Daily Archives: November 22, 2014

New Crew, New Plans for the International Space Station
A quick look at the immediate plans for the mission on the International Space Station, starting with the arrival of the new crew members: NASA astronaut Terry Virts, European Space Agency...

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New Crew, New Plans for the International Space Station - Video

Launch day cometh for next ISS crew
At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 42/43 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), NASA Flight Engineer Terry Virts and Flight ...

By: NASA

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Launch day cometh for next ISS crew - Video

A NASA astronaut preparing to fly to the International Space Station Sunday (Nov. 23) eventually wants to go even farther into space much farther.

NASA's Terry Virts says he would love to fly NASA's Orion space capsule designed to take humans farther into space than ever before to a nearby solar system destination.

"I'd really like to fly Orion to the moon," Virts said to Space.com in a September interview. Orion will undergo its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 4 when it rockets 3,600 miles (5,800 km) above Earth before coming in for a high-speed re-entry. Crewed missions are expected to follow in the 2020s. [See images of the Orion space capsule]

The former test pilot said he's eager to try out any space vehicle. In that spirit, Virts is looking forward to flying into orbit aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that is scheduled to carry him and his crewmates to space on Sunday (Nov. 23).

"One of the things that I enjoyed most about this flight was learning about the Soyuz," Virts told Space.com in September. "As a test pilot I've flown a lot of different aircraft and spacecraft."

NASA hopes that the commercial spaceflight companies Boeing and SpaceX will begin shuttling astronauts to the space station from U.S. soil by 2017. One of the major goals of his mission will be to retrofit the station to accommodate these new commercial vehicles, Virts added.

Virts' nearly six-month-mission is expected to feature two spacewalks. Those activities should focus on placing cables and wires that will be necessary to install a docking ring for the commercial vehicles.

The docking ports on the station were originally designed to accommodate vehicles like the Soyuz, various cargo craft and NASA's space shuttles (which have since been retired). But changes will be needed for SpaceX's human-rated Dragon capsule and Boeing's CST-100.

The space station's robotic arm which grapples with commercial cargo spacecraft also requires some grease from spacewalkers to loosen it up after a decade in space.

Virts, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov will also be busy inside the station after they launch this weekend. The three Expedition 42-43 crewmembers will help perform 170 U.S.-based experiments and 70 others from around the world.

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Space Station-Bound Astronaut Eager to Fly NASA's Orion to the Moon

Samantha Cristoforetti, 37, will join crew of ISS this Sunday Will be sent into space with other members on rocket in Kazakhstan Her arrival will mark first time since 2010 two women have been on board Elena Serova went up in September, after being hassled about make-up In Italian style, Cristoforetti will take first space-ready espresso maker along

By Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline and Associated Press

Published: 12:02 EST, 21 November 2014 | Updated: 17:31 EST, 21 November 2014

The International Space Station will have its most female-heavy crew in years as when Italy's first female astronaut joins the vessel this weekend.

Samantha Cristoforetti, 37, will launch into space from a facility in Kazakhstan this Sunday, where she will join Russian Elena Serova, who has been in orbit since September.

It will only be the second time that two women have been on board the ISS at once, making the six-member crew one third female.

Space-bound:Samantha Cristoforetti, posing above with the spacesuit she will wear, is Italy's first female astronaut

Companion: Elena Serova, a Russian, is already in orbit on the International Space Station. Cristoforetti's arrival will make the crew more women-heavy than it has been since 2010

Cristoforetti's arrival will also bring a new first to space, as she will bring a specially-designed Italian espresso machine along with her.

The so-called ISSpresso machine, which weighs 44lbs, is designed to work in zero gravity, and will be the first device of its kind outside the earth's atmosphere, the Guardian reported.

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International Space Station to have two women on board for first time in years

18 hours ago by Marcia Dunn In this Sept. 25, 2014, file photo, Russian cosmonaut Elena Serova, the crew member of the mission to the International Space Station, ISS, attends pre-launch preparations at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Samantha Cristoforetti, Italy's first female astronaut, is set to rocket into orbit this weekend from Kazakhstan, bound for the International Space Station. There, she will join Serova. It will be just the second time in the International Space Station's 16-year history that two women make up the six-member crew. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

For the 21st-century spacewoman, gender is a subject often best ignored. After years of training for their first space mission, the last thing Samantha Cristoforetti and Elana Serova want to dwell on is the fact they are women.

Cristoforetti, Italy's first female astronaut, is set to rocket into orbit this weekend from Kazakhstan, bound for the International Space Station. There, she will join Russia's Serova, a rarity in her homeland's male-dominated cosmonaut corps.

It will be just the second time in the space station's 16-year history that two women make up the long-term, six-member crew.

Just don't ask Cristoforetti or Serova about the gender issue.

"Space is what I do for work, and that's what I think about it: It's my work," Serova said in a NASA interview before launch in late September.

Cristoforetti, 37, a fighter pilot and captain in the Italian Air Force, has managed to sidestep most if not all gender questions leading up to Sunday's planned launch.

Serova tried to do the same. But before the 38-year-old engineer climbed aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, Russian reporters asked if she was taking up makeup and wondered how she would wear her hair during her six-month mission.

Serova ignored the makeup question. As for her hairdo, she shot back:

"I have a question for youwhy don't you ask the question about Alexander's hair, for example," she said, referring to crewmate Alexander Samokutyaev seated next to her at the news conference. "I'm sorry, this is my answer. Thank you. More questions?"

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Space station rarity: Two women on long-term crew

The Columbus module is installed on the International Space Station in 2008. Pictured is NASA astronaut Rex Walheim. Credit: NASA

Need a part on the International Space Station? Youre going to have to wait for that. That is, wait for the next spaceship to arrive with the critical tool to make a repair, or replace something that broke. You can imagine how that slows down NASAs desire for science on the orbiting laboratory.

Enter the first orbiting machine shop: a 3-D printer that was just installed in the stations Columbus laboratory this week. If the printer works as planned, astronauts will be able to make simple things based on instructions from the ground. Over time, the agency hopes this will save time and money, and reduce the need to rely on shipments from Earth. And keep an eye out in 2015: two other 3-D printers are scheduled to join it.

As NASA aims to send astronauts to an asteroid and perhaps to Mars, the need to manufacture parts on site is critical. Sending a valve to Phobos isnt an easy proposition. Much better that future crews will make stuff on the spot, and NASA says the space station will be a good spot to test this kind of stuff out. Adding motivation is a National Research Council report from this summer urging NASA to start 3-D printing testing as soon as possible, since the station (as of yet) is only funded by all partners through 2020. Negotiations are ongoing to extend that to 2024.

In November 2014, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore installed a 3-D printer made by Made in Space in the Columbus laboratorys Microgravity Science Glovebox on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV

Additive manufacturing with 3-D printers will allow space crews to be less reliant on supply missions from Earth and lead to sustainable, self-reliant exploration missions where resupply is difficult and costly, stated Jason Crusan, director of NASAs advanced explorations systems division at NASA headquarters in Washington. The space station provides the optimal place to perfect this technology in microgravity.

But dont get too excited yet; astronauts arent going to make screwdrivers right away. The first step will be calibrating the printer. Then, the first files (mainly test coupons) will be printed and sent back to Earth to make sure they meet up to standards compared to identical samples printed on the ground with the same printer.

Made In Space Inc. manufactured this printer (which arrived on station in September) with the aim of sending up a more advanced version in 2015. In a statement, the company said it is gratified that the printer is ready to go in space. Any science collected on it will inform the design of the new printer, which will enable a fast and cost-effective way for people to get hardware to space, the company added.

And guess what: there is yet another printer that will be launched to the space station next year. Called the POP3D Portable On-Board Printer, the European Space Agency promises that the tiny machine less than half the diameter of a basketball will be able to print a plastic part in about half an hour.

The prime contractor for this printer is Italian company Altran. POP3D will reach the station in the first half of next year, ideally while Italys Samantha Cristoforetti is still doing her Futura mission in space (which starts this Sunday, if the launch schedule holds.)

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NASA Aims To Slash Space Shipping Costs With Shiny 3-D Printer