internationalspacestation
Latest
Satellite watching with GoSatWatch for iPhone
Viewing earth-orbiting satellites, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station with the naked eye is a blast. I've been hooked on watching satellites since my folks pointed out Echo-1 to me when I was just 3 years old. Now I find myself looking skyward every time I'm under a dark sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a tiny light speeding across my field of view. If you're going to try to watch a satellite pass, it helps to know when the shiniest spacecraft are going to be zooming overhead. Amateur radio enthusiasts who want to make AMSAT or ARISS contacts need the same information. There's a cool new iPhone app called GoSatWatch (US$9.99, click opens iTunes) that makes looking for earth-orbiting spacecraft a piece of cake.Once the app is loaded on your iPhone, all you need to do is tap the colorful icon to start the app, then do some initial setup. You should set up your location and allow the iPhone 3G's GPS receiver to determine your local latitude and longitude (iPhone and iPod touch users can enter that information in by hand if desired). More than one observing location can be pre-set in the app.
J-ware odor-free underwear could hit Targets, midsections soon
Truthfully, there's just not enough work being done in the area of advanced underpants, so we're absolutely elated to hear that textile experts at Japan Women's University in Tokyo are picking up the slack and moving forward with an amazing development. Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to live on the International Space Station, is current testing the "odor-free" clothing, and it's said that he can rock the same drawers without any pungent smells for a solid week. The garb is designed to "kill bacteria, absorb water, insulate the body and dry quickly," and as if that wasn't awesome enough, they're also flame-resistant and anti-static. The best news? There are already talks of bringing this stuff to the commercial realm. Don't deny it -- you're already thinking of how stellar it'd be to wash clothes just once per month.
College students contact space station with self-built radio system
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.
NASA to air HD tour of International Space Station
Just in case you haven't seen enough NASA footage in HD, you'll love the latest 35 minutes captured by Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke. Said crew member, along with flight engineers Sandy Magnus and Yury Lonchakov, has filmed a high-definition tour of the orbiting complex that will be aired as a special Video File on NASA Television's HD Channel 105 at 1:00PM and 3:00PM CST Thursday and Friday (yes, of this week). Of course, it'll also be made available for SD viewers, but where's the fun in that? So, are your DVRing this or what?[Via iTWire]
NASA taps Orbital Sciences, SpaceX for ISS resupply missions
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]
NASA's newest e-nose for ISS thinks you're wearing too much cologne
Electronic noses are nothing new, but it's always interesting when you throw space into the mix. NASA's most recent Endeavor mission has taken with it a third generation e-nose that's the size of a shoebox, where it will act as a detection and warning system for air contaminants. The ISS currently has no system and relies wholly on the astronauts' actual noses. Developed and built by AEMC, the new nose's dynamic range is from less than one part per million to about 10,000 parts per million -- much more sensitive than human honkers. The e-nose has 32 sensors made of polymer films that respond to different chemicals by changing electrical conductivity, and it's capable of both detecting and analyzing what it "smells." The nose is going to be operational on the space station for a beginning trial period of six months, and we have a feeling that its first accomplishment will be to point out that there's something strange about the water. [Via Physorg]
NASA's interplanetary Internet tests a success, Vint Cerf triumphs again
NASA is reporting the first successful tests of its Deep Space Network modeled after Earth's own Internet. Instead of using TCP/IP, however, the interplanetary communication network relies upon DTN (Disruption-Tolerant Networking) co-developed by none other than Google's Vinton Cerf. As such, NASA's network does not assume a continuous end-to-end connection -- if a link is lost due to solar storms or a planetary eclipse, the communication node will store the information until the connection is re-established. So, what's the big deal you rightly ask, after all, we've been (purposely) transmitting data to and from space for a half-century. As Leigh Torgerson, manager of NASA's DTN Experiment Operations Center explains it:"In space today, an operations team must manually schedule each link and generate all the commands to specify which data to send, when to send it, and where to send it. With standardized DTN, this can all be done automatically." Testing of the Deep Space Network began in October with twice-weekly communications between NASA's Epoxi spacecraft (on a mission to rendezvous with Comet Hartley 2) and nine ground-based nodes meant to simulate Mars landers, orbiters, and operation centers. The International Space Station is scheduled to join the testing next summer. Although the nature of the data transmitted wasn't specified, we can only presume that it was laced with Google ads for Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong.
International Space Station crew 'thrilled' to receive new urine recycling equipment
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
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
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.]
NASA might bring plasma rocket to ISS for testing
Ad Astra's VASIMR plasma rocket is about ready for testing, only problem is it requires the vacuum of space to do it in. NASA is now considering taking the rocket up to the International Space Station, clipping it on and firing her up -- perhaps even using it to reposition the station. Formerly of NASA, Franklin Chang Diaz left to form Ad Astra and perfect his plasma rocket, which he hopes will be able to take space vehicles from low-earth orbit to the moon. The rocket draws its own power from solar cells, and then uses radio waves to heat argon into plasma, and directs that plasma using magnets. Pretty fancy stuff, and since the rocket is reusable and can propel payloads double the size of equivalent chemical engines, there could be cost savings in the long run. Right now it seems the main hang ups for NASA are where to attach the rocket to the ISS where it won't be interfered with, and how to get it into space after the space shuttle is retired in 2010[Via Newlaunches.com]
SpaceX conducts successful static launch of Falcon 9 rocket
Remember Space Exploration Technologies Corp, otherwise known as SpaceX? You know, the private space transport company started by PayPal founder Elon Musk that won the NASA Commercial Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition for its Falcon rocket? Last we heard from SpaceX it had lost Falcon 1 during a test launch, but this week its Falcon 9 launch vehicle was successfully fired up. While it didn't go anywhere, the successful static launch was good news for the company, and the test run was even two months ahead of schedule, which could mean good things for the rockets' ultimate place in runs to the International Space Station once the Space Shuttle goes out of service in 2010.
Google honcho Sergey Brin plans first-ever private trip to the ISS
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is about to join an extremely short list of space tourists, according to reports. The search engine-kingpin just dropped a $5 million dollar "investment" on the company Space Adventures, which all but guarantees him a seat on the outfit's next flight in 2011. The trip aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket will take Brin to the ISS in the first-ever private flight to the station (Ubuntu head Mark Shuttleworth has made the trip, though not on a private mission). The company stresses that the ride will be less about tourism and more about commercial exploration, with passengers bringing aboard experiments and taking part in flight operations. Now the only riddle left to solve is whether the last Cylon is Brin or Bezos.[Via Gear Diary]
Space shuttle Discovery delivers new toilet pump to International Space Station
In what is becoming a fascinating space-poop drama, the International Space Station had a fresh toilet pump delivered today by space shuttle Discovery. For the past couple weeks, astronauts were forced to perform manual flushes, but this pump promises to make things go down a bit easier. We're still under the impression that the toilet will be replaced in the Fall, so more relief is sure to come.
Space station's toilet begins to fail, panic sinking in
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]
Canadian-built Dextre robot set for delivery to space station
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.
NASA worker caught in act of sabotage on ISS bound computer
According to breaking news from NASA, a space program worker is alleged to have deliberately damaged a computer that was meant to fly aboard the Endeavour in less than two weeks, in an apparent act of sabotage. NASA says the unnamed individual, who works for one of the space agency's subcontractors, cut wires inside a computer that was headed to the International Space Station (ISS) on the shuttle. The alleged tampering occurred outside of NASA operations in Florida, but the agency isn't naming the subcontractor or where exactly the incident took place. The agency hopes to fix the damage and launch the Endeavour August 7th, as planned. As this appears to be the first ever report of sabotage on the space program, you can expect to hear a lot more on this story in the very near future.[Via TheWolfWeb]
NASA drops $19m on Russian toilets for American asstronauts
So apparently NASA has agreed to purchase toilet technology from the Russian company RSC Energia for the tidy sum of $19 million, to be delivered to the ISS in 2008 in preparation for a crew upsizing from three to six members. The previous system required that urine tanks be transfered to cargo ships and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere, but the new toilets operate like a waste treatment center on Earth, collecting and reconstituting urine as drinking water -- an unpleasant concept for a number of our readers, but a welcome relief for thirsty astronauts. The toilets are similar to normal models, though they employ leg restraints and thigh bars to hold the "user" in place, and high-powered fans to suck, um... waste into the commode. The system will be installed on the American side of the station, while the Russian-side will remain as is, resulting in extremely long lines to use the "good" bathroom.
Space station computers pass final test, Atlantis to come home
It's been a rocky few days in space, but it looks like the crashed Russian computers aboard the International Space Station are back up and running to spec, allowing the crew of Atlantis to depart tomorrow. There's still no word on what caused the computers -- which control vital life support systems, as well as the station's stabilizers and directional thrusters -- to fail, but the leading theory involves a surge from the new solar power array the shuttle astronauts installed. We're glad everything's okay -- but also we're totally curious as to what OS / processor combo they're running up there.
Space Station computers still causing problems
It looks like those Space Station computer problems are still causing headaches for NASA and Russia's Mission Control, as they're reportedly still not fully back up to speed after two days of repair work. According to the AP, the Russians worked on them through the night but only managed to get one of three power channels restored before the flight controllers told them to get some sleep. Despite the setback, NASA's still saying that the chances of abandoning the space station are remote, and that the crew are not in any immediate danger. In the meantime, the shuttle Atlantis's crew have apparently turned off cameras, laptops, and some lights to conserve power in case they need to stay an extra day to maintain the ISS's position.[Photo courtesy of NASA]
