Новости МКС

[tnt22]

ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 58 сек. назад

The springs generate an initial opening rate of around 0.12m/s. Soyuz drifts away passively for 3 minutes before activating thrusters.

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С этого момента КК Союз и МКС - два различных космических объекта

РОСКОСМОС‏Подлинная учетная запись @roscosmos 2 мин. назад

#СоюзМС02: в 10:58 мск пилотируемый корабль «Союз МС-02» штатно отстыковался от Международной космической станции. Посадка в 14:20 мск

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 2 мин назад

#ISS has formally transitioned to Expedition 51 that will be in effect until June. A busy science increment. http://bit.ly/2djIupO 

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РОСКОСМОС‏Подлинная учетная запись @roscosmos 1 мин. назад

#СоюзМС02: вот так выглядит отстыковка космического корабля "Союз МС-02" с камер МКС

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Soyuz MS-02 Undocks from International Space Station

(8:48 )

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Undocking of Soyuz MS-02 ahead of Landing

(44:57)

[triage]

https://ria.ru/science/20170409/1491858494.html
В РКК "Энергия" рассказали о совместных с ЕС проектах
12:55 09.04.2017
СОЧИ, 9 апр -- РИА Новости, Ульяна Гребенникова. Центрифугу малого радиуса и модуль для создания искусственной гравитации на космической станции разрабатывают совместно РКК "Энергия" и Европейское космическое агентство, сообщил РИА Новости генеральный директор российской ракетно-космической корпорации Владимир Солнцев.

В конце 2016 года глава Института медико-биологических проблем РАН Олег Орлов говорил, что на базе института разработали центрифугу малого радиуса для создания искусственной гравитации на разрабатываемом РКК "Энергия" трансформируемом космическом модуле. Солнцев заявлял, что такой модуль удастся создать и ввести в состав МКС при наличии должного финансирования -- 6-7 миллиардов рублей, ориентировочно в 2021-2022 году. По его словам, проекта трансформируемого надувного модуля пока нет в Федеральной космической программе, и корпорация создает его на собственные средства.
"Мы работаем с Европейским космическим агентством. За ними разработка центрифуги для того, чтобы попытаться минимизировать отсутствие гравитации на низкой орбите или при полетах в дальний космос. Рассматриваем различные варианты, где мы должны разместить эту центрифугу, как она будет работать", -- пояснил Солнцев.

Он уточнил, что у РКК "Энергия" есть предложения по надувному модулю, который по своим габаритам позволит разместить внутри себя герметичный объем, в том числе и центрифугу.

"Пока мы не конкретизировали даты. Сейчас идет формирование проектного облика. Это в рамках эскизного проекта происходит", -- добавил генеральный директор РКК "Энергия".

За ними разработка - очень странно звучит. А когда развод и это на фоне снижения вклада в МКС (России, ЕКА) и закрытии проекта?

Стратегию мельком показали... но журналисты продолжают писать

https://rns.online/military/Roskosmos-planiruet-sokratit-rashodi-na-soderzhanie-MKS-2017-04-10/
10.04.2017
Стратегия развития госкорпорации «Роскосмос» на период до 2030 года предусматривает сокращение затрат на пилотируемую космонавтику, в том числе на содержание российского сегмента Международной космической станции (МКС).

В числе запланированных мер, в частности, перевод эксплуатации российского сегмента МКС из режима постоянного пребывания на нем космонавтов в режим посещения отдельными экспедициями для выполнения конкретных научных задач на станции, говорится в материалах Стратегии-2030, имеющихся в распоряжении RNS.

Решение о режиме эксплуатации российского сегмента может быть принято в 2020 году.

Кроме того, для сокращения расходов на МКС планируется автоматизировать подготовку и проведение некоторых научных экспериментов на борту станции, в том числе благодаря применению робототехнических средств.

Сегодня на борту МКС постоянно находится до шести космонавтов и астронавтов, в числе которых от двух до четырех россиян. Срок вахты экспедиций -- примерно полгода. Для обеспечения жизнедеятельности российского экипажа на МКС отправляются грузовые корабли «Прогресс». Космонавты и астронавты доставляются на МКС только российскими кораблями «Союз». Корабли «Союз» и «Прогресс» выводятся на орбиту с помощью ракет «Союз» разработки РКЦ «Прогресс» (Самара). Стоимость одного запуска составляет $60-70 млн. При переводе российского сегмента в режим посещения понадобится меньше космических запусков для снабжения космонавтов едой, водой и воздухом.

По планам «Роскосмоса», в 2021 году партнерам МКС (РФ, США, Европа, Япония, Канада) предстоит принять решение о дальнейшей эксплуатации станции после 2024 года. Первые модули МКС были запущены в конце 90-х годов прошлого века. Ожидается, что в 2024 году сотрудничество по программе МКС завершится. В 2021 году планируется начать строить новые модули для российской орбитальной станции.

А модули планировали для новой станции запустить еще в 2019 году....

[zandr]

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4172895

Роскосмос планирует создать единого оператора экспериментов на МКС
МОСКВА, 11 апреля. /ТАСС/. Роскосмос планирует создать единую организацию для экспериментов на Международной космической станции, сообщил заместитель генерального директора АО "Российские космические системы" Евгений Нестеров.
"Сегодня речь идет о создании единого оператора по проведению экспериментов на МКС, который был бы "одним окном", чтобы любой желающий пришел и такой эксперимент заказал бы на коммерческой основе или через ведомственный заказ", - сказал Нестеров.
Сейчас портфель экспериментов российского сегмента МКС формирует Координационный научно-технический совет. В беседе с ТАСС Нестеров уточнил, что инициатива Роскосмоса "пока не имеет формального статуса", но она продиктована потребностями времени. "Американцы уже коммерциализировали это направление, нам грех этим не заниматься, поэтому мы сейчас ведем планомерную работу, чтобы оформить это как проект", - сказал Нестеров.
Ранее генконструктор по пилотируемым космическим системам и комплексам Евгений Микрин сообщал, что Россия увеличит доходы от МКС за счет коммерческих экспериментов и туризма. В качестве способов максимизации рентабельности станции он назвал услуги по доставке астронавтов на МКС, продажу мест, килограммов нагрузки на космических кораблях, проведение коммерческих экспериментов и космический туризм. Микрин добавил тогда, что снижение оперативных расходов для повышения рентабельности МКС будет достигнуто в том числе за счет автоматизации станции.

[tnt22]

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-tv-to-air-orbital-atk-resupply-mission-launch-briefings

April 11, 2017
 MEDIA ADVISORY M17-028
 
 NASA TV to Air Orbital ATK Resupply Mission Launch, Briefings

 Скрытый текст:

 In this Oct. 23, 2016 image, the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm captures Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo spacecraft on its sixth mission to the station. The company's seventh cargo resupply mission is targeted for launch April 18 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Credits: NASA

NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK is targeting its seventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for 11:11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 18. Coverage of the launch begins at 10 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Two prelaunch briefings will air the day prior to launch. At 10:30 a.m., mission managers will provide an overview and status of launch operations and at 1 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station.

Dubbed S.S. John Glenn, the Cygnus spacecraft name is a tribute to the former astronaut and U.S. Senator from Ohio. It will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Coverage of the spacecraft's solar array deployment will begin at 12:40 p.m. April 18, and will be followed by a 2 p.m. press conference with mission managers.

 Скрытый текст:

Under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry more than 7,600 pounds of science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the Expedition 50 and 51 crew members.

The new experiments will include an antibody investigation that could increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment and an advanced plant habitat for studying plant physiology and growth of fresh food in space. Another new investigation bound for the U.S. National Laboratory will look at using magnetized cells and tools to make it easier to handle cells and cultures, and improve the reproducibility of experiments. Cygnus also is carrying 38 CubeSats, including many built by university students from around the world as part of the QB50 program. The CubeSats are scheduled to deploy from either the spacecraft or space station in the coming months.

When it arrives to the space station, Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson of NASA and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) will grapple Cygnus. Whitson will use the space station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, to take hold of the spacecraft. After Canadarm2 captures Cygnus, ground commands will be sent for the station's arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station's Unity module.

Cygnus will remain on the station until July, when it will depart with several tons of trash for a fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Prior to re-entry, a third experiment will be conducted to study how fire burns in space.

This is Orbital ATK's third launch from Cape Canaveral. Missions from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia are scheduled to resume for the eighth and subsequent contracted flights.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/content/orbital-atk-crs-7-briefings-and-events

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:

 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/orbital

-end-

 
Cheryl Warner
 Headquarters, Washington
 202-358-1100
cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

Amber Philman / Stephanie Martin
 Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
 321-867-2468
amber.n.philman@nasa.gov / stephanie.a.martin@nasa.gov

Last Updated: April 11, 2017
Editor: Karen Northon

[tnt22]

ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 3 ч. назад

Anyone ready for a launch? #AtlasV #OA7 set to launch April 18 at 11:11 a.m. http://bit.ly/av_oa7

http://www.ulalaunch.com/atlas-v-to-launch-oa7-for-orbital-atk-nasa.aspx

Atlas V to Launch OA-7 for Orbital ATK and NASA

Atlas V OA-7 Mission Overview

Rocket/Payload:A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 will launch Orbital ATK's Cygnus™ spacecraft on the initial leg of its cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Date/Site/Launch Time: Tuesday, April 18, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The 30-minute launch window opens at 11:11 a.m. EDT.

Live Broadcast: The Live broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. EDT.

...

[tnt22]

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-television-to-air-launch-of-nasa-astronaut-jack-fischer-crewmate

April 12, 2017
 MEDIA ADVISORY M17-043
 
 NASA Television to Air Launch of NASA Astronaut Jack Fischer, Crewmate

 Скрытый текст:

 In the Integration Building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 51 crewmembers Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Jack Fischer of NASA sit for pictures April 6, 2017, in front of their Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft as part of pre-launch preparations.
Credits: NASA

NASA astronaut Jack Fischer is poised for a journey of exploration and research on the International Space Station. Extensive coverage of upcoming prelaunch activities, launch and arrival will air on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.

Coverage begins Thursday, April 13, with video of prelaunch activities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, which will air on NASA TV through Wednesday, April 19.

Fischer and his Expedition 51-52 crewmate Fyodor Yurchikhin, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, are scheduled to launch at 3:13 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 20 (1:13 p.m. Baikonur time), from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft. NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 2:15 a.m.

The pair will travel on a fast-track, six-hour course to the space station and dock to the Poisk module at 9:23 a.m. NASA TV coverage of the docking will begin at 8:30 a.m. Once at the station, they will be welcomed by Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson of NASA and Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency). Hatches between the Soyuz and space station will open at 11:05 a.m. NASA TV coverage of hatch opening and welcome ceremonies will begin at 10:45 a.m.

 Скрытый текст:

Expedition 51 will continue work on hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard the International Space Station, humanity's only microgravity laboratory.

Fischer, a first-time space flier, and Yurchikhin, a veteran of four spaceflights, will spend more than four months aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in early September.

Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram and Twitter.

Follow Fischer on social media at:

 

https://twitter.com/Astro2fish

https://www.facebook.com/Astro2fish/

and

https://www.instagram.com/astro2fish/

-end-

 
Tabatha Thompson
 Headquarters, Washington
 202-358-1100
tabatha.t.thompson@nasa.gov

Dan Huot
 Johnson Space Center, Houston
 281-483-5111
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov

Last Updated: April 12, 2017
Editor: Karen Northon

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/04/12/expedition-51-ramps-up-for-new-crew-and-cargo/

Expedition 51 Ramps Up for New Crew and Cargo
Posted on April 12, 2017 at 12:32 pm by Mark Garcia.

 Скрытый текст:

Expedition 51 crew members Fyodor Yurchikhin and Jack Fischer pose in front of the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft they will launch in April 20. Credit: NASA/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center/Andrey Shelepin

The three Expedition 51 crew members aboard the International Space Station are waiting for a new cargo shipment and a new crew to arrive next week. The orbiting trio are also performing human research and working on U.S. spacesuits.

A pair of spaceships are due next week at the space station. The Orbital ATK Cygnus will launch April 18 on a four-day trip to deliver over 7,600 pounds science gear and crew supplies. On April 20, a pair of new Expedition 51 crew members will blast off in the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft on a six-hour ride to the station's Poisk module.

 Скрытый текст:

Commander Peggy Whitson is continuing to explore how new lights installed in the station are affecting crew health and wellness. She is documenting her sleep patterns and participating in cognition and visual tests for the Lighting Effects study.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet started his day conducting a Fine Motor Skills test. The study is helping scientists understand how astronauts adapt to touch-based technologies that could influence the development of mobile devices and spacecraft piloting interfaces.

Pesquet turned his attention to spacesuit maintenance Wednesday afternoon. He dumped cooling water and purged gas buildup from the water tanks inside the suits. The work is being done ahead of a planned May 12 spacewalk to replace an avionics box to control science experiments installed outside the station.

This entry was posted in Expedition 51 and tagged European Space Agency, Expedition 51, International Space Station, NASA, Roscosmos, Soyuz on April 12, 2017 by Mark Garcia.

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/04/12/cygnus-freighter-to-make-science-enabling-delivery-to-the-space-station/

Cygnus freighter to make science-enabling delivery to the space station
 April 12, 2017 Justin Ray


The Orbital ATK and NASA logos for the OA-7 Cygnus mission. Credit: Orbital ATK and NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL -- Loaded with investigations into chemotherapy drugs with reduced side effects and radiation detectors for homeland security, a plant-growing chamber to promote future food harvesting in space and a technology demonstration for sample-return capsules, a commercial Cygnus cargo vessel will be sent to the International Space Station next week.

Built in the U.S. and Italy and operated by Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, the eight-ton ship will be heaved into orbit by a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Liftoff fr om Cape Canaveral is planned for Tuesday at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT).

"The ISS program is very excited to see the seventh Cygnus spacecraft arrive at the station. This unmanned cargo vehicle will bring nearly 3,500 kg scientific supplies and additional hardware necessary to support ongoing research efforts conducted by the crew members aboard. ISS and our sustained human presence in space is a valuable stepping-stone for future exploration activities that provides an opportunity to develop new technologies that benefit all of humanity," said Holly Vavrin fr om the International Space Station Program Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

"After departing from ISS, Cygnus will performance additional science objectives including third spacecraft fire safety experiment, called SAFFIRE, additional cubesat deployments and a re-entry data collection."

Just some of the new research launching aboard Cygnus includes:

** Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Microgravity **

 Скрытый текст:

This test could yield better drug designs for cancer patients to deliver targeted chemotherapy directly to cancerous cells and avoid healthy cells to reduce side effects.

 
Credit: Oncolinx

"When cancer cells are in a petri dish, they lay flat and you have a 2-D structure of cancer. That's not how cancer grows in the body and solid tumors are 3-dimensional...In this study in the microgravity environment, the cancer cells will form spheric balls wh ere they will more accurate represent solid tumors. From there, we will be able to understand how these drugs metabolize different, how they more or less advantageous, and hopefully that will give us more insight how we plan to treat solid tumors with this novel-class of drugs," said Principal Investigator Sourav Sinha from Oncolinx LLC of Boston.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are therapeutics that target tumors through receptors on the surface of cancer cells. By testing the drugs in space, they will be applied to cells that grow more life-like than can be created on Earth. The 3-D structure of tumors cultured in microgravity result in accelerated drug testing and bringing new therapeutics to the market quicker.

"There is a significant amount of crew time involved in this because we have a number of different variables that we are testing -- dosages of the drug, controls of the drug and time points," Sinha said.

The cells are launched frozen, then thawed once in orbit to begin the research. It will be performed in the Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) rack.

** Crystal Growth of Cs2LiYCl6:CE (CLYC) Scintillators in Microgravity **

 Скрытый текст:

This experiment aims to grow a new type of scintillator crystal for use in portable radiation detectors employed by Homeland Security. Scintillators excite when exposed to certain types of radiation. Four experiment runs are planned inside the Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) furnace of the Microgravity Science Glovebox.

 
Credit: Radiation Monitoring Devices

"The main advantage of microgravity for crystal growth, in general, is the absence of buoyancy-driven convection. On Earth, hot fluids rise up and cold fluids sink down due to density differences. In microgravity, this doesn't happen, and it affects how fluid in our molten material transports, how molecules and atoms of material assemble into the crystal. It's significantly different in microgravity than on Earth," said Alexei Churilov, Ph.D., the experiment's principal investigator from Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. of Watertown, Massachusetts.

The space research will inform ways for the company scale-up its production of the crystals on Earth.

"Even though we are continuing research to improve these crystals in our production, there are still challenges and defects in crystals that include cracks, grain boundaries, bubbles and secondary phase inclusions which will be affected to one degree or another by growing these crystals in microgravity without convection."

If successful, small and inexpensive instruments could be made to detect both gamma rays and neutrons.

"These detectors are used to distinguish between harmless sources of radiation and radiation from, for example, enriched uranium from a nuclear bomb. The advantage of CLYC crystals is you can detect both gamma rays and neutron in one detector."

** Advanced Plant Habitat **

 Скрытый текст:

A stepping-stone to food production in deep space is the Advanced Plant Habitat launching on OA-7 to take up residence aboard the International Space Station. About the size of a mini-refrigerator, it features 180 sensors to carefully measure light, water and the atmosphere in the plant-growing chamber.

 
Credit: NASA/Bill White

"It's really the culmination of four-to-five years of developmental effort that will result in the largest and most sophisticated apparatus for growing plants on the International Space Station," said Howard Levine, project scientist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

A science carrier, roughly the size of a large pizza box, will be launched on this Cygnus with seeds of wheat and Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant. A seed wetting and germination is planned to demonstrate the performance of the hardware before peer-reviewed plant bioscience launches in November.

"One of the main advantages of the hardware is it has precise controls of all different kinds of environmental parameters, so you can do controlled experiments with plants under different temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration values," Levine said.

** Cubesats **

 Скрытый текст:

There are 38 cubesats being launched aboard this Cygnus, 34 that will be transferred over to the space station for eventual deployments from the Japanese Kibo module's airlock and four that are mounted externally to the cargo ship. After Cygnus departs the station in July, it will climb to a higher altitude, around 310 miles, and eject them into space.

 
Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians to install the external cubesat deployer onto Cygnus. Credit: NASA/Cory Huston

A vast majority of station-deployed cubesats are part of the QB50 project to study the science of the atmosphere. A constellation of 28 cubesats will be launched as part of a European Union research program involving universities on five continents. The craft will probe the gas molecules and electrical properties in the poorly-studied region of the upper fringes of the atmosphere called the thermosphere.

"Small satellites are well poised to research the lower thermosphere because you need small sensors and many in-situ measurements at multi points along the way. So cubesats, which started about 15 years ago, are perfect for this project," said Henry Martin, external payloads coordinator from NanoRacks in Houston.

The six other cubesats going to the station include four from NASA, one from the Defense Department and one commercial. They include a mission to measure the cosmic X-ray background, one to test a new light-weight, longer-life battery system designed for the cold temperatures of space and another to measure ice particles within clouds.

The four riding in the Cygnus external deployer are LEMUR-2 cubesats for meteorology and ship tracking.

** Spacecraft Fire Experiment-3 **

 Скрытый текст:

After departing from space station, Cygnus will host the third spacecraft fire safety experiment, called SAFFIRE, to study the behavior of flames and combustion in microgravity for future capsule designers.

 
The SAFFIRE experiment. Credit: NASA

Cygnus conducted SAFFIRE burns on its two flights last year. This test will use one large piece of material to burn, but apply lessons from the earlier experiment runs.

"They've adjusted the airflow rate and ignition sequence based on the results seen on the last two," said Vavrin.

SAFFIRE is a large, self-contained experiment stowed in the back of the Cygnus module. The blaze is ground-commanded.

Sensors will record the ambient temperature and the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, two video cameras provide top views of the entire sample, thermocouples are woven into the sample and a radiometer measures the heat given off.

The flame propagates over a panel of thin material approximately 0.4 m wide by 0.94 m long (15.7 x 37 inches) to quantify flame development over a large sample in low-gravity.

Cygnus will remain in orbit for several days until all of the data and video recorded during the experiment are downlinked to the ground.

** Thermal Protection Material Flight Test and Reentry Data Collection (RED-Data2) **

 Скрытый текст:

A company wanting to develop a family of re-entry vehicles to return scientific research samples to Earth from the space station will get a demonstration test at the end of the Cygnus flight when it brakes from orbit.

 
One of the probes. Credit: Terminal Velocity Aerospace

"For this experiment, we are flying three different probes and we have three new heat shield materials that NASA is wanting to get flight-test data for," said John Dec, principle investigator of the RED-Data 2 experiment at Terminal Velocity Aerospace in Atlanta.

"The primary data that we are attempting to collect is temperature data from thermocouples that are embedded in the heat shield of each probe."

The three materials being put to the test: A new form of Avcoat that will be used on Orion human spacecraft, the others, developed by the NASA Ames Research Center, are the lightweight Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (C-PICA) and Conformal Silicone Impregnated Refractory Ceramic Ablator (C-SIRCA).

"It's kind of like a lawn dart without the stick," Dec said of the probes. "The RED-Data probes are only about 9 inches in diameter and weigh about 5.5 kilograms."

Kept inside the Cygnus throughout its mission, the three soccer ball-sized RED-Data-2 probes will be dispersed once the freighter breaks up during atmospheric re-entry at the conclusion of its three-month mission. Each probe will record vehicle location, temperature, acceleration, pressure and gyroscopic data seen during the fiery plunge back to Earth.

"When Cygnus does its de-orbit burn, it will start to re-enter the atmosphere and that's when we begin to collect our data. We use the accelerations to determine whether or not we're actually starting to re-enter. When Cygnus breaks up, our vehicles are then released into the free-stream flow and that's really when our experiment begins," Dec said.

"We have to wait to emerge from the ionization blackout, up until then we are storing data onboard. As soon as we emerge from the blackout, we use the Iridium satellite network to transmit all of our data from our vehicles to the Iridium network and then down to us at the ground station. We never physically recover vehicles, they land in the ocean, but we do get the data back."

The probes use a 45-degree sphere-cone geometry that is designed to always right itself and orient nose-first within a couple of seconds.

"This shape is very easily scaled up in size. So what we foresee in the future is to have a sample-return capability. It would be an on-demand type of down-mass capability for the space station...That's really wh ere our future direction is going is to develop a vehicle big enough to bring samples back," said Dec.

[tnt22]

Экран-"беглец" слишком медленно падает    

Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 2 ч. назад

The ACBM shield that was dropped on last EVA is now in a 396 x 405 km orbit, dropping more slowly than I expected - will stay up for month

[tnt22]

ISS Research‏Подлинная учетная запись @ISS_Research 8 ч.8 назад

No need to adjust your screens, @AstroPeggy was working on SPHERES-UDP. Learn more in the #science recap: https://go.nasa.gov/2o7mVdK 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/wklysumm_week_of_03april17.html

April 12, 2017
Weekly Recap From the Expedition Lead Scientist

 Скрытый текст:

Crew members on the International Space Station capture spectacular night-time images of Earth from their vantage point 230 miles above the surface of the planet. In this photo, the Canadarm 2 remote-controlled arm extends into the frame and in front of the border of the upper atmosphere.
Credits: NASA
 

A tiny sprout of Tokyo Bekana cabbage appears from the center of this plant pillow on board the International Space Station. The vegetable is part of the VEG-03 investigation, looking for efficient ways to grow fresh food in space.
Credits: NASA
 

As the space station orbited overhead, NASA astronaut and golf fan Shane Kimbrough captured this image of Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia during The Masters tournament on April 5, calling it "a tradition unlike any other - even from space!"
Credits: twitter.com/astro_kimbrough

(Highlights: Week of April 3, 2017) - Three crew members prepared for their return to Earth as NASA announced astronaut Peggy Whitson will extend her stay on the International Space Station by three months. The announcement capped a very productive week of science on orbit.

Whitson began growing another crop of Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage for the Veg-03 investigation. The crew is already seeing sprouts. Understanding how plants respond to microgravity is an important step for future long-duration space missions, which will require crew members to grow their own food. Astronauts on the station have previously grown lettuce and flowers in the Veggie facility.

 Скрытый текст:

Veggie provides lighting and necessary nutrients for plants by using a low-cost growth chamber and planting pillows, which deliver nutrients to the root system. The Veggie pillow concept is a low-maintenance, modular system that requires no additional energy beyond a special light to help the plants grow. It supports a variety of plant species that can be cultivated for fresh food, and even for education experiments.

Crew members have commented that they enjoy space gardening, and investigators believe growing plants could provide a psychological benefit to crew members on long-duration missions, just as gardening is often an enjoyable hobby for people on Earth. Data from this investigation could benefit agricultural practices on Earth by designing systems that use valuable resources such as water more efficiently.

Just as a special light is used to grow these plants, NASA is investigating changing the lighting on the space station to provide a more productive environment for the crew.

Whitson set up and configured light meter hardware for the Testing Solid State Lighting Countermeasures to Improve Circadian Adaptation, Sleep, and Performance During High Fidelity Analog and Flight Studies for the International Space Station (Lighting Effects) investigation. This investigation tests a new lighting design using light-emitting diodes to replace the fragile fluorescent lights currently used on the space station. Whitson took measurements of various light settings in Node 3 and the U.S. Lab to ensure the LEDs provide enough light to be able to complete science experiments while improving her own cognitive performance.

LEDs are adjustable for intensity and color - the blue, white, or yellow sections of the light spectrum. Scientists and doctors want to determine if the new lights can improve crew sleep cycles and alertness during the day. Besides the potential health benefits, these lights also require less energy to run and are lower in mass, making them a prime candidate for use on future spacecraft. Using these same types of lights on Earth, and subtly adjusting their color temperature during the day may help people be more productive, especially those who work a night shift.

Whitson also ran another round of the Universal Docking Port investigation using the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) on the space station.

Whitson worked on guiding two small, bowling-ball-sized satellites into a rendezvous for the SPHERES-UDP investigation. With the ability to dock and undock, SPHERES provide a test bed to address many of the challenges of combining autonomous spacecraft. Mated spacecraft can assemble complex systems in orbit or combine sensors and actuators for satellite servicing and repurposing missions. The SPHERES enable testing of complex tasks through autonomous decision-making processes and real-time image processing. Development of robotic servicing in space can be applied on Earth, such as in missions to an uncharted ocean floor or the construction and repair of seabed pipelines.

Human research investigations conducted this week include Biochemical Profile, Functional Immune, Vascular Echo, Habitability, Space Headaches, and Dose Tracker.

Progress was made on other investigations, outreach activities, and facilities this week, including Rodent Research 4, Wet Lab RNA Smartcycler, Multi Omics Mouse, Google Street View, Story Time From Space, EXPRESS Rack, SABL, Programmable Isolation Mount, Cool Flames Investigation, JAXA ELF, Manufacturing Device, Sally Ride EarthKAM, ISS Ham Radio, and Group Combustion.

Jorge Sotomayor, Lead Increment Scientist
Expeditions 49 & 50

Last Updated: April 12, 2017
Editor: Kristine Rainey

[Олег]

tnt22 пишет:
Экран-"беглец" слишком медленно падает

Да, уж точно больше месяца будет болтаться. Где-то от года до трех по расчетам.
Хотя для для тряпицы без каркаса баллистические расчеты - вилами по воде..

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/04/13/station-trio-works-high-flying-science-and-maintenance/

Station Trio Works High-Flying Science and Maintenance
Posted on April 13, 2017 at 11:57 am by Mark Garcia.


Expedition 51 crewmates Oleg Novitskiy and Peggy Whitson pause for a portrait during a busy day aboard the station.

Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Thomas Pesquet and Oleg Novitskiy juggled a wide variety of space science and human research Thursday. The Expedition 51 trio also switched roles from orbital scientists to high-flying technicians maintaining the systems of the International Space Station.

Whitson started the day testing her fine motor skills to help researchers understand space adaptation and potentially design future touch-based devices for astronauts. The commander then spent the afternoon on space plumbing and worked on the Water Recovery System that converts urine and sweat into clean drinking water.

Pesquet began his morning observing what happens to materials heated to extreme temperatures. The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace can reveal combustion properties and synthesize materials that are very difficult to produce on Earth. In the afternoon, he studied the different phases of metallic alloys in the Material Science Research Rack.

Novitskiy, who is on his second station mission, worked throughout the day on troubleshooting a computer issue in the Zarya cargo module. Towards the end of the day, he charged computer batteries inside the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft and flushed water tanks into the Progress 66 cargo craft.

This entry was posted in Expedition 51 and tagged European Space Agency, International Space Station, NASA, Roscosmos, Soyuz on April 13, 2017 by Mark Garcia.

[tnt22]

(20:52)

Space Station Commander Discusses Record Flight with the Media
 
 
 NASA

Опубликовано: 12 апр. 2017 г.

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson of NASA discussed life and research and the records she is setting in a pair of in-flight interviews April 12 with the CBS Radio Network and CNN. Whitson, who already established the record for most spacewalks and most spacewalking hours by a female, will break the mark for most days in space by a U.S. astronaut. On April 24, she will surpass NASA's Jeff Williams' record of 534 days in orbit. Whitson is in the midst of a flight spanning almost 10 months on the station, her third long duration mission on the complex.

[tnt22]

Intl. Space Station‏Подлинная учетная запись @Space_Station 8 ч. назад

Exp 51 trio upgrades computer gear today before next week's arrival of new crew and new cargo. https://go.nasa.gov/2oGTUc1 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/04/14/computer-upgrades-ahead-of-crew-and-cargo-arrivals/

Computer Upgrades Ahead of Crew and Cargo Arrivals
Posted on April 14, 2017 at 8:29 am by Mark Garcia.

 Скрытый текст:

This night image from the space station captures sparkling cities and a sliver of daylight framing the northern hemisphere.

The three International Space Station residents upgraded computer hardware and software today. The crew is also heading into the weekend preparing for the arrival of a new crew and a new cargo shipment.

Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet replaced outdated routers this morning with new ones providing expanded capabilities in the station's U.S. segment. Whitson was in the Destiny lab module swapping routers while Pesquet was inside the Harmony module performing the computer maintenance. The router swaps and software updates were done to get ready for the arrival of the next station crew.

Expedition 51 will expand by two crew members when a veteran Roscosmos cosmonaut and a first time NASA space-flier arrive on Thursday. Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer will launch aboard the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft and take a six-hour, four-orbit ride before docking to the Poisk module. The duo will begin a mission expected to last about 4-1/2 months.

Orbital ATK is getting ready to roll out its Cygnus spacecraft loaded with over 7,600 pounds science gear and crew supplies. Cygnus is scheduled to launch Tuesday at 11:11 a.m. and take a four-day delivery trip before being captured by the Canadarm2 and installed to the Unity module.

This entry was posted in Expedition 51 and tagged European Space Agency, International Space Station, NASA, Roscosmos, Soyuz on April 14, 2017 by Mark Garcia.

[triage]

Читая тут блог НАСА в то же время 13 апреля на наружной стороне модуля Кибо был размещен для длительной экспозиции образец Турции.
Гуглоперевод с японского на английский

 http://iss.jaxa.jp/kiboexp/news/170414_exham.html

An experiment on exposure of "Kibo" outboard material by Japan and the Republic of Turkey was started.

Last Updated: April 14, 2017
In the evening of April 13 (Heisei time) on Heisei 20 (Wednesday), the first cooperation mission of Japan and the Republic of Turkey using the Exposed Simulation Experiment System (ExHAM) of the International Space Station 'Kibo' It has been started. At the beginning of the experiment, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary A. Bürrent Melitz of Turkey met with JAXA officials at the Tsukuba Space Center's Kibo Operation Control Room to start the experiment.
....
In the cooperation agreement, we will release one CubeSat-type ultra-small satellite (3U) and provide long-term exposure test opportunities (twice) for materials and others. This experiment is the first of its kind. This time, the Republic of Turkey will evaluate the performance of materials used, etc. by exposing the communication equipments assumed to be used for artificial satellites for 1 year to the space environment.
...
For long-term exposure experiments such as materials, we use simple exposure experiment equipment (ExHAM). Like the ultra-small satellite release, it is a method of outboard use unique to "Kibo" having airlock and robot arm, and it is a method of using outboard equipment and experimental samples at frequent intervals of 6 months or 1 year You can go home and exchange, you can easily demonstrate technology and material exposure experiments in the space environment.
...

Кажется размером 10x10 см
 http://iss.jaxa.jp/kiboexp/news/161104_exham.html




Про ExHAM
 http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kiboexp/ef/exham/
 http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kiboexp/ef/exham/ExHAM-e_20141125-2.pdf

Пишут на японском про 4-х часовую работу (гугло перевод на английский)

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170414-00000012-ibaraki-l08
...
X Ham is a box shape about 27 cm tall. Using the robot arm, removed from inside the Kibo, attached to the outboard facilities. It took about 2 minutes to open the work, but it took about 4 hours for the whole work from taking out. Successfully, the control room was clapped in applause and cheers.

Work using Xham began in April 2015. For the fourth time this time, the Turkish government will expose "microwave amplifier" to space in the future for satellite communication and experiment to see if any abnormality occurs. Collected about one year later, taken back to the ground and analyzed.
...

Блог НАСА был упомянут вот почему: Кто-то и на борту станции должен был подготовить, а нету упоминания.