International Space Station (ISS) Archives

February 17, 2013December 23, 2015 by Ken Kremer

Canadarm Ready to Ensnare Space Dragon after March 1 Blast Off

Canadarm pictured through a winow aboard the ISS will be used to grapple the SpaceX Dragon after planned March 1 liftoff. Credit: NASA/Thomas Mashburn

Wouldn’t you love to wake up to this gorgeous view of our home planet as a big hand waves a friendly good morning ?!

Well, having survived high speed wayward Asteroids and Meteors these past few days, the human crew circling Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is game to snatch a flying Space Dragon before too long.

NASA will dispatch astronaut fun to orbit in the form of the privately built SpaceX Dragon in a tad less than two weeks time that the crew will ensnare with that robotic hand from Canada and join to the ISS.

On March 1 at 10:10 AM EST, a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket is slated to blast off topped by the Dragon cargo vehicle on what will be only the 2nd commercial resupply mission ever to the ISS.

The flight, dubbed CRS-2, will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying about 1,200 pounds of vital supplies and science experiments for the six man international crew living aboard the million pound orbiting outpost.

SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Teams had just installed the spacecraft's solar array fairings. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett — SpaceX Dragon spacecraft stands inside processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Teams had just installed the spacecraft’s solar array fairings. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The ISS would plummet from the sky like a flaming, exploding meteor and disintegrate without periodic and critical cargo and fueling resupply flights from the ISS partner nations.

There will be some heightened anticipation for the March 1 SpaceX launch following the premature shutdown of a 1st stage Merlin engine during the last Falcon 9 launch in 2012.

The solar powered Dragon capsule will rendezvous with the ISS a day later on March 2, when NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn will reach out with the Canadian built robotic marvel, grab the Dragon by the proverbial “tail” and attach it to the Earth-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.

The Dragon will remain docked to the ISS for about three weeks while the crew unloads all manner of supplies including food, water, clothing, spare parts and gear and new science experiments.

Then the astronauts will replace all that cargo load with numerous critical experiment samples they have stored during ongoing research activities, as well as no longer needed equipment and trash totaling about 2300 pounds, for the return trip to Earth and a Pacific Ocean splashdown set for March 25 – as things stand now.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket before May 2012 blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on historic maiden private commercial launch to the ISS. Credit: Ken Kremer/www.kenkremer.com

SpaceX is under contract to NASA to deliver about 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS during a dozen flights over the next few years at a cost of about $1.6 Billion.

SpaceX comprises one half of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program to replace the cargo up mass capability the US lost following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle orbiters in 2011.

SpaceX also won a NASA contract to develop a manned version of the Dragon capsule and aims for the first crewed test flight in about 2 to 3 years – sometime during 2015 depending on the funding available from NASA.

The US is now totally dependent on the Russians to loft American astronauts to the ISS on their Soyuz capsules for at least the next 3 to 5 years directly as a result of the shuttle shutdown.

Along with SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Corp also won a $1.9 Billion cargo resupply contract from NASA to deliver some 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS using the firm’s new Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule – launching 8 times from a newly constructed pad at NASA’s Wallops Island Facility in Virginia.

The maiden launch of Orbital’s Antares/Cygnus system has repeatedly been delayed – like SpaceX before them.

NASA hopes the first Antares/Cygnus demonstration test flight will now occur in March or April. However, the Antares 1st stage hot fire test scheduled for earlier this week on Feb. 13 had to be aborted at the last second due to a technical glitch caused by a low nitrogen purge pressurization.

For the SpaceX launch, NASA has invited 50 lucky social media users to apply for credentials for the March 1 launch

Watch for my upcoming SpaceX launch reports from the Kennedy Space Center and SpaceX launch facilities.

Ken Kremer

Workers lift a solar array fairing prior to installation on the company's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett — SpaceX technicians lift a solar array fairing prior to installation on the company’s Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

February 12, 2013December 23, 2015 by Ken Kremer

45 meter Asteroid to Skirt Very Near Earth on Feb 15

Asteroid 2012 DA14 Zooms just 17,200 miles above Earth on Feb. 13 in this artist’s concept. Credit; NASA

Our home planet is due for a record setting space encounter on Friday (Feb. 15) of this week, when a space rock roughly half a football field wide skirts very close by Earth at break neck speed and well inside the plethora of hugely expensive communications and weather satellites that ring around us in geosynchronous orbit.

“There is no possibility of an Earth impact” by the Near Earth Asteroid (NEO) known as 2012 DA 14, said Don Yeomans, NASA’s foremost asteroid expert at a media briefing. Well that’s good news for us – but a little late for the dinosaurs.

At its closest approach in less than 4 days, the 45 meter (150 feet) wide Asteroid 2012 DA14 will zoom by within an altitude of 27,700 kilometers (17,200 miles). That is some 8000 km (5000 miles) inside the ring of geosynchronous satellites, but far above most Earth orbiting satellites, including the 6 person crew currently working aboard the International Space Station.

Although the likelihood of a satellite collision is extremely remote, NASA is actively working with satellite providers to inform them of the space rocks path.

The razor thin close shave takes place at about 2:24 p.m. EST (11:24 a.m. PST and 1924 UTC) as the asteroid passes swiftly by at a speed of about 7.8 kilometers per second (17,400 MPH)- or about 8 times the speed of a rifle bullet. For some perspective, it will be only about 1/13th of the distance to the moon at its closest.

“Asteroid 2012 DA14 will make a very close Earth approach, traveling rapidly from South to North and be moving at about two full moons per minute,” said Yeomans, who manages NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “That’s very fast for a celestial object.”

Diagram depicting the passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

No known asteroid has ever passed so near to Earth.

“This is a record predicted close approach for a known object this size,” stated Yeomans. “Such close flybys happen every 40 years on average. An actual Earth collision would happen about every 1200 years.”

Yeomans said that if an asteroid the size of 2012 DA14 fell to Earth, the impact effect would be similar to the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia. That was an air blast event that leveled trees over an area greater than about 800 square miles.

So the local effect on human cities for example of a 50 meter wide asteroid impact would be deadly and utterly devastating. But it would not be catastrophic to all life on Earth. Nevertheless, at this moment, Earth has no defenses against asteroids other than talk.

By comparison, the K-T event that caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago was caused by an asteroid about 10 km (6 mi) in diameter. About 2/3 of all species went extinct. If 2012 DA14 impacted Earth the force would be equivalent to about 2.4 megatons of energy (2.4 million tons of TNT), said Yeomans.

Artists concept of meteoroide impact event

There is no danger to the ISS crew and apparently they won’t have any chance to observe it.

“The ISS is not positioned right for observations,” Lindley Johnson, program executive, Near Earth Object Observations Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington, told Universe Today.

“No NASA space-based assets will be making measurements,” Lindley told me. “The asteroid is moving to fast.”

However, radar astronomers do plan to take images around eight hours after the flyby using the Goldstone antenna in California’s Mojave Desert, which is part of NASA’s Deep Space Network.

Some skilful and knowledgeable Earthlings might have a chance to see the asteroid hurtling by with binoculars or a small telescope.

“The asteroid will be observable in the dark sky in Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia, achieving about 7.5 magnitude, somewhat fainter than naked eye visibility,” explained Yeomans. “Closest approach will be over Indonesia.”

Astronomers at the La Sagra Sky Survey program in southern Spain discovered the asteroid in February 2012 just after its last Earth flyby, at a fairly distant 7 Earth-Moon distances. They reported the finding to the Minor Planet Center.

NASA’s NEO group and collaborators in Pisa, Italy then use such data to predict future flight paths and look into past trajectories as well.

Yeomans said that the Feb 15 flyby will be the closest for the next 100 years and its orbit will be perturbed so that it comes back less frequently – changing its orbital class from Apollo to Aten.

Due to its small size and recent discovery, not much is known about the composition of 2012 DA14. It might be silicate rock.

Small space rocks hit Earth on a daily basis amounting to about 100 tons. Car sized rocks hit weekly.

Stay Alert !

Ken Kremer

February 11, 2013December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Freaky Fast Delivery: Progress Blasts Off, Docks at ISS Hours Later

Progress 50 approaching the International Space Station on Feb. 11, 2013. Via NASA TV.

The Progress 50 resupply ship has now arrived at the International Space Station, just hours after it launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch took place at 9:41 a.m. EST, (14:40 UTC) today (February 11, 2013) and it took only a four-orbit journey to rendezvous with the ISS, docking at 3:34 pm EST (20:35 UTC).

“Progress 50 just docked to our Space Station!” Tweeted astronaut Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) “I was right at the hatch, it made a quick sliding scraping noise & then a solid thud. Success!”

This is third successful execution of the new, modified launch and docking profile for the Russion Progress ships, and its success is paving the way for its first use on a manned mission – possibly as early as March 2013 for Soyuz TMA-08, Roscosmos said via Facebook. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka has been quoted as saying it is every cosmonaut’s dream to only have a 6-hour flight in the cramped Soyuz.

Watch the launch and docking video below:

Normally, Progress supply ships –and manned Soyuz capsules — are launched on trajectories that require about two days, or 34 orbits, to reach the ISS. The new fast-track trajectory has the rocket launching shortly after the ISS passes overhead — today, the space station was just 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) downrange from the launch site at the time of liftoff. Then additional firings of the Progress engines early in its mission expedites the time required for a Russian vehicle to reach the complex.

That also give the ISS crew the chance to actually see the launch from orbit. Today, NASA-TV commentator Kyle Herring said that ISS commander Kevin Ford reported he was able to see the first stage separation, which occurred about two minutes after launch. Herring said the cameras on the International Space Station were pointed to try and observe the launch. We’ll add any images here, if the cameras were able to capture anything.

Progress 50 is carrying 2.9 tons of supplies and equipment, including 800 kg (1,764 pounds) of space station propellant, 50 kg (110 lbs)of oxygen and air, 420 kg (926lbs) of water and 1,360 kg (3,000 lbs) of spare parts, science gear and other dry cargo. Right now, this Progress is scheduled to remain docked at the ISS until late April. The previous Progress cargo ship undocked from the Pirs module of the International Space Station at 13:15 GMT on Saturday February 9 and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, burning up during re-entry.

Earlier this month, NASA’s Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffradini said the space station partners have tentatively agreed to try a the fast-track trajectory with a manned mission “at least once or twice to show we have the capability in case we need to get to ISS quick for any reason.”

He added that the decision to fly like this long-term is still to be determined.

This article has been updated.

February 11, 2013December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophoto: Desert Space Station

The International Space Station, as seen from Saguaro National Park East in Arizona. Credit: Robert Sparks.

Old meets space-age in this image of the International Space Station passing over an ancient saguaro cactus at the Saguaro National Park East near Tucson, Arizona. Robert Sparks (a.k.a. @halfastro or hale-bopp37 on Flickr) captured this beautiful image on February 6, 2013. While the ISS is just over 12 years old, the saguaro seen here could be upwards of 200 years old. These prickly old soldiers don’t usually start to grow arms until they are between 50 to 100 years of age, and they may live for perhaps 200 years or more.

Rob also captured the expanse of the awesome desert night sky, too.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

February 9, 2013December 23, 2015 by Ken Kremer

Antares Rocket Critical Hotfire Engine Test Set for Feb. 12

Orbital Antares rocket at Wallops Island Pad. Credit: Orbital Sciences

Orbital Sciences Corporation has at last scheduled a critical engine test for the firm’s new commercially developed Antares medium class rocket for Feb. 12 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s (MARS) Pad-0A.

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will provide launch range support for the Antares rocket test which is a key milestone on the path to a flight that is crucial for eventual resupply of the International Space Station (ISS).

The window for the 29 second long engine test is 6-9 p.m EST. There will be no live broadcast or formal viewing of the test since it is only operational in nature.

For this hot fire test only the first stage of the Antares rocket will be rolled out to the launch pad – the first of its kind constructed in America in several decades.

The first stage of the Antares rocket stands on the pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Credit: Orbital Sciences — The first stage of the Antares rocket stands on the pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Credit: Orbital Sciences

During the test, the Antares’ dual AJ26 first stage rocket engines will generate a combined total thrust of 680,000 lbs. In a unique capability for its duration, the rocket will be held down on the pad and accounts for the huge water tower built nearby.

The goal of the hot fire test is a complete checkout of the rocket’s first stage and all the support systems at Pad-0A being utilized for the first time.

Antares is the launcher for Orbital’s unmanned commercial Cygnus cargo spacecraft that NASA’s hopes will further reestablish American resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) lost with the shuttle’s shutdown.

If successful, a full up test flight of the 131 foot tall Antares with a Cygnus mass simulator bolted on top is planned for the maiden launch in roughly 4 to 6 weeks later, perhaps by late March 2013.

Antares/Cygnus will provide a similar service to the Falcon 9/Dragon system developed by SpaceX Corporation – which has already docked twice to the ISS during historic linkups in 2012.

Both the Orbital and SpaceX systems were developed under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to replace the ISS cargo capability previously tasked to NASA Space Shuttle’s.

A docking demonstration mission to the ISS would follow later in 2013 which would be nearly identical in scope to the SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon demonstration flight successfully accomplished in May 2012.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket liftoff on May 22, 2012 from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on the first commercial mission to the International Space Station. Orbital hopes to duplicate the SpaceX feat in 2013. Credit: Ken Kremer

The Antares first stage is powered by a pair of Soviet era NK-33 engines built during the 1960 and 1970’s as part of Russia’s ill-fated N-1 manned moon program. The engines have since been upgraded and requalified by Aerojet Corp. and integrated into the Ukrainian built first stage rocket as AJ-26 engines.

Tens of millions of US East Coast residents in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions have never seen anything as powerful as an Antares rocket launch in their neighborhood.

“Antares is the biggest rocket ever launched from Wallops,” NASA Wallops spokesman Keith Koehler told me.

Ken Kremer

January 28, 2013December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

New ISS Timelapse: Night to Day to Night Again

'Riding the edge of darkness, to beyond the horizon," Tweeted astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Here’s the latest video shot from the International Space Station, courtesy of the crew of Expedition 34. You’ll see the view from above as the ISS crosses the terminator from night into day, and then slips back into night again. This day/night cycle happens 16 times in orbit during a 24 period. This sped-up view shows two complete orbits on January 3, 2013 from 11:43:46 to 15:49:31 GMT, and includes a couple of cameo appearances from a rising Moon.

While the beauty of Earth is indisputable, the magnificence of the space station is readily apparent here, as the solar arrays glow with the setting sunlight, even as Earth below is plunged into darkness.

Let’s hope we can one day all experience this view first-hand!

See more info about the video — and others — at the NASA Crew Earth Observations website.

January 11, 2013December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Astrophoto: A Man-Made Sunspot

The International Space Station Transiting across the disc of the Sun on January 9, 2013. Credit: Efrain Morales

The Sun has been active recently along with showing several sunspots. But astrophotogher Efrain Morales captured an additional ‘man-made’ sunspot as the International Space Station transited across the face of the solar disk.

“It was a challenge as the Sun was low on the horizon at 19.5 deg. elevation, just above the canopy of the forest,” Efrain said via email, “along with and the ISS being over 250 miles distant from my location passing over Haiti at the time. His home base is the Jaicoa Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Equipment: SolarMax40, P/B CGE mount, Flea3 Ccd.

Below, see an animation of the ISS transit:

Animation of the International Space Station Transiting across the disc of the Sun on January 9th at about 20:32 UTC. Credit: Efrain Morales.

December 31, 2012December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Lovely Image from Space: Earth, Moon and Approaching Spacecraft

Earth, Moon and Soyuz. Credit: NASA/Kevin Ford.

This one might have to be added to the group of iconic images from space. On December 21, a Soyuz spacecraft carrying new crewmembers approached the International Space Station. Commander Kevin Ford, already on the ISS, took this image showing the Moon above, bright blue Earth below and the Soyuz coming into view. “Science fiction into fact,” said Canadian Chris Hadfield, who was on board the Soyuz, along with Roman Romanenko and Tom Marshburn.

By the way, if you aren’t following Chris Hadfield on Twitter or Facebook, you really should. He’s posting several images and lots of updates daily of what his life is like on board the space station. You can read about his training in our series of articles about it, and we plan to keep following Hadfield’s mission and will be writing more about his expedition in 2013.

December 31, 2012December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Video: Happy New Year from the Space Station Crew

The International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The six Expedition 34 crew members aboard the International Space Station will be watching from above as people around the world ring in the new year. Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineers Chris Hadfield and Tom Marshburn sent this video greeting for their best wishes for a happy 2013. Because the ISS travels around the Earth every hour and a half, the crew will have ample opportunity to celebrate the arrival of 2013 all day long.

“It’s New Years, so we’re waving at the whole world, and looking hard for fireworks as the clocks sequence through 12:00,” Hadfield Tweeted earlier today.

Below you can see a video from NASA TV, looking back at events at NASA in 2012:

December 26, 2012December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

“Jewel in the Night:” Original Music and Pictures from a Space Station Christmas

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield in the Cupola of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/CSA

If you celebrate Christmas here on Earth, you may have a tree, stockings, and music. The crew on the International Space Station had those as well. Now in space as a member of the Expedition 34/35 crew, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield continues to share his experiences via social media, as he did during all of his training. Before his flight, Hadfield said he would be recording music on the ISS, and above is his first recording from the ISS, a song he wrote titled “Jewel in the Night.” Listen closely, and you can hear the slight buzz of the station’s fans in the background.

Below are pictures from the ISS crew’s holiday celebration:

“Music on High – playing Christmas carols while floating over the eastern Mediterranean. Miraculous,” Tweeted Chris Hadfield.

“Our tree is up – on the ceiling! The beauty of a weightless Christmas,” said Hadfield

“Our stockings are hung by the Node 3 hatch with care, in hope that St Nicklaus has a big red spacesuit,” said Hadfield via Twitter.

See more images and keep track of Hadfield’s mission via his Twitter and Facebook pages.