NASA’s new Life Sciences Glovebox undergoes testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, prior to its Sept. 22 flight to the International Space Station. The research facility is 26 inches high, 35 inches wide and 24 inches deep, with a 15-cubic-foot workspace. It will enable researchers to conduct new experiments studying the effects of microgravity on the human body — aiding deep space exploration missions into the solar system. (Credits: NASA/Steve Moon)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — As the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency‘s H-IIB rocket carries NASA’s Life Sciences Glovebox toward its berth on the International Space Station, hardware specialists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and their partners around the world are eager to initiate new, high-value biological research in Earth orbit.
The JAXA H-IIB rocket, hauling the state-of-the-art microgravity research facility and other cargo via the H-II Transport Vehicle-7 (HTV-7), successfully lifted off at 1:52 p.m. EDT on Sept. 22 from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.
TANEGASHIMA SPACE CENTER, Japan (JAXA PR) — At 2:52:27 a.m., September 23, 2018, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 7 (H-IIB F7) which carries aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI7” (HTV7), the cargo transporter to the International Space Station (ISS), from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center.
TOKYO (JAXA PR) — At COSPAR 2018, the scientific assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) held on July 14 – 22 in the US, Dr. Taishi Yano, Assistant Professor of Faculty of Engineering at Yokohama National University, was awarded the Zeldovich Medal. The medals are conferred by the Russian Academy of Sciences and COSPAR to young researchers for their outstanding contribution to space research.
Mattel Dream Chaser Matchbox® toy. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)
SPARKS, Nev. (Sierra Nevada PR) – America’s next generation spaceplane will soon be available in stores. Mattel, Inc. toymaker is releasing a SierraNevada Corporation (SNC) Dream Chaser spacecraft Matchbox® toy, which will be sold in stores starting in September.
HOUSTON (NASA PR) — A human journey to Mars, at first glance, offers an inexhaustible amount of complexities. To bring a mission to the Red Planet from fiction to fact, NASA’s Human Research Program has organized hazards astronauts will encounter on a continual basis into five classifications. Pooling the challenges into categories allows for an organized effort to overcome the obstacles that lay before such a mission. However, these hazards do not stand alone. They can feed off one another and exacerbate effects on the human body. These hazards are being studied using ground-based analogs, laboratories, and the International Space Station, which serves as a test bed to evaluate human performance and countermeasures required for the exploration of space.
HTV-6 cargo ship approaches the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have cancelled launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 7(H-IIB F7) with aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI7” (HTV7), the cargo transporter to the International Space Station (ISS).
The cancellation is because additional investigation became necessary of the H-IIB F7 propulsion system. The launch was scheduled for September 15, 2018, from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center.
Launch schedule updates will be informed when determined.
HTV-6 cargo ship approaches the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
TOKYO (JAXA PR) — Due to an unfavorable weather forecast for the launch day, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have postponed the launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 7 (H-IIB F7) which carries aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI7” (HTV7), the cargo transporter to the International Space Station (ISS) from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center. The launch was rescheduled for September 14, 2018. Below is the updated schedule.
MHI and JAXA will consider the weather forecast for the coming days and determine if the updated launch date is available.
Launch Date: September 15, 2018 Launch Time: around 6:00 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) *1
Reserved Launch Period: September 16 through October 31, 2018 *2
*1: Launch time is determined by the latest update of the ISS operations. *2: Launch time and date during this period are pending, to be determined by the ISS operations and other status.
In association with Taconic Biosciences and BioServe Space Technologies, selected concepts from this Request for Proposals will support Rodent Research Reference Mission-1, a CASIS-sponsored initiative to support biospecimen research onboard the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory
Kennedy Space Center, Fla, September 11, 2018 (CASIS PR)—The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) today announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for investigators seeking to access biological specimens from its Rodent Research Reference Mission-1, Applications for Spaceflight Biospecimens, to support fundamental biomedical inquiries sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory.
TOKYO (JAXA PR) — In the mission of HTV7 (“KOUNOTORI 7”), after completing the re-supply mission to ISS, HTV7 will demonstrate the novel technology for recovering experiment samples from ISS, which Japan has not obtained up until now, by taking advantage of the opportunity of re-entry into Earth with the HTV Small Re-entry Capsule (HSRC) that will be loaded on the HTV for the first time ever. (more…)
Alexander Gerst exercising on the International Space Station. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Noordwijk, The Netherelands (ESA PR) — The bones in your body are constantly dissolving – but don’t worry, healthy people naturally create new cells daily to repair and keep your bones strong. This process of disappearing bone is called osteoclast and its rebuilding at the cellular level is called osteoblast.
Video Caption: David Saint-Jacques has done years of training to be ready for a space mission. Since his assignment to the crew of Expedition 58/59, he has taken customized training on the International Space Station and its various modules, the Soyuz spacecraft, Canadian and international science, and a variety of mission-specific tasks. His training has taken him to Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States. David Saint-Jacques will fly to the International Space Station in December 2018. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)
Video Caption: During a recent visit to Johnson Space Center, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine sat down with astronauts Chris Ferguson and Sunita “Suni” Williams for an informal Q&A session about the Commercial Crew Program.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has worked with several American aerospace industry companies to facilitate the development of U.S. human spaceflight systems since 2010. Both Ferguson and Williams were selected to fly on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner for the Commercial Crew Program – marking the first time that American astronauts will launch to the International Space Station from American soil on American-made spacecraft since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011.
To watch specific portions of the Q&A about the future of human space exploration, use these timestamp:
2:30 – Astronaut Chris Ferguson talks about what he has been doing since it was announced that he is a member of the Commercial Crew Program 3:30 – Astronaut Chris Ferguson explains why his flight suit says Boeing and not NASA 4:27 – Astronaut Suni Williams talks about what a day in the life of an astronaut is like and what she has been up to since she was selected for the Commercial Crew program 6:30 – Astronaut Chris Ferguson talks about how the Starliner is different from the Space Shuttle 7:30 – Astronaut Suni Williams talks about how is the Starliner is similar to and different from the Soyuz 8:32 – Astronaut Chris Ferguson talks about how many people the Starliner will be able to carry to the International Space Station 9:20 – Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks about the future of space exploration for NASA 10:58 – Astronaut Suni Williams talks about her previous spaceflights and how her Commercial Crew flight will be different 12:20 – Astronaut Suni Williams talks about their experience landing in space vehicles 15:20 – Administrator Jim Bridenstine and astronaut Chris Ferguson discuss thermal protection to keep astronauts safe 17:30 – Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks about the components of the Space Launch System and how it compares to technology for avionics 18:55 – Astronaut Chris Ferguson discusses how flying tests in the U.S. Navy prepared them for their upcoming missions 20:28 – Astronaut Chris Ferguson discusses what it’s like to dock the Starliner 21:30 – Astronaut Suni Williams talks about training, automation and providing input to Boeing about the Starliner 22:30 – Astronauts Chris Ferguson and Suni Williams talk about the team of individuals who make human spaceflight possible 24:45 – Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks about the preparations that go into space exploration missions 25:46 – Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks about NASA’s launch capabilities 26:52 – Astronauts Chris Ferguson and Suni Williams provide guidance to Administrator Jim Bridenstine as he docks the Boeing Starliner simulator
A story in the normally authoritative RIA Novosti website says that the leak in the orbital module of a Soyuz transport docked to the International Space Station was caused by a worker who mistakenly drilled a hole through the hull during production, not by a debris strike as originally believed.
The story says the worker patched the hole with glue. However, the glue was apparently sucked out into the vacuum of space, causing a small leak that lowered the atmospheric pressure on the space station that houses six people.
Astronauts aboard the station have patched the leak. The astronauts were never in any danger from the slow leak.
Russian officials have vowed to find the RSC Energia worker responsible for the mistake.
We announced today our first astronauts to the International Space Station: Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Nayadi. Hazza and Sultan represent all young Arabs and represent the pinnacle of the UAE's ambitions.
We have the region's only Mars exploration program, a fully operating satellite manufacturing capability and an astronaut program as part of our Dhs 20 billion investment in the space sector. The secret is our young Arab people and their capabilities.
HOUSTON (NASA PR) — The International Space Station’s cabin pressure is holding steady after the Expedition 56 crew conducted repair work on one of two Russian Soyuz spacecraft attached to the complex. The repair was made to address a leak that had caused a minor reduction of station pressure.
After a morning of investigations, the crew reported that the leak was isolated to a hole about two millimeters in diameter in the orbital compartment, or upper section, of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft attached to the Rassvet module of the Russian segment of the station.
Flight controllers at their respective Mission Control centers in Houston and Moscow worked together with the crew to effect a repair option in which Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos used epoxy on a gauze wipe to plug the hole identified as the leak source. As the teams were discussing options, flight controllers in Moscow performed a partial increase of the station’s atmosphere using the ISS Progress 70 cargo ship’s oxygen supply. Flight controllers in Houston are continuing to monitor station’s cabin pressure in the wake of the repair.
Meanwhile, Roscosmos has convened a commission to conduct further analysis of the possible cause of the leak.
Throughout the day, the crew was never in any danger, and was told no further action was contemplated for the remainder of the day. Flight controllers will monitor the pressure trends overnight.
All station systems are stable and the crew is planning to return to its regular schedule of work on Friday.
