ISS Archives

February 16, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Dark Matter Detector Heading to the ISS This Summer

AMS-2 during integration activities at CERN facility in Switzerland. Credit: ESA

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The long-awaited experiment that will search for dark matter is getting closer to heading to the International Space Station. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is undergoing final testing at ESA’s Test Centre in the Netherlands before being launched on the space shuttle to the ISS, currently scheduled for July, 2010. The AMS will help scientists better understand the fundamental issues on the origin and structure of the Universe by observing dark matter, missing matter and antimatter. As a byproduct, AMS will gather other information from cosmic radiation sources such as stars and galaxies millions of light years from our home galaxy.

ISS officials have been touting that science is now beginning to be done in earnest on the orbiting laboratory. The AMS will be a giant leap in science capability for the ISS. Not only is it the biggest scientific instrument to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS), but also it is the first magnetic spectrometer to be flown in space, and the largest cryogenically cooled superconducting magnet ever used in space. It will be installed on the central truss of the ISS.

AMS had been cut from the ISS program following the 2003 Columbia shuttle accident, but the outcry over the cancellation forced NASA to rethink their decision. Most of AMS’s $1.5-billion costs have been picked up the international partners that NASA wishes to stay on good terms with. 56 institutes from 16 countries have contributed to the AMS project, with Nobel laureate Samuel Ting coordinating the effort.

In an interview with the BBC, Ting said results from AMS may take up to three years to search for antimatter in other galaxies, and dark matter in our own.
The instrument was built at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. The first part of the tests was also conducted at CERN, when the detector was put through its paces using a proton beam from CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator to check its momentum resolution and its ability to measure particle curvature and momentum.

AMS’s ability to distinguish electrons from protons was also tested. This is very important for the measurement of cosmic rays, 90% of which are protons and constitute a natural background for other signals that interest scientists. AMS will be looking for an abundance of positrons and electrons from space, one of the possible markers for dark matter.

Once the extensive testing is complete, AMS will leave ESTEC at the end of May on a special US Air Force flight to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be launched to the ISS on the Space Shuttle Endeavour on flight STS-134, now scheduled for July.

Source: ESA

February 12, 2010February 12, 2010 by Nancy Atkinson

Incredible! Watch Time-Lapse of EVA-1/Tranquility Node Berthing

This is so cool! Normally spacewalks, or EVAs take 6-7 hours. But here you can watch the first EVA of the STS-130 mission in just one minute and 45 seconds! And that even includes watching the astronauts put on their spacesuits. Ron Smith has created a time-lapse video of EVA-1, so you can watch all the action of the new Tranquility Node being berthed to the ISS. This is especially great since the EVA took place during the night-time hours here in the US, when most of us were supposed to be sleeping. Some of us tried to stay awake to watch the spacewalk, and now I can quickly see what I missed when I nodded off…

Hat tip to @avgjanecrafter on Twitter!

February 10, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Pirouettes and Twitpics from Space

"Shuttle, approaching to ISS at dawn. Just imagine that this beast emerging from the complete darkness. KOOL!" Tweeted @Astro_Soichi, Soichi Noguchi

If you were watching NASA TV late Tuesday/early Wednesday you likely saw the beautiful backflip maneuver that space shuttle Endeavour performed before docking at 12:06 a.m. EST with the International Space Station. It was a striking sight to behold (see video above) as Commander George Zamka guided the orbiter through the nine-minute Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, rotating the orbiter backwards so that space station astronauts could take high-resolution pictures of the shuttle’s heat-resistant tiles. Meanwhile, the ISS astronauts not taking the hi-res images were busy taking pictures of the approaching orbiter and posting them on Twitter.

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See more Twitpics from @Astro_Soichi

The detailed images of the Endeavour’s heat shield were analyzed on Wednesday and showed that everything looked “nominal” in NASA speak, and that no further examinations are required until after the shuttle undocks with the ISS. There are two other minor problematic items that NASA is monitoring for the shuttle.

Endeavour approaches ISS. A Soyuz docked to the station above the shuttle. Credit: NASA

A round ceramic spacer near one of the cockpit windows is sticking out. And a thermal tile repair that was made before the flight has failed, and the original crack is back, right over the cockpit.

Mission management team leader LeRoy Cain said Wednesday that neither problem appears to be serious. But he said everyone wants to be “very vigilant and take a closer look” in case spacewalking repairs are needed.

The shuttle astronauts had to wait about an hour longer than usual before entering the ISS. The vibrations that normally occur when the two spacecraft meet up and dock lasted longer than usual. Space shuttle flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho said this was caused by the massive and unsymmetrical bulk of the joined space station and shuttle, as well as the constant pull of Earth’s gravity on the “stack.” “It certainly not unexpected,” Alibaruho said.

The ISS and shuttle astronauts are now working together, getting ready for taking the Tranquility Node from the shuttle payload bay to attach it to the station. the first spacewalk of the mission. Today Endeavour’s crew transferred supplies from the shuttle’s middeck to the space station, including spacewalking equipment. Tonight, spacewalkers Bob Behnken and Nicholas Patrick will sleep in the Quest airlock as part of the overnight “campout” procedure that helps purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams, preventing decompression sickness once they move out into the vacuum of space.

See this interactive Flash feature from NASA which highlights the activities for each day of the shuttle mission.

Hat Tip to Stu Atkinson on the Twitpics

February 10, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Russia May Raise Price of Soyuz Seats

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Price gouging or simple laws of supply and demand? The Soyuz will soon be the only ride in town to the International Space Station, and reportedly, Russia is considering raising the price per seat. NASA and Roskosmos have an agreement for six rides to the ISS in 2012 and 2013, at a rate of about $51 million dollars per US astronaut. “We have an agreement until 2012 that Russia will be responsible for this,” Roskomos head Anatoly Perminov was quoted by the Interfax news agency. “But after that? Excuse me, but the prices should be absolutely different then!”

The end of the shuttle program means NASA has to buy rides on the Soyuz. The total deal of $306 million (224 million euros) seems to be a pretty good deal for Roskomos. But they say in order to provide seats for the NASA astronauts, they’ll have to quit their space tourism program, which charges only $35 million (28 million euros) per seat.

The $51 million includes training, equipment, medical checks, supplies, services for launch operations and support personnel to launch site, flight control operations, and rendezvous and docking services.

NASA says these services are “serving as a bridge between the Space Shuttle and the availability of a commercial vehicle. Until a commercial vehicle is available, continued access to Russian Crew launch, return, and rescue services is essential for planned ISS operations and utilization by all ISS partners.”

February 5, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Glowing Plants Helps Biological Studies on ISS

plants in space — Arabidopsis plants imaged in white light (left) and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) excitation illumination, right. The arabidopsis plants are also part of the Plant Habitat-03 experiment. Image provided by Anna-Lisa Paul, Ph.D. and Robert Ferl, Ph.D., Department of Horticultural Sciences, University of Florida.

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Glowing plants from space? Sounds like science fiction or the next B-horror movie. But glowing plants, willow trees, potential biofuels and more are being studied on the International Space Station and are part of key research in biotechnology, physiology, life sciences, and physical sciences going on in space. “This is not your grandfather’s backyard garden,” said Dr. Robert Ferl from the University of Florida, Gainesville.” We are now understanding fundamental biological principals that essentially can only be studied when you leave the surface of the Earth.”

Scientists are abuzz this week with the newly proposed 2011 NASA budget which extends the life of the International Space Station to 2020, and perhaps beyond. “The possibility of an expanded budget for full utilization of the space station means that scientists can do the research and also the technology development that will fulfill the complete potential of ISS,” said Julie Robinson, program scientists for ISS, “and that we will be able to bring back to Earth all the benefits that our new knowledge and technology can provide.”

At a press briefing today at Kennedy Space Center, a group of scientists shared current and future science investigations for the ISS, and the highlight was seeing some plants that actually glow in different colors to give scientists cues to what is taking place within the plant.

Robert Ferl at a press conference at KSC with a device from the APEX-TAGES experiment. Image: Nancy Atkinson

The Advanced Plant EXperiments on Orbit – Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System (APEX-TAGES) investigation uses Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress that has genetically modified so it can glow.

“Plants don’t talk a lot,” said Ferl, “so molecular biologists have been able to equip plants with the tools to have them communicate with us. Plants can glow with certain colors when certain genes are activated, when things happen like changes in their environments.”

APEX-TAGES uses a new real-time imaging system in conjunction with the “glowing” that removes the need for harvesting thereby allowing the plant to continue to grow and making it possible to follow the development of stress in a plant over time. The experiment also doesn’t require a lot of time and interaction from the ISS crew, as digital images can be transmitted from the site of the experiment to the site of the researchers.

Plants get cues from things on Earth, such as light, gravity, humidity. The question is, Ferl said –which applies to all biology — is what happens to terrestrial biology when it is no longer on Earth? Key to the research is understanding the adaptations that have to take place in order for plants in space to continue to grow successfully and produce fruit.

“What are the limts to terrestrial biology? How far can it travel and explore?” said Ferl “50% of plant DNA is like ours, and 80% of plant genes are like ours. So plants can support us with food, air, and water revitalization, but they are interesting because by studying them we learn more about what happens to complex biology as it leaves the surface of the earth.”

Perry Johnson-Green with the Canadian space agency displays the type of Willow trees grown in the ISS. Image: Nancy Atkinson

Also highlighted at the briefing were studies of plant cell metabolism of a potential biofuel plant, Jatropha, and research done on the first trees ever grown on the space station, Canadian Cambium willow trees, that was sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency and performed on orbit by Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, who just returned from the ISS in November.

Robinson also discussed an experiment on the ISS that found a better method of producing microencapsulated drugs for cancer and diabetes. A patent was issued at the end of 2009 and clinical trials are now being scheduled.

With $50 million of the proposed budget going directly to ISS, as well as additional funds coming from the NASA’s Science Directorate and technology development, Robinson said that scientists and technology developers will be fully utilizing the ISS as a National Lab in the coming years.

For more info:
The International Space Station Science webpage.

The APEX-TAGES experiment.

Webpage of Dr. Werner Vendrame and his research with the Jatropha plant

Webpage from the Canadian Space Agency on the willow trees grown on the ISS.

February 4, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Countdown is on for Last Night Launch of Space Shuttle

Astronauts for the STS-130 mission: Commander George Zamka and Pilot Terry Virts. From the left Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Kathryn Hire and Stephen Robinson. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

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Note: Nancy Atkinson is at Kennedy Space Center covering the launch of STS-130

The official countdown clock is ticking for the STS-130 mission of space shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station. This is the last planned night launch for the shuttle program, with a scheduled liftoff time of 9:39:47 GMT (4:39:47 a.m. EST) on Sunday, February 7. “Everything thus far is going exceeding well… we’re right on schedule where we’re supposed to be and we’ll continue to work through the day on our preparations,” said NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding during this morning’s L-3 Countdown Status Briefing at KSC. The weather forecast might be the only issue, as forecasters are predicting a 70% chance of favorable weather, with high winds being the only concern for Sunday morning.

The seven-member crew will bring the Tranquility Node and a “cupola,” an observation deck for a full 360 degree view of Earth and the station. It will also serve as a robotic work station. With these new additions, the ISS will be 98% complete.

Tranquility, also known as Node 3 was built in Italy under direction of ESA, in coordination with NASA. “It is one of the most complex modules we’ve brought to the station,” said NASA Payload Manager Joe Delai. “Node 3 is over 3,600 kg (8,000 lbs) heavier than any other module,(with a total weight of 15,115 kg (33,325 lbs.)

At Thursday's press conference, Jeff Spaulding, Joe Delai, and Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. Image: Nancy Atkinson

Delai said adding the modules will make the ISS larger than a five bedroom house. With all the storage space in Tranquility, the ISS will in total be able to house 100 telephone booth-sized racks and store the supportive equip to allow for a 6-person crew on the ISS.

Delai said they are taking advantage of the 7 X 4 meter (24 X 14 ft) volume of the Node and bringing 33 bags of stowage containing 485 kg (1,068 lbs) of provisions for the crew.

Space shuttle Endeavour as seen from the press viewing area at KSC. Image: Nancy Atkinson

Preparations and tests at Launch Pad 39A will continue with final flight crew stowage occurring after communications checks Saturday. The rotating service structure that protects the shuttle from weather prior to launch will be moved away from the vehicle at about 8 a.m. EST Saturday, and we hope to bring you pictures and an update at that time.

For more pictures and an inside look at what it is like to cover a space shuttle launch, I’m writing about my adventures on my personal blog.

January 22, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Now Has Live Access to the Internet

The International Space Station orbiting Earth. Credit: NASA

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Talk about a truly ‘world-wide’ web! As the astronauts aboard the International Space Station orbit Earth at 28,000 kph (17,500 mph) they now have the ultimate wireless connection and direct, live access to the internet. The station received a special software upgrade this week, called Crew Support LAN, which gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. Previously, emails, news, and Twitter messages were sent to and from the ISS in uplink and downlink packages, so for example, Twitter (which NASA has embraced wholeheartedly) messages from the astronauts were downlinked to mission control in Houston, and someone there posted them on the astronauts’ Twitter accounts. Now, it’s live. Expedition 22 Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer made first use of the new system today when he posted the first unassisted update to his Twitter account, @Astro_TJ, from the space station:

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! 🙂 More soon, send your ?s”

Astronauts will be subject to the same computer use guidelines as government employees on Earth. In addition to this new capability, the crew will continue to have official e-mail, Internet Protocol telephone and limited videoconferencing capabilities.

This personal Web access takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. The system will provide astronauts with direct private communications to enhance their quality of life during long-duration missions by helping to ease the isolation associated with life in a closed environment.

During periods when the station is actively communicating with the ground using high-speed Ku-band communications, the crew will have remote access to the Internet via a ground computer. The crew will view the desktop of the ground computer using an onboard laptop and interact remotely with their keyboard touchpad.

To follow Twitter updates from all the astronauts, there is one centralized Twitter account for all: NASA_Astronauts

You can also follow Universe Today and me (Nancy Atkinson) on Twitter.

January 6, 2010December 24, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Space Station Pictures

Here are some space station pictures. We’ve already done photo galleries of the International Space Station, but let’s take a look at some different stations as well:

This is a picture of the Mir Space Station, launched by Russia. This photograph was taken by the crew of STS-89 on the space shuttle Endeavour.

Here is a recent image of the International Space Station captured by the crew of STS-129. It shows how much of the construction has now been completed.

This is a picture of Skylab, the United States’ first space station. It was in orbit from 1973 to 1979, and was visited by 3 crews of astronauts.

And maybe some day we’ll live in a futuristic space station like this. It’s called a Stanford Torus, and rotates to provide the people living inside an artificial gravity.

This is an artist’s impression of a future space hotel developed by Bigelow Aerospace. The various modules are inflated and connected together. Test versions of the modules have already been sent into orbit.

We’ve written many articles about the International Space Station for Universe Today. Here’s an article about how you can track the International Space Station, and here’s an article about a how a radio operator was able to communicate with the station.

If you’d like more info on the station, check out NASA’s mission page for ISS. And here’s a link to NASA’s human spaceflight page for the station.

We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast about the space shuttle. Listen here, Episode 127: The US Space Shuttle.

January 4, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nicholos Wethington

Moon Rock Will Return to Space Aboard Endeavour

CREDIT: ONORBIT.COM/EVEREST

In May of last year, we followed the story of former astronaut Scott Parazynski, as he climbed Mt. Everest to collect a piece of the mountain and test out equipment for NASA. During the climb, Parazynski carried a Moon rock that was brought to the Earth by the Apollo 11 mission. Though the journey of this rock has been rather long, it is about to come to an end.

The rock, along with a piece of Mt. Everest that Parazynski collected, will travel to the International Space Station during the next Space Shuttle mission. It and the Mt. Everest rock will be displayed in the Tranquility (*cough* Colbert *cough*) module, which is part of the payload of STS-130.

Endeavour is currently scheduled to launch on February 7th, 2010 and will carry the Tranquility module, which will provide more life-support systems for the ISS, as well as a seven-windowed cupola that will be used as an observation and control room for control of the robotic arm outside the station.

Interestingly enough, the rock originated in the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon, and will be returning to be displayed inside the Tranquility module itself.

The Moon rock and piece of Mt Everest will be presented by Parazynski to STS-130 commander George Zamka this Wednesday, January 6th. You can watch the presentation on NASA TV at 3:30pm CST.

Source: NASA press release

December 24, 2009December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

ISS “Iron Chef” Recalls Holiday Cooking in Space

Astronaut Sandra Magnus, Expedition 18 flight engineer, prepares to eat a Christmas meal at the galley in the Zvezda Service Module of the ISS. Photo Credit: NASA

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Last year at this time, astronaut Sandy Magnus was living on board the International Space Station. When the holidays were approaching in 2008, Magnus decided it was time to spice things up a bit in the culinary department in space. “When you think about it, food is an important part of our lives,” Magnus said. “Family gatherings, celebrations and holidays all center around food, and when you invite people over it seems everyone always ends up in the kitchen. The same holds true on the space station, but you have to be able to prepare and eat food in microgravity without making a big mess!”

And now that she’s back on terra firma, have her cooking techniques changed because of her experiences in space? “I certainly appreciate gravity a lot more because your food actually wants to stay in the bowl, which is a good thing!” Magnus said.

“Sandy is our astronaut who has done the most experimenting with cooking in space,” said Vickie Kloeris, who heads NASA’s food lab at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. “She has definitely given us some ideas about advancing food preparation on the space station.”

Magnus told Universe Today there were two different levels of cooking she did in space. “One was special cooking for the holidays which took hours. My favorite was what I called ‘Italian Night,” where I took some rice, chicken, black olives, sundried tomatoes, cheese, garlic, onions and pesto and put that together. On an everyday basis it was easy to combine foods that were already prepared by Vickie and her group. My favorite everyday meal was taking black beans, tomatoes and artichokes and putting it on a tortilla with picante sauce. That was very tasty.”

Astronaut Sandra Magnus, Expedition 18 flight engineer, prepares to eat a meal at the galley in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

The astronaut food on the ISS—while leaps ahead of the food “tubes” that early astronauts endured – still has to meet many different requirements. It has to last for long periods of time without refrigeration, have the appropriate nutritional value, it has to be appealing and tasty, and it has to be packaged to be able to be used with the food warmers and rehydration system on the ISS and space shuttle.

“There is probably on the order of 300 different foods and beverages up there when you look at all the food from the US, Russia, Europe and Japan,” said Kloeris. “We stow the food pantry style, and so the crew members are able to pull different items and they are not restricted to a certain food on a certain day.”

Astonauts often say their tastes change in space, and Magnus agreed. “Yes, it did a little bit. I noticed on my first mission that the tomatoes and eggplant that I loved on the ground, when I got on orbit it didn’t taste quite the same to me. I’m not sure exactly why – I think your sense of smell gets disrupted which of course affects your sense of taste.”

When Magnus was on the ISS, the crew size was just three. Since then the crew size has expanded to six. And when a shuttle crew visits, there can be as many as 13 astronauts to feed. How does that change how food is prepared?

“Fortunately, with the increase in crew size we have an extra food warmer or two,” Magnus said, “which is really the big issue for planning a meal because it takes about 20 minutes to heat some of the food. And so with six people you have to start perhaps a little earlier and you are using all three food warmers on board so six people can eat together.”

Astronaut Sandy Magnus with her ISS crewmates Mike Fincke (center) and Yury Lonchakov in the Harmony node of the International Space Station.

“When the shuttle is there we typically have family dinners, if you will, in the evenings a couple of times. The shuttle astronauts will prepare all their food in the shuttle, bag it up and bring it over and we’ll all have one big family dinner in the service module or Node 1, which ever table we decide to use.”

One of Magnus’ favorite holiday foods while on the ISS was one that many on Earth would probably agree with: frosted Christmas cookies. “We are able to bring up some personal foods, as long as they don’t need refrigeration,” Magnus said, “and I brought up some cookies and there was some icing already on board. The entire crew really enjoyed having frosted cookies for the holidays.”

For more info about Magnus’ time in space read her cooking in space journal.