Space and astronomy news
Living in space comes with risks. For astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), those risks occasionally make themselves intrusively apparent.
Earlier this month, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen snapped a photo of the Canadarm2, in which damage from a micrometeorite impact is clearly visible.
Continue reading “Ouch. Canadarm2 Took a Direct Hit From a Micrometeorite”
On July 28th, the International Space Station (ISS) suffered a mishap after a new Russian module (named Nauka) fired its thrusters just hours after arriving. As a result, the entire station was temporarily pushed out of position, forcibly delaying the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission. This would have been Boeing’s CT-100 Starliner’s second attempt to rendezvous with the ISS as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
The ISS managed to correct its orbit shortly thereafter, while the OFT-2 launch was delayed until the next available opportunity (Wednesday, Aug. 4th). Unfortunately, the mission was delayed again due to an issue with one of the valves on the spacecraft’s propulsion system. This prompted the ground crews to move the Starliner and Atlas V launch vehicle back into Vertical Integration Facility (VIF), so they can look for the source of the problem more closely.
Continue reading “Russia’s new Module Kicks the Station out of Position, Causes a Delay for Starliner”
The planned launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) has been pushed back to Tuesday, August 3 after a mishap involving a newly docked Russian module. Originally, Starliner’s flight was to take place today, July 30, 2021 but NASA and Boeing officials agreed to delay the flight following a “spacecraft emergency” on the space station after inadvertent thruster firings on the new Nauka module caused a loss of attitude control on the ISS.
Continue reading “Starliner Will try Again on August 3 After ISS “Emergency””
The robotic arms of the ISS are some of its most useful tools. The arms, designed by Canadian and Japanese space agencies, have been instrumental in ferrying around astronauts and shepherding modules to one side of the ISS. However, the Russian segment lacked its own robotic arm – until a new one designed by ESA was launched last week.
Continue reading “Europe Launches its new Robotic arm, Which Will Crawl Around the International Space Station Like an Inchworm”
The International Space Station (ISS) is about to get a little bigger.
On July 21, the Russian Space Agency launched the station’s newest module into orbit aboard a Proton-M rocket. The module, dubbed Nauka (which means science), is the station’s first new module since 2016, aside from some new docking ports and airlocks. The Nauka module includes several important additions that will enhance the station’s capabilities.
Continue reading “Russia Just Launched a New Science Module to the Space Station”