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Urine recycling equipment passes tests, no one willing to take the first sip
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."
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]
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.
Watch a video of Richard Garriott's geeky but enviable space voyage
By now a lot of you know that Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa, is in space. Sadly, since we didn't watch the live broadcast of his liftoff, we only know this through second-hand reports. But it's all going to be okay -- the NASA TV broadcast has been uploaded to YouTube, so if you missed it as we did then you too can watch an eccentric and wealthy nerd experience his lifelong dream. We've embedded it after the jump. Enjoy!Garriott lifted off on October 12th, carrying with him the DNA of Operation Immortality participants, including some Tabula Rasa players. Shortly after liftoff he displayed to the camera a Logos message to the camera on the spacecraft -- simultaneously an inspiring quote about space travel from a Russian scientist ("Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever.") and a hint at upcoming additions to Tabula Rasa.[Via Joystiq]
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]
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.
International Space Station's commode gets fixed
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
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]
NASA's HD Earth Day celebration
A 24 hour concert it's not, but NASA's celebrating Earth Day in its own way, airing an hour of HD footage collected from various trips in space on NASA TV. A silent edition of the broadcast hit Friday morning, which will repeat between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Monday April 21, and on repeat from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Earth Day, April 22 featuring commentary from NASA scientist Dr. Justin Wilkinson. You can catch the stream online, or the NASA TV channel if you have it, we hear that in HD you can totally see your house from there.[Via Sun Herald]
Dextre robot now fully assembled, ready for testing
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.
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.
Clarion automotive A/V gear headed into space
It looks like Clarion is about to get some considerable new bragging rights (shared only by the likes of Tang), as some of its automotive A/V gear has recently been approved by NASA and is now awaiting deployment into space. That includes the company's RX935VD in-dash multimedia center and VCZ625 6-disc DVD changer, each of which have been fitted into a specially designed unit and will soon be used to entertain crew members on the International Space Station. As Clarion points out, that makes those the first car A/V components to be installed in the ISS, with their reliance 12 volt automotive systems (the same voltage as the space station) working largely in their favor. No word on an exact launch date just yet, but the gear is now ready and waiting in Star City for the next available spot to free up.[Via audiojunkies]
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]
ESA's three-armed space robot passes weightless test
The European Space Agency announced this week that its three-armed robot -- affectionately dubbed Eurobot -- recently underwent a Weightless Environment Test (or WET), and passed with flying colors. The bot's three arms are similar in size and strength to their human counterparts, although Eurobot's limbs are jointed in seven places, thus allowing them to move and pivot in ways human arms cannot. The "neutral buoyancy" test was meant to examine whether or not the robot would be able to complete simple tasks such as putting away tools and equipment, or holding objects for workers in a weightless scenario. The hope is that Eurobot will make its way to the ISS, where it will enable astronauts to accomplish repairs and maintenance with greater speed and safety. Needless to say, HAL was unimpressed.[Via New Scientist]
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]
