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GAO expects delays in SpaceX and Boeing astronaut flight certification
It's no secret that NASA is pretty far behind schedule when it comes to returning to human spaceflight. Currently it's working with two contractors, Boeing and SpaceX, for eventual crewed flights. Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology asked NASA some hard questions about the delays, and it turns out the setbacks aren't over yet. Cristina Chaplain from the GAO, who testified at the hearing, said, "We've found that the program's own analysis indicates that certification is likely to slip into December 2019 for SpaceX and February 2020 for Boeing." Both companies are currently scheduled to be certified in the first quarter of 2019, and both companies maintained during the hearing that they are confident in their current schedules.
Russia is planning to put a luxury hotel on the ISS
While American private corporations are working to offer paying customers a short trip to space (or the edge of it), Russia is cooking up something grander. According to Popular Mechanics, it saw a proposal detailing Russian space corporation Roscosmos' plan to build a luxury hotel on the ISS. Anybody whose pockets are deep enough to shell out at least $40 million for the experience can stay there for a week or two. An additional $20 million will buy them the chance to go on a spacewalk with a cosmonaut.
SpaceX launches NASA resupply mission with reused rocket and capsule
Today SpaceX launched its first reused rocket for NASA. Both the Falcon 9 rocket itself and the Dragon capsule have been used prior to this resupply mission. Back in June, Elon Musk's spacefaring venture put a reused capsule in orbit, but this trip to the International Space Station marks the first time that NASA has used a "flight proven" booster on a mission (read: reused) according to CNBC. Based on the livestream, everything seems to have gone well: SpaceX successfully landed the rocket, which means it could potentially make its third flight in the future.
ISS astronauts won’t miss out on ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’
With Star Wars: The Last Jedi hitting theaters across the world this week, moviegoers will finally be able to witness the new space adventures the franchise consistently delivers. However, actual space explorers will also get the chance to enjoy the film in zero-gravity after NASA revealed that it'll screen The Last Jedi aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Watch SpaceX launch a reused capsule on a recycled rocket
SpaceX is making an historic first on Wednesday, when it gets one step closer towards realizing its vision of reusable space launch gear. The private space company is launching a space station resupply mission using a refurbished Dragon spacecraft and a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster. Dragon will spend around a month at the International Space Station unloading supplies and filling up with return cargo before returning to Earth, while SpaceX plans to recover Falcon 9 by landing it at its LZ-1 facility at Cape Canaveral. Both parts have been used on other resupply missions before, and if SpaceX's dreams come to fruition, they'll be used again. Watch them blast off live on Wednesday December 13 at 11:24 AM EST (08:24 AM PST).
BBC launches VR division with ISS spacewalk experience
The BBC is getting serious about VR content production. Today, the broadcaster has released a spacewalk experience and formally announced a VR team that will work with filmers, showrunners and "digital experts" on new pieces. Home — A VR Spacewalk was developed by the BBC and digital production studio Rewind for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift last year. It's based on NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) training programs — yes, the same ones used by astronaut Tim Peake — and takes you through a repair on the outside of the ISS. It's been shown at various film festivals but hasn't been available to the public before today.
ISS crew’s 360-degree video is the closest you’ll get to space
You can always count on the crew of the International Space Station to harness technology to bring us up to the heavens with them. Back in July, they uploaded enough footage to map the entire station out on Google Streetview. Today, the crew uploaded the first spacewalk recorded in 360-degree video. Immerse yourself in footage of mankind maintaining its farthest outpost at the border of space.
NASA's inflatable ISS habitat could stay in space until 2020
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was only supposed to stay attached to the ISS for two years. It's been performing well enough in its technological demonstration, however, that NASA now wants to extend its stint for three more years. Astronauts aboard the ISS installed BEAM in early 2016 as an experiment, with the intention of regularly checking its integrity, conducting radiation shielding experiments and collecting microbial air and surface samples from within its confines. The results of those tests prove that the module is tough enough to survive the harsh conditions of outer space for far longer than its original lifespan.
Russia and the US will work together to build a moon base
There have been rumors that the US and Russia would be teaming up to build a lunar base. Sources within the country told Popular Mechanics that the head of their space organization, Roscosmos, was set to announce a partnership agreement with NASA this week. Now, Roscosmos and NASA have both released statements saying stating the two countries' shared "common vision for human exploration." They go on to say that Russia and the US will cooperate on a Moon program, specifically mentioning the Deep Space Gateway by name. That's the base NASA plans to build in lunar orbit starting in the 2020s (the statement sets a mid-2020s goal for beginning the project). The release also mentions that other international partners are considering signing onto the lunar base.
How Peggy Whitson stayed in shape for nine months aboard the ISS
Space is no place for battles of the bulge. That's why NASA insists on getting its astronauts into peak physical condition before sending them offworld. But aboard the ISS, in a living space the size of a football field, the human body will readily go to pot. So how did Peggy Whitson, the longest-orbiting astronaut in American history, manage an astonishing nine and a half months in microgravity without having her body and mind atrophy? She hit the astronaut gym. Yes, of course, there's a gym on the ISS -- just, no lap pool.
NASA channels 'Stars Wars' for its 2017 ISS mission patch
The International Space Station's mission patch for 2017 will look very familiar if you're a huge fan of that galaxy far, far away. CASIS or the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the organization that oversees all the experiments aboard the ISS, has teamed up with Lucasfilm to design the space station's Star Wars-themed annual mission patch for 2017. Since the patch is supposed to stand for all the scientific payloads already aboard and headed to the ISS within the year, Star Wars designer and concept artist Doug Chiang chose three of the franchise's newest droids to represent "the ideas of adventure, science and hope."
America's longest-orbiting female astronaut has safely returned home
After spending 665 days whizzing 254 miles above the surface of Earth aboard the International Space Station, Astronaut Peggy Whitson has successfully reentered the atmosphere and set down safely in Kazakhstan. That's the longest time spent on the ISS for any woman astronaut in history -- or any American astronaut for that matter.
The ISS is getting a ruggedized computer upgrade
When SpaceX's rocket takes off on August 14th, it will be carrying a machine that could make things a lot easier for future astronauts embarking on deep space missions. That machine is the Spaceborne Computer, a high performance commercial off-the-shelf computer system running Linux that NASA and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) "ruggedized" for use in outer space. It will stay aboard the space station for a year, so the two organizations can find out whether it's tough enough to operate seamlessly amidst the harsh conditions computers are bound to encounter on their way to Mars and farther locations.
Sony's A7S II camera shot 4K video from outside the ISS
Sony has revealed some dazzling 4K video shot by its low-light champ A7S II from the ISS, showing the US and Japan by day and night. The mirrorless, full-frame model is not the first 4K camera on the International Space Station -- the 6K Red Dragon preceded it -- but it's the first to capture images from outside of it, Sony says.
NASA backs deep space habitat made with old ISS cargo module
NASA has given Lockheed Martin the go-ahead to build a full-scale prototype of the deep space habitat it proposed for the NextSTEP program. That means in around 18 months' time, it might start testing new space travel technologies for the agency. No, not in orbit, but right inside a facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. To meet the agency's affordability goals, the aerospace corporation won't be building the habitat from scratch -- instead, it will refurbish an old container space shuttles used to transfer cargo to the ISS. Plus, it will rely on a mixture of virtual and augmented reality to design the prototype.
Google Street View takes you aboard the ISS
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station just got an adorable floating camera, but what do we get? While nobody's handing out free rides to the ISS, you can digitally explore it now that it's up on Google Street View.
SpaceX aims to reuse rockets within 24 hours by 2018
Elon Musk shared more of SpaceX's plans to get its rockets to full reusability today at the International Space Station R&D conference. Those plans include faster turnaround for recycled Falcon 9 rockets and recovery of the rocket's nose cone.
Meet the International Space Station’s adorable camera drone
Astronauts on board the International Space Station have a new robotic companion to play around with. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released the first images shot by the "Int-Ball," a spherical camera that floats around alongside the rest of the crew. With its monochrome paint job and blue, circular eyes, it looks a little like Wall-E's Eve — or at least her head, in some kind of prototype form. Notably, the Int-Ball can move around autonomously or be controlled by operators back on Earth. The images are transferred in near real-time allowing JAXA staff to quickly evaluate problems and offer possible solutions to ISS residents.
SpaceX's capsule 're-flight' is a space travel milestone
SpaceX just took one step closer to making reusable private spacecraft seem entirely ordinary. The company has confirmed that its previously used Dragon capsule splashed down on the morning of July 3rd, making it the first commercial spacecraft to re-fly to and from the International Space Station. There wasn't a lot of drama involved (the biggest challenge was getting the vessel into orbit), but that's arguably the point -- it's supposed to be a non-event.
ISS will carry artificial organs in hope of medical breakthrough
In the near future, the International Space Station (ISS) will serve as home to five organs-on-chips research experiments. Each one will tackle a different issue, but all of them are expected to shed light on the effects of microgravity on the human body and could lead to better treatments and drugs without the need for animal testing. Organs-on-chips are transparent slides about the size of an AA battery with microfluidic channels capable of reproducing blood and airflow that are lined with the cells of the organ begin studied. Aboard the ISS, astronauts can observe the cells as they grow in 3D, since the lack of gravity means they don't settle at the bottom or flatten against the channels' plastic walls.
