Monthly Archives: June 2021

The International Space Station has been hit by fast-moving debris but it didn't cause too much damage. Space junk hurtling towards the station smashed into one of its robotic arms, leaving a hole.

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency first noticed the damage on Canadarm2 on May 12, according to a recent statement. The debris left a gaping hole in a section of the arm boom and thermal blanket.

According to NASA, over 23,000 objects the size of a softball or larger are being tracked by the U.S. Department of Defense at all times to monitor for possible collisions with satellites and the ISS. However, some smaller objects that cannot be tracked still pose a threat, like rocks, dust particles and flecks of paint that chip off of satellites.

"A number of space shuttle windows were replaced because of damage caused by material that was analyzed and shown to be paint flecks," NASA said. "In fact, millimeter-sized orbital debris represents the highest mission-ending risk to most robotic spacecraft operating in low Earth orbit."

Space junk, which includes both natural meteoroids and man-made objects, has become a growing area of concern as the region of space immediately surrounding Earth becomes more and more crowded with rocket parts, satellites and other objects. This debris, which travels at approximately 15,700 miles per hour in low-Earth orbit, poses a threat to both spacecraft and astronauts due to their fast speeds.

"Orbital debris is any human-made object in orbit about the Earth that no longer serves a useful function," NASA says. "Such debris includes nonfunctional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle stages, mission-related debris, and fragmentation debris."

Officials say the nearly 60-foot arm's capabilities were unaffected by the impact and small hole created by the unknown object. Operations are continuing as planned, while officials continue gathering data on the "lucky strike."

"The threat of collisions is taken very seriously," CSA said. "NASA has a long-standing set of guidelines to ensure the safety of Station crew. The safety of astronauts on board the orbiting laboratory remains the top priority of all Station partners."

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Space junk slams into International Space Station, damaging a robotic arm - CBS News

Two Russian cosmonauts will prepare a long-time docking module for eventual dismemberment from the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Wednesday (June 2) and you can watch it live.

Coverage will begin at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT), and you can watch it live here on Space.com or on NASA Television and here at Space.com. Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are expected to start their spacewalk at 1:20 a.m. EDT (0520 GMT). The extravehicular activity, or EVA, should last six and a half hours, although the timing is subject to change depending on how the procedures go.

Novitskiy will have red stripes on his Orlan spacesuit to designate him as lead spacewalker, while Dubrov will wear blue stripes. The cosmonauts both on their first spacewalk will exit the International Space Station (ISS) using the Russian Poisk module.

Video: Russians spacewalk to decommission Pirs in animated explainerRelated: The most memorable spacewalks in history

"The two cosmonauts will disconnect all external mechanical links between Pirs and the station, reposition spacewalk hardware and antennas, and relocate other gear previously used for spacecraft dockings to Pirs," NASA said in a statement. "The cosmonauts also will replace a fluid flow regulator on the nearby Zarya module and replace biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules," the agency added.

This spacewalk is the second in what will be a series of excursions to decommission Pirs, which has been in space since 2001; previously, cosmonauts performed work on Pirs in November 2020. NASA says this is the sixth spacewalk of 2021 and the 238th spacewalk overall in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. (Much of the 2021 spacewalk activity so far has been focused on upgrading the ISS solar arrays for at least a few more years of science in orbit.)

Pirs hosts an airlock for spacewalks along with a docking port for Soyuz crewed spacecraft and Progress uncrewed spacecraft. It can also transport fuel between the Russian Zvezda or Zarya modules or docked vehicles, NASA said in a description of the module. This summer, Pirs will be disposed of using an uncrewed Progress cargo ship that will push Pirs towards Earth, NASA added in a blog post

Pirs will be replaced a couple of days later with a new Russian Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module named "Nauka," which is Russian for "science." The long-delayed Nauka was originally supposed to launch in 2007, and after overcoming technical and funding obstacles it will finally launch July 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to Spaceflight Now's launch calendar.

"The spacecraft was designed to provide room and facilities for experiments focused on material science and biotechnology," Russian space journalist Anatoly Zak said in a description of Nauka's capabilities on RussianSpaceWeb.com, adding that the module is "designed to provide a number of critical service systems to the Russian segment of the International Space Station."

If all goes to plan, Nauka will extend the science work done on the Kristall module of the Mir space station that the Soviet Union and later, Russia managed in the 1980s and 1990s, Zak said. In November 2020, Roscosmos space chief Dmitry Rogozin said the new module will include a multi-docking hub for the Russian segment of the ISS.

Notably, Roscosmos has discussed forming an independent space station with its newer ISS modules after the end of the international project, which is slated for 2024 with a possible extension to 2028.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Spacewalking cosmonauts will decommission an old space station module early Wednesday. Watch it live! - Space.com

FP TrendingJun 04, 2021 17:43:05 IST

NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Shane Kimbrough are currently living on the International Space Station. They and their fellow crew members are constantly greeted with sights of the Earth that we, mere mortals, can only dream of. Recently, these two astronauts managed to capture and share some glorious images of our planet with their fellow earthlings on Twitter. They shared pictures of the Himalayas and Italys Turin, as viewed from space. Here are some of the recent images that the astronauts on the ISS have shared with us:

Hei shared a picture of The Himalayas clicked from space on his Twitter account. The stunning image shows the Himalayas on a clear, bright day. Hei added that he cannot get enough of these images.

While the image of the snow-covered mountains was shared by Hei, Kimbrough gave a treat to the Italians with the picture he shared. He posted a picture of the northern Italian city Turin as seen from space. It seems to be nighttime as lights are glowing in the picture. Kimbrough confirmed it by saying Buona Notte Italia! (Good Night Italy).

Kimbrough also posted pictures of Canada's Montreal explaining to viewers how to spot the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) facility in the images. Several people commented on their tweets, appreciating the beautiful images that were captured from space.

Another astronaut named Thomas Pesquet who is at ISS currently often shares images of cities and regions from space. A stunning image of Egypts capital Cairo was shared by Pesquet recently as part of the #CitiesAtNight series.

The official handle of NASA had also shared an image of Turkeys Istanbul where the city can be seen glowing at night. The image was captured from the ISS as it was orbiting 263 miles above the Black Sea.

Hei is a NASA astronaut who arrived at ISS on 9 April. Shane Kimbrough, another NASA astronaut, reached the station with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in late April.

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Earth looks spectacular from space: 5 images clicked by astronauts on the Space Station - Firstpost

Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko is pictured in an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes during a spacewalk in December 11, 2018, to inspect the Soyuz MS-09 crew ship. Credit: NASA

Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos have completed a spacewalk lasting seven hours and 19 minutes.

The two cosmonauts opened the hatch to the Poisk docking compartment airlock to begin the spacewalk at 1:53 a.m. EDT. They re-entered the airlock and closed the hatch at 9:12 a.m.

Pyotr Dubrovs helmet camera spots Oleg Novitskiy on the other end of the 46-foot-long (14 meters) Strela boom, a Russian crane, that the spacewalkers detached from the Pirs airlock. Credit: NASA

During the spacewalk, the duo disconnected the external mechanical links between Pirs and the space station, relocated spacewalk hardware including a telescoping crane, and reconfigured antennas to prepare the Pirs module for undocking and disposal. Additionally, the cosmonauts replaced a fluid flow regulator panel on the nearby Zarya module, jettisoned the old panel as planned, and replaced biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules.

Cosmonauts (from left) Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov conducted their first career spacewalks together. Credit: NASA

Pirs will be replaced by the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module, named Nauka, which is Russian for science. The undocking of Pirs is scheduled for this summer, about two days after Nauka launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This was the first spacewalk for both cosmonauts and the 238th spacewalk overall in support of International Space Station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. It also marks the sixth spacewalk of 2021.

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Cosmonauts Finish Spacewalk to Ready Space Station for New Module - SciTechDaily