The ISS had a full house during the STS-124 mission. Credit:NASA
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A Russian official misspoke last weekend when he said the number of crew members on board the International Space Station probably wouldn’t increase next year as planned. On Saturday, Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov said, “I doubt that the ISS crew will be increased to six people from next year because the final decision has not been taken yet. All countries participating in the ISS program have to decide it.” But today NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said Perminov made a mistake. “There are no impediments for going forward with expanding the crew size from three to six,” Humphries told Universe Today. The issue was also discussed during a press conference with the space station crew, including the newly arrived crew of three that launched on a Soyuz rocket on Sunday: U.S. astronaut Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott.
NASA and the international partners working together to construct the ISS want to increase the crew size in order to expand the capability to conduct research. But in order to boost the crew size, the station must be able to recycle condensation, cooling water and even urine to provide enough potable water for the astronauts, their experiments and the station’s U.S. oxygen generator. Additional astronaut sleep stations, a second toilet (and repairing the one already on board) and a second galley also must be delivered, installed and checked out.
Fincke said the main mission during his Expedition 18 is to get the space station, currently sized for three people, up and running and ready to go for six people. “It’s going to take a lot of work, but it’s the next step in getting the space station fully operational. We’ve got the right team for it,” he said. Fincke will take over as commander of the station on Oct. 22.
The Soyuz TMA-13 approaches the Space Station alongside another Soyuz spaceship, set to return Garriott in 10 days (NASA)
[/caption]The Soyuz TMA-13 carrying Expedition 18 to the International Space Station (ISS) has successfully docked, delivering astronaut Mike Fincke, cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov and space tourist Richard Garriott. The Soyuz spaceship docked with the Zarya module ahead of schedule over breathtaking views of southern Asia. Richard Garriott, a 47 year-old computer games entrepreneur and son of retired US astronaut Owen Garriott, spent $30 million for the privilege of spending ten days travelling to, and living on the orbital outpost. To appreciate how the Earth has changed in the 35 years since his father first looked down on Earth from the US Skylab space station, Garriott Jr. will spend some of his time taking photos of our planet so the images can be compared…
It looked like a flawless docking procedure between the Soyuz spacecraft and the ISS over the scenic backdrop of the Earth. Soyuz gently floated toward its dock with the Russian-built Zarya module along side the Soyuz TMA-12 that carried Expedition 17 to the station back in April. The already parked Soyuz will be the return vehicle in eight days time (on October 23rd) for cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko who will chaperone Richard Garriott back to solid ground at the end of his space “vacation.” Volkov and Kononenko, members of Expedition 17 have spent six months in space.
'Running the lockers' inside Skylab. (NASA)Now that Garriott is getting settled in his temporary orbital home, he only has a short time to complete all the tasks he has set. As the sixth space tourist to visit the space station, he will obviously enjoy the views, but Garriott is also keen to follow in his father’s footsteps. Owen Garriott lived and worked on Skylab in 1973 for 59 days and he found that by running around the circumference of the station, that he was able to build up enough centrifugal force to remain in contact with the sides. Although Garriott Jr. is keen to try this zero-gravity activity out for himself, the International Space Station doesn’t have a large enough volume.
“I have been trying to figure out where on the International Space Station could this best be performed,” Richard said. “One of the great things about Skylab is that it had this massive internal volume and this nice ring of lockers that gave you a relatively smooth surface to make that attempt and a reasonable diameter so that at a nice jog pace, the centrifugal force would do a reasonable job of holding you to the outside wall. The ISS’s diameter is much smaller.” So it would appear that “running the lockers” as Owen called it, will not be possible on board the ISS. I guess they don’t make space stations like they used to…
Jogging inside the space station to one side, the Expedition 18 crew will begin to supervise the start-up of new life-support equipment for the station. This is one of the steps to ensure that the station can accommodate six full-time crewmembers as from the planned expansion in May 2009.
The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft (Expedition 18) launches Michael Fincke, Yury V. Lonchakov and Richard Garriott (AP Photo/NASA)
[/caption]…but the station’s toilet has broken down again.
For $30 million, you can get a ride into space for a 10-day trip on board the International Space Station. To Richard Garriott, this is money well-spent. He got to spend months training for the experience and he will use the adventure to carry out experiments, educational programs and to follow in his father’s footsteps. 25-years earlier, Owen Garriott flew on Space Shuttle Columbia, and before that he served on Skylab. Having successfully launched on board the Soyuz launch vehicle on Sunday, Garriott Jr. is keen to make space travel a family affair, and make some history along the way; he is the first second-generation American astronaut ever to be launched into space. It sounds like an exciting few days await the 47 year old computer video game entrepreneur…
But like any positive story, there’s a flip-side. The International Space Station, far from being The Ritz at the best of times, has been inflicted with a rather annoying inconvenience… the main toilet is out of order, requiring all on board to use the Soyuz en-suite. Although it is doubtful Garriott will get a room credit for the inconvenience, I’m sure the view of the Earth rotating below, the excitement of being involved in the biggest space project ever conceived, and the joy of zero-G will more than make up for the bathroom situation…
At 3:01 AM EDT (0701 GMT) Sunday morning, Richard Garriott blasted off from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft. Expedition 18 is being used to ferry two new crewmembers to the ISS. American astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov will keep Garriott company until tomorrow’s (Tuesday) Soyuz docking with the station where the trio will join the existing ISS crewmembers Commander Sergei Volkov, Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko and astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff. Volkov and Kononenko will accompany Garriott when he is scheduled to return back to Earth on October 23rd.
The cosmonaut, astronaut and space tourist wave to onlookers before boarding Soyuz (AP Photo)
“Today, my dream of following in my father’s footsteps to explore new frontiers is being realized,” Garriott said in a statement shortly after launch in reference to his father, 77 year-old retired NASA scientist-astronaut Owen Garriott. “It’s with honour and appreciation that I launch on my greatest adventure yet, and step into a role assumed by only five private individuals before me.”
Watching his son being launched into orbit, Garriott Sr. supports Richard in all his space-faring dreams. “He wants to charge full speed ahead,” said Owen, who flew to the pioneering Sklab space station in 1973 and flew on shuttle Columbia 10 years later.
Richard Garriott has been preparing for this moment for many months, and his excitement is evident in the post on his website before launch. “I feel well prepared for this flight, and have complete faith in my crew mates, our beautiful rocket, and the huge number of people it takes to launch our Soyuz and operate the ISS,” Garriott said, wanting his friends and family to be there with him. “I wish I could share this experience with each of you, in the way I have had the opportunity to experience it.”
U.S. astronaut Owen Garriott looks at the Russian Soyuz TMA-13 that will carry his son into orbit (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Unfortunately, there will be some uncomfortable days aboard the ISS. On Thursday, the main toilet facility broke down in the Russian Zvezda service module, leaving the crew to use the Soyuz bathroom facilities. The main toilet has been the source of much hassle to the crew and flight controllers; back in June Oleg Kononenko had to carry out a lengthy in-orbit plumbing job to get the gas-liquid separator assembly pump replacement up and running. It would appear a similar problem has struck again, only three months later. Perhaps the crew should ask Kononenko to use his skills once more before the cosmonaut has to return back to Earth with Garriott on October 23rd…
For now, plumbing issues to one side, we look forward to seeing Richard Garriott, the sixth space station tourist, carry out his experiments and observations, relaying all his experiences to the rest of the world who cannot afford the $30 million ticket.
“I will return to our earth in a few weeks, with a vast array of photographs, and a lifetime of new stories,” Garriott wrote in his website message. “I look forward to sharing them with you!”
A previous Progress approach to the Space Station over Earth (NASA)
[/caption]This may come as a surprise, but then again, it might not. Despite the recently signed US Congressional waiver of the Iran-North Korea-Syria Nonproliferation Act, allowing NASA to use the Russian Progress vehicle to send US supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) after Shuttle decommissioning in 2010, NASA has said that they will seek out US-based commercial launch options instead. NASA has lobbied the US government for months to allow them to continue using Russia’s launch capabilities, but since the recent launch success of US-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 1 rocket on September 28th, hopes are high that this option will stop NASA’s dependence on Russia…
The Iran-North Korea-Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA) basically prevents entities in the US from doing business with Russia if Russia is doing business with Iran, North Korea or Syria to further their development of nuclear technology. However, one such US “entity” is NASA and the space agency has been working with Russia’s space program since the Act was signed in 2000 (even though it is known that Russia has been providing technology to Iran to pursue their nuclear ambitions). NASA has been able to do this by having the INKSNA waived by Congress. The current waiver was valid until 2011, so NASA has been pursuing a waiver extension to prevent the US from being barred from access to space after Shuttle retirement in 2011.
Although they are now legally entitled, NASA has now said that it will not require the use of the Russian Progress supply ships to deliver US supplies to the station, even after the successful signing of a waiver extension (until 2016) last week.
“NASA’s policy has not changed,” NASA spokesman David Steitz said last Thursday (October 2nd). “NASA will rely on U.S. commercial cargo services to resupply ISS following retirement of the shuttle, and does not intend to purchase Progress cargo services after 2011.”
This decision comes after the successful launch of the first ever commercial space vehicle on September 28th. SpaceX will have been relieved the fourth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket system operated flawlessly, proving to NASA that a dummy payload can be lifted into orbit by a private company. The previous flight (Flight 3, on August 2nd) suffered a stage separation anomaly, which caused the loss of two NASA satellite systems, NanoSail-D (a prototype solar sail) and PRESat (mini-laboratory to carry out tests on yeast cells).
Although NASA has announced there are no plans to use the Russian Progress spaceship beyond 2011, it is still an option if required. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX is not concerned about NASA opting to use Progress over a US company’s launch system. “I think it’s probably a good thing NASA’s hands aren’t tied there. It’s possible we may lose a few flights to the Russians but we are not going to lose more than that. There is no way Congress would tolerate sending millions of dollars to the Russians rather than to a U.S. company and keeping that money domestic,” he said. Regardless of which political party is voted into government in November, Musk pointed out that, “…neither [U.S. political party] likes sending money overseas if there’s a U.S. supplier.”
According to today’s news release, the waiver still allows the use of the Russian Soyuz system (for manned missions to the ISS), which is fortunate as there is no other US manned option available…
Astronaut Greg Chamitoff contemplates his next move on the ISS (NASA)
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In one of the grandest chess challenges ever attempted, a Canadian space station astronaut will contemplate his moves from orbit whilst students on Earth will make theirs from the ground. Greg Chamitoff, an International Space Station (ISS) flight engineer, has been stationed on the orbital outpost for four months and he is filling his spare time following his favorite intellectual hobby. The chess enthusiast has been playing the board game with space centres around the world, and is so far undefeated. Let’s see if he can beat some of the brightest strategists from kindergarten through to a third grade US Chess Championship Team…
Many of you may be thinking: hasn’t a space station engineer got better things to do with his time rather than playing chess? And you would be right, Chamitoff has a busy schedule to maintain and only has a limited amount of recreational time on his hands. This is why only one move per day will be allowed. This slow game may even get longer should his orbital duties eat into his spare time. However, this is a great chance for the public to experience a rather unique chess match transmitted over an altitude of 210 miles.
“For the past 10 years, the International Space Station has been an important platform to learn about living in space. We’re excited to have the opportunity to engage not only young students, but the public at large in this unique chess match,” said Heather Rarick, lead flight director for the current space station mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. After all, this match will not only boost interest for space exploration in the classroom, it might create many chess enthusiasts (after all, it’s not every day you get to challenge an astronaut to a board game).
US Chess Federation (USCF) Executive Director Bill Hall shares this sentiment. “Chess is a valuable tool to lead students to become interested in math and to develop critical thinking skills, objectives we focus on in our work with schools nationwide,” he said.
The match is focused on school children in kindergarten through to the third grade US Chess Championship Team, including chess club members from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington. The students choose four possible moves in reply to Chamitoff’s and then the public votes on the best move to be transmitted to orbit.
Chamitoff carried his custom-made chess set into orbit when he few on the STS-124 shuttle mission which delivered components for the Japanese Experiment Module, “Kibo”. Each chess piece is attached to the board with Velcro to prevent the pawns and knights from floating around the station’s Harmony module where the match is taking place. In the ISS video on the USCF website (the organization which set up the event), Chamitoff said after ripping his knight from g1, “It’s your move. Good luck. I’m not gonna make it easy for you. And thanks for playing!”
ESA's ATV Control Room following de-orbit burn. Credit: ESA
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Europe’s Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) successfully completed its six-month mission today with a controlled destructive re-entry over the South Pacific. Following a final de-orbit burn at 14:58 CEST which slowed its velocity by 70 m/s, the ATV entered the upper atmosphere at an altitude of 120 km at 15:31 CEST. It broke up at an altitude of 75 km with the remaining fragments falling into the Pacific some 12 minutes later. The break-up was monitored by two aircraft, a Gulfstream V, and a NASA DC-8. “The operations went perfectly; there was no hiccup at all.” said ESA’s mission director Alberto Novelli. “There is a very big feeling of accomplishment because the mission went perfectly from end to end. At the same time we are a little bit sad. The six months (of operation) were very intense and demanding, so there is a mixed feeling. But we are looking forward to start preparing for the following mission.” Update: the first images from the re-entry have just been posted: ATV re-entry. Credit: ESA
Composite of the ISS and ATV as seen from Earth. Credit: Ralf Vandebergh
This first ATV launched on March 9, 2008 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Named the Jules Verne, it delivered 6 tonnes of cargo to the International Space Station, and remained docked to the ISS for five months. During docked operations, it also performed a maneuver to help the ISS avoid a piece of space debris. The crew was able to offload 12 tonnes of waste into the Jules Verne, most of which should have been destroyed in the re-entry. Another image of the ATV re-entry. Credit: ESA
A group of researchers used imaging instruments and spectrographs on board the two aircraft to document the re-entry. Both aircraft are suited to flying at the high altitude needed to perform the observations (12 to 14 km). They measured the brightness of the fragments, obtained positional information and saw how the brightness of the vehicle changes over time, giving an indication of how the spacecraft is tumbling. The spectrograph measures emissions from the atmosphere as the re-entry occurs, which provides information of the flow of the atmosphere around the vehicle. As they analyze their data, they will also be able to see emissions from the vehicle and contents as they break apart, give a detailed understanding of what’s happening to the ATV as it re-entered the atmosphere. Researchers monitored the ATV's re-entry from two aircraft. Credit: ESA
“Credit has to go to everyone involved in such a flawless mission.” said John Ellwood, ESA’s ATV Project Manager. “Not only to the ESA and industrial teams that brought the project to fruition, but also to the teams at the ATV Control Centre and around the world who have done a superb job while the spacecraft has been in orbit. This is truly a wonderful spacecraft, and vital to the continued service of the ISS following Shuttle retirement in 2010. I look forward to the launch of the next ATV, which is currently under production at EADS Astrium in Bremen, Germany.”
The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has done its duty – it even went above and beyond its expected capabilities. But the end is nigh, and soon, on September 29 the ATV will become a fireball and burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, never to be seen again. But before it does, people in North America and Europe have the perfect opportunity to see it sail overhead this weekend in its low Earth orbit, and according to Spaceweather.com, the ATV will glow about a brightly as the North Star, Polaris. To find out when and where to look for the ATV in the evening or early morning skies, check out Spaceweather.com’s great satellite tracking webpage. Just plug in your zip code and you’ll be able to get tracking information for all the satellites that will be visible for the next few days. Also, Heavens Above is a great site to find tracking information, as well. So get out there and bid Jules Verne adieu. Here’s some of the great things the ATV accomplished while on orbit at the ISS, and a movie of its undocking too…
The Jules Verne spent five months docked to the space station where it delivered supplies (and fun things like a manuscript written by its namesake.) The supply ship turned into a tug boat when its engines were fired up to help the ISS avoid a piece of space junk. It also served as an impromptu bedroom for the space station crew.
When will the next ATV fly? Sometime in 2010, and the name for that ship has not yet been revealed. It will follow the debut of another space station cargo ship, Japan’s H-2A Transfer Vehicle, set for next year.
ESA Astronaut Frank DeWinne on board the ISS. Credit: ESA
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The European Space Agency needs a bang-up, attention-grabbing moniker for the next long duration European mission to the International Space Station, and they are holding a competition for the public to submit a suitable name. In May 2009, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, of Belgium will fly to the ISS for a six month mission. ESA is holding a competition to find a name for the mission. Have any great ideas? Here are the parameters for the competition:
The name has to reflect the following aspects:
1. Europe is exploring space, and humans are explorers by nature. Europe has a legacy in exploring Earth and will live up to the expectations in exploring Space.
2. Europe has its own Columbus laboratory permanently in space on the ISS. Europe uses its Columbus laboratory on the ISS for science, technology and education for the benefit of life on Earth.
3. From space our planet looks blue because of the water. Water is the basis of life; Clean water is the basis for healthy life of all humans on Earth.
Wow, that’s a tough set of parameters. Now, here’s a few rules: (for the full rules see HERE)
1. The competition is open to all citizens of the ESA Member States (sorry US and Canada folks, you’re out of luck on this one.)
2. The proposals have to arrive in the [email protected] mailbox the latest by 18:00 CEST, 15 October 2008.
3. The proposal should be maximum of one page, with 12 pt single spacing
4. The name should be a word (or a short combination of words), not a personal name (unless it is a mythological name which has a commonly known symbolic meaning).
Again, here’s the full rules. Have fun and go for it!
The scene inside ESA mission control as the ATV backs away from the station (ESA)
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Europe’s most advanced robotic spaceship, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), has effectively ended its 6-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It successfully undocked today (Friday) at 21:29 GMT to begin its slow 3 week journey toward the Earth’s atmosphere where it is set for re-entry on September 29th. This was the first ever ATV to be launched and was named after the 19th Century novelist, Jules Verne; another four ATVs are scheduled for construction. Jules Verne’s re-entry is set for night time over an uninhabited region of the Pacific Ocean and NASA will use this opportunity to monitor the fireball so the characteristics of re-entering spacecraft can be studied…
It might seem like a waste – after all, the ATV cost 1.3 billion euros or 1.9 billion dollars to build – but Jules Verne was designed to be a single-use, disposable resupply ship for the space station. However, its duties as a supply ship weren’t restricted to grocery deliveries. After it was launched in March, the ATV underwent a series of tests in space to prepare it for arrival at the station on April 3rd. When attached to the station, the ATV surpassed all expectations and performed many tasks that hadn’t been considered by mission control. Although the ATV provided a valuable re-boost option for the station (four times in total), it also provided the thrust to slow the ISS down to avoid a chunk of satellite debris in August. The ship was also a welcome retreat for the crew of the station, giving them a roomy volume for recreation and cleaning chores. I think Jules Verne will be sorely missed.
So, like the Russian Progress 29 resupply ship that was dropped from the station on Wednesday, Jules Verne was packed up with several tonnes of trash and unwanted equipment from the ISS and jettisoned into space.
The ATV will now use its remaining fuel to park its 13.5 tonne mass in a new orbit for the following three weeks before it is commanded to drop from orbit and begin re-entry. Jules Verne’s fiery suicide will happen at night so scientists can gain an insight into how large objects behave when they burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. To monitor the event, NASA will deploy two aircraft with radar, UV and other sensors to track the incoming ATV.
“Even though our schedule has been very busy at the ATV Control Centre, I couldn’t have wished for a better mission,” – Herve Come, ESA’s ATV lead mission director.
Because of stalled legislation that is needed to allow NASA to pay the Russian Space Agency to ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station on board the Soyuz spacecraft, the US section of the space station may have to go unmanned in at least part of 2012. In an interview with CBS’s Bill Harwood, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said because of the of the three-year lead time needed to build Soyuz vehicles, contracts must be in place by early 2009. But because of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, Congress is unlikely to extend an exemption that allows money to be paid to Russia for high technology goods. Griffin said the problem is very serious, and new legislation would have to be approved within the next few weeks to prevent an interruption in NASA astronauts being on board the ISS.
With the exemption to the Iran-North Korea-Syria Non-Proliferation Act, NASA has been able to buy Soyuz seats for U.S. and international astronauts. While the exemption doesn’t expire until the end of 2011, Congress must approve an extension now in order for NASA to place contracts with the Russians by early next year.
Griffin said NASA has been working all year on getting the needed legislation passed. Congress has been aware of the need for a renewal of the exemption for quite some time, as Griffin talked about the importance of the exemption in his testimony during budget hearings last winter.
NASA also is counting on using the Soyuz to bridge the five-year gap between the end of shuttle operations in 2010 and the debut of the Constellation program in 2015. In addition, NASA still needs the Russian Soyuz for rescue capability for the ISS.
“Where it stands is right now,” Griffin said of the exemption, “it’s dead stalled. Because there’s no legislation which is going to come out of the Congress, other than the continuing resolution package, before they recess to go home for elections. And so right now, we’re just on dead stop. And of course, the invasion of Georgia didn’t help.”
“So here’s what will happen. The first and most obvious possibility is there won’t be any American or international partners on the space station after Dec. 31 of 2011. That’s a possibility. Another possibility is that we will be told to continue flying shuttle and we would be given extra money to do so, in which case our Ares and Orion could be kept on track and we would no longer have a dependence on Russia.
“A third possibility is we could be told to keep flying shuttle, not be given any extra money, in which case we don’t get Ares and Orion anytime soon and we still have a gap, it’s just further out in time.”
Asked if he has any optimism a waiver can be in place in time to avoid a gap in U.S. space station operations, Griffin said simply, “no.”
“My own guess is at this point we’re going to have some period in 2012 where there’s no American or international partner crew on station, that there’s only the Russians there,” he said. “That period always ends three years from when we have a contract with the Russians. So if we can get through all this by June of next year and have a contract with the Russians, then in the latter part of 2012 we can fly a Soyuz flight and restore things to normal.”
A transcript of the entire interview is available from CBS News here. In the interview, Griffin also talks about the upcoming mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and the recently announced delays for the Constellation Program.
