internationalspacestation
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Critical space station computers fail
An array of busted computers that control the International Space Station's orientation and oxygen and water supplies could force the orbiting hotel's three current residents to either extend their stay or make an emergency departure. The Russian-made computers are critical for sustaining life aboard the station, and while astronauts have a 56-day supply of oxygen remaining and the ability to manually fire the control thrusters, we've seen 2001 enough times to know that space and computer malfunctions don't mix. So far the cause of the failure is a real head-scratcher for Russian engineers tasked with troubleshooting the problem (where's Cosmonaut Gates when you need him?), though current suspicions lie with power issues related to the new solar array delivered by Atlantis on this most recent shuttle mission. For real-time updates on this crisis, just grab a telescope and follow along for yourself...[Thanks, Eli R]
Space Station gets boost from new solar array
It may have taken longer than expected, but the International Space Station is slowly starting to come up to full speed, with a new solar array now fully unfurled after being installed earlier during Atlantis' mission. Measuring 240 feet long, the twin solar panels are the third of four "wings" to be installed on the Space Station, which are required to provide the necessary power to the new modules set to be attached to the ISS later this year and next. Before they can be put into service, however, the astronauts have to retract part of an older solar array in order to make room for the new wings to rotate, which so far appears to be going off without a hitch.[Via Scotsman.com, photo courtesy of NASA]
Contest winner's playlist will be sent to space aboard iPod
As if there weren't enough reasons to want to be a kid again, the European Space Agency is holding a contest for children 18-and-under that requires crafting the perfect playlist for astronauts floating around the International Space Station -- and the lucky winner scores a trip to South America to watch an iPod loaded with his/her tunes launched aboard the agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle. In a twist on the old "What would you bring to a desert island" question, the contest -- which is only open to residents of EU countries participating in the ATV program -- asks entrants to envision what ten songs they'd want to listen to (guess they're only sending up a shuffle) as they orbited 400 kilometers above the Earth, and although the rules don't specifically prohibit it, we imagine that entries which include "Major Tom," "Free Fallin'," or "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (not to mention anything by the Beatles) will be immediately disqualified. Now when the 20-tonne vehicle heads off towards the ISS later this year, it certainly won't be carrying the first iPod into orbit -- Anousheh Ansari famously brought hers up last year, among others -- and with the "Gates in Space" story now definitively debunked (tourist Charles Simonyi attributed the rumor to a Russian press "notorious for their fabrications") it looks as though space -- much like many places on Earth -- will remain a decidedly Zune-free zone for the foreseeable future. [Via FARK, image courtesy of NASA]
ISS getting ready for a new computer system
The International Space Station crew is doing some spring cleaning this week to get ready for an upcoming computer upgrade. Related and unrelated novelties include 10 times faster networking and a brand new window and camera combo which was installed last week. No word on what kind of specs (or Clarissa enhancements) the new computer will boast of, we suppose it all depends on if our astronaut friends have decided to make the Vista plunge (we hear the excitement of zero gravity gymnastics is closely rivaled by Windows Flip 3D) or instead wait for SP1 to iron out some of those zero-day "random life support system shutdown" bugs everyone's been griping about. Oh the decisions!
