Video Caption: We’re excited to announce YouTube Space Lab, launching with Lenovo and Space Adventures in cooperation with NASA, ESA and JAXA. Watch amazing space and science videos and, if you’re 14 to 18 years old, submit a space experiment idea for your chance to win out-of-this-world prizes. Find out more at http://youtube.com/spacelab. Music composed by Aurotone.
space station
Astronaut Shannon Walker activates NanoRacks experiments. Image credit: NASA
WASHINGTON — NASA announced it will provide support to Space Adventures, Ltd. of Vienna, Va., to conduct a global competition for students to design experiments that will be performed in space and broadcast around the world.
NASA entered into a non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement with Space Adventures for astronauts aboard the International Space Station 250 miles above Earth to conduct the winning experiments on the orbiting outpost. The experiments will be performed on the U.S. portion of the space station that has been designated as a national laboratory.
The National Laboratory Education Initiative seeks innovative ways to use the unique microgravity environment of the space station to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The contest is designed to encourage students from 14 to 18 years old to develop STEM skills through practical experience. The goal is to develop creative and analytical abilities by working on teams to solve problems using the latest information technology and tools.
Continue reading ‘Space Adventures, NASA Launch Student ISS Experiments Contest’
A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, El Salvador, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Lake Titicaca, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line), a satellite (55sec) and the stars of our galaxy.
China's Tiangong-1 space laboratory with a Shenzhou spacecraft approaching it. (Credit: CNSA)
The Chinese Xinhua news agency reports that the nation will launch its first space station between Sept. 27 and 30.
The 8.5-metric ton Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace 1) is about half the size of the early Soviet Salyut space stations that were launched in the 1970s. It will serve as docking target for three Shenzhou spacecraft. The first will dock unmanned to demonstrate that capability. If that mission is successful, two crews will dock at the station and conduct experiments.
The launch of the station was delayed from early September because of a failure of a Long March rocket. Additional checks were required.
Russia has until late November to determine a fix for the problem that caused a Soyuz rocket and Progress freighter to crash last week or the crew will have to temporarily abandon the International Space Station, a NASA official has told Spaceflight Now. The problem, ironically, involves not station operations but rather harsh winter weather at the Soyuz landing site in Kazakhstan.
Continue reading ‘NASA: ISS Might Need to Be Temporarily Abandoned in November’
Bigelow's space station would have space to accommodate up to 12 people. (Photo: Douglas Messier)
NewScientist reports that NASA isn’t the only space agency interested in attaching a Bigelow module to the International Space Station:
Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Nevada, which has built an expandable Kevlar-based space station module, is currently working on two ISS-related deals. Bigelow director Mike Gold, a member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, says the firm is in “advanced discussions” with the commercial Japanese Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS) – which operates the Kibo module on the ISS for the Japanese Space Agency JAXA – to provide it with an orbiting habitat.
The module could be rented out as an ISS storage unit, making the station less dependent on frequent resupply flights, says Hiroshi Kikuchi of JAMSS. To show that the modules are capable of safe, crewed operation, Bigelow is also negotiating with NASA to attach one to a US-owned ISS module.
Thanks to Clark Lindsey of HobbySpace for finding this gem.
December is going to be a busy month for NASA’s COTS program. If all goes well, a SpaceX Dragon will be berthed with the International Space Station (ISS) on Dec. 9. Also in December, Orbital Sciences Corporation’s new Taurus II rocket will soar into space from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia.
If the flights are successful, they will pave the way for commercial cargo delivery delivery to ISS during the first quarter of next year by Dragon and OSC’s Cygnus freighter.
Continue reading ‘SpaceX, OSC on Track for COTS Flights By End of Year’
LOUISVILLE, Colo., Aug. 5, 2011 /Altius PR/ — On July 30th, Altius Space Machines won the $25,000 grand prize in the 2011 Heinlein NewSpace Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation. Altius’ winning business plan focused on their “Direct to Station” space station delivery solution.
Continue reading ‘Business Competition Win Boosts Altius’ ISS Cargo Delivery Plans’
International Space Station
NASA PR — WASHINGTON – The Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) for the International Space Station partner agencies met Tuesday, July 26, to discuss how to use the space station as a test bed for technologies that will enable missions beyond low Earth orbit.
The board will begin identifying several specific technology collaboration initiatives based on possible future missions suggested by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group. These technology developments and demonstrations on the station could support voyages to an asteroid or Mars or the development of lunar habitats.
Continue reading ‘ISS Partners Discuss How to Use Station as Technology Test Bed’
Aviation Week reports that NASA had preliminarily agreed to let SpaceX combine two Dragon test flights to the International Space Station:
With the STS-135 space shuttle supply mission to the International Space Station drawing to a close, agency officials are honing plans for a late November launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon on the first U.S. commercial cargo delivery mission to the orbiting science laboratory, NASA ISS program manager Mike Suffredini says.
Agency and company officials reached agreement on planning dates of Nov. 30 for the launch and Dec. 7 for the rendezvous and berthing of the Dragon cargo spacecraft with the station during a July 15 meeting.
Continue reading ‘NASA to Allow SpaceX to Combine Flights to ISS’
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