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Category Archives: Space Flight

From the International Space Station, Astronauts Talk Beyonce's Grammy Snub, Alien Life

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The last few years have seen a rekindling of imagination and interest in space exploration and the loopy fundamentals of our understanding of the universe, from the mind-bending Interstellar to Neil deGrasse Tyson's Seth MacFarlane-assisted reboot of Cosmos.

According to rough estimates, 108 billion people in total have walked the Earth since we emerged from the murk of unconsciousness 200,000 years ago. Of those 108 billion, only 547 have been blasted off of our comfortable rock to explore, gingerly, the cold vastness that we float amidst and to conduct experiments (and be living experiments themselves...) that will help us explore ever further.

Billboard had the honor of speaking to Colonel Terry Virts and Commander Butch Wilmore, two astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station, orbiting the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour. These are people confronted every moment with the majesty of the heavens and the ego-destroying scale of the Earth, in relief against the cosmos.

With such a holistic worldview, what better time to ask whether or not Beyonce got robbed at the Grammys, and what music they prefer while changing the world? Watch the highlights right here, and read our full transcript below.

You guys actually had to deal with the "desert island disc" question -- so what were your "vastness of space" discs?

Terry Virts: The question is what music did we bring, is that the question? I brought a lot of different kinds of music. I have a lot of contemporary country music like Brandon Heath, Casting Crowns, I've got some pop and some dance music that I use when I work out. I brought some country music, I got come classical stuff that I just chill out to. I really like a lot of different kinds of music and it depends on what mood I'm in and what I'm doing. Barry "Butch" Wilmore: Yeah I'm about the same, I've got some contemporary Christian some mercy me and that type of stuff. I also really like the big band kind of movie score music with Audiomachine and Thomas Bergersen and that type of genre as well. I listen to a lot of that. Do you guys ever fight over who gets to pick the music? Virts: No, we haven't. [Laughs] I actually like his music, and he seems to like mine too.

Courtesy of Nasa

Who would you say has the best taste in music? For some reason my guess was Elena [Serova, a Russian astronaut on the same mission]. Yeah that's a good guess. Her and Samantha [Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut also on the mission], they've both got very good taste in music. If you could pick on artist live or dead to send into space -- either to learn from the experience or just to entertain you -- who would it be? Virts: I would send Brandon Heath. He's a good friend of mine; he's a contemporary Christian artist. He was actually at my space shuttle launch -- he came to Russia to Kazakhstan for my launch a few months ago. He wrote a song after my shuttle launch which was kind of inspired by that. It would be really cool to have him up there, somebody who's an artist, not just a fighter pilot like me and butch are, someone who could communicate the wonder of space flight, I think that would be really cool. Wilmore: I honestly could not choose one. There's so many that I enjoy, and it would be narrowing it too narrow to pick one. I can't do it. Piggybacking off what you just said, how are you relieved that Chris Hatfield and his guitar aren't there anymore? Virts: Oh we've heard Chris play many times -- he's quite good. And he's made up some songs that are quite humorous as well. We kind of enjoy that. It's not bad.

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From the International Space Station, Astronauts Talk Beyonce's Grammy Snub, Alien Life

Space to Grow

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Science and politics have both benefited from humanitys journey into space. And we really might just be getting started

Credit: almir1968/Thinkstock

Editor's note: The following is the introduction to the February 2015 issue of Scientific American Classics: Conquering Space.

I was eight years old when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. As Apollo 11 touched down on that gray, cratered surface, I was already dreaming of following those astronauts into space. The moon missions made meand millions of others around the worldfeel as though we could do anything, go anywhere.

Twenty-five years after that first moon landing, I was flying onboard the space shuttle Columbia on a 15-day mission during which we conducted some 80 experiments in microgravity.

Space travel was unlike anything I could have imagined when I was a boy. It remained fantastic even after two more shuttle flights, a Soyuz flight and six months on the International Space Station (ISS).

I remember taking a space walk on the ISS. There I was, wrench in hand, tightening bolts on a new module. It was such a mundane task. But when I looked in one direction, there was Earth floating in vivid blues and greens. In the other direction, I could see the blackest black conceivable, punctured by unwavering pinpoints of starshine. It was intense and surreal.

You might have heard about a transformation that can occur when someone first sees Earth from spacehow it becomes harder to think about my country or my people and harder not to think about our planet.

I can tell you, that transformation is real.

I came home with a different sense of our world. And I would wager that every single one of the 500-plus men and women who have traveled into space came home transformed as well. It is one of the reasons why I continue to believe that we need to keep sending humans into space as well as robots. The results are tangible: I have seen firsthand how projects such as the ISS can foster cooperation among countries and cultures that otherwise might find it easier to be enemies.

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Space to Grow

ESAs wingless space plane successfully performed its first test flight

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Having successfully landed a space probe on comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko, the European Space Agency (ESA) is turning its attention closer to home. Today, the ESA launched its new space plane on its very first suborbital test flight. While the flight was only projected to last around 100 minutes, the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) flew almost completely around the planet and reached a maximum altitude of 256 miles (412 kilometres). Not bad for a plane without any wings.

The fully autonomous IXV looks a bit like a smaller, stubby Space Shuttle with the wings sheared off. Instead of relying on wings for lift, it has a full body-lifting design and a pair of flaps toward the rear of the craft for steering in the atmosphere. Its five meters long and has a wingspan (well, width) of 2.2 meters. The underside is covered in protective carbon fiber panels woven into a ceramic matrix. One of the main goals of this test launch is to monitor the performance of these panels during reentry with an array of 300 sensors.

Getting a handle on how the craft performs on reentry is crucial because the IXV will eventually form the heart of Europes planned Program for a Reusable In-Orbit Demonstrator for Europe (PRIDE) system. The space plane would be launched into low-Earth orbit to deposit a satellite or other payload, then descend into the atmosphere for landing on a standard runway. SpaceX is planning a reusable launch system as well, but even its first stage rocket would come back down and land under its own power.

The IXV test began with a launch from French Guiana aboard a Vega rocket. This is a relatively new rocket design with only three launches under its belt. The IXV was planned to separate from the Vega launch vehicle 18 minutes after liftoff at an altitude of 333 kilometers, but the IXV will continue upward in an arc to the maximum altitude of 412 kilometers.

The IXV then flew over the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, and Asia before landing somewhat softly in the Pacific ocean. As the space plane descended, it picked up a tremendous amount of speed, traveling at about 7.5 km/s by the time it reached 120 kilometers above the surface. Thats a fair approximation of reentry speed when coming in from orbit, and should be a good test of the heat tolerance. This was basically the entire point of the test get the IXV up high enough that it falls into the atmosphere at reentry speeds.

It was recovered by a ship after the mission ended, but future versions will obviously shoot for a runway landing. The splashdown is merely a safety precaution for this first flight. The reentry phase of the mission happened entirely over open water, just in case.Check out the launch replay below:

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ESAs wingless space plane successfully performed its first test flight

JAW-DROPPING FIND Astronaut's spacesuit turns up in thrift shop for $40

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File photo. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield (R) attends a news conference behind a glass wall at the Baikonur cosmodrome Dec. 18, 2012.(REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov)

Remember that astronaut who sang David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on the International Space Station? Chris Hadfield is making headlines againor rather, his flight suit is. Somehow the blue outfit ended up in a Toronto thrift store, CBC reports.

"I thought, wow, what is a flight suit like that doing up there?" says Dr. Julielynn Wong. When she saw the "Chris Hadfield" badge on the jumpsuit, "My jaw just dropped," she says.

She bought the suit for a mere $40. To make the find even more incredible, Wong, who studied space medicine, actually knows Hadfield, ABC News reports: "I trained with him; we actually had lunch," she says.

She contacted him on Facebook and was able to confirm the suit's identity with a photo and some detailed information. So how did it end up in a thrift store? The former ISS commander himself doesn't know, telling Wong it's "a mystery to me." He's "had many flight suits over the years," Wong tells ABC.

"It's possible that it inadvertently got placed in a donations bag when he moved back to Canada after living abroad for 20 years." Now, she plans to use it in lectures she gives on space supplies.

"This way, the flight suit is much more inspiring for the next generation of space pioneers and innovators," she says. (Click to watch Hadfield's version of "Space Oddity.")

This article originally appeared on Newser: 'Space Oddity' Astronaut's Suit Turns Up in Thrift Shop

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JAW-DROPPING FIND Astronaut's spacesuit turns up in thrift shop for $40

U.S. astronauts make renovations to ISS for space taxis

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Two U.S. astronauts took the first of three spacewalks outside the International Space Station today to create parking spots for so-called space taxis that will ferry crew to and from the station.

Station commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, 52, and flight engineer Terry Virts, 47, started the spacewalk shortly before 8 a.m. ET for the 6 1/2 hour venture. This is the first of three spacewalks in the next eight days to install wiring for two docking mechanisms for crewed commercial capsules built by Boeing and Space X. It is the first major overhaul of the station since it was completed in 2011.

"We're doing a lot of reconfiguration this year," Kenneth Todd, NASA's International Space Station operations integration manager, said earlier this week. "We are really trying to take the station into this next phase in support of the commercial industries and providers."

The astronauts worked on Saturday to install electrical wiring, new antennas and cables at the station's Harmony module in preparation for the Boeing-built International Docking Adapters. The IDAs will allow the Boeing and Space X spacecraft to dock at the top and front of Harmony beginning in 2017. NASA is hoping to end its dependance on Russia for rides to the ISS since the space shuttle was retired in 2011.

Wilmore and Virts are expected to continue the work on Wednesday and March 1.

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U.S. astronauts make renovations to ISS for space taxis

Fancy a Balloon Trip to the Edge of Space?

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World View's successful test of a high-altitude parafoil brings the dream closer to reality.

Fancy a trip to the edge of space in a high-altitude balloon? World View and United Parachute Technologies (UPT) brought that dream one step closer to reality on Friday with the successful flight of a parafoil from a record-breaking height of 102,200 feet.

World View aims to one day take passengers to dizzying heights in hot air balloons, making Friday's parafoil test flight a major milestone for the company. The plan is to begin near-space flights in a balloon and then use a parafoil for "easing passengers gently down to Earth from the stratosphere."

The test flight above Arizona also marked the official start of World View's partnership with UPT, which co-designed the parafoil technology with Performance Designs. The parafoil system tested this week will be used for unmanned research flights and passenger trips to the edge of space.

"The accomplishments of this flight further our two main objectives of manned spaceflight and advancing research," World View chief technology officer Taber MacCallum said in a statement. "The successful flight of the parafoil at this altitude brings us closer to flying private citizens safely to the edge of space and also allows us to continue our research and education program by providing safe access to the near-space environment."

The uncrewed test flight carried a payload of experiments. Montana State University researchers tested a computer system "designed to achieve increased reliability in extreme environments" and video equipment which is to be used to capture a 2017 solar eclipse. Researchers from the University of North Florida supplied a nanocrystalline gas sensor array for measuring the stratosphere's ozone gas profile.

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Fancy a Balloon Trip to the Edge of Space?

Kerbal Space Program and Payday 2 – Friday Night Live: QnA, Explosions And More! – Video

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Kerbal Space Program and Payday 2 - Friday Night Live: QnA, Explosions And More!
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Dawn Spacecraft Captured Into Orbit Around Ceres, The Largest Object in the Main Asteroid Belt

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Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced a major milestone in a deep space science mission aimed at uncovering the mysteries of the solar system. NASA's Dawn spacecraft has arrived at and is now orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn, designed and built by Orbital ATK, accomplished this feat with the innovative use of solar electric ion propulsion, the world's most advanced and efficient space propulsion technology. Ceres, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is the largest unexplored world of the inner solar system. Dawn, now in its eighth year of a nearly nine-year-long mission, has already advanced human understanding of planetary formation by giant leaps with the data it has returned to date.

"Orbital ATK's flight-proven technology and extensive experience played key roles in integrating the ion propulsion system provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital ATK Space Systems Group president. "This technology is revolutionizing solar system exploration and made Dawn's historic journey to two planetary bodies possible. We were committed to developing this spacecraft in an innovative way that was reliable and affordable. To see the Dawn flight system enter into this complex science phase fully functional is quite a testament to the design and workmanship."

Launched in September 2007, Dawn has been traveling toward Ceres since its September 2012 departure from Vesta, the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt and the first destination on this two-stop planetary mission. The spacecraft spent nearly 14 months orbiting and mapping Vesta, returning more than 30,000 images and other measurements about the protoplanet.

Since January, Dawn has returned increasingly sharper images of Ceres, showing a heavily cratered surface with multiple intriguing, bright features. Dawn's image quality now exceeds the best available from the ground-based W.M. Keck Observatory and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. In its lowest science orbit around Ceres, Dawn will return images more than 800 times the resolution of Hubble. The images will provide mission scientists with data to understand how Ceres evolved so differently from Vesta.

"This is the world's first chance to get an up close look at two bodies which date back to the formation of the solar system, but evolved very differently," said Mike Miller, Orbital ATK vice president, Science and Environmental Programs, Civil and Defense Division. "Ceres is thought to contain substantial water, perhaps up to 27 percent of its mass, a quantity roughly equivalent to the fresh water on Earth. It's expected to be mostly in the form of ice, but there may also be a liquid subsurface ocean. The Dawn detailed image and compositional data will help us understand this very exciting prospect."

Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group designed and built Dawn over the course of four-and-a-half years at the company's facilities in Dulles, Va. Measuring 65 feet in length and weighing nearly 2,700 pounds at launch, Dawn melded features of Orbital ATK's earth science and commercial communication spacecraft technology.

Dawn's mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK, Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.

About Orbital ATK

Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs more than 12,000 people in 20 states across the U.S. and in several international locations. For more information, visit http://www.orbitalatk.com.

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Dawn Spacecraft Captured Into Orbit Around Ceres, The Largest Object in the Main Asteroid Belt

Clash of the billionaires: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are duking it out over space

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A panel of administrative judges at an obscure federal agency ruled this week that a largely behind-the-scenes clash of billionaire entrepreneurs, which pits Elon Musk against Jeff Bezos, can continue.

The dispute centers on a patent awarded to Bezos Blue Origin space company that gives it the right to launch and then land rockets on a floating barge in the ocean. But Musks SpaceX, which earlier this year became the first company to attempt such a landing, challenged the patent, saying that the idea on how to pull off a landing at sea had been discussed in space circles for years.

Earlier this week, administrative patent judges at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed with SpaceX's argumentsor most of themand is allowing the issue to go to a full administrative hearing before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Both companies declined to comment. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, also owns TheWashington Post.

At stake is the right to pursue what many view as a potentially momentous breakthrough in space flight: the ability to launch a rocket into space, return it to Earth, and then launch it again as if it were a commercial air plane.

The ability to reuse rockets could dramatically lower the cost of space flight. And whoever is able to do it first could capitalize in a huge way.

A drawing submitted to the Patent Office by Blue Origin of how it planned to develop a re-usable rocket.

While Musk, who founded Tesla Motors and Paypal, has pioneered many innovations in electrical cars and e-commerce, he is also keenly focused on rocket reusability. SpaceX has been working on the technology for years, and in January it attempted the unprecedented feat of landingthe first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating barge it calls an autonomous spaceport droneship.

The rocket hit the platform and exploded. But even making it to the barge was considered something of a triumph, and the company is forging ahead with plans to try again.

If Blue Origin is able to hold on to its patent, SpaceXs ability to carry out its plans could be cut short. But with the patent boards ruling that seems unlikely, said Andrew Rush, a patent attorney specializing in aerospace who is not affiliated with the case.

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Clash of the billionaires: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are duking it out over space

Dawn: Mission Vesta-Ceres Mission – Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010 – Video

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Dawn: Mission Vesta-Ceres Mission - Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010
Dawn is a space probe launched by NASA in September 27, 2007 to study the two most-massive protoplanets of the asteroid belt: Vesta and the dwarf planet Cere...

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Dawn: Mission Vesta-Ceres Mission - Orbiter Space Flight Simulator 2010 - Video

NASA creates ingredients of life in harsh simulated space conditions

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New research might shed light on how we got here by demonstrating that chemical components of our DNA could be produced in the brutal conditions of space.

The machine NASA scientists used to zap out three components of our hereditary material from a chunk of ice. NASA/ Dominic Hart

We know a whole lot about life on our planet, but one mystery persists: how it got here.

NASA scientists working at the Ames Astrochemistry Laboratory in California and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland may have just found a clue to that mystery. They've determined that some of the chemical components of our DNA can be produced in the harsh crucible of space.

To reach their conclusion, they created a chunk of ice in their lab containing molecules known as pyrimidine. These molecules, which consist of carbon and nitrogen, form the core of three chemicals found in DNA and RNA, the genetic composition of all Earth-based life.

Pyrimidine is also found on meteorites, which prompted the researchers to explore how it reacts when frozen in water in space.

So they put their chunk of ice in a machine that reproduces the vacuum of space, along with temperatures around -430F and harsh radiation created by high-energy ultraviolet (UV) photons from a hydrogen lamp.

They found that not only could the pyrimidine molecules survive these brutal conditions, but the radiation actually morphed some of them into three chemical components found in DNA and RNA: uracil, cytosine and thymine.

"We are trying to address the mechanisms in space that are forming these molecules," Christopher Materese, a NASA researcher working on these experiments, said in a statement. "Considering what we produced in the laboratory, the chemistry of ice exposed to ultraviolet radiation may be an important linking step between what goes on in space and what fell to Earth early in its development."

Added Scott Sandford, a space science researcher at Ames, "Our experiments suggest that once the Earth formed, many of the building blocks of life were likely present from the beginning. Since we are simulating universal astrophysical conditions, the same is likely wherever planets are formed."

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NASA creates ingredients of life in harsh simulated space conditions


  1. Space Flight