Daily Archives: January 26, 2014

International space station training lab on Earth

By: JOHNSON BOY

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International space station training lab on Earth - Video

UFO on Nasa video International Space Station This week1
OVNI UFO.

By: OVNI UFO

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UFO on Nasa video International Space Station This week1 - Video

Nasa

400km ABOVE: The International Space Station photographed from the shuttle Endeavour.

After the White House decided recently to prolong the life of the International Space Station until 2024, the US' top science official declared that the four-year extension would help Nasa get a big return on its US$100 billion (NZ$120b) investment.

The station is "proving to be an amazingly flexible laboratory," said John Holdren, chief science adviser to President Barack Obama.

Yet despite his endorsement, critics ranging from space bloggers to official Nasa watchdogs say the agency still has work to do before the station reaches its scientific potential.

"The old adage is that if you build it, they will come," said Keith Cowing, a former Nasa space station payload manager who runs the popular website Nasa Watch.

"Well, it's there, but Nasa has a lot of catching up to do in terms of fully utilising the capability of the space station."

Billed as the "largest spacecraft ever built," the football-field-sized observatory began in 1998 with the launch of a bus-sized module from Russia. Since then, the station's two major partners - the US and Russia - have steadily added pieces and equipment, along with contributions from Japan, Canada and Europe.

Astronauts have lived there continuously since 2000, but as recently as 2008 crew members were spending only about three hours a week on science.

Now Nasa officials say it's up to about 50 hours a week, due largely to the crew size doubling from three to six members in 2009. But about 15 per cent of the US racks for experiments onboard the station sat empty as of December 31, and in a report issued last July, Nasa's internal watchdog raised questions about the "real world" benefit of station science.

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Space station science under microscope

GREENVILLE The Bone Densitometer is currently in several pieces. But most of the testing on an exact replica has been completed. Its taken two years from the time the contract was signed until the products grand unveiling aboard the International Space Station in June.

The Bone Densitometer will measure bone and muscle loss in mice during orbital space flight. The tests are necessary in order to develop countermeasures for bone and muscle loss in crew members and for bone-loss syndromes on Earth.

Its just one of several projects being completed at Techshot in Greenville. But with an expected launch date of June 6, it is the hot item at the facility.

However, building equipment for experiments in space is nothing new at Techshot. For the first 16 years of its existence, the companys only contract was with NASA, and many of the payloads on space shuttle missions were designed and built at Techshot. Today Techshot works for the military as well as private companies including Coca Cola and Procter and Gamble.

There are few companies comparable to Techshot.

For what we do, I would say about a half-dozen companies do what we do, said Rich Boling, vice president of corporate advancement. We build the picks and shovels [for the scientists]. We design everything here.

After the Bone Densitometer is launched, there are two or three other projects being put together at Techshot marching toward flight Boling said. The company is also designing a new and improved stretcher for the Army, and through its subsidiary, Techshot Lighting LLC, has already developed special LED lights to be used in tents for the military.

Un-manned spacecrafts are now used to take equipment and experiments to the space station. Boling said the Bone Densitometer will not be coming back to Greenville, but its findings will.

While the company had to redefine its mission with the elimination of the shuttle program and NASA cuts a few years ago, Boling said it is stronger than ever and now works with the private sector. The company may be asked by NASA, the military or private company to come up with a solution for a problem. Not only do their engineers find the solution, but also build and design it on site.

As for the next Techshot machine headed to space, the Bone Densitometer measures x-ray absorption by bone and soft tissue and reports bone density in mice. It can also measure soft tissue density, lean/fat ratio and total animal mass.

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OUT OF THIS WORLD: Greenville firm’s Bone Densitometer destined for space