Tag: ISS
-
Japan’s HTV-7 arrives at ISS – will test new recoverable capsule
HTV-7 has been captured by the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, delivering a new set of batteries for the external portion of the Station’s power generating and storage systems as well as new full-sized experiment racks and glove boxes for the inside of the orbital outpost. The vehicle headed to space on the second…
-
Soyuz/Station atmosphere leak no threat to Crew – Investigation focusing on mystery drill hole
As the six-person Station slept last week, a pressure/atmosphere leak appeared in the Soyuz MS-09 crew vehicle attached to the Station. The leak occurred when a very small breach (only 2 millimeters) opened up in the Soyuz Orbital Module’s hull, allowing a very small amount of atmosphere/pressure to leak into space. The leak was so…
-
First patents filed from commercial research on Space Station, crew readies for busy period
For the first time, two companies that have conducted manufacturing research aboard the International Space Station have filed patents with the US government for the manufacturing of specific materials and supplies in space. Procter & Gamble is responsible for three of the patents, with Made In Space responsible for the fourth. Meanwhile, the crew aboard…
-
NAC provides Starliner, Dragon 2 update – Commercial Crew preps entering final leg to launch
SpaceX and Boeing continue to make steady progress towards the major flight tests under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. At a NASA Advisory Council (NAC) meeting on Monday, the members were updated on the progress of each of the two providers. Overall, the updates were quite positive with most of the flight hardware nearing completion. The…
-
Boeing’s Ferguson on Starliner – no touch screens, but far simpler than Shuttle
Chris Ferguson, Director of Crew and Mission Operations for Boeing and a former NASA astronaut, has outlined Starliner’s design and what Boeing and NASA have planned for the uncrewed and crewed test flights. The former Shuttle commander also spoke about how much simpler Starliner’s displays will be in comparison to the orbiters. Working on a…
-
Russian conduct epic CKD-45 ISS spacewalk
Expedition 56 Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos egressed the Pirs airlock at around 12:17 p.m. EDT on the latest International Space Station spacewalk, which was supposed to last just six hours, but lasted nearly eight hours in duration. Designated VKD-45 (or RS-45), Artemyev and Prokopyev manually launched four small technology satellites,…
-
Commercial Crew assignments; NASA nears goal of human space transport innovation
An announcement most have waited years for. NASA has officially announced the flight assignments for the first crewed test and operational flights of SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner crew transportation vehicles. The announcements come as the Commercial Crew Program gears up for the uncrewed and crewed test flights of the first commercially developed vehicles that…
-
Return of the Dragon – CRS-15 ends mission with Pacific splashdown
SpaceX’s CRS-15 Dragon spacecraft has completed the EOM (End Of Mission) phase with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday. As per usual – though still unusual for International Space Station (ISS) vehicles – Dragon and her important downmass will be recovered. Release from the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) occurred at 12:38…
-
ASAP reviews Boeing failure, positive SpaceX success ahead of Commercial Crew announcement
As NASA prepares to provide updated launch date targets for the uncrewed and crewed Commercial Crew demonstration missions from both SpaceX and Boeing – as well as flight crew assignments for each provider – the agency’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) held its quarterly meeting last Thursday, during which they outlined a failure on Boeing’s…
-
Cygnus departs ISS following reboost test
The Northrop Grumman OA-9E Cygnus spacecraft has departed the ISS at the concluding phase of her mission. The departure comes five days after a unique test objective. The cargo resupply vehicle provided a reboost to the Station with a short 50 second burn of its main engine on the aft of the vehicle, raising the…