Daily Archives: September 27, 2014

Expedition 41/42 Crew Enters the International Space Station for the First Time
Two hours after docking, Expedition 41/42 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev and Flight Engineers Elena Serova of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Barry Wilmore of NASA were...

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Expedition 41/42 Crew Enters the International Space Station for the First Time - Video

Space to Ground: New Arrivals: 9/26/2014
NASA #39;s Space to Ground is your weekly update on what #39;s happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #spacetoground to talk to us.

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Space to Ground: New Arrivals: 9/26/2014 - Video

NASA | New Crew Launches to the ISS on This Week @NASA [HD]
On September 25, 2014 Eastern time, NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore and his Expedition 41/42 crewmates, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova of the Russian Federal Space Agency, launched to...

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NASA | New Crew Launches to the ISS on This Week @NASA [HD] - Video

[PixelGun3D] Alien Survival Map/ Space Station Map GLITCH - ON TOP OF THE MAP TUTORIAL
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[PixelGun3D] Alien Survival Map/ Space Station Map GLITCH - ON TOP OF THE MAP TUTORIAL - Video

Sierra Nevada Corp. filed a protest of a major NASA contract late Friday, saying its proposal to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station would save money and should be given further consideration.

This month, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX under what is called the commercial crew program, which would allow the United States, for the first time since the space shuttle was retired three years ago, to launch astronauts into space from U.S. soil.

The contract would end the United Statess reliance on Russia, which charges more than $70million a seat for trips to the space station aboard its Soyuz craft.

Boeings contract is worth up to $4.2billion; SpaceX, which said it could perform the work for far less, was awarded a contract valued at $2.6billion.

In announcing its protest in a statement, Sierra Nevada noted that it had never filed a legal challenge to a government contract award in its 51-year history.

The Nevada-based company said it was compelled to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office because of serious questions and inconsistencies in the source selection process. Sierra Nevadas proposal was the second-lowest-priced, the company said, while it achieved mission suitability scores comparable to the other two proposals.

The award by NASA would mean the U.S. government would spend up to $900million more at the publicly announced contracted level for a space program equivalent to the program that [Sierra Nevada] proposed, the statement said.

Unlike SpaceX and Boeing, which would use capsules to dock to the space station, Sierra Nevada proposes using a reusable miniature shuttle, or space plane, called the Dream Chaser. The craft provides a wider range of capabilities and value, the statement said.

A NASA spokeswoman declined to comment.

Christian Davenport covers federal contracting for The Post's Financial desk.

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Sierra Nevada Corp. protests NASA space contract awarded to Boeing, SpaceX

A Russian-built Soyuz capsule carrying a crew of three reached the International Space Station late Thursday (Sept. 25), despite a stuck solar array that failed to deploy just after its launch six hours earlier.

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft linked up with the station at 10:11 p.m. EDT (0211 GMT) as the two spacecraft sailed high over the Pacific Ocean. The Soyuz arrived at the space station with American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts including Elena Serova, the first female cosmonaut ever to visit the International Space Station.

Russia's Soyuz vehicles are three-person spacecraft made up of a crew capsule, orbital module and service module powered by two winglike solar arrays. Initially, Russian engineers were concerned the stuck portside solar array would block a radiator and lead to hotter temperatures inside the Soyuz, but the capsule's crew reported all was well, NASA officials said. [See launch photos of the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft]

The Soyuz clearly had enough power for a smooth docking, despite being at half-capacity.

"The solar array is still not deployed?" Russia's Mission Control asked the Soyuz crew as the craft neared the station.

"No, but the power situation is fine. It just doesn't look good from the point of view of photographs," Soyuz commander Alexander Samokutyaev radioed back. "We're eating and drinking, and we're being merry. Everything is as it should be."

The docking occurred just hours after a flawless launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where Serova and her crewmates NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore and cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev bid farewell to Earth to begin a nearly six-month space mission. Trio joined three other space travelers already aboard the station: astronaut Reid Wiseman of NASA; Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency; and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suarev, who commands the station's Expedition 41 crew.

Wiseman said he and his Expedition 41 crewmates watched a live video feed of the launch and even captured a photo of the liftoff from space, which he posted on Twitter.

"That looked like a good ride," Wiseman radioed down to NASA's Mission Control in Houston. "We look forward to seeing them in orbit, and we'll have dinner ready waiting for them."

The Soyuz crew was due to enter the space station at about 11:55 p.m. EDT (0355 GMT) to join the station team, as well as receive congratulatory calls from their family and officials in Russia's Mission Control Center. Serova, Wilmore and Samokutyaev will live and work aboard the International Space Station until March 2015. Wiseman, Gerst and Suarev are due to return to Earth in November of this year.

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Despite broken solar panel, Soyuz docks safely with space station (+video)