[Space] ISS - International Space Station

[dvd100]

Infatti oggi non sarebbe possibile mandare su un nuovo Skylab nemmeno volendo: manca un vettore super pesante in grado di portarlo su. Chissà un domani con Ares V..

[Rand]

Si va verso una sostituzione del radiatore che si è delaminato (foto nell'articolo):

ISS concern over S1 Radiator - may require replacement via shuttle mission

Imagery taken of the delaminated panel on the International Space Station’s S1 Radiator has revealed a “structural risk” on the array, which has the potential to create an ammonia leak in the External Thermal Control System (ETCS). NASA managers are considering options that include flying a replacement radiator array on a downstream shuttle mission, along with bringing the damaged S1 Radiator back to Earth.

The damage was first spotted late last summer during a routine imagery survey, in order to check for any damage - usually caused by MMOD (Micrometeoroid Orbital Debris) strikes - to the outside of the Station

Imagery found that one of the eight radiator panels on the S1 array - which each have two thermal face sheets, one on each side, epoxy-glued and autoclaved to the honeycomb structure of the radiator - was observed as peeled back. These face sheets have a thermal surface coating designed to maximize heat reflection and absorption transfer to space.

il pezzo da sostituire dovrebbe essere pesante circa 1000 Kg e quindi "infilabile" in una delle missioni già esistenti (sempre che si decida effettivamente di sostituirlo).

[Rand]

Space Station Nears an Extension
Plan to Operate Through 2020 Offers Lift for Science; NASA May Feel a Budget Pinch

The U.S. and major foreign partners on the International Space Station have agreed in principle to keep it operating through 2020, at least five years beyond the current deadline, according to government and industry officials.

There had been looming questions about the future of the space station -- which took nearly two decades and more than $100 billion to design and build -- because until now, the major partners hadn't committed to keeping it going past 2015. An extension could give new momentum to the scientific research conducted there, which initially was delayed by false starts and problems finishing assembly of the station.

But prolonging the facility's life, particularly in the midst of the current global economic turmoil, could also force some tough question within the U.S. space program. Washington could have to spend $10 billion or more between 2015 and 2020 to continue using the space station -- potentially siphoning dollars from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's annual budget of more than $18 billion, primarily from projects intended to return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2020.

The moon-landing initiative faces potentially significant delays unless Congress provides a fresh pot of money to support further space-station operations, according to U.S. industry and government officials. But neither Congress nor the White House wants the political flak for cutting off station operations without reaping the benefits of prior spending. Decisions have been complicated by the fact that arguments between the White House and some lawmakers have held up nominatin of the next NASA administrator.

A NASA spokesman said Thursday that the agency is developing cost estimates for extending station operations through 2020 "in the event the [Obama] administration decided to propose" that option in future budget requests. The agency also said that in the meantime, it "continues to take no steps that would preclude extending station operations."

According to NASA, high-level space officials representing the partners concluded at their last mneeting that extending the station past 2015 doesn't "pose any significant technical challenges" and space-agency heads "committed to work with their respective governments" toward that goal.

NASA'S counterparts in Russia, Japan, Canada, various European countries and most of the other partners are eager to maintain political support and funding for the station. Space agencies around the globe believe the 2020 date is "an eminently logical goal" and "momentum is heading in that direction," according to one person familiar with the discussions. In order for an extension to become official, individual governments must formally agree and come up with a funding plan.

The first part of the station was put into a 250-mile-high orbit in 1998, with more than 15 nations participating amid promises of scientific breakthroughs, in areas from medicine and biology to manufacturing microelectronic components. Scientists say the lack of gravity promises new insights into molecular structures, cell activity and medical issues such as loss of bone density.

But early construction problems, the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 and the resulting two-year halt in shuttle flights impeded scientific work. Japan didn't launch its scientific "module," which provides additional space for scientific research, until recently.

Scientists have only now begun to report advances in experiments looking at issues such as the formation of salmonella poisoning in food and how human cells react to vaccines in space.

The Obama administration hopes the station's extension will spark further international cooperation on space endeavors, including scientific breakthroughs that could be used on earth. Helped by an expanded six-person crew and an upgraded solar-power system, experiments on the station this summer will look at how gravity may affect biofuels and for "what could possibly be a vaccine for multiple viruses," said Joy Bryant, the head of Boeing Co.'s space-station team. "We're just now beginning to see the full potential" of the research, she told reporters at a recent industry conference.

NASA's replacement for the space shuttle -- designed initially to transport people to the station -- is the $40 billion-plus Constellation project, intended to develop a new family of rockets, space vehicles and lunar landers that would eventually go to the moon. Even before the latest budget pressures, Constellation faced a host of other technical and financial challenges.

For at least the first half of the next decade, NASA already expects to rely entirely on Russian rockets and spacecraft to send U.S. crews to the station. But the financial drain of continuing station operations is bound to increase pressure on the White House to rethink Constellation's timetable, according to people inside and outside NASA.

In spite of budget uncertainties, some NASA officials have spent the last two years mulling the possibility of extending the station. Michael Griffin, the agency's last congressionally-approved administrator, started signaling to U.S. scientists and aerospace companies in the spring of 2007 that an extension was probable. More recently, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed a bill authorizing NASA to draw up such a plane. Industry and government officials have said the station is structurally sound to remain in orbit years past the original deadline

But President George W. Bush's administration never officially announced support for that policy. Accordingly, Mr. Bush's budget officials didn't factor in the additional costs of extended station operations when they projected the direction of overall NASA spending through 2020. So according to current agency officials, spending profiles for various other big-ticket programs probably will have to be adjusted to compensate for continuing station expenses.

Fonte

[Rand]

PlanetSpace: COTS Protest Denied

PlanetSpace, a partnership set up by Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co and Alliant Techsystems Inc has had its protest denied by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Wednesday.

SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp can now resume work on contracts worth up to $3.5 billion. The contracts call for a total of 20 flights to the space station to deliver cargo after the space shuttles are retired in 2010.

From the GAO Docket:

PlanetSpace, Inc. (NNJ08ZBG001R)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Outcome: Denied Date Decided: April 22, 2009

Previous: PlanetSpace Has Filed With the GAO a Protest to the Selection Decision of NASA Under the ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Competition

"After a careful review of all the facts and in consideration of all of the source selection documentation provided to date, PlanetSpace has filed a protest to NASA's award of the ISS Commercial Resupply Services Contract. PlanetSpace offered a superior proposal. It received a higher Mission Suitability score, from NASA's Source Evaluation Board (SEB), and was lower in Cost than one of the two proposals selected by NASA. Thus, the PlanetSpace proposal represented better value to the Government. We believe that the GAO will find that flaws in the procurement justify award to PlanetSpace. We look forward to the GAO's review of this case."

4chr

[PHCV]

leggermente OT: è un mesetto che provo a contattarli via radio in packet ma non riesco ad agganciarli... sapete se hanno spento la parte radio o cosa?

[Rand]

Houston - Il controllo Missione ha dato agli astronauti di Expedition 19, a bordo della ISS, il “GO” per poter bere l’acqua resa potabile dal nuovo sistema di purificazione e di riciclo a bordo della Stazione Spaziale.

La conferma è stata trasmessa agli astronauti mercoledì 20 maggio, dopo l’approvazione del Recovery System team e dei responsabili del programma.
Questa decisione è una tappa importante nello sviluppo dei sistemi di supporto della stazione (ECLS) che entro fine mese dovranno supportare sei persone a bordo della ISS.
Il Comandante di Expedition 19, Commander Gennady Padalka, e gli specialisti di missione, Mike Barratt e Koichi Wakata, hanno celebrato l’evento con un brindisi nel Destiny laboratory (foto).

"Questa è una cosa da fantascienza. Tutti hanno parlato di riciclo dell’acqua in un sistema a ciclo chiuso, ma nessuno l’aveva mai fatto. Eccoci oggi con il primo ciclo di acqua potabile riciclata e purificata" ha detto Barratt; che ha aggiunto, "Siamo molto felici per questa giornata e ringraziamo il team che ha lavorato a questo strumento. Questo è il tipo di tecnologia che ci permetterà di ritornare sulla luna e di andare oltre."

Questo sistema, infatti, ridurrà sensibilmente la quantità di acqua che si dovrà spedire sulla ISS, soprattutto quando verrà ritirato lo Shuttle; getterà, inoltre, le basi per futuri sviluppi e miglioramenti ai sistemi di supporto per le missioni di esplorazione spaziale.

Il Water Recovery System è giunto sulla ISS lo scorso novembre a bordo dello Space Shuttle Endeavour nella missione STS-126. L’apparato era stato installato dal comandante di Expedition 18, Mike Fincke, e dallo specialista di missione Don Pettit, prima della partenza di Endeavour. La missione STS-119 (Discovery) ha installato, invece, l'Urine Processing Assembly.

Gli equipaggi di STS-126, Expedition 18 e STS-119 hanno riportato a Terra alcuni campioni di acqua depurata per un totale di 20 litri, che sono stati analizzati al Water and Microbiology Laboratories al JSC. Il 27 aprile una riunione straordinaria, con le analisi sottomano, ha stabilito la potabilità dell’acqua e ha annunciato che il livello di contaminazione era molto al disotto della soglia limite. Il Controllo Missione ha però deciso di posticipare il consumo di acqua fino al 18 maggio quando è stata rimossa una particolare valvola test nell'Urine Processing Assembly.

Gli astronauti sulla ISS continueranno, comunque, a monitorare la purezza dell’acqua grazie a particolari strumenti a bordo e con l’invio a Terra di campioni periodici.

fonte

[Rand]

Da segnalare inoltre:

- Il Nodo 3 è stato spedito da Torino al KSC

Farewell ceremony in Turin – European-built Node 3 starts its journey to the ISS

4 May 2009
The European-built Node 3 module for the International Space Station will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, on 17 May. Media representatives are invited to attend a ceremony on 16 May at Thales Alenia Space, Turin, Italy, to mark the departure of Node 3.

The Node 3 connecting module, built by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, is the last element of a barter agreement by which ESA supplied NASA with International Space Station (ISS) hardware, including the Cupola and two Node modules (Node 2 and 3). In return, NASA ferried the European Columbus laboratory to the ISS in February 2008.

Following the tradition to name the ISS modules, NASA has chosen to name Node 3 'Tranquility' after the Sea of Tranquility, the lunar landing site of Apollo 11 in 1969, highlighting the link between the ISS, exploration and the Moon.

Once in space, Node 3 connects to the port side of the Unity Node and provides room for eight refrigerator-sized racks, two of the locations being used for the avionics racks controlling Node 3. It will house many of the Station's Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), including an air revitalisation system, an oxygen generator system, a water recycling facility, a waste and hygiene compartment and a treadmill for crew exercise, which are currently stored in various places around the Station.

Also under construction in the cleanroom at Thales Alenia Space in Turin is the Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) for ATV Johannes Kepler, the second Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). The ATV cargo carrier, Node 2 and 3 and the European Columbus laboratory all share the same structural heritage stemming from the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules. Interested media will be able to visit both Node 3 and ATV ICC.

- Dei "photosynth" della ISS

[Rand]

Soyuz TMA-15 launches for growing ISS - UPA/SPDM updates

ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk have launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 10:34 GMT on Wednesday, with their Soyuz TMA-15 scheduled to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) at 12:36 GMT on Friday 29 May - marking the start of six crew operations on the orbital outpost.

Soyuz Launch:

The trio join Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, with De Winne becoming Flight Engineer as a member of the Expedition 20 crew, reporting to Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka.

With a rotation of three of the six crewmembers due in October, De Winne will take over as Commander of the Expedition 21 crew until his return to Earth in November. He is the first European to take on this role.

De Winne’s is conducting his second spaceflight after taking part in the Odissea mission to the ISS from 30 October to 10 November 2002. He will be joined on the ISS by Swedish ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang, who will fly as mission specialist on the 11-day STS-128 mission scheduled for August 2009.

Dr. Thirsk flew as a payload specialist aboard space shuttle mission STS-78 in 1996, the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) mission. During this 17-day flight aboard Columbia, he and his six crewmates performed 43 international experiments devoted to the study of life and materials sciences.

In 2004, Dr. Thirsk trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre near Moscow and became certified as a Flight Engineer for the Soyuz spacecraft. He served as backup Flight Engineer to European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Roberto Vittori for the Soyuz 10S taxi mission to the ISS in April 2005. During the 10-day mission, Dr. Thirsk worked as Crew Interface Coordinator (i.e. European CapCom) at the Columbus Control Centre in Germany.

“Witnessing this launch is a great moment a moment of accomplishments that opens up new opportunities and projects us all in the full exploitation of the ISS in preparation of new exploration missions to other destinations. I am looking forward to a full 6 crew onboard the ISS for a full exploitation of its scientific potential and to carry out activities in preparation of missions to future destinations,” said Simonetta di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight.

“Last year Columbus and the Automated Transfer Vehicle Jules Verne have demonstrated the reliability and the capability of the European Space Agency in the International Space Station endeavour. The European scientific laboratories and instruments on board Columbus are now operated on a daily basis, controlled from the Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany),” added said ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain.

“The crew of six will provide much more resources on board to make scientific and technological progress. The presence of two ESA astronauts on board the ISS this year - Frank de Winne and Christer Fuglesang - will bring a European touch to that crew.

“Even more, for the first time, the five partners of the ISS - USA, Russia, Canada, Japan and ESA - are all represented in the crew of six. I wish all of them a successful mission and I am confident that they will give once more proof that space is where international cooperation can express itself at its best, for the benefit of all of us, citizens on the Earth.”

UPA Latest:

The efforts to approve a six person crew was a logistical marathon, with consumables being the main factor to take into consideration. One of specific concerns related to water supplies for the six person crew, and the need to have a green light to consume recycled waste water from the recently installed Urine Process Assembly (UPA) - which finally received a go for crewmembers to use as drinking water.

“UPA In Flight Maintenance (IFM): This week the crew was successful at removing the malfunctioning check valve from the UPA. After reassembling and reconnecting the system components, a test was run and it appears that the UPA is once again fully functional,” noted May 26’s ISS 8th Floor News (MOD memo) on L2.

“This of course is of great interest in terms of supporting the full complement of 6 crew once the 19S Soyuz arrives. Since there is a slight chance of a subsequent failure in the peristaltic pump which could allow backflow of water into the Distillation Assembly, the flight control team will command the system to shutdown between processing cycles which protects the system from this potential backflow.

“A software patch scheduled for May 28th uplink will relieve the flight control team from taking this manual action. After completion of the first processing cycle, the crew disconnected the EDV-U jumper and connected the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) urine jumper to the UPA. The crew was then given a Go to use the WHC.

“Later in the day, Flight Controllers, Specialists from Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), ISS Management personnel and the Crew made a toast, via videocon and downlinked via space/ground, to the new Water Recovery System (WRS) and the GO for the crew to drink the ISS water. Cheers!”

Dextre Latest:

De Winne - who is taking part in the OasISS mission - will also be the main operator of the Japanese robotic arm and will be one of the two astronauts who will berth the HII-Transfer Vehicle (HTV) to the ISS using the Station’s robotic arm when the Japanese cargo spacecraft arrives at the ISS in September.

Good news was reported on another key robotic element for the Station, via the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) “Dextre” - who’s role will be vital for the long-term health of the ISS, with his capabilities including the removal and replacement of dexterous compatible Orbit Replaceable Units (ORUs), along with the servicing of scientific payloads.

Supporting EVA-based maintenance is also part of its role, along with the preposition of ORUs or Integrated Assemblies, the provision of lighting and camera support, actuating external mechanisms, performing inspection tasks, and extending the reach of the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System).

“Ground Controllers (ROBO) conducted another SPDM On-Orbit Checkout Requirements (OCR) in preparation for the Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) swap operation currently scheduled for Increment 20,” added the 8th Floor. “The main objective was to perform an automatic grasp operation.

“Ground controllers maneuvered the SPDM body and arm 1, while based on the Mobile Remote Servicer (MRS) Base System (MBS), and positioned the arm1 end-effecter over the Robot Micro Conical Tool (RMCT)-1. After calibrating the arm1 force/moment sensor, ROBO then maneuvered the arm over the micro fixture, and executed an auto-grasp with Force/Moment Accommodation (FMA) enabled.

“The team then opened the grippers, backed off the fixture, and the SPDM arm1 and body were re-stowed. This was the first time that we have actually grappled hardware with the SPDM so this is considered to be a major step on the road to our first R&R. Congratulations to Sarmad Aziz and the entire team for this significant achievement.”

La BBC si è un po' confusa :

"BREAKING NEWS: Space Shuttle takes off from Kazakhstan"!!!

[Rand]

New Era for ISS Begins As Crew Size Doubles

Three astronauts set to launch on a Soyuz rocket will bring a new era to the International Space Station by doubling the permanent crew size. Also, for the first time all the ISS partners will be represented on board the station at once as astronauts from NASA, CSA, ESA, JAXA and Russia will be part of the first six-person permanent crew. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:34 p.m. local time (1034 GMT; 0634 EDT) Wednesday from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-15 capsule is expected to dock with the space station about two days later.

On board the Soyuz will be a truly international contingent, with Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, and Belgium’s Frank De Winne. They will join the current crew of the orbiting laboratory: Russia’s Gennady Padalka, U.S. astronaut Michael Barratt and Japan’s Koichi Wakata.

Thirsk called the expansion from a three-person to a six-person crew a “milestone” and said one of their goals was “to prove the station can support six people for a long duration.”

“This is the most international crew we’ve ever had” said Courtenay McMillan, Expedition 20 lead flight director. “It opens up a lot more possibilities and lets us schedule more science. We also have a lot more maintenance activities that can be done. Having six people on board does present a bit of challenge in communications with the ground, as we have twice as many people but no more ‘phone lines’, but folks are getting creative. We’ve learned a lot from the handover periods.”

A current crew of three typically has only about 20 hours a week to devote to science, but with six crew members, ISS officials hope to nearly triple the amount of time spent on science experiments. “This is a big transition from where we have been short on time. Now we have time,” said McMillan. “The crew has been very active in working with science community, ground control teams and to take advantage of the time we have.” McMillan added that the crew will have the ability to do not just new science, but doing additional runs on science that is up on board the station now.”

The last few shuttle missions to the ISS and Progress re-supply ships have been bringing up enough supplies to accommodate the increase in crew size. Now that the urine recycling system is working well, food is the biggest consumable the crews have had to stockpile.

“We have good margins on consumables,” said McMillan. ” We’ve piled up more margin than we usually do, to protect against flight slips. NASA said there is enough supplies on board that the crew could have enough to eat though October, even if no shuttles or Russian ships made it to the station. However two shuttle missions and two Soyuz capsules are scheduled to arrive at the station before the end of October.

[PHCV]

evvai ora che sono il doppio magari ogni tanto risponderanno via radio

[jumpermax]

Originariamente inviato da +Benito+

Ok va bene che non è conveniente sotto nessun punto di vista.
Quindi la ISS è mero sviluppo tecnologico, un costosissimo giocattolo per creare tecnologia.
A cosa serve? Secondo il mio punto di vista, a niente e quello che si è fatto con essa lo si sarebbe potuto fare con altre soluzioni meno costose (vedi skylab).

Cioè, voglio dire, qui si sta creando una cosa modulare, non ancora finita, che tra qualche anno viene distrutta (non senza motivo, in base a quello che scrivi).

Quindi un enormemente, spropositatamente costosissimo test di componenti e tecnologie.
Se convermi questa mia visione, SPERO VIVAMENTE che non ne costruiscano mai più di queste cose.

I piani iniziali hanno subito un pesante slittamento per via dei problemi dello shuttle, avrebbe dovuto essere completata nel 2006. Una stazione spaziale che resterà in orbita alla fine dei conti quasi 20 anni mi pare qualcosa di più di un test tecnologico, è un laboratorio di ricerca unico al mondo. Non credo sia paragonabile allo skylab come potenzialità... l'unico termine di paragone può essere la mir che però era grande circa un terzo.
E poi chissà, nel 2020 si vedrà.... la mir è durata il doppio del periodo, anche se poi alla fine i guasti erano sempre più frequenti.

[+Benito+]

Mi era già stato chiarito che il costo "intrinseco" delle operazioni possibili sulla ISS è minore rispetto ad un equivalente su modello skylab

[Rand]

Saggese ha suggerito la possibilità di utilizzare l'MPLM che verrà (probabilmente) lasciato permanentemente sulla ISS come laboratorio e non solo come "magazzino":

Propositi italiani per la ISS, fra nuovi astronauti e un ''ItalianLab''

Dalle parole di Enrico Saggese al Paris Air Show di Le Bourget sembra trapelare un cauto ottimismo circa le intenzioni e il destino di almeno uno dei 3 moduli MPLM costruiti dall'Italia e attualmente di proprietà NASA.
Nei prossimi anni con il pensionamento della navetta Shuttle si andrà incontro ad un periodo di forte criticità per la ISS riguardo rifornimenti e approvigionamenti.
Per cercare di alleviare tale incombenza è da alcuni mesi nell'aria l'intenzione di mantenere almeno un MPLM permanentemente sulla ISS a partire da STS-133 che sarà l'ultima o la penultima missione della navetta shuttle (attualmente è ancora in fase di valutazione lo scambio di calendario con STS-134).

Riguardo questo proposito si è espresso in questi giorni il Commissario dell'ASI Saggese, ventilando per la prima volta l'intenzione di ASI, se la NASA approvasse la messa in orbita definitiva, di voler utilizzare tale modulo prevalentemente o totalmente a scopi scientifici realizzando un vero e proprio laboratorio tutto Italiano sulla ISS da utilizzare come ricerca per il nostro Paese e come opportunità per incrementare gli slot disponibili per gli astronauti Italiani.
L'MPLM, come già dichiarato in passato, sarebbe Raffaello e "l'idea di avere un laboratorio Italiano sulla ISS sarebbe nettamente preferibile dall'avere un magazzino Italiano sulla ISS" ha dichiarato Saggese.

L'ipotesi è già stata valutata insieme a Jean-Jacques Dordain per arrivare ad un accordo che possa essere vantaggioso per entrambe le Agenzie, raddoppiando teoricamente lo spazio scientifico Europeo sulla ISS con 16 nuovi rack.

Già durante la Presidenza Bignami l'ASI si era detta pronta a spendere di tasca propria i 22 milioni di Euro necessari per adattare un MPLM alla permanenza definitiva sulla ISS, la proposta era stata in un primo momento bocciata da NASA, ma attualmente con la collaborazione di ESA sembra si possa arrivare nei prossimi mesi ad un accordo definitivo sulla questione.

Sempre nella medesima occasione Saggese ha anche manifestato "la volontà di far volare quanto prima la nuova candidata astronauta italiana Cristoforetti", senza ovviamente fare favoritismi o pre-selezioni con il connazionale Parmitano, ma quando potrà volare nello spazio sarà senz'altro "un evento di grande impatto emotivo per il nostro Paese" e l'occasione per attirare l'interesse del grande pubblico e dei media sulle attività spaziali, dimostrando il valore delle persone e delle industrie italiane impegnate in tale settore.
La prima opportunità di volo per Vittori o per uno dei nuovi candidati astronauti italiani scelti dall'ESA dovrebbe essere uno slot a metà 2013 ottenuto con gli accordi bilaterali ASI-NASA.

[Rand]

Altro contratto per Thales Alenia Space:

Firmato contratto COTS fra Thales Alenia Space e OSC

E' stata annunciata oggi a Parigi, al salone di Le Bourget, la firma del contratto, all'interno del programma della NASA COTS, per la fornitura di sistemi di rifornimento e approvvigionamento alla ISS, fra Thales Alenia Space e OSC.
Thales Alenia Space e OSC, insieme a SpaceX sono risultate le due "cordate" vincitrici della gara di appalto per servizi commerciali di supporto alla Stazione Spaziale Internazionale nei mesi scorsi. La firma annunciata oggi completa la fase di "procurement" la quale ha visto stanziati 3,5 miliardi di dollari complessivi e un contratto da 1,9 miliardi di dollari per l'offerta della joint venture OSC-TAS.
Il contratto firmato oggi comprende la consegna, a partire dal Dicembre 2010 e sino al 2015, di 9 unità complete, di cui un prototipo che è al di fuori del programma di supporto alla ISS, 2 moduli da 2000kg di payload e 6 ulteriori moduli da 2700kg.
Cygnus, questo il nome del sistema proposto, è lanciato da un Taurus II ed è formato da un modulo pressurizzato, direttamente derivato dagli MPLM e ATV e costruito in Italia e da un modulo di servizio "standard" fornito da OSC.

[Rand]

A quanto sembra nelle giuste condizioni la ISS ora è visibile anche di giorno!

ISS Now Visible in Daytime!

Oh wow! I love satellite watching, and especially the International Space Station, but now I don't have to wait for nightfall anymore. We reported that the ISS had become the second brightest object in the night sky back in March 2009 with the addition of the final set of solar arrays. And now its been confirmed that the space station, under the right conditions, can be visible during the day, too. "On June 13th, I was watching a red-headed woodpecker's nest when the ISS passed overhead," said Brooke O'Klatner of Charlotte, North Carolina, who took this image, which was posted on Spaceweather.com.

And the ISS will get even brighter when the STS-127 mission arrives, hopefully in July (liftoff has been re-scheduled for July 11 after being postponed today because of a hydrogen leak.) The mission will add an addition on to the Kibo lab, and with Endeavour attached to the station, it will be quite bright. Can't wait! In the meantime, I'm going to test out my best eagle eyes and try to see the ISS during the day. If anyone is able to see it during a daytime pass, let us know! (Pictures encouraged!)

[Rand]

[Octane]

Originariamente inviato da Rand

insistono!

a quando un equipaggio con un Vulcan o un Klingon?

[Rand]

Per chi si fosse sempre domandato dove conservano i consumabili e gli altri materiali all'interno della ISS c'è un tour in HD dedicato.

[Xile]

Originariamente inviato da Rand

Non sono aggiornati con le ultime disposizione della Flotta Stellare in materia di uniformi

[Rand]

Japan's Portion Of The ISS Is Now On Orbit

The Japanese Experiment Module Kibo laboratory and Exposed Facility are featured in this image photographed by a crew member on the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-127) was docked with the station the other day.