Tag: ISS

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus Cargo Freighter Arrives at ISS

SPACE reports, “Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus freighter reached the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning (Aug. 6), carrying about 4 tons of supplies to the orbiting lab. The Cygnus, which launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday (Aug. 4), was captured by the station’s robotic arm on Tuesday at 3:11 a.m. (0711 GMT), as the duo were flying over the South Atlantic Ocean.”
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA Looking at Options for Continuous Human Presence in LEO After ISS

Space News reports, “NASA is rethinking its desire for a ‘continuous human presence’ in low Earth orbit during the transition from the International Space Station to commercial platforms to include options where, at least temporarily, the agency may not always have astronauts in orbit. In a talk at the International Astronautical Congress here Oct. 16 on NASA’s development of a low Earth orbit microgravity strategy, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy mentioned what she called the ‘elephant in the room’ of a desired continuous human presence in LEO. NASA has had astronauts in orbit on the ISS continuously since 2000.”
Full Story (Space News)

Space Station Cracking Presents “Highest” Risk and Consequence Problem, NASA Confirms

Ars Technica reports, “US space officials do not like to talk about the perils of flying astronauts on the aging International Space Station, elements of which are now more than a quarter of a century old. However, a new report confirms that NASA managers responsible for operating the space station are seriously concerned about a small Russian part of the station, essentially a tunnel that connects a larger module to a docking port, which is leaking. … A new report, published Thursday by NASA’s inspector general, provides details not previously released by the space agency that underline the severity of the problem.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

As Space Station Ages, Air Leaks from Russian Section Cause Concern

The Washington Post reports, “Russia’s space agency has identified four cracks and about 50 other “areas of concern” in a Russian section of the International Space Station, leading NASA to classify the problem at its highest level of risk and study how to evacuate its astronauts in the case of an emergency. NASA has been so concerned with the cracks that officials have negotiated a deal with their Russian counterparts to seal off the small segment and keep the hatch to it open only during critical operations, the space agency said.”
Full Story (Washington Post)

NASA Makes Progress Reducing ISS Air Leak

Space News reports, “NASA is playing down concerns raised in a recent report about a long-running air leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station, saying they have recently reduced the rate of the leak. A report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General released Sept. 26 noted that, in June, the ISS program had elevated a leak in a section of the Russian Zvezda module “to the highest level of risk in its risk management system.” NASA uses a system where both the likelihood and severity of a risk is rated on a scale of one to five; the leak rated a five on both.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA’s Plan for Deorbiting ISS Contingent Upon Russia’s Plans

Ars Technica reports, “Assuming the ISS international partners will retire the laboratory as planned in 2030, the final deorbit maneuver could happen in early 2031. NASA would like to have the deorbit vehicle ready for launch in 2029, up to a year and a half before the space station’s final plunge. If these dates hold, the final crew for the ISS would likely launch in late 2029 and remain aboard the complex for a year, then come home before the final deorbit burns to guide the massive lab back into the atmosphere.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Boeing Starliner’s Future Is Unclear After Returning Without Astronauts

The New York Times reports that Boeing’s Starliner “has finally come home, but the two NASA astronauts who traveled in it to the International Space Station in June remain in orbit. Because of problems with Starliner’s propulsion system during its approach to the space station in June, NASA officials decided not to put the astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, on Starliner for the return trip. They will spend an additional five months on the space station as part of the crew before coming back to Earth around February in a spacecraft built and managed by SpaceX.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
Full Story (NYT via Yahoo News)

Uncrewed Boeing Starliner Set to Depart Space Station Friday Night

The New York Times reports, “Leaving behind the two NASA astronauts it took to the International Space Station three months ago, Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft is set to begin its return to Earth on Friday evening. Six hours after it undocks from the station, it is to parachute to a landing at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. If bad weather or technical issues cause a delay, Starliner’s return could happen on Sept. 10, Sept. 14 or Sept. 18.”
Full Story (New York Times)

NASA Postpones Return of Boeing Starliner Crew Until March

The Washington Post reports, “The two Boeing Starliner astronauts kept unexpectedly on the International Space Station since June have had their stay extended yet again because the next crew will arrive later than originally anticipated, NASA said this week. Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita Williams were previously expected to return in February after spending several months longer in orbit than planned.”
Full Story (Washington Post)

NASA to Evaluate Astronaut Launch Schedule In Wake of SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Failure

SPACE reports, “NASA is waiting to see if there will be “schedule impacts” for its next astronaut mission aboard SpaceX after a rocket failure last week, the agency said in a recent statement. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket had a rare anomaly during a Starlink satellite launch on Thursday (July 11). The second stage on the rocket failed to work as planned, stranding the broadband satellites in an unusual orbit. As SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigate why this occurred, an International Space Station (ISS) mission is under scrutiny.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

Video

SpaceX Experiences Engine Failure In Flight
(The Launch Pad; YouTube)

Opinion: “Transferring the International Space Station into the Future”

In an op-ed in Space News, Jean-Jacques Dordain and Michael Griffin suggest that when it’s time to retire the ISS, it should be moved to higher orbit, so that it may one day be made useful again, rather than incinerated. They write, “As lifelong space professionals who have worked together from different positions in ESA and NASA on the redesign, assembly and operation of the ISS, we fully share the objective to cease ISS operations at the end of the decade, but we believe that destroying it would be a pointless loss for the future.”
Full Story (Space News)

SpaceX’s Crew-8 Dragon Capsule Arrives at ISS

SPACE reports, “SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronaut mission arrived at the International Space Station early Tuesday morning (March 5).”  The Dragon capsule docked with the orbiting outpost at 2:28 a.m. EST, as the station soared “above the central North Atlantic just east of New Foundland at the time.”
Full Story (SPACE)

 

Video

SpaceX/NASA – SpaceX Crew 8 – Rendezvous & Docking ISS – March 5, 2024
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)

Opinion: After the ISS, America Must Continue to Lead in LEO, Cislunar to Maintain Supremacy

Space News reports, “As the International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its service life and the United States commercial space industry continues to push past old technological boundaries, America needs new orbital destinations to remain the world’s leader in space. Low-Earth orbit, or LEO, is of tremendous strategic significance. It is not only where a fast-growing number of satellites operate, but it is also where humans have lived and worked continuously on the ISS since 2000.”
Full Story (Space News)

Sierra Space Prepares Dream Chaser for Pre-launch Trek to KSC

Spaceflight Now reports, “Sierra Space is getting one step closer to finally seeing its Dream Chaser spaceplane reach the launch pad. The spacecraft completed its environmental testing at NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility last week … Sierra Space is now preparing to load up Dream Chaser and Shooting Star for shipment down to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Once it arrives, teams will finish adding the thermal protection tiles and perform additional checkouts, like acoustic testing.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Finish Line for Dream Chaser Now in Sight

Ars Techica reports, “There is still some work to do to prepare Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane for its first mission, but the company says the winged resupply craft for the ISS will soon ship to its launch site in Florida. The Dream Chaser will take off on top of a ULA Vulcan rocket to head for the space station. A spokesperson for Sierra Space told Ars the spaceplane’s launch is scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of this year.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)