Tag: International Space Station
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Fabric too stiff? NASA gets set for second try to expand BEAM space module
The Bigelow Expandable Space Module, or BEAM, is designed to expand to twice its folded-up length, but during an initial attempt, it stretched out just a few inches. (Credit: NASA TV) Update: NASA will make its second attempt to inflate the Bigelow Expandable Space Module starting at around 6 a.m. PT Saturday. More details below. …
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NASA calls off inflation of experimental station habitat
Mission control used this grid to chart the progress of BEAM’s expansion. Credit: NASA TV Mission control halted the expansion of Bigelow Aerospace’s experimental space station module Thursday after the structure did not grow as predicted when air began flowing into it. Working in the International Space Station’s Tranquility module, astronaut Jeff Williams opened a…
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SpaceX ‘on track’ to launch astronauts in late 2017
Artist’s concept of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in orbit. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX is on schedule to fly two NASA astronauts on a test flight to the International Space Station by the end of 2017, but there is a lot of work to do to ensure the company’s new Crew Dragon spaceship is up to the…
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Bigelow’s station habitat to be expanded Thursday
Artist’s concept of an astronaut entering BEAM. Credit: NASA Space station flight engineer Jeff Williams will send commands Thursday to pump air into an experimental soft-sided module developed by commercial space habitat builder Bigelow Aerospace, expanding the structure to four times its current size in a stepping stone to future orbital destinations. The Bigelow Expandable…
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‘A Beautiful Planet’: Astronauts and space moviemakers reflect on film’s final frontier
NASA astronaut Terry Virts aims his camera through the Cupola, the best window on the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA) “A Beautiful Planet” is a 3-D visual feast for the eyes, but the astronauts who filmed the IMAX space extravaganza made sure that’s not all it is. For example, NASA astronaut Terry Virts said he recalled…
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More frontiers lie ahead as International Space Station makes its 100,000th orbit
The International Space Station has circled Earth more than 100,000 times. (NASA photo) The International Space Station registered its 100,000th orbit around the planet today, providing NASA with a news hook for looking at what humanity’s farthest-out outpost has done over the past 17 years. “During that time, over 1,922 research investigations have been performed,” NASA said in…
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SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule splashes down, returning Scott Kelly’s samples
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule descends toward the Pacific at the end of its parachutes. (Credit: SpaceX) A month after delivering an expandable prototype habitat and other goodies to the International Space Station, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean today with tons of equipment and scientific samples. Among the roughly 3,700 pounds of cargo are freezers…
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Cargo-carrying Dragon spaceship returns to Earth
The Dragon spacecraft descends to the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship departed the International Space Station on Wednesday, fired rocket thrusters to brake out of orbit, and parachuted to a picture-perfect splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with approximately 3,461 pounds (1,570 kilograms) of experiment samples and equipment. Concluding a 31-day…
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Live coverage: Dragon supply ship back on Earth
Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship from the International Space Station and its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with several tons of experiment samples and cargo. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Boeing’s Starliner schedule for sending astronauts into orbit slips to 2018
The hull of a CST-100 Starliner structural test vehicle is assembled inside Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Credit: NASA) A top Boeing executive said today that the company plans to start sending crews into orbit aboard its CST-100 Starliner space taxi in 2018, which represents a…