Daily Archives: March 16, 2013

Space Station NASA Astronauts Holiday Greetings
... by usmc8201 on Mar 12 2013. Space Station NASA Astronauts Holiday Greetings This is Holiday Greetings from NASA Astronauts in the Space Station Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and Flight Engineers Cady Coleman of NASA and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency gave Christmas and New Year #39;s greetings people on Earth from the orbital outpost on December 21 2010 This is how the astronauts spent the Christmas holiday aboard the International Space Station ...

By: usmc8201

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Space Station NASA Astronauts Holiday Greetings - Video

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield took the helm of the International Space Station on Wednesday, only the second time in the outpost's 12-year history that command has been turned over to someone who is not American or Russian.

"It's a huge honor and a privilege for me, but also for all the people at the Canadian Space Agency and for my entire country," Hadfield, 53, said during a change of command ceremony aboard the station broadcast on NASA Television.

"Thank you very much for giving me the keys to the family car," Hadfield told outgoing station commander Kevin Ford, who is due to depart on Thursday along with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin.

"We're going to put some miles on it, but we'll bring it back in good shape," Hadfield said.

Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin have been aboard the station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles above Earth, since October.

Command of the station, a project of 15 nations that has been permanently staffed since November 2000, normally rotates between primary partners United States and Russia.

But in May 2009, Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne became the first station commander from the European Space Agency.

Hadfield, a veteran of two space shuttle missions, is the station's first Canadian commander.

Hadfield will be part of a three-man skeleton crew until NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin arrive later this month.

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First Canadian takes command of International Space Station

An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts are stuck in space for one more day after freezing rain and fog on Earth prevented them from landing in Central Asia on Thursday (March 14), NASA officials say.

The foul weather, which one Russian space agency official described simply as "horrible," means NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin had to delay their return from the International Space Station for at least 24 hours. The three men have been living in space for 141 days and were preparing to enter their Soyuz spacecraft for a landing on the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan tonight.

"We are waving off landing," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during live mission commentary. "No Soyuz landing tonight."

The rain and fog in Kazakhstan is not a threat to the Soyuz spacecraft and crew, Navias said. But the recovery helicopters essential for retrieving the astronauts after landing would not be able to make it to their staging grounds for the landing because of bad weather conditions. [See photos of the Expedition 34 space station mission]

"I talked to our colleagues in Kazakhstan last night and the weather is really horrible, and a decision was made not to risk, and we suggest that we delay the landing." chief Russian flight director Vlademir Solovyev said through a translator on NASA TV.

Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin were originally scheduled to undock their Russian-built Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft at theInternational Space Stationtonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT), with an expected landing of 11:56 p.m. EDT (0356 GMT).

Landing is now scheduled to occur on Friday (March 15) at 11:06 p.m. EDT (0206 March 16 GMT), NASA officials said.

This is not the first time weather has affected a Soyuz spacecraft's landing. In 2009, another Soyuz craft had its return to Earth delayed by a day because snowy conditions on the ground made the landing potentially unsafe.

Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin have spent nearly five months on board the station. The mission is Ford's second spaceflight and the first trip to space for Novitskiy and Tarelkin.

When Ford and his two crewmates depart the station, three other spaceflyers Canadian astronautChris Hadfield, Russian Roman Romanenko and American Tom Marshburn will remain aboard orbiting lab to await a new set of crewmembers.

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Space Station Crew's Landing Delayed by 'Horrible' Earth Weather

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Three Russian and American astronauts are stuck for one more day aboard the international space station after foul weather delayed their landing on Friday in the steppes of Central Asia.

Since October, NASA's Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin have been aboard the orbiting outpost, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles above Earth.

Fog and freezing rain at the landing site in Kazakhstan prevented helicopters from setting up for the crew's return to Earth, NASA TV commentary said during live mission streaming.

A spokesman for the Russian space agency Roskosmos said the landing would be pushed back by one day and is now scheduled for 7:06 a.m. Moscow time (0306 GMT).

The crew's descent back to Earth aboard a Russia Soyuz spacecraft will take less than four hours.

In preparation for their departure, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield took the helm of the space station on Wednesday, becoming the first Canadian to take command of the outpost.

It is only the second time in the 12-year history of the station, a project of 15 nations that has been permanently staffed since November 2000, that command has been turned over to someone who is not American or Russian.

Hadfield will be part of a three-man skeleton crew until NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin arrive later this month.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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Space station crew landing delayed by foul weather

Three astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth today (March 14) after 141 days on board the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin's will board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft tonight at 5:15 EDT (2115 GMT) after a brief farewell ceremony, and are expected to land at 11:57 p.m. EDT (0357 GMT), touching down on the frigid steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.

You canwatch the landing liveon SPACE.comcourtesy of NASA. The space agency will begin broadcasting the farewell ceremony at 4:45 p.m. EDT (2045 GMT) on its NASA TV channel and webcast. The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft returning Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin home will undock from the space station at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT).

On Wednesday, the departing station crew held a brief change of command ceremony with the three spaceflyers remaining behind the space station, marking the end of Expedition 34 mission and the official beginning the Expedition 35 increment. During the ceremony, Ford who commanded the Expedition 34 crew handed control of the space station to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield.

"It's not a competition," Ford said of the culture on theInternational Space Station. "It's about 15 of the most affluent countries on the planet coming together and doing something for the future."

The Expedition 34 mission is Ford's second career spaceflight and the first mission for both Tarelkin and Novitskiy. [See photos of the Expedition 34 space station mission]

"I tell you, they are like brothers to me. They say they consider me their 'papa,' and I'm not sure how to take that," Ford joked of Novitskiy and Tarelkin.

In honor of Hadfield's new rank as the first Canadian space station commander, Expedition 34 commander Ford played the Canadian national anthem during the command change ceremony.

"Chris brings his super, super special talents to the table," Ford said of the new commander. "He is a uniquely talented person on the planet and now a uniquely talented person off the planet."

Hadfield and his crewmates NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko won't be on their own for long. Three more spaceflyers will replace the Earth-bound Ford, Tarelkin and Novitskiy later this month, bringing the space station crew back up to its full six-person size.

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Space Station Astronauts Returning to Earth Tonight: How to Watch Online

If becoming the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station weren't exciting enough by itself, Chris Hadfield now has the best wishes of Queen Elizabeth II to go along with it.

The queen who reigns over the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, including Canada offered her congratulations to Hadfield, who took charge of the orbiting lab's new Expedition 35 today (March 13).

"I am pleased to transmit my personal best wishes, and those of all Canadians, to Colonel Christopher Hadfield as he takes command of the International Space Station on Wednesday," Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement. "Our thoughts and best wishes are with him and the entire crew, as are our prayers for an eventual safe return to family, friends and fellow Canadians."

Hadfield assumed command of the orbiting lab from NASA astronaut Kevin Ford during a ceremony this afternoon.

"Thank you very much for giving me the keys to the family car," Hadfield said during the ceremony, which featured the playing of "O Canada" in his honor. "We're going to put some miles on it, but we'll bring it back in good shape."

Ford and Russian cosmonauts Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy will head home to Earth Friday (March 15) - one day later than planned due to bad weather at their landing site - marking the official end of the station's Expedition 34and the start of Expedition 35.

Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko will have the station to themselves until March 28, when three new crewmembers will arrive aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Hadfield is the first citizen of a Commonwealth nation the group of 54 countries that have maintained ties after the British Empire came to an end to hold the space station's keys. He's just the second-ever commander who is neither a NASA astronaut nor a Russian cosmonaut. (Belgian spaceflyer Frank De Winne led Expedition 21 in 2009).

The guitar-strumming Hadfield had already made a mark on the space station before taking charge. Shortly after arriving in December, he played the first original song ever recorded on the space station. And in February, Hadfield performed a duet with Barenaked Ladies singer Ed Robertson, a fellow Canadian, who did his part from Earth.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter@michaeldwall.Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookorGoogle+. Originally published onSPACE.com.

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Queen Elizabeth II Congratulates 1st Canadian Space Station Commander