International Space Station
Dragon's thrusters now operational, but rendezvous with ISS delayed
At a teleconference today (Mar.1) at 3:00 PM EST (2000 GMT), SpaceX and NASA confirmed that the malfunction of three of the four thruster pods of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has been corrected. Though the cause of the failure remains unknown, a note received during the conference from Dragon mission control stated that all four pods are working nominally with two of the pods preparing to come online this afternoon. Read More
This morning (Mar. 1), the SpaceX Dragon CRS-2 mission lifted off successfully from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 10:10:13 AM EST (1010:13 GMT) only to experience a major malfunction in Dragon’s thruster pods. SpaceX reported at 10:43 AM (1543 GMT) that three of the unmanned Dragon spacecraft’s four thruster pods have failed to activate – placing Dragon’s rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) in peril. Read More
The Japanese communication robot destined to join the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) this summer recently underwent some zero gravity testing. The Kibo Robot Project, organized by Dentsu Inc. in response to a proposal made by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, unveiled the final design of its diminutive humanoid robot and its Earthbound counterpart. Watch the cutest robot-related video of the year after the break. Read More
NASA and CSA begin testing satellite refueling on the ISS
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have begun practicing satellite refueling in space on a test bed outside the International Space Station (ISS). In a series of tests that started on January 14 and are scheduled to continue until the 25th, the two space agencies are using the Robotic Refueling Module (RRM) and Canada’s Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre, robot to carry out simulated refueling operations. The purpose of these tests is to develop refueling methods aimed at extending the life of satellites and reducing the amount of space debris orbiting the Earth. Read More
More details emerge on NASA's plan for inflatable ISS module
NASA announced last week that it has contracted Bigelow Aerospace to construct an inflatable module to test on the International Space Station. Following the release of more information and imagery, here's a closer look at what the plan entails. Read More
NASA has announced that it has awarded a US$17.8 million contract to Bigelow Aerospace to provide the International Space Station with an inflatable module. Details of the award will be discussed by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Bigelow Aerospace President Robert Bigelow at a press conference on January 16 at the Bigelow Aerospace facilities in North Las Vegas. However, based on previous talks, it’s likely that the module in question could be the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM). Read More
NASA hopes LED lights will cure astronaut insomnia
Sleep deprivation is no joke. It can cause lower performance, decreased memory, and even sickness. So, if you spend your life orbiting Earth on a $150B spacecraft, you're going to take sleep seriously. NASA, responding to an epidemic of insomnia, is ready to give the International Space Station (ISS) an LED makeover. Read More
Originally announced in early 2011, a small humanoid robot will be sent to communicate with astronauts living in the International Space Station's Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" in the (Northern Hemisphere) summer of 2013. The robot will feature speech recognition and natural language processing technology developed by Toyota, while delivering twitter and voice messages from Earth to Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Read More
The internet has changed a great deal of modern society, and now it promises to change space exploration as well. In late October, International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams used a NASA-developed laptop aboard the station to control a LEGO Mindstorm robot, located at the European Space Agency (ESA) European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Using a “space internet,” she was able to control the robot in real time despite being in orbit at an altitude of 230 miles (370 km). Read More
SpaceX Dragon returns from first commercial mission
History’s first commercial space mission ended today as SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft returned to Earth. The 21-day flight to the International Space Station (ISS) ended when the unmanned cargo ship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:22 p.m. PDT. The mission, designated CRS-1, is the first of twelve SpaceX is sending to the ISS as part of NASA’s plan to replace the retired Space Shuttle with privately built and operated spacecraft that will one day carry both cargo and crew. Read More
