Space and Space Travel News

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- This month (November 2008) marks the 10th anniversary of the first launched module of the International Space Station (ISS). The module Zarya was lifted into orbit
on November 20th, 1998 by a Russian Proton rocket lifting off from Baikonur, Kazhakstan. In the decade since, 44 manned flights and 34 unmanned flights have carried
further modules, solar arrays, support equipment, supplies and a total of 167 human beings from 15 countries to the ISS, and it still has a ways to go until it is done.
Originally planned to be complete in 2003, the target date for completion is now 2011, the cost will be 100 billion euros. Aside from time spent on construction, ISS
crew members work on a good deal of research involving biology and physics in conditions of microgravity. If humans are ever to leave the Earth for extended periods,
like to the Moon or the Mars planet, the ISS is designed to be the place where we will discover the best materials, procedures and safety measures to make it a reality. (more)

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- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to capture this view of the terrain toward the southeast from the location Spirit reached on the 1,871st Martian day, or sol, of the its mission (April 8, 2009). The mound on the horizon in the upper left is informally called 'Von Braun' and is one of the features that rover team has designated as a possible investigation site in future months. From the location where Spirit was when the image was taken, Von Braun is about 525 feet, or 160 meters, away. (www.nasa.gov/multimedia)






- In December 1998, the crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-88 began construction of the Int. Space Station - Astronaut James Newman is seen here making final connections the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian-built Zarya module. The crew carried a large-format IMAXcamera from which this picture was taken. Photo: NASA


www.shuttlepresskit.com

- The Zarya control module, also known by the technical term Functional Cargo Block and the Russian acronym FGB, was the first component launched for the International
Space Station and is providing the station's initial propulsion and power. The 44,000-pound pressurized module was launched on a Russian Proton rocket on Nov. 20 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.


The Intern. Space Station and Its Predecessors: www.centennialofflight.gov

- December 15, 1998 - Endeavour's astronauts awoke to the sounds of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" today, and are now preparing for a return trip to Earth. The wake-up call came at 12:36 p.m. EST, and was chosen by the flight control team to energize the six crew members in anticipation of tonight's landing in Florida, marking the 10th nighttime Shuttle landing in the program's history. NASA's final Shuttle mission of 1998 came to an end this evening with the landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center. Following a 4.6 million mile journey, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana guided the orbiter down onto runway 15 with landing gear touchdown occurring at 10:54 p.m. EST. (more)





- (4-15 Dec. 1998) -- Blanketing clouds form the backdrop for this 70mm scene of the connected Zarya and Unity modules after having been released from Endeavour's cargo bay a bit earlier. Six crew members, who had earlier spent the majority of their on-duty mission time working on the tandem of space hardware, watched the joined modules from Endeavour in a survey and fly-around mode. Photo: NASA





- Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, STS-98 mission specialist, was photographed by a member of the Expedition One crew in the newly installed Destiny laboratory during the second of three space walks on February 12th, 2001. Ahead of schedule, the astronauts connected several computer and electrical cables between the docking port and the lab; unveiled the lab's large, high-quality window (through which this photo was taken) and attached an exterior shutter; and repositioned a movable foot platform they had taken inside Atlantis on the first spacewalk for a slight adjustment. Photo: NASA





- (11-26 Oct. 2000) -- Silhouetted over Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is seen in a configuration soon to be changed, once the approaching STS-92 crew adds its important new changes. If oriented with Earth's horizon on the left, the ISS elements, from the left, are Node 1 or Unity, the functional cargo block or Zarya, the service module or Zvezda and the Progress supply ship. In a matter of days, the crew went on to add the Z1 Truss structure and a third pressurized mating adapter. Photo: NASA


- Photos: www.astro.espace.gc.ca





- Backdropped against a blanket of heavy cloud cover, the Russian-built FGB, also called Zarya, approaches the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the U.S.-built Node 1, also called Unity on December 6th, 1998. Inside Endeavour's cabin, the STS-88 crew readied the remote manipulator system (RMS) for Zarya capture as they awaited the rendezvous. Photo: NASA





- Astronaut Donald R. Pettit, Expedition 6 NASA ISS science officer, photographs his helmet visor during a session of extravehicular activity on Jan. 15th, 2003. Pettit's arms and camera are visible in the reflection of his helmet visor. Astronaut Kenneth D. Bowersox, mission commander, is also visible in visor reflection, upper right. Photo: NASA - www.spaceimages.com




- Russian websites on space exploration are the second most frequently visited the head of the Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, told reporters. More...
- Photos: Space Shuttle in Space / Links

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- Russian cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, Expedition One flight engineer, prepares to photograph some geographic targets of opportunity through a viewing port on the International Space Station's Zvezda Service Module in December of 2000. Photo: NASA

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- The Phantom Torso, seen here on May 13th, 2001 in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), is designed to measure the effects of radiation on organs inside the body by using a torso that is similar to those used to train radiologists on Earth. The torso is equivalent in height and weight to an average adult male. It contains radiation detectors that will measure, in real-time, how much radiation the brain, thyroid, stomach, colon, and heart and lung area receive on a daily basis. The data will be used to determine how the body reacts to and shields its internal organs from radiation, which will be important for longer duration space flights. Photo: NASA

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- (17 August 2001) -- The Expedition Three (white shirts), STS-105 (striped shirts), and Expedition Two (red shirts) crews assemble for a group photo in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS). This image was taken with a digital still camera. Photo: NASA

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- Astronaut Carl E. Walz, Expedition 4 flight engineer, catalogs canisters of water in the Zvezda Service Module on the Space Station on March 11th, 2002. Photo: NASA

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- The Soyuz 14 (TMA-10) spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. With cosmonaut Oleg Kotov at the controls, the Soyuz linked up to the Zarya module
nadir port at 2:10 p.m. (CDT) on April 9, 2007. The docking followed Saturday's launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: NASA - Spaceflight1.nasa.gov

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The ISS, seen following undocking Dec. 9, 2000. This is one of the first images of the entire station with its new solar array panels deployed. Before separation, the shuttle and space station had been docked to one another for 7 days. Endeavour moved downward from the space station, then began a tail-first circle at a distance of about 500 feet. The maneuver, with pilot Michael J. Bloomfield at the controls, took about an hour. Photo: NASA - http://pic.stardusts.net - www.nbbd.com/nasa.html

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- Astronaut John L. Phillips, NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, is photographed among stowage bags in an airlock on the ISS on May 18th, 2005. Photo: NASA

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High-Res.


- Photo Gallery: www1.nasa.gov

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- This medium close-up view in the now densely-equipped Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station shows one floating ball-shaped item which is actually one of the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) on January 27th, 2008. Cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko, Expedition 16 flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, is also visible in the background. Credit: NASA

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- The Canadarm2 and solar array panel wings on the International Space Station are featured in this image photographed by a crewmember during the mission's first planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA) while Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118) was docked with the station on August 11th, 2007. Credit: NASA

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- Daylife.com

-- At the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow, NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden (right) watches the final moments of the approach of the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft for its docking to the International Space Station with Alex Krasnov, the head of Piloted Programs for the Russian Federal Space Agency on Sept. 20, 2006 in Korolev Russia. More: (DayLife NASA News)


NASA Extends Contract with Russian Federal Space Agency
By NASA Space News, May 28th, 2009

NASA has signed a $306 million modification to the current International Space Station contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency for crew transportation and related services in 2012 and 2013. The firm-fixed price modification covers comprehensive Soyuz support, including all necessary training and preparation for launch, crew rescue, and landing of a long-duration mission for six individual station crew members. Space station crew members will launch on four Soyuz vehicles: two in spring 2012 and two in fall 2012. Their landings are scheduled for fall 2012 and spring 2013, respectively. The contract modification also provides for crew post-flight rehabilitation, medical exams and services. Under the contract modification, the Soyuz flights will carry limited cargo to and from the station, and dispose of trash. The cargo allowed per person is approximately 110 pounds launched to the station, approximately 37 pounds returned to Earth, and trash disposal of approximately 66 pounds. (more) Photos - Space Videos




- The Soyuz 14 (TMA-10) spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. The arrival will mark the first time representatives of all major project partners have been on the station at the same time. "We will have Russian and U.S. crew members, but also Japanese, European and Canadian crew members, all together in one single crew, and this is really the intent of the International Space Station," said De Winne, who will be flying on the Soyuz as a representative of the European Space Agency. The station is a joint venture of the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and 11 European nations: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. - www.flightglobal.com/blogs - Web Photos - ISS Image
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SIGN-UP FOR GLORY

Names are added to NASA's Earth orbiting vehicle
From Spaceports.blogspot.com





The NASA mission GLORY has enabled names to be added to the Earth orbiting vehicle to be launched June 15, 2009 for the purpose of studing global warming and
man-made climate change. The 2008 NASA Authorization Act reaffirmed Congressional support for the GLORY Earth science mission. (more)
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On the Net:

GLORY Earth science mission: http://glory.gsfc.nasa.gov
Curent News: Aerosols May Drive a Significant Portion of Arctic Warming
NASA Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (Pdf): http://democrats.science.house.gov/Medi ... R.6063.pdf

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Space News

STS-127: Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Julie Payette to embark on second mission.
By Space News, May 25th, 2009





Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Julie Payette, will embark on her second space voyage during mission STS-127. Space Shuttle Endeavour, destined for the International Space Station, will launch with Payette aboard from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on June 13, 2009.

On this space flight, Julie Payette will operate three robotic arms during this robotics-intense mission, the Shuttle’s Canadarm, the Station’s Canadarm2 and a Japanese arm on Kibo. Canadian robotic technology will be used almost every day of this assembly mission. Mission STS-127 will attach a platform to the outside of the space station’s Japanese Laboratory Kibo. Science experiments will take place on this platform, allowing them to remain exposed to the harsh environment of space. The astronaut crew will also deliver critical supplies to the Station, as well as experiments that will be subsequently berthed to the laboratory platform.



- NASA managers to assess STS-127 launch readiness (05/29/09)


Julie Payette is the flight engineer. Sitting in the flight deck with the Shuttle’s commander and pilot, she will be part of the cockpit crew that flies the Shuttle and docks it to the space station. Payette will also operate three robotic arms during this robotics-intense mission, the Shuttle’s Canadarm, the Station’s Canadarm2 and a Japanese arm on Kibo. Canadian robotic technology will be used almost every day of this assembly mission. For the first time in history two Canadians will be in space together during this mission, Payette and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, who is part of the Station crew. A record 13 astronauts, made up of Station and Shuttle crew, will be in the Station during STS-127. This 16-day mission will include five spacewalks. After installing the laboratory platform, astronauts will replace six large batteries on a Station truss. It’s the 127th Space Shuttle mission and the 29th to the International Space Station.




- The Japanese robotic arm and the parts of the Kibo laboratory that will be installed by the STS-127 crew appear in the forefront. Credit: Canadian Space Agency/NASA --1 - 2 - 3 - 4