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)
Tag: Space Station
NASA and Roscosmos Unable to Agree on Cause and Severity of ISS Air Leak
Space News reports, “NASA and Roscosmos continue to disagree on the cause and severity of an air leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station, one that NASA worries could lead to a “catastrophic failure” of part of a Russian module. That disagreement was brought to light during a brief meeting of NASA’s ISS Advisory Committee Nov. 13, which recounted a meeting of that committee with its Roscosmos counterpart in Moscow in September to discuss issues with the station.”
Full Story (Space News)
Yearslong Leaks on International Space Station Deemed “Top Safety Risk”
Scientific American reports, “In the hostile conditions beyond Earth, a spacecraft is all that stands between an astronaut and certain death. So having yearslong seemingly unfixable leaks on the International Space Station (ISS) sounds like a nightmare scenario. It’s also a reality, one that a recent agency report calls ‘a top safety risk.’”
Full Story (Scientific American)
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)
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)
ISS Air Leak Poses No Danger to Crew According to Russian Space Officials
AP News reports Russian space officials have acknowledged a continuing air leak from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), but say “it poses no danger to its crew.” Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said the leak and crew are being monitored by specialists.
Full Story (Associated Press)
Industry Seeks Resources, Policy Changes to Support ISS Transition
Space News reports “Executives with two companies developing commercial space stations called on NASA and Congress to take fiscal and policy steps to avoid a space station gap they feared could cede leadership in low Earth orbit to China.”
Full Story (Space News)