Business Insider reports that the “head of Russia’s space agency on Saturday said that the country would leave the International Space Station, which Moscow said is the result of economic sanctions imposed as a result of the country’s conflict in Ukraine.” In an interview with two Russian state news agencies — Tass and RIA Novosti — Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin reportedly said that “the decision has been taken already, we’re not obliged to talk about it publicly.” According to the article, NASA plans to continue running the space station through 2030.
Full Story (Business Insider)
Tag: ISS
Crew-4 Astronauts Reach International Space Station
Aviation Week reports that the Crew-4 Dragon spacecraft “docked to the International Space Station (ISS) late April 27, delivering four U.S. and European astronauts to the orbiting laboratory.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Ax-1 Mission Crew Returns to Earth
Space.com reports that the Ax-1 mission’s four crewmembers returned to Earth Monday, successfully concluding “the first-ever all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.” The SpaceX crew capsule “carrying the four crewmembers … splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida” Monday at 1:06 p.m. EDT, “bringing the groundbreaking 17-day flight to a close.”
Full Story (Space.com)
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Astronauts Complete Upgrades, Maintenance on ISS Exterior
Spaceflight Now reports that NASA astronaut Raja Chari and German astronaut Matthias Maurer “floated outside the International Space Station Wednesday and installed refurbished ammonia jumpers in the lab’s cooling system to bring it back up to full efficiency, replaced a high-definition camera and made power and data connections on a European experiment platform.” Astronaut Kayla Barron reported water inside Maurer’s helmet at the end of the excursion. Once Maurer’s helmet was off, “the crew estimated up to 50 percent of the visor was coated with a thin film of water and that an absorption pad added to NASA helmets in the wake of the Parmitano incident was damp.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Progress Freighter Delivers Nearly 3 Tons of Supplies to ISS
SPACE reports that the Progress 80 cargo spacecraft “arrived at the International Space Station early Thursday morning (Feb. 17), delivering nearly 3 tons of supplies and equipment to the orbiting lab.” The cargo freighter docked with the Poisk module at 2:03 a.m. EST. Progress delivered “948 pounds (430 kg) of propellant, 89 pounds (40 kg) of nitrogen, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and 3,704 pounds (1,680 kg) of spare parts and other supplies.”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA Could Take International Space Station Out of Orbit in January 2031
In an online report, Sky News (UK) says, “NASA has published plans for the future of the International Space Station which could see the 444,615kg structure taken out of orbit in January 2031 and crashed into a ‘spacecraft cemetery.’” The ISS “will continue operating until 2030 following a commitment made by President Biden and Vice President Harris last month, but its long-term future is unsustainable.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the ISS has been “a beacon of peaceful international scientific collaboration” for more than 20 years, but by the end of this decade, all of its mission goals will have been completed. NASA “expects the future of space science collaboration to lie with commercially operated space platforms and has published a report about how it will be making this transition, including pulling the ISS out of the sky.”
Full Story (Sky News)
AIAA Statement on Successful Launch of Innovative Commercial Research on CRS-24 Mission
December 21, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate NASA and the SpaceX team on today’s successful launch of the International Space Station (ISS) commercial resupply services mission, CRS-24. We recognize the countless aerospace industry professionals who were involved in making this mission a success and helping shape the future of aerospace.
This 24th commercial resupply services mission carries numerous exciting science experiments exploring human health and technology development in the orbiting laboratory. We applaud the efforts to expand access to on-orbit research for entrepreneurs and companies from non-traditional industries. These innovators are working to improve life on Earth and accelerate our off-world future. We look forward to following their progress.”
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND promotes the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future! For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Russia Admits to Testing Anti-Satellite Rocket, Denies Endangering ISS
The Washington Post reports that the International Space Station “faced a menacing threat” Monday from “thousands of pieces of debris, scattered when Russia fired a missile that destroyed a dead satellite.” Mission control in Houston “had to wake the astronauts to inform them that they needed to evacuate the Space Station and take shelter inside their spacecraft.” The Post adds that “the debris missed, and the seven space travelers – four Americans, two Russians and a German – reentered the station, ready to resume their work on the orbiting laboratory.”
Full Story (The Washington Post)
More Info (AIAA Statement)
ISS Dodges Chinese Space Debris
The New York Times reports that the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday “was forced to maneuver itself to avoid a piece of debris spawned by a Chinese antisatellite weapon test in 2007.” NASA and Roscosmos worked together to fire the ISS’ thrusters, raising its altitude by nearly a mile.
Full Story (New York Times)
NASA Warned to Avoid Space Station Gap
Space News reports that industry officials warned NASA that it “needs to ensure that commercial space stations are ready before the International Space Station is retired to avoid a ‘space station gap’ with geopolitical consequences.” NASA currently plans to retire the ISS around 2030 and calls for a new commercial space station by the end of this decade.
Full Story (Space News)