While the fourth European ATV has been sitting on top of an Ariane 5 launcher set for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5, engineers are still analyzing a potential problem with a Laser Radar Reflector (LRR) which allows ATV’s autonomous approach to the station. On April 26, Progress M-19M cargo docked at the ISS with one [...]
Post Tagged with: “International Space Station”
Final Reflections from Space
During his mission, the commander of ISS Expedition 35 gathered a loyal following as he sang and played guitar, demonstrated phenomena of every day life in space, and connected via social media with his fans and followings by sharing photographs and commentaries. Just before he departed the station on May 13, Chris Hadfield shared these few final words: Be sure [...]
ISS Ammonia Loop Springs a Leak
On May 9th, the current crew of the International Space Station reported seeing white flakes being vented from an area near the station’s P6 truss structure. Further investigations using handheld cameras and remotely operated external cameras have revealed that the source of the leak was an ammonia loop, which is used for cooling the power channels onboard the station. As the [...]
Potential Damage to ISS During Progress Docking May Delay ATV-4
The European Space Agency is investigating potential damage to the International Space Station (ISS) docking port which was used by Progress 51P on April 26. The damage, caused by the undeployed Progress antenna, appears to have involved a navigational aid needed for ATV-4, scheduled for June. The docking between the cargo spacecraft and the space laboratory may have damaged the [...]
Micrometeoroid Pierces ISS Solar Array
International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield has posted an image to his Twitter account, showing a small hole in one of the station’s solar panels. The image was posted on 29th April, and was accompanied by the following brief synopsis: “Bullet hole – a small stone from the universe went through our solar array. Glad it missed the hull.” Lucky [...]
Scared of Cancer? Then Avoid Space Travel, New Study Suggests
There has never been any doubt that space travel is not the leisure of choice for everyone. Despite the fact that some of the world’s richest people do not hesitate to pay incredible amounts of money to get a seat on yet unproven space vehicles, the majority of the population will probably never really cherish the idea of undergoing high [...]
Yuri’s Night Partiers Celebrate Space Around the Globe
Every year, April 12 is a day set aside to celebrate the wonders of having access to outer space. On this date in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to reach space. The date got a boost when a lucky launch delay put the first Space Shuttle launch on the same day in 1981. Yuri’s Night itself [...]
SEXTANT: NASA’s “Cosmic Beacon”
A sextant is an old-fashioned tool used for measuring angles between celestial objects. Sextants were used for navigation onboard ships to measure the angle of elevation from the horizon to reference stars, and other variants developed for astronomers to ascertain the positions of stars and planets. Now a team at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center is proposing a new type of [...]
Installing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
On April 3, NASA announced the first results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). The instrument detects cosmic ray passage and other particle events; it was installed on the exterior of the International Space Station in 2011 and is operated out of CERN. In this interview, astronaut Mike Fincke talks about his mission to install the unit. Staff WritersMore Posts
Secret Colors of the ISS
Most pictures of the International Space Station don’t show much color, we generally see metallic and white elements. The inactive golden colored side of the solar panels – the opposite side of the solar cells – appears to show most of the color over the entire ISS. The active side of the solar panels, where the solar cells are mounted, is actually colorless, [...]
