International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

SpaceNut · 2015-04-18 20:07:07

There was another delivery onboard the last Space x capsule for the station With Mousetronauts, Satellites

Here are a few highlights of what the space station’s astrounauts will start unpacking on Saturday:
Mousetronauts and Synthetic Muscle
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the U.S. National Lab on board the International Space Station, has several research projects going up, all of them involving commercial partners.
One interesting one is a follow-up research experiment with Novartis, which involves sending up “mousetronauts” for a prolonged, longitudinal study about how microgravity impacts their bones and muscles. It’s hoped, CASIS scientist Mike Roberts told me, that the ability to study the degradation of bone and muscle on a molecular level could lead to the development for medicines to treat osteoporosis, muscle-wasting disease, and other conditions.
Another experiment making its way onto the station involves synthetic muscles being created by the company Ras Labs. The synthetic muscles are being developed in the hopes of developing better robots to do work in space.
“We’re looking at robotics to do work where the crew can’t,” said Roberts. “We want to know how this materials will be effected in the harsh environment of space.”
maging Satellites
On board Dragon are also 14 imaging satellites from Planet Labs. The small satellites will be launched from Nanoracks’ satellite deployement system. Once in orbit, they’ll be taking pictures of the Earth’s surface for use by Planet’s customers. The company has already placed over 100 small satellites into orbit.
“[W]e’re inching closer to daily imaging of our dynamic planet,” Planet’s Rachel Holm wrote in a company blog post.
A Crowdsourced Garden
One more interesting experiment is coming from a group of three sisters, MaryAnn, Lillith, and Adia Buwala, who’ve dubbed themselves “Chicks In Space.” The group successfully crowdsourced over $15,000 to fund their research experiment for the space station. Their experiment, “the Garden of ETON,” is a hydroponic garden utilizing a NanoRacks lab through their Dream-Up program. The group aims to show that hydroponics can work in microgravity.
If their design is successful, the young women hope their project can be used to develop further hydroponics projects in space, which would enable more fresh produce to be grown on the ISS and future space habitats.

SpaceNut · 2015-05-01 23:04:24

We knew it would happen someday and the loss of the Progress cargo spacecraft
which now spins out of control after launch seems that it will not be able to
make it to the station.

A Soyuz-2.1a rocket launched the Progress M-27M which was carrying more than
2,700 kilograms of cargo, including some backup hardware and clothing for NASA.
None of the cargo was considered essential according to news reports, and NASA
said there is plenty of food, water, and other consumables on the station for
its six-person crew.

http://aviationweek.com/space/russian-s … s-jeopardy

While the U.S. segment’s food supply has enough reserves to last
until Aug. 21, the date moves to July 5 if it must be shared with their
Russian crewmates, according to an assessment provided by the NASA Advisory
Council.

I find this quote very interesting in that we as nations are bartering the
food resources, ect... on the station and not just space suit useage as
I recall from past news articles if it should come down to starvation.....

The world's space agencies try to plan for the worst-case scenario — so the
space station is typically equipped with several extra months' worth of food
and other supplies.

SpaceNut · 2015-05-09 08:27:27

As I write this what goes up must come down, have not check but there is news that Russian launch of new ISS crew members delayed until July: reports

The decision follows Russia’s failure on April 28 to put the cargo ship Progress in its proper orbit. Progress was carrying food and other supplies to the ISS. The Russian space agency is investigating the cause of the malfunction.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that the Russian spacecraft will head to the ISS “in mid-July,” while TASS news agency quoted a rocket and space industry source as saying the launch will be made “in the last 10 days of July,” given the time needed to adjust the flight program and launch another cargo craft before the manned Soyuz blasts off.
The three crew members, who are expected to stay on the ISS for about six months to carry out various experiments, were scheduled to depart May 27 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Not sure will need to check the schedueled for cargo going to thestation but delays do add up an ups the risk to the crew onboard.

Tom Kalbfus · 2015-05-09 09:47:26

SpaceNut wrote:

We knew it would happen someday and the loss of the Progress cargo spacecraft
which now spins out of control after launch seems that it will not be able to
make it to the station.
A Soyuz-2.1a rocket launched the Progress M-27M which was carrying more than
2,700 kilograms of cargo, including some backup hardware and clothing for NASA.
None of the cargo was considered essential according to news reports, and NASA
said there is plenty of food, water, and other consumables on the station for
its six-person crew.
http://aviationweek.com/space/russian-s … s-jeopardy
While the U.S. segment’s food supply has enough reserves to last
until Aug. 21, the date moves to July 5 if it must be shared with their
Russian crewmates, according to an assessment provided by the NASA Advisory
Council.
I find this quote very interesting in that we as nations are bartering the
food resources, ect... on the station and not just space suit useage as
I recall from past news articles if it should come down to starvation.....
The world's space agencies try to plan for the worst-case scenario — so the
space station is typically equipped with several extra months' worth of food
and other supplies.

Couldn't SpaceX come to the rescue, otherwise the astronauts could abandon the space station and leave it unoccupied while they try to fix the rockets or build new ones to launch. What about the Chinese?

GW Johnson · 2015-05-09 10:14:25

The ISS crew won't be in any trouble before another cargo flight can be made. There will have to be some sort of juggling of the launch schedules to beat July. Bureaucrats resist change, so NASA and the rest haven't done that yet. But they will.

Dragon has yet to fly fully loaded to ISS. More tonnage of supplies is easily deliverable by Spacex in just one of those. Orbital may or may not launch its Cygnus on an Atlas 5 anytime soon. I don't really know, but I doubt it flew fully loaded either.

The plain fact is, if these commercial resupply missions flew more fully loaded, the ISS crew would rolling on an excess of supplies. NASA and the rest are going to have to start doing that.

Indirectly, this cargo launch problem is affecting manned Soyuz launches. Makes you wish Dragon v2 wasn't hampered by NASA's long drawn-out schedule, doesn't it?

Whether the Chinese could even dock is questionable. Their copy of Soyuz is not an exact duplicate, it's larger. Does it use the exact same docking mechanism, or did they change that too, to keep the rest of us from visiting their station(s)? I doubt if anyone really knows.

GW

SpaceNut · 2015-05-11 18:30:23

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/167120main_Elements.pdf

SpaceNut · 2015-05-18 17:36:52

While the station missed its last resupply due to a malfunctioning progress resupply ship all is not gloomy when other resource missions can be redirected to help with food and water but when it comes to orbital reboost that is not the case.
All is not lost in try, try again as ISS enjoys a reboost after Progress M-26M initially misbehaves but with the duties not being performed by shuttle or via the ATV then we can only hope that these new ships (CST-100 and Dragon) will take over the share of this reboosting that needs to take place periodically.

SpaceNut · 2015-05-24 16:00:00

As Progress M-27M Investigation Nears Conclusion, NASA Ready for Realigned 2015 Space Station Manifest

Originally targeted to occur no sooner than mid-June, the Leonardo PMM relocation was brought forward by several weeks, due to a reshuffling of ISS priorities in the aftermath of the much-publicized Progress M-27M failure
Continuing an ambitious year which will see the most significant reconfiguration of International Space Station (ISS) hardware since the twilight of the Space Shuttle era, NASA will robotically detach the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) on Wednesday, 27 May, from its present position at the Earth-facing (or “nadir”) interface of the Unity node to a new place at the forward-facing port of the Tranquility node.

This is an initial step to reconfigure Unity nadir as a backup location for the berthing of unpiloted cargo craft—including SpaceX’s Dragon and Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus—as NASA works to transform the forward and space-facing (or “zenith”) interfaces of the Harmony node from berthing locations into docking ports for future Commercial Crew vehicles.

NASA image, detailing the removal (blue) of the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) from the Unity nadir interface and its installation (green) onto the forward port of the Tranquility node. The relocation maneuver is planned for Wednesday, 27 May.

According to NASA’s Rob Navias, the relocation will take “a few hours”, with “the previous and following days involved in internal systems configuration”. It was noted that this internal activity will consist of jumper cable and valve configuration work for Unity and Tranquility to accommodate the relocation. The actual transfer of the Leonardo PMM by the space station’s 57.7-foot-long (17.6-meter) Canadarm2 robotic arm will be conducted by the Robotics Officer (ROBO) in the Mission Control Center (MCC) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, whilst the Expedition 43 crew will carry responsibility for configuring the Common Berthing Mechanisms (CBMs) at the Unity nadir and Tranquility forward interfaces. Specifically, they will install a “Node-1 Berthing Kit” inside Unity to provide power and data support for future unpiloted visitors.
The Italian-built Leonardo PMM began its operational life as a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) and launched aboard the shuttle on eight occasions between March 2001 and its permanent installation on the ISS in February 2011. Weighing 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg), the module measures 22 feet (6.7 meters) in length and 14 feet (4.2 meters) in diameter and now serves, in effect, as a “supply depot” for spares, supplies and waste.
Terry Virts (right) and Scott Kelly share a snack inside the Unity node on 15 May. This module was one of the earliest delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) and will soon be a hive of activity as the Leonardo PMM relocation maneuver gets underway.
Terry Virts models his “Penguin” suit to prepare his body for the return to terrestrial gravity on 11 June. Virts is pictured inside the Harmony node, with his back to the forward end of the module. Unused as a docking port since the end of the Space Shuttle era, it will soon be given a new lease of life as the primary interface for Commercial Crew vehicles.

The flexability of design ....

SpaceNut · 2015-06-30 18:44:37

First we had the Antares rocket coupled with a Cygnus resupply ship routed to the International Space Station (ISS) blew up seconds after it blasted off from a launch site in ...which together cost more than $200 million Unmanned NASA-contracted rocket explodes over eastern Virginia back in 10/28/2014

141028184230-nasa-rocket-explodes-on-launch-virginia-00005902-story-top.jpg

Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft had been set to launch at 6:22 p.m. ET from the Wallops Flight Facility along the Atlantic Ocean, carrying roughly 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.

Second non delivery of supplies was the Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket launched on the Progress M-27M that was carrying more than 2,700 kilograms of cargo, including some backup hardware and clothing for NASA that did not reach orbital altitude to dock with the station that slowly burned up in the Earths atmospher.

An now with strike three we have the After explosion, SpaceX looks to cause, future

"This is a reminder that spaceflight is an incredible challenge, but we learn from each success and each setback," Sunday's failure by a SpaceX rocket expected to fly astronauts within a few years, while disappointing, only underscored the wisdom of choosing two companies, not one, to launch crews.

2 minutes and 19 seconds after a 10:21 a.m. blastoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, dooming a Dragon capsule packed with more than 5,000 pounds (1,950 kilograms )of ISS supplies.

Among the cargo was a docking ring that two future U.S. crew vehicles would have used, SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's CST-100. Along with the docking adapter, which was the first of two to fly, Suffredini said some important research and hardware was lost Sunday, including a new spacesuit and a set of water filters.
"Having three (failures) this close together is not what we had hoped for," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's ISS program manager. "Fortunately we had put ourselves in a position… where we had quite a bit of logistics on board to support the crew."
NASA said the space station now has enough food to last until October, and several more cargo missions are planned before the end of the year.
Another Russian Progress freighter is scheduled to launch next Friday, followed by Japan's HTV in August and the next flight of Orbital's Cygnus – this time on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket – in December, possibly sooner.
But if more failures occur, NASA will be prepared to return crews home before supplies run out.

.

SpaceNut · 2015-06-30 21:01:11

The July 3 Russian Progress Cargo Launch Will Help ISS, But Not Much as mission will be carrying containers of water

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organ … r-the-iss/

The spacecraft will deliver more than 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies to the crew and dock to the Pirs docking compartment after a two-day ride.

According to the spokesperson it would be difficult to add extra cargo to the Progress ship as it could delay the launch. Any addition of cargo would have been part of late-cargo loading on the Progress which is possible until about 24 hours prior to launch.

Terraformer · 2015-07-01 09:29:46

Now, if only they had an atmospheric scooper that could resupply them with oxygen, so they could turn their waste plastics into water...

RobertDyck · 2015-07-01 13:07:54

Any atmospheric scoop will cause additional drag, causing the station to drop out of orbit sooner. That requires additional propellant to keep the station on-orbit. So you're proposing trading oxygen for propellant. How does that reduce supply launches?

If you want to recover life support materials from waste plastic, there is thermal depolymerization. It's based on pyrolysis, but lower temperature so it doesn't break down as far. From Wikipedia

In the Changing World Technologies (CWT) process, the feedstock material is first ground into small chunks, and mixed with water if it is especially dry. It is then fed into a pressure vessel reaction chamber where it is heated at constant volume to around 250 °C. Similar to a pressure cooker (except at much higher pressure), steam naturally raises the pressure to 600 psi (4 MPa) (near the point of saturated water). These conditions are held for approximately 15 minutes to fully heat the mixture, after which the pressure is rapidly released to boil off most of the water (see: Flash evaporation). The result is a mix of crude hydrocarbons and solid minerals. The minerals are removed, and the hydrocarbons are sent to a second-stage reactor where they are heated to 500 °C, further breaking down the longer hydrocarbon chains. The hydrocarbons are then sorted by fractional distillation, in a process similar to conventional oil refining.

That company uses offal from the Butterball factory, but the process can use plastic, wood, paper, tires, etc. With plastic bottles as feed stock, output is: Oils 70%, Gas 16%, Solids (mostly carbon based) 6%, Water (Steam) 8%. You could filter water to separate any hydrocarbons, then add that to the station's water supply. And route natural gas to the methane pyrolysis device. Remember, the Sabatier reactor on ISS can only use 50% of CO2 extracted from cabin air because it's limited by hydrogen from the water electrolysis tank. Additional hydrogen from methane pyrolysis will allow the Sabatier to process more CO2, converting it to water.

Many have argued for thermal depolymerization on Earth. They want to convert waste plastic into fuel. I cringe at this; you can't call it recycling if you merely convert it into something else that is lost. That's just an alternate means of disposal. I want to see a single facility convert waste plastic into new plastic. Break down waste plastic into oil and natural gas. The usual process consumes 15% of the weight of the plastic as fuel to power the process. Use that oil and natural gas to manufacture new plastic. The exact same process to make plastic from petroleum. It doesn't matter if oil and natural gas come from the ground, or come from breaking down plastic; oil is oil. Processing that oil to plastic will take more energy; consuming some of the natural gas produced. Ideally this facility will use solar panels on the roof, windmills, geothermal heat pump to heat the building, so the facility is 100% energy independent. This one facility would manufacture new plastic, and sell it as nurdles: plastic beads to be melted for injection moulding. Sell nurdles in bulk.

But that's here on Earth. We don't expect to manufacture new plastic from old plastic on ISS. Now look at the process required. How much equipment, and how much energy is required to do all that? Is it worth it?

Last edited by RobertDyck (2015-07-01 23:53:33)

RGClark · 2015-07-01 23:14:31

SpaceNut wrote:

The July 3 Russian Progress Cargo Launch Will Help ISS, But Not Much as mission will be carrying containers of water
http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organ … r-the-iss/
The spacecraft will deliver more than 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies to the crew and dock to the Pirs docking compartment after a two-day ride.
According to the spokesperson it would be difficult to add extra cargo to the Progress ship as it could delay the launch. Any addition of cargo would have been part of late-cargo loading on the Progress which is possible until about 24 hours prior to launch.

The title is misleading since a NASA official is quoted as saying the station keeps a six-month leeway in needing supplies.

Bob Clark

RobertDyck · 2015-07-02 00:01:20

Three cargo ships in a row have been lost: Cygnus, Progress, and now Dragon. They are running low; a NASA spokesman said they have enough now for 4 months. They prefer to have more, but now the have enough until some time in October. And that's if they consume supplies at the current rate; if they ration then they can stretch it. But a Progress launch is scheduled for this Friday, and Japan's HTV for August. So there should be 2 more supply deliveries. If only one succeeds they'll be Ok.

SpaceNut · 2015-07-02 17:37:34

Well a period of 4 to 6 months of resuplly equal to the rate of consumption would mean that we are some where near this posted information:

SpaceNut wrote:

Progress 16 Cargo Craft Docks to International Space Station on 12.25.04
"delivery of 2.5 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water, supplies the Progress is loaded with 1,234 pounds (560 Kg) of propellant, 110 pounds (50 Kg)of oxygen and air, 926 pounds (436 Kg)of water and more than 2,700 pounds of spare parts, life support system components and experiment hardware. The manifest also includes 69 containers of food for Chiao and Sharipov."
Progress 17 Cargo Craft Arrives at Space Station 03.02.05
" 2.3 tons of supplies and equipment 4,631 pounds of cargo are 386 pounds (175 Kg)of propellant, 242 pounds (110 Kg) of oxygen and air, and 1,071 pounds ( 487 Kg)of water 86 containers of food, an additional 160-day supply for the Station. Spare parts for the Russian Elektron oxygen producing system and the Vozdukh carbon-dioxide removal system are among cargo items, as are spare parts and supplies for the Station’s toilet."
Expedition 11 Apr 24, 2005– Oct 10, 2005 Sergei Krikalev John Phillips
Progress 18 Cargo Craft's Arrival a Station Highlight 06.18.05
"4,662 pounds of cargo is 397 pounds (180 Kg) of propellant, 242 pounds (110 Kg)of oxygen and 926 pounds ( 421 Kg) of water. 3,100 pounds (1410 Kg) of dry cargo, including food, other equipment and supplies and experiment hardware. Among that dry cargo are spare parts for the Russian Elektron oxygen generation system, which has been out of operation for several weeks. Additional Solid Fuel Oxygen Generators (SFOGs) or ""candles,"" each of which can provide enough oxygen for one crewmember for one day, also are among cargo items"
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases … 13712.html
The Progress is also carrying 40 solid fuel oxygen-generation canisters as a supplemental source of oxygen, if required.

GW Johnson · 2015-07-03 08:46:34

I think the real issue here is ISS crew size: 3 versus 6. Assuming Progress succeeds, the current 3 will not have to abandon come October, under mission safety rules. Having the Japanese supply succeed in August makes that situation better. But, if the Spacex and Orbital vehicles are still grounded, prospects are still dim for going back to a crew of 6.

Either Spacex or Orbital (preferably both) need to be realistically-projected as flying by about October, if the additional crew are to be added before October (they were supposed to go this month, I think). How big a risk is very-risk-averse NASA willing to take? We'll see as the summer unfolds.

That question of risk-aversity applies to any Mars mission. Such a thing is still very risky, because of zero hope of rescue outside LEO. The basic culture at NASA is going to have to change before they will take such a thing on "for real". (Talk is cheap, watch instead what they do.) NASA is no longer the outfit that sent Glenn up on a not-really-man-rated Atlas, or who sent Apollo 8 around the moon after two partial failures and no unqualified successes with Saturn 5.

GW

RobertDyck · 2015-07-03 17:33:16

Progress Cargo Craft Launches to Space Station, Safely in Orbit; Docking Sunday

Progress M-28M Cargo Manifest
The manifest is a table, with two tones to show summary vs detail. It's easier to read. But I'll quote the text anyway...

Refueling Propellant for Transfer to ISS Tanks 520kg
Pressurized Oxygen for ISS Repressurization 26kg
Pressurized Air for ISS Repressurization 22kg
Water inside Rodnik Tank 420kg
Total Dry Cargo Mass 1,393kg
Atmospheric Maintenance System (gas analysis equipment, dust filters etc.) 12kg
Water System Components (purification columns, filter, hoses, etc.) 38kg
Sanitary & Hygiene Equipment (Russian Toilet Replaceable Parts, solid waste containers, water dispenser, wipes, etc.) 273kg
Medical Supplies (medical aid kits, medical monitoring system, crew clothing, cleaning supplies, countermeasures, etc.) 137kg
Food Provisions (food containers, fresh food, etc.) 430kg
Thermal Control System (fan replacement, etc.) 10kg
Onboard control system (Hard Drives, Cables, BSK-25B Switching Unit, etc.) 6kg
Maintenance supplies (cargo bags, liners, window cleaning materials, etc.) 30kg
Crew Support (flight data files,care packages for the crew, video & still cameras, etc.) 44kg
Antenna Feeders and Installation Equipment 3kg
Science Payloads (Microbial Control, MORZE, Regeneration, Aseptik, Kaskad, Test, Biodegradation, etc.) 21kg
Electrical Power System Components (block 800A battery, converter/regulator, etc.) 105kg
Onboard Telemetry Network System Hardware (Cable) 1kg
Internal Module Outfitting Hardware (struts, handrails, hardware for MRM2, etc.) 3kg
Zarya Module Equipment (Fire Extinguishers, Misc. Hardware) 39kg
American Cargo for Russian Crew (food, clothing, hygiene items, crew preference items) 186kg
American Cargo for USOS Crew (Food, Waste Disposal System Components, Hygiene Equipment, ESA Hardware) 55kg
Total Cargo Upmass 2,381kg

SpaceNut · 2015-07-08 21:47:14

Gravity pulls science firms to space

Two Cambridge life sciences companies will be sending experiments to the International Space Station to take advantage of the lack of gravity in its laboratory.
“We’re using it to predict the next generation of superbugs, and how infections are going to mutate,” said Dr. Anita Goel, chief executive of Nanobiosym. “In low gravity environments, the bugs mutate faster, and so we’re using the space station as a laboratory to ... build better drugs.”
Goel said tracking bacteria mutations will allow drugmakers to more effectively treat drug-resistant bacteria.
Nanobiosym — which produces a mobile diagnostic device — and Zaiput Flow Technologies were announced as the winners of the Galactic Grant during an awards ceremony at the International Space Station Research and Development conference in Boston yesterday.
Zaiput is developing tools used in a chemistry process called continuous flow

SpaceNut · 2015-07-14 20:55:18

Kounotori-5 (HTV-5), which means “white stork” in Japanese

Japan shows off its space ambitions with upcoming HTV flight

Japan-Aerospace-Exploration-Agency-HTV-cargo-vessel-International-Space-Station-NASA-photo-posted-on-SpaceFlight-Insider-647x451.jpg

The HTV-5 is 33 ft. (10 m) long and 14.4 ft. (4.4 m) in diameter, and is capable of delivering up to 6 metric tons of cargo. It will transport supplies, such as food and water, as well as the equipment and materials for experiments.

The next Kounotori spacecraft, HTV-6 is planned to be launched in 2016. The H3 is 207 ft. tall (63 m) and has a core rocket diameter of 17 ft. (5.2 m). It will be capable of launching more than 6.5 metric tons into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).

SpaceNut · 2015-07-18 10:13:36

One of the great high points of the station is its international cooperation and commemorated Wednesday the 40th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission as the Space crew praises US-Russian 'handshake in space' 40 years on as it brought the two Cold War rivals closer together.

The Apollo-Soyuz project had to overcome many technical and cultural challenges, and the five astronauts also had difficulties speaking each other's language as well as Nasa needing to use metric measurement.

Moscow and Washington have been locked in a bitter standoff over the Ukraine crisis, with some hardliners in Russia accusing the United States of striving to destroy the country.
Last week, the commandant of the US Marine Corps claimed that Russia poses the "greatest threat" to national security.
On the ISS, however, the two countries have continued to work together, something made possible by the Apollo-Soyuz teams, Kelly said.
The mission "not only brought our nations together but paved the way for the ISS and the missions yet to unfold that will take us to the stars," he said

The times have not changed all that much but yet we see that we can be at peace in space....

SpaceNut · 2015-07-22 22:00:26

Expedition 44 crew members: Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren of NASA, left; Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), center; and Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), right. Photo taken at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. They are on their way to the orbital station on a “fast rendezvous” route. This option means that the trip will last six hours, and the spacecraft will make four orbits around Earth. In opposition to a two-day rendezvous routine, which is more economical in terms of propellant use, the “fast rendezvous” route provides a shorter and less stressful journey for the astronauts.

Soyuz TMA-17M Crew Rockets to Orbit, Bound for Five Months Aboard Space Station

Present plans call for Kelly and Lindgren to perform two EVAs in the November timeframe, following the robotic transfer of the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)-3 from its current position on the Tranquility node to its final position on the space-facing (or “zenith”) face of the Harmony node. This will allow it to provide a backup docking interface for Commercial Crew vehicles—Boeing’s CST-100 and SpaceX’s Dragon V-2—from 2017 onwards. Both PMA-3 and PMA-2, the latter of which is affixed to the forward port of Harmony, will receive International Docking Adapters (IDAs), which are compatible with the Commercial Crew vehicles.
The PMA-2 interface will be the primary docking port, whilst PMA-3 will provide a backup. Unfortunately, the loss of IDA-1 aboard the CRS-7 mission means that IDA-2 will fly aboard SpaceX’s CRS-9 Dragon and will now fulfil the IDA-1 role at PMA-2, whilst a new docking adapter (IDA-3) will be assembled over the coming months from spare parts and launched at a later date for installation onto PMA-3.

louis · 2015-07-23 03:19:58

For me the question is:

Why can't the agencies pool resources to establish a Mars colony if they can do so with regard to the ISS?

Certainly a combination of NASA, ESA, JAXA and ISA should be more than capable of reaching the planet within a couple of decades. They work on behalf of about 2.1 billion people on Earth! The total annual budget for these organisations must be well in excess of $30 billion. We probably only need about $2 billion per annum for 10 years to establish the colony.

SpaceNut wrote:

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-co … 2ea7_k.jpg
Expedition 44 crew members: Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren of NASA, left; Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), center; and Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), right. Photo taken at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. They are on their way to the orbital station on a “fast rendezvous” route. This option means that the trip will last six hours, and the spacecraft will make four orbits around Earth. In opposition to a two-day rendezvous routine, which is more economical in terms of propellant use, the “fast rendezvous” route provides a shorter and less stressful journey for the astronauts.
Soyuz TMA-17M Crew Rockets to Orbit, Bound for Five Months Aboard Space Station
Present plans call for Kelly and Lindgren to perform two EVAs in the November timeframe, following the robotic transfer of the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)-3 from its current position on the Tranquility node to its final position on the space-facing (or “zenith”) face of the Harmony node. This will allow it to provide a backup docking interface for Commercial Crew vehicles—Boeing’s CST-100 and SpaceX’s Dragon V-2—from 2017 onwards. Both PMA-3 and PMA-2, the latter of which is affixed to the forward port of Harmony, will receive International Docking Adapters (IDAs), which are compatible with the Commercial Crew vehicles.
The PMA-2 interface will be the primary docking port, whilst PMA-3 will provide a backup. Unfortunately, the loss of IDA-1 aboard the CRS-7 mission means that IDA-2 will fly aboard SpaceX’s CRS-9 Dragon and will now fulfil the IDA-1 role at PMA-2, whilst a new docking adapter (IDA-3) will be assembled over the coming months from spare parts and launched at a later date for installation onto PMA-3.

RobertDyck · 2015-07-23 12:09:08

The United States has difficulty sticking with one plan. For a Mars mission to happen involving NASA, it has to be started and completed within the term of one president. That means 8 years. George H. W. Bush announced a mission to Mars in 1989, but NASA wanted $450 billion in 1989 dollars; Congress said "No!". Bill Clinton did not continue any effort to go to Mars, instead he decided to replace Shuttle with VentureStar. And NASA put in place controls to ensure contractors didn't gouge NASA as much as they did with Shuttle. There was a setback, the kind you can expect for a project that large. But Lockheed Martin had no intention of sharing the cost. After a couple years of lawyers arguing, George W. Bush was elected. He cancelled VentureStar. Then George W. Bush started Constellation, a return to the Moon. Obama cancelled that. Now Congress has revived some Constellation hardware with SLS & Orion. Obama announced the Asteroid Redirect Mission as an excuse to use that hardware. Expect the next president will cancel ARM.

Get the point? Mars, VentureStar, Constellation, ARM. One project per president. If you want to complete anything, do it within the term of one president. Can we get started with the inauguration, or wait until the end of his/her term like George H. W. Bush?

SpaceNut · 2015-07-26 17:31:21

Photo op please Russia Extends Life of International Space Station Until 2024 the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos Igor Komarov said.

"The government has approved our joint proposal [of partner countries] on the extension of ISS life until 2024," Komarov said early on Thursday, adding that political disagreements between the partner states have not affected the ISS program.
The ISS program is a joint project among five participating space agencies: the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Russia's Roscosmos, the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The station is divided into two sections - the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS).
The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews. It has been continuously occupied for over 14 years since the arrival of Expedition 1 in November 2000.
Russian Soyuz rockets are currently the only provider of human transport to the ISS.

With the later soon to end...

SpaceNut · 2015-07-26 18:25:18

Europe is an 8% partner in the ISS project with the US, Russia, Japan and Canada.

The 10 Esa nations that subscribe to the station project approved a 550m-euro sum at the Paris gathering to supplement the 1.4bn-euro package passed at the Ministerial Council in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2008.
The latest and last edition: Europe's Leonardo store room is one of several modules fabricated in Italy This extra money will cover commitments until the next Ministerial at the end of 2012, when member states will then initiate a 2bn-euro arrangement to take European participation at the ISS through to 2020.
Most of the living and working space on the non-Russian side of the station has been fabricated in Europe and its engineers believe their modules should still be fit for purpose in 2028.
The way the ISS project works means the partners provide components and services rather than hand over cash to belong to the "club".

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#326 2015-04-18 20:07:07

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#327 2015-05-01 23:04:24

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#328 2015-05-09 08:27:27

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#329 2015-05-09 09:47:26

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#330 2015-05-09 10:14:25

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#331 2015-05-11 18:30:23

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#332 2015-05-18 17:36:52

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#333 2015-05-24 16:00:00

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#334 2015-06-30 18:44:37

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#335 2015-06-30 21:01:11

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#336 2015-07-01 09:29:46

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#337 2015-07-01 13:07:54

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#338 2015-07-01 23:14:31

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#339 2015-07-02 00:01:20

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#340 2015-07-02 17:37:34

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#341 2015-07-03 08:46:34

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#342 2015-07-03 17:33:16

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#343 2015-07-08 21:47:14

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#344 2015-07-14 20:55:18

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#345 2015-07-18 10:13:36

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#346 2015-07-22 22:00:26

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#347 2015-07-23 03:19:58

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#348 2015-07-23 12:09:08

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#349 2015-07-26 17:31:21

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

#350 2015-07-26 18:25:18

Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)

Board footer