Category Archives: Transhuman News

Boeing CST-100 Spacecraft Water Landing Tests
CST-100 WATER DROP TESTS - KSC @Commercial_Crew The mock-up of Boeing #39;s CST-100 spacecraft was put through water landing tests at Bigelow Aerospace headquarters near Las Vegas. Engineers dropped the capsule-shaped test article from a crane into an outdoor pool to determine if the airbags will stabilize the capsule during landings. The tests are part of Boeing #39;s ongoing work with NASA to develop a vehicle that can ferry astronauts between Earth and the International Space Station.From:okrajoeViews:0 0ratingsTime:00:28More inScience Technology

Read more:
Boeing CST-100 Spacecraft Water Landing Tests - Video

New Crew to Space Station
NEW CREW TO STATION -- JSC. #ISS, @SpaceX. Meanwhile, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a successful launch towards the International Space Station of the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Expedition 33/34 Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency, NASA Flight Engineer Kevin Ford and Russian Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin. Novitskiy, Ford and Tarelkin are joining the other members of Expedition 33 already onboard the station -- Commander Suni Williams of NASA, Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Russian Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko -- who have been in orbit since mid-July. The crew has plenty on its "to do" list -- including the transfer of supplies and materials from the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft that arrived at the orbiting laboratory on October 10. Dragon is scheduled to remain at the station until October 28.From:okrajoeViews:0 0ratingsTime:00:59More inScience Technology

Read more here:
New Crew to Space Station - Video

Obama's budget would cancel NASA's Constellation Program, which had sought to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020. NASA released its 2011 budget on Monday, February 1, 2010, saying the International Space Station will be extended likely to 2020 or beyond enabling this vital orbiting laboratory to reach its full potential.

The next team of astronauts travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) and their backup crew were tested on Tuesday (November 27) ahead of their flight next month.

The ISS Expedition 34/35 crew, comprised of Russian cosmonaut Commander Roman Romanenko, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn signed off on training and exam documents and worked on a Soyuz rocket simulator at the Star City cosmonaut training centre outside of Moscow.

The three have been training for more than four years for this mission which is scheduled for December 19. The crew will try to gauge the effects of long stays in space on the human body as well as other experiments.

"In my case, it will be taking samples of experiments that have stayed for a long time on the surface (of the space station) and also the installation, a new experimental environment," Romanenko told reporters who were allowed to view training and testing at the centre.

Marshburn said he hoped the experiments would have applications for future space travelers, not just astronauts.

"One of the most important things about us doing this long-duration flight now is how can we and the ground team get better at long-duration flight, because that's key to exploration, and I'm looking forward to being a part of that," Marshburn said.

Hadfield said the crew was comfortable in their training and was prepared for emergencies.

"There are three major problems that could happen on a space station that are the most dangerous: one is a leak, where the air is coming out of the station; two is being poisoned by the atmosphere with ammonia or some other chemical; and the third is fire.

Go here to see the original:
Space Station Astronauts Tested Ahead of Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two veterans of the International Space Station will return for an experimental year-long stay aboard the orbital outpost, a test run for future missions to the moon, asteroids and Mars, NASA said on Monday.

Former U.S. space shuttle pilot and station commander Scott Kelly, 48, who last flew in 2011, will be paired with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, 52, for a 12-month space station assignment beginning in early 2015. Kornienko served as a flight engineer aboard the station in 2010.

"The one-year increment will expand the bounds of how we live and work in space and will increase our knowledge ... as we prepare for future missions," NASA associate administrator William Gerstenmaier said in a statement.

Only four people have lived off-planet for a year or longer, all Russians who served aboard the now-defunct Mir space station. The single longest stay in space was a 438-day mission in 1994-1995 by cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, a physician.

The current U.S. record for a long-duration flight is held by former International Space Station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, who spent 215 days in orbit between September 2006 and April 2007.

"You don't really notice it until you come back and begin recovery," Lopez-Alegria told Reuters. "When you come back, you decide whether you've pushed it too far or not."

With the retirement of the space shuttles last year and the completion of the U.S. construction of the $100 billion station, NASA is working on a new space transportation system that can fly astronauts to the moon, asteroids and other destinations in deep space. The goal is to send a crew to Mars in the mid-2030s.

The year-long station missions are intended to collect medical data and to test protocols for countering some of the adverse impacts of long-duration spaceflight, including bone and muscle loss, risks to eyesight and reproductive systems and changes in the immune and cardiovascular systems.

Kelly and Kornienko are scheduled to begin a two-year training program early next year.

(Editing by Jim Loney)

Go here to see the original:
U.S. astronaut, Russian cosmonaut to spend a year in space

NASA astronaut ScottKelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend an entire year aboard the International Space Station. The extended mission will help provide information about far-flung trips to asteroids and Mars.

A former space shuttle commander whose twin brother is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will attempt the longest spaceflight ever by an American.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

NASA astronaut ScottKelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend an entire year aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2015.

Both countries' space agencies announced the names of the two veteran spacefliers on Monday. The extended mission was approved almost two months ago to provide a medical foundation for future missions around the moon, as well as far-flung trips to asteroids and Mars.

Both men already have lived aboard the space station for six months. NASA wanted experienced space station astronauts to streamline the amount of training necessary for a one-year stint. Officials had said the list of candidates was very short. They will begin training next year.

RECOMMENDED: Are you scientifically literate? Take the quiz

"Their skills and previous experience aboard the space station align with the mission's requirements," Bill Gerstenmaier, head of human exploration for NASA, said in a statement. "The one-year increment will expand the bounds of how we live and work in space and will increase our knowledge regarding the effects of microgravity on humans as we prepare for future missions beyond low-Earth orbit."

Kelly's identical twin brother, Mark Kelly, retired from the astronaut corps last year and moved to Tucson, Ariz., his wife's hometown. The former congresswoman was critically wounded in an assassination attempt in January 2011, while ScottKelly was living aboard the space station.

See the original post here:
Scott Kelley: Longest space station sojourn will be test for Mars mission

Samples from the Seedling Growth investigation aboard the International Space Station help researchers study the impact of the microgravity environment on plant growth. Credit: NASA

Published: Nov. 27, 2012 at 5:08 PM

GREENBELT, Md., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- NASA says it is conducting plant research aboard the International Space Station because life in space may depend on it during future long-duration missions.

Using plants to provide a food source and to recycle carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen may prove critical for astronauts who will live in space for months at a time, the space agency said in a release Tuesday.

Several plant-growing experiments have been conducted to help scientists understand the impact of zero gravity conditions on plant growth, NASA said.

Plants can provide a sense of well-being, scientists said, noting that at the McMurdo Station for research in Antarctica -- a site that in the dead of winter mirrors the space station in its isolation, cramped quarters, and hostile environment -- the most sought after section of the habitat is the greenhouse.

Both NASA and the European Space Agency have conducted plant research on the ISS, with several future experiments planned.

One aim of the experiments, scientists said, is to identify specific plants that are better able to withstand long duration spaceflight and microgravity conditions.

See the article here:
Gardening could help long space missions