[Space] ISS - International Space Station

[SaettaC]

2010... Basta che poi non rimanga in orbita per ancora pochi anni, per poi essere distrutta...

Dovrebbero destinare più fondi alla ricerca e alla ingegneria spaziale...

[GioFX]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0510/30esaarm

European space station robotic arm to launch on Proton

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY NEWS RELEASE
Posted: October 30, 2005

On 27 October ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration Mr Daniel Sacotte signed a contract for the launch preparations and first operations of the European Robotic Arm (ERA) on the International Space Station (ISS). The contract, worth 20 million Euro, was signed with Dutch Space, the Industrial Prime Contractor leading an industrial consortium of European companies.

The contract signing took place at the Erasmus User Centre at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Originally ERA was scheduled for launch on a Space Shuttle, together with the Russian Science and Power Platform, which was intended to become its home base for operations on the station. Last year Russia introduced the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) as a new module to be added to the ISS and proposed also the possibility that ERA could be installed, launched and operated on the MLM. Since the MLM is designed for launch on a Russian Proton rocket, ERA will no longer be carried into space on a US Space Shuttle, but aboard Proton. This requires some technical, operational and contractual re-arrangements between the parties involved.

Under the contract now signed, the consortium, led by Dutch Space, will requalify the ERA flight and ground segment for a launch on Proton, and will deliver the ERA hardware to Russia. The consortium will also implement ERA training for the Russian cosmonaut instructors and will support the training of the Russian cosmonauts on ERA operations. It will also support ground processing and launch preparations in Russia. This will take place at various locations: at the Khrunichev premises, where the Proton launcher is built; at Energia, which together with Khrunichev builds the Multipurpose Laboratory Module; at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City; and at the launch site in Baikonur.

Under the new contract, in-orbit validation of the robotic arm is the final activity to be performed by the consortium. This involves participation in, and analysis of, the first operation of ERA after launch when the performance of ERA will be validated under real space and operational conditions.

"The European Robotic Arm is a good example of how spaceflight is driving new technologies", says Daniel Sacotte. "Through spaceflight we have been building up expertise in key technologies like robotics, which is not only beneficial for Europe and European industry but also demonstrates the important role Europe is playing in the International Space Station programme by contributing key elements such as the Robotic Arm."

The European Robotic Arm is over 11 metres in length and weighs 630 kg. ERA is capable of moving payloads up to a total mass of 8000 kg and is able to position itself with an accuracy of 5 mm. It will be launched from Baikonur to the ISS on a Russian Proton rocket in November 2007. For the launch ERA will be mounted on the new Russian element to be incorporated in the International Space Station - the Multipurpose Laboratory Module - which will then become the home base from which ERA operates. With its seven joints and an impressive concentration of tools and electronics, the arm can move hand-over-hand between fixed base points around the Russian ISS segments and will be used for a variety of tasks.

ERA can be used to install, remove and deploy solar arrays and radiators and can, via the new Russian equipment airlock, transfer small payloads from inside to outside the ISS and vice versa. This will reduce the time needed for extravehicular activities to the absolute minimum and save the crew having to perform preparatory tasks like carrying payloads out of or into the ISS. Another important task for ERA will be to transport astronauts from the airlock to the position where they are supposed to perform their work, which again saves time and effort. ERA is equipped with four cameras and lighting units, which provide for thorough inspection of the ISS.

The European Robotic Arm can be operated from inside the ISS. However, an astronaut outside the station can also drive the arm while performing Extravehicular Activity. Once installed on the International Space Station ERA will be operational in the harsh environment of space for at least 10 years.

[GioFX]

http://space.com/businesstechnology/...ifthyear.html:

The International Space Station So Far: Five Years of Service, But Incomplete

By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 2 November 2005
7:00 a.m. ET

The International Space Station (ISS) hit a milestone for human spaceflight Wednesday, marking five years of continuous human habitation in Earth orbit.

On Nov. 2, 2000, the first three long-duration astronauts took charge of the ISS, beginning an unbroken chain of missions that stretches across 12 expeditions and has weathered one NASA disaster, a crew cutback and a series of construction delays.

Today, ISS Expedition 12 commander Bill McArthur and flight engineer Valery Tokarev are approaching the end of their first month in orbit. The two astronauts are serving a six-month term aboard the ISS almost seven years after the first piece of the station – the Russian-built Zarya control module – launched into orbit on Nov. 20, 1998.

“We are proud to celebrate an important accomplishment in space,” Tokarev said during a recorded statement by the Expedition 12 crew for the station’s fifth anniversary. “This would not have been possible without the cooperation of the 16 partner nations.”

Still unfinished, the ISS is a cooperative effort between NASA, Russia’s Federal Space Agency and the multi-national European Space Agency (ESA), as well as Canada, Brazil and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

“The international nature of the thing is totally essential,” said Alan Thirkettle, head of development for the ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight, in a telephone interview. “We wouldn’t have been able to build a space station ourselves.”

It’s taken about 17 shuttle flights, a series of unmanned Russian supply ships and 62 spacewalks to build and maintain the ISS so far. Expedition 12’s McArthur and Tokarev plan to make their first spacewalk on Nov. 7.

NASA spokesperson Melissa Matthews told SPACE.com Tuesday that, to date, the ISS has cost the U.S. space agency about $23.5 billion – research costs excluded – though ESA projections state the station’s total cost could exceed $100 billion spread across the participating nations. NASA hopes to launch 18 more shuttle flights to the ISS and complete construction by 2010, when the agency plans to retire the orbiters, as well as fly one Hubble servicing mission.

The unfinished outpost

Despite an interior living space about the size of a three-bedroom home, the ISS remains far from complete.

A series of truss segments and JAXA’s Kibo experiment module currently wait to launch toward the ISS aboard a future shuttle flight at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Columbus laboratory module, built for the ESA by EADS Space Transportation, sits all-but completed in its Bremen, Germany plant, ESA officials said.

Station construction has been waylaid first by NASA’s tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew in 2003, then by delays caused by multiple hurricanes and ongoing work to limit the amount of potentially harmful debris shed by orbiter fuel tanks during launch – a problem that doomed Columbia and appeared during the launch of Discovery’s STS-114 mission on July 26. Discovery’s flight marked the first shuttle to visit the ISS since the Columbia accident.

Prior to the Columbia disaster, station planners were targeting 2004 for the completion of the U.S. contribution to the project, NASA officials told SPACE.com.

NASA’s three remaining orbiters – Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour – are vital to the space station’s construction since only they can haul many of the heavy modules and supply containers to the orbital research platform. But the 2010 retirement date has limited the number of flights – once slated to require about 28 missions – that may be available.

“We’ve talked to the partners about the results of the shuttle [schedule] and station configuration options, and that is one of the key elements,” explained NASA spokesperson Debra Rahn, of the agency’s Washington D.C. headquarters. “We’re still working with the international partners on the order of the flights.”

Rahn said at least two large components – a centrifuge module built for NASA by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Russia’s Solar Power Platform – have been cut from the shuttle’s manifest. Any more changes could be discussed during a planned meeting of the “Heads of Agencies” meeting in early 2006, she added.

Other items, like the space station’s Cupola window, that sit at the end of the shuttle’s launch manifest could also be at risk of not flying should delays prompt further flight reductions, Matthews said.

International plans

Some of NASA’s international partners are looking not only toward the resumption of ISS construction, but also space station landmarks of their own.

ESA officials are eager to see NASA’s STS-121 mission launch in May 2006 since it will carry the space agency’s first long-duration astronaut, Thomas Reiter of Germany, to the orbital outpost. Reiter’s planned flight will not only extend European space science missions beyond their eight-day ISS stays, it will also allow ESA scientists a chance to perform some science originally slated for the Columbus module.

“We’re desperately anxious to get Columbus up,” Thirkettle said. “Having 10 tons of hardware sitting around in Bremen, or even in Florida, doesn’t do a lot for you.”

Thirkettle concedes that there has been some benefit from the ISS construction delays. The added time has allowed engineers to add new, up-to-date equipment to the module and address issues with the interior finishing of the Columbus module at its factory.

“It gave us the opportunity of completely cleaning that up and replacing it rather than doing a botch up and keeping our fingers crossed,” Thirkettle said, adding that science payloads are once again being reinstalled into Columbus.

ESA engineers are also recertified the space agency’s European Robotic Arm – an 36-foot (11-meter), seven-jointed robot arm – to launch aboard a Proton rocket with the Russia’s Multipurpose Laboratory Module in November 2007. The 1,388-pound (630-kilogram) arm was slated to ride a shuttle into space as part of the Russian power platform, but was reassigned to the MLM after the module’s redesign, Thirkettle said.

“It’s like the station’s arm, capable of walking from base point to base point,” Thirkettle said, adding that it will be able to pluck payloads from an airlock aboard the new Russian module’s and place them on the ISS exterior.

Meanwhile, the ESA has experienced some delays of its own. The agency’s first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned cargo ship designed to resupply the ISS, will not launch toward the space station until at least May 2007 after inspections turned up multiple hardware and software problems.

Japan is also developing its own H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV) to deliver additional cargo to the ISS. Both the ATV and HTV will complement Russia’s unmanned Progress vehicles that steadily resupply the space station today.

Staging ground

Last week, NASA astronauts lauded the space station as a testing ground for the space agency’s goal of returning humans to the Moon and pushing out toward Mars.

During the two-year gap in ISS-bound shuttle flights, while NASA worked to recover from the Columbia accident, station crews were reduced to two astronauts, which led to the first spacewalks ever to leave the orbital platform empty of humans, additional ground control operations of the ISS, and a series of repairs that would have previously been performed back on Earth only after the faulty hardware had been shipped off the outpost. In 2004, for example, Expedition 9 flight engineer Michael Fincke demonstrated that astronauts could make unplanned, meticulous repairs of the U.S.-built spacesuits in orbit.

“One of the things we’re really learning from the space station is how things break,” said Expedition 7 flight engineer Ed Lu during the Oct. 27 event, adding that much of the equipment aboard the ISS is being flown for the first time. “The only way to get to the reliability levels we need is to have these things fail, and then iron out the bugs. I think we’re doing that.”

Lu served aboard the station’s first two-astronaut crew – down from three astronauts – which has subsequently been followed since by five others. The loss of an extra person has limited the amount of scientific research astronauts are able to perform, since much of their time is devoted to maintenance and other activities. Expedition 11 flight engineer John Phillips, who returned to Earth with mission commander Sergei Krikalev on Oct. 10, told SPACE.com that he was unable to perform all of the experiments he’d hoped due to time pressure.

“I think that with a two-person crew here, I was optimistic,” he said in an Oct. 6 interview.

But the astronauts agreed that the experience of assembling massive structures in space, learning how the human body copes with long duration spaceflight and the daunting task of many nations working together toward a single orbital goal will pave the way for future space explorers to reach beyond Earth orbit.

“We’re doing something really special that’s bigger than any one of us,” Fincke said last week. “Here’s to five more years and beyond.”


This full view of the International Space Station was photographed by an STS-114 astronaut aboard the space shuttle Discovery following the undocking of the two spacecraft on August 6, 2005. Credit: NASA.


Originally slated to launch toward the ISS aboard a NASA space shuttle with Russia's Solar Power Platform, the ESA's European Robotic Arm will now ride atop a Proton rocket and be installed at the station's Multipurpose Laboratory Module slated to launch in 2007. Credit: ESA.


In the Space Station Processing Facility, the International Space Station module Node 2 is lowered toward a payload canister. The module is being transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building where it will undergo an element leak test. Credit: NASA/KSC.

[razziadacqua]

Originariamente inviato da SwissRe

hai mai visto sul sito nasa.gov che è possibile sapere quando passerà la ISS sopra la propria città?? purtroppo nella lista di italiane c'è solo Roma...

felice di informarti che il web e la mente umana offrono ben altro.

In questo sito basta inserire coordinate del luogo e avrete l elenco totale degli Iridium Flare e dei passaggi della Issa,HST....

http://www.heavens-above.com/
BAsta iscriversi(gratis)username e psswrd,inserire coordinate del luogo o ricercarlo nell elenco(presente pure Pesaro quindi...)...e poi cercare quel che volete:iridium flare della settimana,next24h-48h...

vi riporto un iridium flare di stanotte da PESARO(cmq l'ora è sempre quella):

05 Nov 18:39:58 mag:-5 alt43° azimuth24° (NNE) 8.7 km (W) mag.max-8 satellite: Iridium 12

anche se temo che l'ora sia sbagliata...fà riferimento alla GTM+1ora...noi adesso siamo un ora indietro no?che confusione ogni volta


buon dievertimento,buone osservazioni e buone FOTO
(foto a lunga posa del cielo intendo...sono carini i flare in foto...)

P.S. porcamiseria io sono registrato da una vita,ma non ricordo un cazzo del nome utente e passwrd ...vedem...
edit:forse ci sono ...

[GioFX]

NASA to Discuss ISS Construction with Partners

By John Kelly and Todd Halvorson
FLORIDA TODAY
posted: 28 February 2006
11:33 a.m. ET

CAPE CANAVERAL - Space leaders from around the world are gathering at Kennedy Space Center this week to finalize the launch sequence for the remaining pieces of the International Space Station.

The construction of the space station has been at a standstill since the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster. After one more post-Columbia test flight, which is set for May, NASA plans to resume construction of the half-built station with about 15 shuttle missions.

The European Space Agency has been lobbying NASA for an earlier launch of its Columbus science laboratory, which is expected to be delivered to KSC in late May. The core of the Japanese section of the station – a pressurized laboratory module named Kibo – is in launch preparations in the Space Station Processing Facility.

In addition to schedule, the space chiefs will discuss plans for station operations, including crew size.

Meeting with NASA Administrator Mike Griffin will be: Virendra Jha, acting president of the Canadian Space Agency; Jean-Jacques Dordain, director-general of the European Space Agency; Keiji Tachikawa, president of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency; and Anatolli Perminov, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Many of the international leaders were to arrive in Brevard County on Monday night or today. The key meeting among Griffin and his equals from other countries is Thursday.

Griffin has made completion of the station a high because of commitments made to other nations. The NASA chief has said he wants international participation in NASA's coming expeditions to the moon and Mars.

[GioFX]

Da Spaceflightnow.com:

NASA, partners unveil new station assembly sequence

BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: March 2, 2006

NASA and its international partners unveiled a new space station assembly sequence today, one that takes into account the looming 2010 end of the shuttle program by deferring science operations in favor of construction flights to ensure completion of the orbital outpost.

While not addressed by the assembly sequence, a proposed shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, if approved, would come after the launches of European and Japanese space station modules, sources say.

The new schedule shows the station capable of supporting a crew of six by the 14th flight in the assembly sequence. Two additional flights are listed as contingency missions.

The revamped assembly sequence was unveiled by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin today after a "heads of agencies" meeting at the Kennedy Space Center. It is the first assembly plan that fully takes into account President Bush's 2004 directive to complete the station and retire the space shuttle by 2010 and develop a new spacecraft to return astronauts to the moon by the end of the next decade.

The European and Japanese space agencies lobbied NASA to accelerate the launches of their pressurized laboratory modules after years of delays, most recently due to downtime following the 2003 Columbia disaster.

The new sequence moves up launch of Europe's Columbus module to the seventh shuttle flight and moves up launch of Japan's Kibo module two flights, to the ninth mission.

Griffin said today that moving up the launches of the international modules was a "minor adjustment" to the assembly sequence.

"I think everyone is focusing on quote moving up the labs unquote inappropriately," he said. "There has been some minor adjustment of the sequence. What you're seeing today ... is the result of 10 months of work between the United States and our partners following my comments immediately after being confirmed as administrator that a 28-flight shuttle assembly and utilization sequence was not possible within the remaining lifetime of the space shuttle program, that we simply did not have the flights in the system to be able to do it. Not everyone agreed with that judgment and I regret that. But that was my judgment. And so we focused on redefining the station assembly sequence, in fact, to concentrate on assembly."

At the time of the Columbia disaster, the station assembly plan included both construction flights and so-called "utilization" missions aimed at conducting research while construction was taking place. Given the president's directive to end shuttle operations in 2010, "we are largely deferring utilization and we are paring logistics to the bone," Griffin said.

"We don't like that. But confronted with a choice between having the high confidence to be able to complete the assembly of the station and deferring utilization, or utilizing it heavily as we built it and possibly not finishing, we chose the former course. Now, as a result of taking that course of action, meaning to assemble now and utilize largely later, there has been some adjustment to the flight sequence regarding the labs."

But he said, "the main thing you're seeing here today is not adjustments in the flight sequence, but the decision to put together an assembly sequence that allows us to have very high confidence that we will finish the space station assembly by the time the shuttle must be retired."

Here is the new assembly sequence as approved by NASA and its international partners. Shuttle vehicle assignments and flight designations are under review except where shown:

1. ULF1.1 (Discovery/STS-121) - Test flight; station logistics and resupply

2. 12A (Atlantis/STS-115) - Port 3/4 solar array truss elements; second set of solar arrays

3. 12A.1 (Discovery/STS-116) - Port 5 solar array truss element

4. 13A (STS-117) - Starboard 3/4 solar array truss elements; third set of solar arrays

5. 13A.1 (STS-118) - Starboard 5 solar array truss element

(ATV1 - First flight of ESA unmanned cargo vehicle)

6. 10A (STS-120) - Node 2 connecting module

7. 1E - European Space Agency's Columbus module

8. 1J/A - Japanese experiment logistics module (pressurized section); Canadian robot arm dexterous manipulator

9. 1J - Japanese Kibo research module

10. 15A (STS-119) - Starboard 6 solar array truss element; fourth set of solar arrays

11. ULF2 - Logistics, utilization flight

12. 3R - Russian laboratory module and European robotic arm

13. 2J/A - Japanese experiment logistics module (exposed section)

14. 17A - 3 crew quarters; second treadmill; six-person crew capability

(HTV1 - First flight of Japanese cargo vehicle)

15. ULF3 - Logistics, utilization flight; spares prepositioning

16. 19A - Logistics, resupply; experiment support pallet

(ULF4 contingency flight)

17. 20A - Node 3 connecting module with cupola; ASSEMBLY COMPLETE

(ULF5 contingency flight)

(9R - Russian research module)

NASA hopes to launch the shuttle Discovery in May and two more missions before the end of the year to get station assembly back on track after delays caused by the Columbia disaster and foam insulation problems discovered during Discovery's return to flight last July. Launch is targeted for May 10, but the flight could slip into July because of time needed to complete extensive testing, analysis and hardware processing.


____________________________


Manifesto aggiornato:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st..._manifest.html


Configurazione finale:

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1...ISS_config.jpg

[enaud]

ma i due astranuti che erano in orbita sono scesi a terra stamattina??


Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev took a short ride away from the International Space Station today. They flew their Soyuz spacecraft from one docking port to another.

McArthur and Tokarev left the station unoccupied for about 22 minutes as they relocated their Soyuz vehicle. Tokarev undocked the Soyuz at 1:49 a.m. EST from the Earth-facing port of Zarya while the station orbited 220 miles above the south Atlantic Ocean. He redocked to the station at the aft of the Zvezda module at 2:11 a.m. EST. As the Soyuz docked, the station was over Libya.

Tokarev, in the center seat of the Soyuz, disengaged hooks and latches holding the craft to Zarya and backed it about 114 feet away from the complex. With McArthur seated to his left, Tokarev piloted the Soyuz about 80 feet along the station and up to about 82 feet behind the aft docking port, resulting in about a 213-foot total distance traveled. Once behind Zvezda, Tokarev closed in on the docking port. A few minutes after the Soyuz linked up to Zvezda, hooks and latches engaged, establishing a firm connection. The crew is scheduled to re-enter the station around 5:30 a.m. EST after a series of leak checks are completed.

The Soyuz move will clear the Zarya port for the March 31 arrival of the Expedition 13 crew and a Brazilian Space Agency astronaut on another Soyuz vehicle. When the Expedition 12 crew leaves after handover activities on April 8, the Zvezda port will then be available for the April arrival of a Progress cargo vehicle.

On Nov. 18, McArthur and Tokarev relocated their Soyuz spacecraft from the Pirs docking port to Zarya. That move eased operations out of Pirs for a Russian spacewalk conducted on Feb. 3. For information about crew activities, future launch dates and station sighting opportunities, on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

[gpc]

Originariamente inviato da enaud

ma i due astranuti che erano in orbita sono scesi a terra stamattina??

No:

Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev took a short ride away from the International Space Station today. They flew their Soyuz spacecraft from one docking port to another.

[enaud]

ah e quando avverrà il cambio con altri 2 astronauti? chi sono sti altri 2?

[GioFX]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st...ain/index.html

[duchetto]

Progress 21 Heads For Space Station

Roscosmos launched a pilotless Progress spacecraft toward a Wednesday rendezvous with the International Space Station.

The spacecraft lifted off at 9:03 p.m. Central Asian Time, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The 21st Progress to visit the station is carrying some small crustaceans for a Russian scientific experiment called Aquarium, which will examine the stability of closed ecological systems in microgravity. Researchers think it could provide information useful for lengthy human spaceflights.

Progress is carrying 5,040 pounds of equipment and supplies, including more than 1,900 pounds of propellant, just over 100 pounds of air and oxygen, 661 pounds of water and almost 2,360 pounds of dry cargo.

Its sister cargo carrier and predecessor at the station, Progress 20, will remain at the Pirs docking compartment until mid-June, when it will be de-orbited with a load of trash and surplus equipment and burn up after entry into Earth's atmosphere.

P21 is scheduled to dock with the aft port of the Zvezda service module at 1:40 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday. NASA Television will cover the docking live, beginning at 1 p.m.

The Progress is similar in appearance and some design elements to the Soyuz spacecraft, which periodically transports crewmembers to the station, serves as a lifeboat while they are there and returns them to Earth. The aft instrumentation and propulsion module is nearly identical.

The second of the three Progress sections is a refueling module, and the third, uppermost as the Progress sits on the launch pad, carries cargo. On the Soyuz, the descent module, where the crew sits at launch and which returns them to Earth, is the middle module and the third is called the orbital module.


Russian Progress automated spacecraft. Image credit: NASA

[dvd100]

Originariamente inviato da gpc

Sì, bravo, l'ho pensato anche io...
Poi mi pareva pure di aver letto sul forum un'uscita tipo "ma perchè invece di buttare soldi in quelle cose inutili che sono solo pericolose non fanno altro?"...

io sono il primo ad essere affascinato dal volo e dai viaggi nello spazio ma.. a volte questo dubbio viene anche a me.. esattamente quale è l'obbiettivo delle missioni spaziali? e quello della iss? lungi da me la polemica è solo voglia di capire meglio

[maggiore scia]

ma è vero ke nello spazio, sono riusciti a legare insieme gomma e metallo grazie all'assenza di gravità?

[enaud]

Originariamente inviato da dvd100

io sono il primo ad essere affascinato dal volo e dai viaggi nello spazio ma.. a volte questo dubbio viene anche a me.. esattamente quale è l'obbiettivo delle missioni spaziali? e quello della iss? lungi da me la polemica è solo voglia di capire meglio

Ricerca Scentifica. Ci stanno soldi buttati, in maniera molto piu grave

[adsasdhaasddeasdd]

possibile avere delle pics che cif anno vedere come mangiano dove fanno i bisogni doccie ecc..!??!

[GioFX]

Da Spaceflightnow.com

Space Shuttle Launch Manifest

[GioFX]

Una perdita di gas dal generatore di ossigeno Elektron della ISS ha causato un allarme generale, ora rientrato:

da SpaceFlightNow.com:

Oxygen generator problem triggers station alarm

BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: September 18, 2006

The space station astronauts activated a smoke alarm in the Russian segment of the international space station this morning when fumes from an oxygen generator triggered momentary fear about a possible fire. Flight engineer Jeff Williams reported an unusual smell, possibly from an overheated rubber gasket in the Elektron oxygen generation system, but officials said there was no fire and the crew was not in any danger.

As events developed, NASA flight controllers formally declared a spacecraft emergency to ensure priority communications through the agency's communications satellite network, but there was no immediate threat to the astronauts.

Space station Program Manager Mike Suffredini said the crew never donned gas masks, but as a precaution, Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov, Williams and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter put on surgical gloves and masks to prevent contact with any contaminants.

"The crew reported at first smoke in the cabin and a smell," Suffredini said. "They discussed a leak at the oxygen vent. It turns out what was happening is we were having some sort of a leak of potassium hydroxide that's coming out of the O2 vent. We've shut down the Elektron and cleaned up the spill.

"There was never any smoke in the cabin. KOH is what we refer to as a 'tox-2' material, it's an irritant. ... The crew's doing very well. We don't quite know the nature of the spill, we'll have plenty of time to work through that. It's a stable situation, in fact all the readings ... indicate all the constituents we're concerned about have stayed very, very low. Things look very stable on board."

Potassium hydroxide is odorless, officials said, and the smell reported by Williams more likely was associated with an over-heated rubber gasket in the Elektron system.

In any case, the station's ventilation system was shut down to prevent the spread of smoke or contaminants through the rest of the lab complex. A charcoal air filter was put in place to help scrub the atmosphere of any lingering potassium hydroxide fumes.

The problem developed shortly after 7 a.m.

"We would like to have any words you might have on the concentration of smoke, whether it's increasing, decreasing." astronaut Shannon Lucid called from mission control in Houston.

"I would say the situation is stable right now," Williams replied around 7:45 a.m.. "There's an obvious smell, and it's stable. There was never any smoke, there was a smell and it was perhaps wrongly assumed to be a fire initially. Turned out to be this toxic atmospheric release."

"OK Jeff, we copy. There was not a fire, it was just this toxic liquid that was coming out."

"The reason we assumed a fire right away is ... the Elektron was very hot," Williams said.

Later, Williams called down and asked mission control to let his wife know he was not in any danger.

"Hey Shannon, could you get hold of Steve Gilmore and ask him to give a call to the house and explain what's going on ... so they find out that way and not another way?" Williams asked.

"And Jeff, that has already been taken care of," Lucid replied.

"OK, thank you."

The Elektron generates oxygen by using electricty to break water down into its atomic components. The oxygen goes into the station's air supply while the hydrogen is dumped overboard. The Elektron provides the bulk of the oxygen used by the entire station crew.

But the complex also is equipped with so-called "candles" that can generate oxygen through a different type of chemical reaction and some 90 pounds of oxygen is available in tanks attached to the U.S. Quest airlock module. The station typically has enough supplies on board to provide oxygen for a month or more regardless of the health of the Elektron.

The cause of today's problem is not yet known, or whether the Elektron can be restarted. Spare Elektron components are on board if repairs are required but the Russians have a mixed record when it comes to performing in-flight maintenance on the complex devices.

Two new space station crew members, along with a space tourist, were launched earlier today from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. They are scheduled to dock Wednesday, boosting the station's crew to six. Suffredini said today's incident will not affect those plans.

Outgoing commander Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer Williams and the space tourist, Anousheh Ansari, are scheduled return to Earth Sept. 28 aboard the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft. Expedition 14 commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin and Reiter, who was launched to the station in July aboard the shuttle Discovery, will remain aboard the complex.

Even if the Elektron cannot be immediately restarted, the station has more than enough stored oxygen and oxygen-generation candles on board to easily support the combined crews and the three Expedition 14 crew members once the TMA-8 undocks for return to Earth.

"If we don't ever recover the Elektron, then O2 typically would be our limiting consumable," Suffredini said in an interview. "But that's not remotely a concern for the near term, absolutely not."

[GioFX]

E intanto è partita la Soyuz TMA-9 con l'equipaggio della spedizione 14 e Anousheh Ansari:

Da SpaceFlightNow.com:

Next space station residents rocket to orbit aboard Soyuz

BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: September 18, 2006


Credit: Energia

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying the international space station's next commander, flight engineer and a U.S. entrepreneur who hopes to pioneer commercial space exploration, blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Monday and rocketed safely into orbit.

Climbing away from the same launch pad used by Yuri Gagarin 45 years ago, the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft climbed away through a clear blue sky, cheered on by Russian and NASA managers, engineers and family members who flew in from Moscow.

At the controls of the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft was veteran cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and NASA flight engineer Mike Lopez-Alegria. Along for the ride was Anousheh Ansari, an American entrepreneur and long-time space enthusiast who reportedly paid the Russians around $20 million for a visit to the space station.

"Let's go!" one of the crew members exclaimed as the Soyuz roared to life. A few minutes later, Tyurin reported, "We feel fine, insignificant vibration, the G force is rising stably, smoothly."

Nine minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft slipped into its planned preliminary orbit, deployed its two solar panels and radio antennas and set off after the international space station for a linkup early Wednesday.

"Wholeheartedly, guys, I want to extend my congratulations on the successful beginning of your mission," the lead flight director radioed. "Telemetry shows every thing is nominal. Please make sure you all feel well, especially Anousheh, make sure you take good care of her, especially during the first two days of the flight."

"OK, we copy, and we'll do that," Tyurin replied.

About half the men and women who fly in space experience space adaptation syndrome, but nausea and other symptoms typically disappear after the first two days or so in weightlessness.

In an interview with CBS News late last week, Ansari, 40, said she had dreamed of flying in space ever since she was a little girl growing up in pre-revolutionary Iran. That dream now includes a visit to the international space station and while she must first spend two days in the cramped confines of the Soyuz capsule, "it's a means to an end."

"I really want to be in space and that's the only way I can get there," she said. "But it is really small, it is a cramped space for three people.

"Mike Lopez-Alegria is a pretty tall astronaut, so it's even more difficult for him. I'm actually shorter, and I can fit in that cramped space more easily. But there are two compartments, so after the vehicle is in orbit, then we're able to get out of our suits and basically move to the habitation module. That will give us a little bit more space.

"Of course, I don't have any expectation of privacy, but both Michael and Misha are very, very considerate individuals and I'm sure each one of us, when one needs privacy, will probably move to the habitation module or the descent module to give each other the privacy we need."

Docking with the international space station is planned for 1:24 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Once on board, Lopez-Alegria will assume the duties of Expedition 14 commander and Tyurin will serve as flight engineer along with European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, who was ferried to the station in July aboard the shuttle Discovery.

Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams, launched to the outpost March 30, will return to Earth Sept. 28 aboard the Soyuz TMA-8 capsule along with Ansari, the fourth so-called space tourist and the first woman to buy a ticket to space.

Vinogradov, Williams and Reiter were able to watch the Soyuz TMA-9 launch in orbit thanks to a video uplink.

"They're on their way, we're very happy," Williams radioed flight controllers in Houston. "Thanks again."

Williams and his crew mates bid farewell to the shuttle Atlantis' crew Sunday morning after a successful visit to attach a new set of solar arrays.

Monday night, the Expedition 13 crew will oversee the undocking of an unmanned Progress supply craft from the aft port of the Russian Zvezda command module. The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft will dock at that same port Wednesday just a few hours before Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center.

"It's a busy week in space!" Williams observed today.

Here is a timeline of upcoming events (in EDT):


12:08:40 AM Launch of Soyuz TMA-9/ISS-14 from Baikonur Cosmodrome
03:25:00 AM Atlantis crew carries out final heat shield inspection
08:28:00 PM Progress M-56 undocking from ISS Zvezda aft port
11:27:00 PM Progress M-56 deorbit ignition (dT: 2:40; dV: 190 mph)

09/19/06
12:03:00 AM Progress M-56 falls into the atmosphere
02:35:00 AM Atlantis crew tests flight control system; cabin stow

09/20/06
01:24:00 AM Soyuz TMA-9 docking with ISS at Zvezda aft port
04:20:00 AM Soyuz TMA-9 hatch open
04:55:00 AM Atlantis deorbit ignition
05:57:00 AM Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center

09/28/06
05:51:00 PM Soyuz TMA-8 undocking command
05:54:00 PM Hooks open, separation
05:57:00 PM Separation burn (dT: 8s; dV: 1.2 mph)
08:20:23 PM Deorbit burn (dT: 4:20; dV: 258 mph)
08:24:43 PM Deorbit burn complete
08:43:57 PM Soyuz module separation
08:46:52 PM Soyuz crew module hits discernible atmosphere
08:53:06 PM Maximum deceleration
08:55:09 PM Parachute open command
09:10:09 PM Landing (17 minutes before sunrise)


Credit: NASA

Ansari, born in Iran and a naturalized U.S. citizen, developed and sold a successful telecommunications company and helped sponsor the $10 million Ansari X-Prize competition for development of sub-orbital space flight. She hopes to build and launch sub-orbital spacecraft as a commercial venture in the next few years, although she has yet to provide any details.

She first thought about flying in space when reading about American businessman Dennis Tito, the first space tourist who flew to the international space station in April 2001.

"I had been looking for a way to make this happen and when I heard about Dennis Tito, working with Space Adventures and trying to negotiate a seat on the Soyuz, that's when I said the walls are coming down, basically," Ansari said. "If this happens, then the door is open to private citizens.

"I actually was hopeful that soon after that, maybe in a few years, NASA would offer the same thing. ... Unfortunately, I was a little too optimistic in that regard."

She trained with the Expedition 14 backup crew and was added to the prime crew when a Japanese space tourist was disqualified for medical reasons. Asked about the risk of riding a rocket into space, she said it was the means to realize a life-long dream.

"To me, there are certain things worth taking the risk for," she told CBS News in a telephone interview from Baikonur. "I am not a big adventurous person who would take risks just to have an adrenalin rush. So I'm not particularly fond of riding rockets, necessarily, but to me, that's the means for me to get to space, which is my destination.

"The risks involved are what I felt comfortable (with) and the price to pay to be able to realize my dream. It's something that's hard to describe for me. I think space travel is important enough that you can see astronauts and cosmonauts taking risks every day because they believe in it, they believe it's necessary for the future of our species. ... There are people who are the pioneers, people who are moving to take this type of early risk to pave the way for the rest of us. I'm hoping to be one of those people."

Russian willingness to sell seats on the Soyuz to generate needed cash has generated criticism in some circles from observers who believe space travel is best left to professionals. Lopez-Alegria, during a news conference the day before launch, said he initially had the same opinion. But not anymore.

"If you would have asked me that question a couple of years ago, I might have answered quite differently because I was sort of a critic of space tourism," he told a reporter, adding that "sending people to the international space station while it was still under construction was still by no means a place for the light hearted.

"But I recognize the requirements that the Russian space agency has to keep its program alive, we can't do what we're doing without them, so if that's what the correct solution is, and if somebody like Anousheh can be that person, then I have come to the realization that not only is it good from a technical standpoint, just to keep the program going, but it's also good from the standpoint that she represents a great dream and a great hope for a lot of people, not just in our country and iran, but all over the world. I think it was short sighted of me, perhaps, to think the way I did a couple of years ago so I'm somewhat of a convert."

Tyurin agreed, saying it was time for space flight to move beyond government-only sponsorship. As for Ansari's presence on the crew, "I was sincerely surprised when we started working together by the high level of professionalism she has even though she's not a professional cosmonaut. She became such a natural part of our crew we have the impression we've been working together for maybe 10 years."

Ansari pointed out that she would be taking off in a Soyuz spacecraft that is very similar to Russian capsules launched at the dawn of the space age.

"It's been over 45 years since the first human flew to space and over these 45 years, only government agencies have been working toward the goal of space exploration," Ansari said. "In order for us to make giant leaps toward space exploration ... we need private industry to get involved and help the government agencies and work collaboratively together to be able to make that lofty goal come true in the near future for us.

"So I'm hoping to be an ambassador to take this message out and get more people interested and more private investment made into space exploration."

[GioFX]

Dal blog di Anouseh Ansari:

http://spaceblog.xprize.org

I’m finally here… the trip was long but definitely worth it… well let me start from the beginning…

The day started early for us in Baikonur. We got up at 1:00 am Baikonur time and had a short breakfast, followed by an alcohol rub down Then we were given a set of white long johns to wear under our flight uniforms to go to the launch site.

We had a brief prayer and blessing session and as we were leaving our rooms, we signed our bedroom doors. This is a tradition that they say started with Yuri Gagarin. They also say that the cleaning lady who came to clean the room the next day started scrubbing down the signature until she was quickly stopped. So, my signature now rests next to Greg Olsen, the 3rd Private space explorer and Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian Astronaut.

I called my grandmother before I left since she could not be in Baikonur. She wished me good luck and safe return.

We then proceeded to the bus to go to the Launch site. From the Cosmonaut Hotel door to the bus is a short walkway. On both sides of the walkway there were family and friends and journalists snapping pictures and taking video footage. In the blinding lights of the cameras, I was able to identify all my family members who came for the launch. They were up in the early hours of the morning to see me off on my great adventure. My Mom was crying and everyone else was trying hard not to show their tears.

We got on the bus and headed to the launch site. During this whole time I was surprisingly calm. I thought that the morning of the launch, I would be a nervous wreck, but to my great surprise I had no fear or anxiety.

We drove to the building where we would prepare for our launch and we went in the room to get suited. One by one, we entered the room, first Misha Tyurin, then Michael L.A., and then me.

After we were all suited up, we went into a room with a glass wall on one side for the final approval from the officials and a suit leak check. On the other side of the glass wall, my mom, sister Atousa, and my husband Hamid were already in the room and seated in the front row. So were Misha’s family and Mike’s. The room was full of reporters. We sat there for a while waving and trying to talk using sign language with our family members as they would come into the room in small groups and leave to make room for the next group of people. We must have looked really funny on camera since we were making strange faces and gestures…

We did our leak check and were officially good to go. We were then escorted back to the bus as we waved to the crowd and reporters. The next tradition was the short stop of the bus for the boys to take a leak;-) This also apparently started with Gagarin and still goes on… Fortunately, I was excused from this exercise and was able to just mentally participate.

We stopped at the foot of the rocket and got out and walked up the ladder that leads to a tiny elevator barely big enough for the 3 of us. We got in and were lifted to the top section to enter the capsule. We went through a tent and then into the habitation module.

I was the first to enter. I was still very calm, excited… but calm. I don’t think my heart rate went over 100 (I’m usually in the 80’s). I had a permanent smile tattooed on my face. I was seated and strapped in.

L.A. came down next and got situated in his tiny space and last was Misha Tyurin. we were still about 2 hours away from launch and there was a series of procedures the two of them had to go through. I was responsible for three simple actions — to turn the condensation valve and switch it between habitation module and descent module, to open and close the oxygen supply valve as needed (pretty important task! ), and to hand the other crew members the flight data files that were situated next to me. Fortunately, not too complicated and I was able to perform my duties as needed.

I followed their actions step by step through the flight data files and made some personal notes on the margins of my book, when I had a chance. Finally the moment arrived and the countdown started. LA, Misha and I put our hands together and said “Ready… here we go.” I thanked God for helping me realize my dream and for everything it has given me. I asked it to fill the heart of all its beings with its love and to bring peace to this beautiful creation we call Earth.

5… 4… 3… I’m really going…2…I love you Hamid…1… and a smooth lift off.

Watching Soyuz TMA 8 launch, I never thought it would be this smooth inside the capsule… It was like an airplane takeoff — then the G’s started but very mild. I think we hit about 2 or 2.5 Gs max… then the separation and the Nose Fairing ejected. Still very smooth. A ray of light filled the capsule and warmed my heart. I think I was laughing out loud. The joy in my heart was indescribable…

The separation of final stage was the most noticeable to me and then Weightlessness…

This wonderful feeling of freedom that puts a smile on everyone’s face. I slowly lifted off my seat and continued giggling. I just couldn’t believe it… to be honest with you, the whole thing is still like a dream to me… I was strapped in so tight that I couldn’t look outside. Finally when we were safe in the orbit, we were able to open our visors and to loosen our belts…

L.A. took his glove off and it started floating in the cabin. I could not stop giggling the whole time… I was finally able to take a look outside and saw the Earth for the first time… Tears started rolling down my face. I could not catch my breath… Even thinking about it now still brings tears to my eyes. Here it was this beautiful planet turning graciously about itself, under the warm rays of the Sun… so peaceful…so full of life… no signs of war, no signs of borders, no signs of trouble, just pure beauty…

How I wished everyone could experience this feeling in their heart, specially those who are at the head of the governments in the world. may be this experience would give them a new perspective and help bring peace to the world.

I think that is enough for now… I shall let you know about the ride up here in the next entry… I’m hungry for some space food now and will catch up with you in the next orbit… right now we are flying over the Pacific Ocean approaching Mexico…

[GioFX]

My bedroom view:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceexplorer/252460330