Tag: Space Station

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’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)

Cygnus Spacecraft Experiences Glitches After Launch

Space News reports, “A Falcon 9 launched a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station Aug. 4, but the spacecraft suffered problems that have delayed maneuvers needed to reach the station. The launch appeared to go as planned, with the Cygnus spacecraft separating from the Falcon’s upper stage in low Earth orbit nearly 15 minutes after liftoff.”
Full Story (Space News)

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)

Russian Cosmonaut Breaks World Record for Most Cumulative Time Spent in Space

The AP reports that Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has “broken the world record for the most cumulative time spent in space, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos reported Sunday.” According to the AP, Kononenko has “now spent more than 878 days and 12 hours in space, surpassing fellow Russian Gennady Padalka, who set the previous record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds in 2015.” By the end of his current expedition, Kononenko is “expected to become the first person to accumulate 1,000 days in space.”
Full Story (Associated Press)

Cygnus Resupply Mission Capsule Arrives at ISS

Aviation Week reports that “Northrop Grumman’s 20th Cygnus resupply mission capsule successfully berthed to the International Space Station (ISS) early Feb. 1, delivering a more than 8,200-lb. cargo that includes a wide range of science and technology investigations.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

SpaceX’s Starship to Launch Starlab Space Station

Space News reports, “Starlab Space, a joint venture of Voyager Space and Airbus Space and Defence, announced Jan. 31 it reached an agreement with SpaceX to launch the Starlab station on Starship. The companies did not disclose terms of the agreement or a projected launch date, although a spokesperson for Starlab Space said the company was confident that Starlab would be launched before the decommissioning of the International Space Station, currently scheduled for 2030.” Voyager Space Chairman and CEO Dylan Taylor said in a statement, “SpaceX’s history of success and reliability led our team to select Starship to orbit Starlab. … SpaceX is the unmatched leader for high-cadence launches and we are proud Starlab will be launched to orbit in a single flight by Starship.”
Full Story (Space News)

 

Video

Starlab Space Station Update
(The Space Race; YouTube)

New Supercomputer Simulations Could Help Electric Spacecraft Propulsion Take a Leap

SPACE reports, “Spacecraft powered by electric propulsion could soon be better protected against their own exhaust, thanks to new supercomputer simulations. Electric propulsion is a more efficient alternative to traditional chemical rockets, and it’s being increasingly used on space missions, starting off with prototypes on NASA’s Deep Space 1 and the European Space Agency’s SMART-1 in 1998 and 2003, respectively, and subsequently finding use on flagship science missions such as NASA’s Dawn and Psyche missions to the asteroid belt. There are even plans to use electric propulsion on NASA’s Lunar Gateway space station.”
Full Story (SPACE)

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)

NASA Safety Panel Expresses Concerns About ISS Transition Plans

Space News reported that a “NASA safety panel expressed concerns about NASA’s plans to shift from the International Space Station to commercial successors, including funding for an ISS deorbit vehicle.” During its October 26 public meeting, NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel “issued a recommendation calling on NASA to provide a ‘comprehensive understanding’ of the requirements needed to transition from the ISS to commercial space stations, called commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) destinations, or CLDs, by the agency.” David West, a member of the panel, said, “NASA should develop a comprehensive understanding of the resources and timelines of the ISS-to-commercial-LEO transition plan to a much higher level of fidelity, to provide confidence that the nation will be able to sustain a continuous human presence in LEO.” West added that plan “should include ‘explicit defensible assumptions’ as well as specific metrics and deadlines for judging the progress by companies in developing a commercial business case for their stations ‘and is sufficient to support the development, production and operation of one or more commercial platforms to replace the ISS.’”
Full Story (Space News)

Cosmonauts Find Radiator Coolant Leak on ISS During Spacewalk

Spaceflight Now reports that two Russian spacewalkers “floated outside the International Space Station Wednesday and isolated a leaking radiator as planned, apparently causing residual coolant still trapped inside to make its way to the leak site and spew out into space.” Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko “planned to sop up the pooling coolant with a cloth towel, but was told to leave the area immediately when he reported some of the liquid had made it onto a safety tether.” The tether “was secured in a bag and procedures were already in place to make sure the cosmonauts’ spacesuits were clear of any such contamination before they re-entered the space station at the end of the spacewalk.” In the meantime, Kononenko and crewmate Nikolai Chub “pressed ahead with work to attach a small synthetic aperture radar antenna to the hull of the Nauka module.” One of its four panels “failed to fully deploy and lock in place, and officials said adjustments would be made in a future spacewalk.” Finally, Kononenko and Chub “released a small student-built ‘nanosatellite,’ but the solar sail propulsion system it was designed to test failed to deploy.” After making a final attempt “to coax the balky radar panel into place, the cosmonauts called it a day.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

NASA, ISS National Lab, and AIAA Team Up for Live Space Station Downlink at 2023 ASCEND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 18, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space gathering – 2023 ASCEND – will hear directly from the crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Each year in Las Vegas, ASCEND brings together space industry professionals, students, and enthusiasts to accelerate building our off-world future.

On Monday morning, 23 October, the event will open with a unique session entitled, “From Dreaming to Doing: Utilizing Creativity and Imagination to Accelerate our Off-World Future,” moderated by Kara Cunzeman, director of Strategic Foresight, The Aerospace Corporation, and ASCEND Guiding Coalition member. The speakers will explore what it means to create and inspire, and why systematic thinking about the future is essential for building humanity’s sustainable off-world future.

During that exciting session, the conference will receive a special call from space, as NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli join ASCEND live from the International Space Station. Cunzeman will lead a discussion with the astronauts on the importance of space exploration, improving diversity in STEM fields, and ways to build our sustainable off-world future through collaboration.

For those planning to attend 2023 ASCEND, the opening session and downlink conversation are set to begin at 0800 hrs PT in the Summit Ballroom, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas. The panelists may be available for potential interviews from media attending the event. Please contact Rebecca Gray, AIAA Director of Communications, at [email protected] to coordinate.

Media Contacts
AIAA: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
ISS National Lab: Patrick O’Neill, [email protected]

About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) manages the ISS National Lab, under cooperative agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit www.issnationallab.org.

About ASCEND
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND, which stands for Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery, is the world’s premier collaborative, outcomes-driven, interdisciplinary community designed to accelerate the building of our off-world future. For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

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.

NASA Secures Partner Cooperation on ISS Through 2028

Florida Today reports that the International Space Station “will remain in operation through 2028 with the full cooperation of all partners, NASA announced last week.” The United States, Japan, Canada, and countries from the European Space Agency “have committed to extending their participation aboard the space station until 2030.” Additionally, Russia has said it will remain committed to station operations through at least 2028. Last year, NASA “announced the lifespan extension of the space station until 2030, at which point it is planned to be retired.”
Full Story (Florida Today)

Russia Agrees to Stay Aboard ISS through 2028

SPACE reports that Russia has agreed to remain onboard the ISS through 2028, which is a clarification from last year’s announcement of a departure sometime after 2024 following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The vague pronouncement has now been firmed up considerably, with the other major ISS partners – the space agencies of Europe, Canada and Japan – having “signed on through 2030, the update added, joining NASA in committing to the orbiting lab through the envisioned end of its operational life.”
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA Celebrating 25th Anniversary of ISS

ABC News reports, “NASA and its astronauts are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station being in orbit.” On Wednesday, the agency “broadcast a live conversation between the Expedition 70 crew and NASA Associate Administrator Robert Cabana and Joel Montalbano, space station program manager.” The space station “has been continuously occupied for more than 23 years, ‘testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth,’ NASA said in a press release. According to NASA, the station has been visited by 273 people from 21 countries and has conducted more than 3,300 [investigations].”
Full Story (ABC News)

Canada Commits to 2030 ISS Extension

Space News reported that the Canadian government “formally committed March 24 to an extension of the International Space Station to 2030, joining other Western partners but not Russia.” As part of last week’s meeting between US President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada confirmed it would participate in the ISS through 2030 “as part of a renewed commitment to space exploration that includes contributions to the NASA-led lunar Gateway.” The US announced that it intended to make the same commitment in 2021.
Full Story (Space News)