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space station posts

Video: Japanese astronaut surfs through space on 'flying carpet'

by Thomas Ricker posted May 20th 2009 at 5:20AM

The Japanese can turn pretty much anything into a variety show. So it's no real surprise to hear that the Japanese public have issued a set of 16 zero-gravity challenges to be carried out by Jaxa astronaut, Koichi Wakata, during his time at the International Space Station. Tasks included folding laundry, applying eye-drops, and attempting to ride a "flying carpet;" the latter accomplished with some adhesive tape and a full-size bathroom mat. Seriously, shaka brah. Check the surf and full length videos after the break.

Continue reading Video: Japanese astronaut surfs through space on 'flying carpet'

NASA's new virtual tours of the Space Station and new Mars Rover exactly approximate the sensation of not being in space

by Paul Miller posted May 8th 2009 at 9:43PM

NASA's grabbed Microsoft's fancy Photosynth software once again to build virtual tours of the International Space Station and a full-scale model of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover. The interface lets you dive through endless, 3D-oriented photographs of the station's modules, both inside and out, and gives a really good impression of the size and complexity of the lab-on-wheels NASA is prepping for a 2011 mission to Mars. It's not like being there, but it's a good way to kill a lazy Saturday morning.

[Via PhysOrg]

College students contact space station with self-built radio system

by Donald Melanson posted Feb 3rd 2009 at 3:49PM

While putting a call in to the International Space Station and chatting up an astronaut for a full ten minutes would likely be more than enough to satisfy most science classes, a group of students from Humber College in Toronto decided to go one big step further and do so with a radio system that they designed and built themselves. According to the school, that makes it the first time that's ever been done by students at the college level, which provided some well-deserved bragging rights for the students and their instructor, who said that they're "playing way, way above their league." Be sure to hit up the link below for a video of the big moment and, of course, the complete NASA control room-esque geek out.

China's Tiangong 1 space station unveiled for tiny Taikonauts

by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 26th 2009 at 7:21AM

Ok, it's just a scale model, but what you're looking at is the first module from China's budding Tiangong (meaning "Heavenly Place") space station program. It was just revealed to the surprise and delight of Engadget Chinese during a TV special celebrating the Chinese New Year. The 8 ton module is scheduled to launch by 2010 with two more modules (Tiangong 2 and Tiangong 3) to follow by 2015 after which Taikonauts will begin to stay in orbit. For now, the endeavor is meant to prepare for automated docking trials and to establish a presence in space -- a move that will undoubtedly scare the hell out of hawkish members of western governments.

Continue reading China's Tiangong 1 space station unveiled for tiny Taikonauts

NASA taps Orbital Sciences, SpaceX for ISS resupply missions

by Darren Murph posted Dec 28th 2008 at 1:29AM

The firms not mentioned here are just as important as the ones that are, as the privatization of space has just inched closer to reality. Rather than NASA handling ISS resupply chores itself or farming the job out to mega-corps such as Lockheed Martin or Boeing, the agency has instead awarded one contract each to Virginia-based Orbital Sciences (valued at around $1.9 billion) and California's own SpaceX ($1.6 billion). The two will be responsible for 20 service flights between 2009 and 2016, with each trip requiring delivery of "a minimum of 20 metric tons of upmass cargo to the space station." The agreements also call for "delivery of non-standard services in support of the cargo resupply, including analysis and special tasks as the government determines are necessary." So yeah, if FedEx / UPS have been balking at your request to ship to a Martian eBay winner, you now know who to call.

[Via TG Daily]

Urine recycling equipment passes tests, no one willing to take the first sip

by Darren Murph posted Nov 26th 2008 at 7:19AM

Thank heavens -- the $154 million water recycling system, which is designed to convert sweat, moisture and urine into an ingestible fluid, um, works. According to NASA, the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) managed to get through three rigorous testing sessions, and apparently that was good enough for officials to leave it in orbit. So yeah, theoretically we now have a way to keep long-term space cadets hydrated for months, but is anyone really going to volunteer to pinch their nostrils and toss back the first shot? Our sources point to "no."

International Space Station crew 'thrilled' to receive new urine recycling equipment

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 13th 2008 at 9:20PM

If we've learned anything from The Ice Pirates, we've learned that in space -- and increasingly on our planet as well -- water is the most valuable substance. Among the host of upgrades that the International Space Station is set to receive over the next couple weeks is a water purification system that will recycle urine for use as drinking water. Similar technology has been used in the Salyut and Mir space stations to process water collected from the cabin's atmosphere (the result of perspiration, aspiration and A/C condensation) but until now claiming back as much as 92% of water consumed by astronauts was just a wonderful dream. The project is part of a 15-day shuttle mission aimed at increasing the number of astronauts the craft can hold from three to six.

International Space Station gets WiFi, 404 errors very likely

by Darren Murph posted Sep 8th 2008 at 7:26AM

We knew the US military was looking to hook up space with a WLAN router, and lo and behold, WiFi has finally launched well above the stratosphere. According to a status log from the International Space Station over the weekend, the Joint Station LAN network was transitioned to "new Netgear wireless APs, which provide the ISS with WiFi connectivity." The official report details the crew using it for very official and politically correct things (you know, testing and whatnot), but we're pretty darn sure a deathmatch or two went down as well. Or maybe those guys we saw yesterday just had some sort of gravity hack going on...

[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of LowPings]

Space Station laptops catch "nuisance" virus

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 27th 2008 at 1:26PM

While it doesn't appear to be nearly as serious as some of the computer problems the International Space Station has faced, it looks like a virus has managed to find its way onto some of the laptops used on the Station, which NASA is now describing only as a "nuisance." According to SpaceRef.com, the virus is the W32.Gammima.AG worm, which is normally used to swipe sensitive information for online games. As Wired's Threat Level reports, the worm has also spread to more than one laptop on the Space Station, which would seem to suggest that it has either been spread via an on-board intranet, or via a thumb drive. Somewhat disconcertingly, when asked by Threat Level if any mission critical systems were connected to the same network as the laptops, NASA spokesperson Kelly Humphries simply said, "I don't know and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you for IT security reasons."

[Via Threat Level, thanks a.c.e.r.]

International Space Station's lavatory gets repaired, another saga ends

by Darren Murph posted Jun 4th 2008 at 10:01PM

We can't say we're terribly saddened that this riveting caper has finally ended -- after all, the poor crew needs a reliable place to unload, right? Shortly after the space shuttle Discovery delivered a new pump for the jury-rigged commode, Oleg Kononenko -- who we hear is now widely regarded as a galactic hero -- spent around two hours installing the hardware and running a trio of tests. After everything was tightened up and functioning as advertised, the crew presumably relieved themselves just before carrying on with the installation of the recently acquired Kibo lab. Crisis averted.

International Space Station's commode gets fixed

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2008 at 5:06PM

It's amazing how quickly humans can remedy problems when really placed in a bind, and rather than waiting for supplies to come up with Discovery next week, crew members aboard the International Space Station were able to solve their little dilemma already. Reportedly, cosmonauts were able to cure whatever was ailing the temporarily non-functioning john, enabling those stuck in space to urinate freely. Thankfully, the seven-year old toilet is due to be replaced with a fresh new one this Fall, and we'd say the replacement couldn't arrive soon enough.

Space station's toilet begins to fail, panic sinking in

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2008 at 2:52AM

You think it's bad when computers on the International Space Station get spazzed -- just imagine the chaos when the primary commode decides to stop functioning correctly. As of now, crew members are being forced to urinate in a "jury-rigged system" that's connected to the seven-year old (!!!) can, but thankfully, the solid waste collecting part has yet to act up. Still, we can imagine that folks on board are already fearing the worst. NASA officials have stated that they are currently mulling the idea of tossing a few parts on the Discovery just before it lifts off next week for a planned docking trip, which we can only hope pans out. Godspeed just took on a whole new meaning.

[Image courtesy of Nohoz, thanks System48]

Dextre robot now fully assembled, ready for testing

by Darren Murph posted Mar 18th 2008 at 11:24AM

Apparently, the folks aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour aren't wasting any time piecing Dextre together (or jamming to their iPods), as just days after we first heard about this creature's future in space, now we're hearing that he's totally assembled and ready to rock. The bot, which is formally known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator, has been fitted with various tools and cameras and is all set to "undergo a series of tests and trials before it is asked to do major tasks." Godspeed, young Dextre -- hopefully you'll have more success than Ted and Gadget.

Ultra SpaceStation 6 offers up 12GB flash drive six pack

by Donald Melanson posted Mar 13th 2008 at 8:31PM

Apparently catering to the few folks out there that feel they have too few USB flash drives, Ultra Products recently let loose this so-called SpaceStation 6, which comes with no less than six tiny thumb drives that can be neatly concealed and used as the mood strikes. Of course, there's no hub action going on here -- which would be convenient -- and the slots likely won't play nice with your current stash of flash drives. If you're still interested, however, you can grab either a 12GB version (consisting of six 2GB drives) or a 6GB version (with six 1GB drives) right now for $90 or $60, respectively.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Canadian-built Dextre robot set for delivery to space station

by Donald Melanson posted Mar 7th 2008 at 3:33PM

It may be not be the only bot on the block for long but, for now at least, the Canadian-built Dextre robot has the spotlight to itself, with it set to blast off Tuesday on board the shuttle Endeavor for delivery to its new home on the International Space Station. As USA Today reports, the robot has been some ten years in the making (at a cost of $210 million), and is designed to handle many of the tasks that would otherwise be done by astronauts on spacewalks. Those astronauts will still have a job for a while yet, with one of the main tasks during Endeavor's mission obviously being the assembly of Dextre, which is currently broken down into nine parts. Even after that's done, however, Dextre apparently won't start work until sometime in 2009, at which point it'll be able to replace nearly 140 parts on the ISS, and be controlled either by mission control or the crew on the space station.