Tag: ISS

ISS Adjusts Course to Avoid Russian Space Debris

CNN reports that NASA said the ISS fired its thrusters for five minutes and five seconds to avoid a Russian satellite destroyed by a missile strike in a weapons test last year. “Officials at NASA have previously warned about the risks of the proliferation of debris in space, caused by a dramatic increase in the number of satellites in orbit and several instances of governments intentionally destroying satellites and creating new plumes of junk.”
Full Story (CNN)

Blackhawk Aerospace Sees Retrofits as the Future with PC-12 Expected to be Certified Soon

Aviation Week reports, “Aftermarket engine upgrade specialist Blackhawk Aerospace is developing a retrofit for the Daher TBM 700 turboprop single as it begins flight tests of its latest improvement project – a Pilatus PC-12 configured with the Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PT6A-67P.” The modification specialist company said the PC-12 is expected to receive certification from the FAA in the second quarter of 2023, followed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) shortly thereafter.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

NASA Says Spacewalks will Resume

Aviation Week reports, “NASA is looking to mid-November for the resumption of planned spacewalks outside the International Space Station (ISS) following the unexpected appearance of moisture on the helmet visor of European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer at the conclusion of a March 23 excursion.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Crew-4 Astronauts Ready for ISS Departure

The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports, “After nearly half a year in space, the four astronauts of Crew-4 are set to climb back into the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom for its return trip to Florida.” NASA’s Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, along with the ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in April and have spent nearly 170 days onboard the station. Upon its departure, Crew Dragon Freedom will be making its first return to Earth.
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)

NASA, SpaceX Successfully Launch Crew-5 Mission to the ISS

Space.com reports that NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission successfully launched to the International Space Station Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Pad 39A.  Liftoff occurred at 12:00 p.m. EDT, “kicking off a roughly 29-hour journey to the orbiting lab.” The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the ISS on Thursday at 4:57 p.m. ET.  The mission’s “four spaceflyers are NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina.” The launch “made Mann the first Native American woman to reach the final frontier and Kikina the first Russian to fly on a private American spacecraft.”
Full Story (Space.com)

 

 Video

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 Mission to the International Space Station (Official NASA Broadcast)
(NASA; YouTube)

Dream Chaser Spaceplane to be Used for ISS Cargo Mission in 2024

SPACE reports that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane “will be used for an International Space Station (ISS) cargo mission in 2024 to ferry ‘a variety of life sciences experiments’ for Yuri, a German space biotech company.” Sierra Space “will send at least six uncrewed ISS cargo missions using Dream Chaser, all lifting off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station using United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rockets.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Commercial Space Data Relays May be Used by NASA within a Decade

Via Satellite reports that NASA “could be using commercial services to enable its next-generation satellite communications constellation that will provide connectivity to the International Space Station (ISS), as well as various science missions,” within the next decade. NASA is “one of several government organizations that are investing in space data relay networks, and the Defense Department in particular is funding new efforts to launch proliferated LEO constellations for on-demand connectivity.” European and Canadian companies “are partnering with the European Space Agency (ESA) to take the next steps in optical communication via the High Throughput Optical Network project, also known as HyDRON.”
Full Story (Via Satellite)

NASA Posts RFI for ISS Deorbit Spacecraft

GovCon Wire reports that NASA “expects the International Space Station to conclude operations in late 2030 and is seeking information from potential industry sources of spacecraft that will work to deorbit the government-funded laboratory.” A request for information “posted Friday on SAM.gov says the deorbit vehicle should attach to the Node 2 Forward port one year before the controlled reentry of ISS into an unpopulated region.”
Full Story (GovCon Wire)

Roscosmos Chief Clarifies Comments About ISS Departure

SPACE reports that Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov “expanded on comments he made last week indicating the country’s intent to disassociate from the International Space Station ‘after 2024.’” In an interview with Russia 24, Borisov said, “We announced that we intend to do this not in 2024, but after 2024. In Russian, these are two big differences.” Borisov elaborated, “We must warn our colleagues a year in advance that we will do this for such and such circumstances. We have not warned [NASA] about this yet; there is no need for this. We just said that after 2024 we will start the exit process.”
Full Story (SPACE)