Ars Technica reports that engineers encountered issues with the International Space Station’s 58-foot-long Canadarm2 robotic arm and its mobile transporter following a routine “walk-off” maneuver. NASA says the arm itself is operating normally, but communication errors with the transporter are being investigated. Ars Technica describes Canadarm2 as “something of a modern engineering miracle,” noting that it has operated aboard the station since 2001.
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Tag: Space Stations
The Space Station’s Past and Future Converge at ASCEND 2026
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory will bring a full day of programming to ASCEND 2026 on Tuesday, 19 May, plus nearly 60 technical papers on ISS utilization and space-based research expected to be presented on Wednesday and Thursday, 20–21 May. From microgravity-enabled medical breakthroughs to startup innovation in low Earth orbit (LEO), the ISS National Lab sessions are designed to show how researchers and commercial players alike are using the orbiting laboratory as an engine for science, technology, and a sustainable space economy.
Cargo Dragon Completes First “Boost Kit” Maneuver to Help Maintain Space Station’s Altitude
Aviation Week reports, “NASA’s 33rd SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply mission to the ISS has completed its first “boost kit” propulsion maneuver to help maintain the orbital laboratory’s altitude. The maneuver, conducted on Sept. 3, lasted 5 min. and 3 sec., raising the low point of the nearly 1 million-lb. ISS’s orbit by about 1 mi., a NASA mission update said. The maneuver positioned the orbital lab in a 260- by 256.3-mi.-high orbit as it circles the Earth at a 51.6-deg. inclination to the equator.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NASA Seeks Comment from US Companies on Commercial Space Station
Aviation Week reports that NASA is “seeking comment from US companies on requirements for the end-to-end development of commercial low Earth orbit destinations available to NASA for research and technology development once the International Space Station (ISS) is retired.” Congress has “authorized ISS operations through 2030.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NASA Updates Commercial Space Station Plans
Space News reports that NASA has “released additional details about how it plans to use commercial space stations after the retirement of the International Space Station as some in industry seek to accelerate NASA’s support for them.” NASA published two white papers Feb. 13 “as part of a request for information (RFI) for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations effort to support development of commercial stations.” The documents provide “new details about how NASA expects to work with companies operating those stations and the agency’s needs to conduct research there.” One white paper “lists NASA’s anticipated resource needs for those stations, including crew time, power and volume, broken out for each of the major agency programs anticipated to use commercial stations.” Companies had been “seeking more details about NASA requirements to assist in the planning of their stations.” Overall, including resources “expected to be reserved for a successor to the ISS National Laboratory, NASA expects to require 3,000 to 4,000 hours of crew time a year, which NASA expects to provide through having two astronauts on a commercial station.” The agency stated “that it is open to having private astronaut carry out some of the research activities.”
Full Story (Space News)