve as a foundation for the implementation of the lunar program and later on – the Mars program,” Alexei Krasnov, director of manned flight programs at Roscosmos, said in a news conference in Moscow on January 29th. “These are our intentions, but we are working hard to ensure that these plans get adequate financial and legislative support from the government.”

The Russian space agency has often been criticised for having ambitions exceeding their budgets, but this is an interesting proposition. The biggest obstacle (apart from the funding bit) would be to convince the other ISS member states to continue funding the mission. “We are considering the extension of ISS service life at least until 2020, but this decision must be adopted by the governments of all 15 countries participating in the project,” Krasnov said.

The idea of having a Russian space station is not very hard to imagine, after all, Roscosmos has the experience of designing, constructing and living on the Mir space station (with the assistance of the Shuttle-Mir Program intended to forge a collaboration between the US and Russia in the run-up to “Phase 2” of the space relationship: constructing the ISS), and they have a very robust existing launch system. All this will be a valuable infrastructure toward supporting the construction of a new manned outpost.

Although this announcement sounds very exciting for Russia, the space agency is beset with financial woes of its own; the idea of embarking on an expensive space station project probably wont be entertained for very long…

Source: RIA Novosti

January 26, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Take a Personal Tour of the ISS

Astronauts Michael Fincke (left), Expedition 18 commander; Sandra Magnus and cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, both flight engineers. Credit: NASA

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Enjoy a personal video tour of the International Space Station with Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke. The station is big — it really is getting to be a big place — so the tour is in four parts. But its worth the time to watch the entire series to see all the modules, the crew quarters, and all the different devices and racks on board. Fincke does a great job giving the “straight skinny,” as he says, and shows all the nooks and crannies of the ISS. He warns that you’ll see a station in the middle of being renovated, so there’s a little clutter, but its fun to see a kind of “day in the life” on board the ISS. Fincke even lets you fly along with him through the Kibo lab, and opens the window shutter (which is very cool!) so you can see the beautiful view of Earth from space. I thought it was fun to see that when the astronauts exercise, they watch movies, just as I like to do. Teachers, this video tour would be a great way to show your students what living on board the ISS is really like. Enjoy — its great! This was recoreded in HD, so click on the option to watch in High Quality (the red arrow on the bottom right of the screen). Here’s part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

January 21, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

No More Tourists on the ISS?

Space tourist Richard Garriott on board the ISS in 2008. Credit: Richardinspace.com

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An official from the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said the International Space Station will not be available for visits by space tourists after 2009, the Russian news agency Novosti reported. As the ISS crew grows from three to six, all the seats on the Soyuz-TMA spacecraft will be used by astronauts and cosmonauts from the various international partners of the ISS, not leaving any room for paying tourists. Director Anatoly Perminov said the last commercial flights would be made this year; in March 2009 former Microsoft software guru Charles Simonyi will make his second trip to the space station, and a Kazakh cosmonaut will fly to the ISS in the fall of 2009.

Since 2001 tourists, or “spaceflight participants” have visited the ISS on 10-day trips, riding to the station in the spare seat on the Soyuz. But the crew increase on ISS means that all the available Soyuz seats will be occupied.

However, the space tourism company Space Adventures, which has taken care of the details in getting the tourists to the ISS, and they said they are working to secure additional seats for 2010, and beyond.

The first private citizen to go to the ISS was US citizen Dennis Tito, in 2001. Since then there have been five other tourists including South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, American Greg Olson, Iranian-American business woman Anousha Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott (son of former US astronaut, Owen Garriott) .

Source: Novasti

January 15, 2009December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

NASA ISS Supply Contracts to SpaceX and Orbital On Hold

Artist impression of the SpaceX Dragon approaching the space station (SpaceX)

[/caption]A Chicago-based space launch partnership has formally lodged a complaint against NASA’s decision to give space station supply contracts to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences late last year. PlanetSpace, a joint effort by space contractors Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co. and Alliant Techsystems Inc., has formally filed a complaint with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). PlanetSpace is angry with the US space agency as they believe they presented NASA with a better resupply deal than SpaceX and Orbital.

NASA has been given 30 days to respond to the complaint and the GAO has said it won’t make a ruling until April 29th. Unfortunately this means NASA will have to halt drawing up the ISS supply contracts until the matter has been resolved.

Just when we thought it was going so well…

At a time when the burgeoning commercial space flight industry thought it was beginning to build up some serious momentum, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have suffered a bump in the road. On December 23rd, 2008 the two companies were celebrating the fact they had secured the largest supply contracts available. NASA agreed to buy 12 flights from SpaceX (for $1.6 billion) and eight flights from Orbital Sciences ($1.9 billion). However, according to PlanetSpace, the partnership offered NASA a better deal than one of the two companies awarded, saying they could do the same job for cheaper.

“The PlanetSpace proposal represented better value to the government. We believe that the GAO will find that flaws in the procurement justify award to PlanetSpace. We look forward to the GAO’s review of this case,” PlanetSpace said in a statement on Thursday.

So far, the GAO has declined to comment on the situation, just stating that NASA had 30 days to respond to the complaint. It won’t be until the end of April that a decision will be made.

NASA decided to use US-based commercial spaceflight companies instead of depending on the Russian Progress vehicle to launch cargo to the International Space Station after the Shuttle is retired in 2010.

Of the two companies, it seems likely that PlanetSpace may be contesting the $1.9 billion contract awarded to Orbital Sciences (in my opinion). Orbital, although a well-established space flight company, is offering less flights for more money than SpaceX (also, the Cygnus space vehicle can carry less cargo than the SpaceX Dragon capsule). However, it is difficult to know where the problem is at this stage.

We’ll just have to wait and see. On a positive note, at least we have several private spaceflight companies wrangling for NASA contracts. Already, business is seeing the advantages (and profitability) of pushing into space, if contracts have to be disputed along the way, so be it.

Source: Reuters

January 8, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

What a Relief! New Space Toilet Being Designed

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The International Space Station’s toilet has had its troubles, and Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has decided they want to “eliminate” this problem for future astronauts and procure a new way to deal with human waste in space. They formed a space toilet research group and came up with an idea that is sure to revolutionize space travel. The wearable toilet. “Clean and easy to use, the envisioned space toilet is designed to be worn like a diaper around the astronaut’s waist at all times,” says an article on Pink Tentacle. Engineers hope to have this next-generation space toilet available to use in space within the next five years.

How does it work?

“Sensors detect when the user relieves him or herself, automatically activating a rear-mounted suction unit that draws the waste away from the body through tubes into a separate container,” the article says. It’s also a full feature toilet/shower almost like a bidet, as well as eliminating potential embarrassing situations in space. “In addition to washing and drying the wearer after each use, the next-generation space toilet will incorporate features that eliminate unwanted sound and odor.”

Plans are to test working prototypes of the space toilet in Japan’s Kibo lab aboard the ISS. The developers indicate their next-generation space toilet may also prove useful on Earth as well, such as in hospitals with bedridden patients.

The current ISS toilet sucks waste away like a vacuum cleaner. Use of that toilet requires practice before heading to space, particularly because an improperly seated user has the potential to create a messy situation.

Chiaki Mukai, head of JAXA’s Space Biomedical Research Office, is looking forward to the development of the new toilet. “Long-term stays in space place significant stress on the mind and body,” Mukai says. “The toilet plays a crucial role in maintaining good health in space.”

Source: Pink Tentacle

December 23, 2008December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Awarded ISS Re-supply Contract

SpaceX DragonLab™ - a free-flying, fully-recoverable, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads. Credit: SpaceX

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Two upstart commercial space companies have been awarded contracts by NASA for commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station. SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies received a contract for $1.6 billion while Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. has a contract valued at $1.9 billion. NASA has ordered 12 flights from SpaceX and eight from Orbital. In October, at this year’s International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, SpaceX Vice President of Marketing and Communications Diane Murphy said that the six- year-old company has it in their sights to be able to fly to the space station by 2009. For now, the contract is for cargo only, however SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket are human rated, and would be capable of delivering up to 7 crew members to the station. The Dragon could also be used as an escape vehicle. If SpaceX and Orbital can be successful in cargo re-supply, it could pave the way for a potential solution to the gap between the shuttle retirement in 2010 and when the Constellation program would be ready to fly, hopefully by 2015.

“The SpaceX team is honored to have been selected by NASA as the winner of the Cargo Resupply Services contract,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO, SpaceX. “This is a tremendous responsibility, given the swiftly approaching retirement of the Space Shuttle and the significant future needs of the Space Station. This also demonstrates the success of the NASA COTS program, which has opened a new era for NASA in US Commercial spaceflight.”

Orbital's Cygnus module will be used for ISS resupply. Credit: Orbital

“We are very appreciative of the trust NASA has placed with us to provide commercial cargo transportation services to and from the International Space Station, beginning with our demonstration flight scheduled in late 2010,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The CRS program will serve as a showcase for the types of commercial services U.S. space companies can offer NASA, allowing the space agency to devote a greater proportion of its resources for the challenges of human spaceflight, deep space exploration and scientific investigations of our planet and the universe in which we live.”

Orbital will use their module called Cygnus to deliver cargo, launched on their Taurus rocket.
These fixed-price indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts will begin Jan. 1, 2009, and are effective through Dec. 31, 2016. The contracts each call for the delivery of a minimum of 20 metric tons of upmass cargo to the space station. The contracts also call for delivery of non-standard services in support of the cargo resupply, including analysis and special tasks as the government determines are necessary.

NASA has set production milestones and reviews on the contracts to monitor progress toward providing services. The maximum potential value of each contract is about $3.1 billion. Based on known requirements, the value of both contracts combined is projected at $3.5 billion.

These agreements do fulfill NASA’s need to for cargo delivery to the space station after the retirement of the space shuttle.

Sources: NASA, SpaceX, Orbital

December 23, 2008December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Spacewalk Attempts to Fix Soyuz Problem

Soyuz docked with the ISS, in a photo taken during Monday's spacewalk. Credit: NASA

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International Space Station Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov, conducted a five-hour 38-minute spacewalk on Dec. 23, successfully installing an electrical probe on the Russian Pirs airlock module designed to track down problems with Russian Soyuz capsule. They also retrieved a space exposure experiment and mounted instrumentation on the Zvezda command module that will monitor disturbances in the ionosphere. But the spacewalkers encountered problems with a second experiment package, designed to expose biological samples to the space environment, to properly plug into the station’s power and data system. After extensive troubleshooting, Russian flight controllers ordered Fincke and Lonchakov to disconnect the Expose-R experiment and return it to the airlock.

Russian scientists hope data from the probe installed by Fincke will help explain malfunctions that have occurred as the Soyuz crew return module has attempted to separate from the space station.

During the past two re-entries through Earth’s atmosphere in April of this year and October 2007, the Soyuz descended too steeply, leading to faster and bumpier-than-usual rides for the crews and off-target landings.

Investigators believe the Soyuz capsule detached too late because a pyrobolt — an exploding connector that keeps the module attached to the space station — failed to detonate on time.

Much of the spacewalk was devoted to arranging connectors and cables for various probes and experiments, and ensuring the reliability of telemetry from the data-gathering equipment.

Yury Lonchakov during the Dec. 23 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Fincke and Lonchakov discovered a problem with the data transmission of a device they installed on a small platform outside the station’s Zvezda module. The European Space Agency experiment was supposed to gather data on the effects of the space environment on a variety of materials.

They successfully placed another device on the same platform to measure the plasma environment around the station. The pair also removed a biological experiment known as Biorisk 2, which exposes biological samples to space.

It was Fincke’s fifth spacewalk, Lonchakov’s first and the 119th spacewalk conducted from the international space station. During the spacewalk, Fincke said in Russian. “It’s good to be out here again.”

U.S. Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus, the third member of the station’s Expedition 18, was inside the station helping coordinate the mission with centers in Houston and in Korolyov, Russia.

Sources: NASA, Yahoo News