http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_station/ International Space Station. Read current science articles on the space station, MIR, Skylab, space shuttles and more. en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/space_station/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112171411.htm Novel nanomaterials are scheduled to blast off into orbit on November 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. The project seeks to test the performance of the new nanocomposites in orbit. The materials will be mounted to the International Space Station's outer hull and exposed to the rigors of space. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112171411.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141846.htm When NASA's space shuttle Atlantis launches for the International Space Station on Nov. 16 it will carry a butterfly experiment that will be monitored by thousands of K-12 students across the nation. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141846.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141251.htm Scientists argue that human missions to Mars, as well as all other long-term space flights might be compromised by microbial hitchhikers, such as bacteria. That's because long-term space travel packs a one-two punch to astronauts: first it appears to weaken their immune systems; and second, it increases the virulence and growth of microbes. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141251.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday November 2 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite will measure moisture levels in the Earth's soils and the saltiness of the world's oceans from space for the very first time. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028125147.htm NASA's Ares I-X test rocket lifted off Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a two-minute powered flight. The test flight lasted about six minutes from its launch from the newly-modified Launch Complex 39B until splash down of the rocket's booster stage nearly 150 miles down range. The 327-foot tall Ares I-X test vehicle produced 2.6 million pounds of thrust to accelerate the rocket to nearly 3 g's and Mach 4.76, just shy of hypersonic speed. It capped its easterly flight at a sub-orbital altitude of 150,000 feet after the separation of its first stage, a four-segment solid rocket booster. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028125147.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002124823.htm A UK engineering student has designed a motor that could one day help transform rocket design. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002124823.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007161127.htm Researchers are developing a new type of rocket propellant made of a frozen mixture of water and "nanoscale aluminum" powder that is more environmentally friendly than conventional propellants and could be manufactured on the moon, Mars and other water-bearing bodies. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007161127.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930102532.htm Completing an 18-month mission orbiting the Earth more than 6,000 times on-orbit the International Space Station (ISS), the Optical Reflector Material Experiment (ORMatE-1) returns to Washington, D.C., to NRL's Electronics Science and Technology Division to begin experiment testing and analysis. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930102532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928194449.htm NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is testing a new robotic lunar lander test bed that will aid in the development of a new generation of multi-use landers for future robotic space exploration. Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928194449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141249.htm The discovery of large quantities of water on the moon will have very significant implications for human space exploration, according to a UK space expert. The findings by NASA were reportedly made after researchers examined data from three separate missions to the moon. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141249.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm A NASA team is developing a transparent coating that mimics the self-cleaning properties of the lotus plant to prevent dirt from sticking to the surfaces of spaceflight gear and bacteria from growing inside astronaut living quarters. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921134646.htm A metallurgist will soon be studying how crystals grow in the low-gravity on board the International Space Station. He will use a mini lab known as DECLIC -- DEvice for the study of Critical LIquids and Crystallization -- to gain insight into how crystals form as the material goes from liquid to solid. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921134646.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921175008.htm What's about the size of a large refrigerator, weighs a ton and may help pave the way for new and improved metals or glasses here on Earth? It's the Materials Science Research Rack -- a new laboratory on board the International Space Station. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921175008.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140921.htm A research project looking for ways to reduce bone loss in astronauts may yield methods of improving the bone health of cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment. The scientists are seeking to understand radiation-induced bone loss and to determine which treatments can be used to reduce that loss and lower the risk of fractures. The results could be beneficial to cancer patients, especially those who receive radiation therapy in the pelvic region. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916123643.htm Speeding along in orbit at more than seven kilometres per second, the International Space Station has its surfaces carefully shielded against potentially catastrophic collisions with micrometeoroids or man-made debris. Except that is for a trio of unprotected panels until recently attached to external payload platform of ESA’s Columbus module, specifically intended to sustain impacts from tiny specks of space dust. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916123643.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914110959.htm Space is not a fun place to get a stomach bug. To ensure drinking water is adequately disinfected, chemists have developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months of tests aboard the International Space Station. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914110959.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910235638.htm Sniffing out any potential contaminants on the International Space Station where it was stationed for the last six months, the NASA-built electronic nose, or ENose, is homeward bound. While on the space station, the ENose sampled the air with 32 sensors that can detect various odors and pinpoint which ones are dangerous to humans. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910235638.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909103507.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is back in business, ready to uncover new worlds, peer ever deeper into space, and even map the invisible backbone of the universe. The first snapshots from the refurbished Hubble showcase the 19-year-old telescope's new vision. Topping the list of exciting new views are colorful multi-wavelength pictures of far- flung galaxies, a densely packed star cluster, an eerie "pillar of creation," and a "butterfly" nebula. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909103507.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901150557.htm NASA has taken a major step toward building the next crew exploration vehicle by completing the Orion Project's preliminary design review, or PDR. Orion is being designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and other destinations. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901150557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090814202536.htm The Planck space telescope has begun to collect light left over from the Big Bang explosion that created our universe. Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090814202536.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090805114618.htm The Naval Research Laboratory's satellite suite, the Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment 2 (ANDE-2), was deployed from NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour on July 30, 2009. Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090805114618.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729074525.htm Using different state-of-the-art techniques on ESO's Very Large Telescope, two independent teams of astronomers have obtained the sharpest ever views of the supergiant star Betelgeuse. They show that the star has a vast plume of gas almost as large as our Solar System and a gigantic bubble boiling on its surface. These discoveries provide important clues to help explain how these mammoths shed material at such a tremendous rate. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729074525.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710121543.htm On June 27, 2009, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O, soared into space during a spectacular launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GOES-O has now been renamed and its solar array has been deployed. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710121543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090724163030.htm The checkout and calibration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been interrupted to aim the recently refurbished observatory at a new expanding spot on the giant planet Jupiter. The spot, caused by the impact of a comet or an asteroid, is changing from day to day in the planet's cloud tops. Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090724163030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090723113519.htm Ten years ago, on July 23, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia and deployed into orbit. Chandra has doubled its original five-year mission, ushering in an unprecedented decade of discovery for the high-energy universe. Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090723113519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090719194337.htm The eerie beauty of the northern and southern lights has evoked visions of the supernatural for centuries: foxes of fire whisking their tales, the fighting souls of dead warriors or ancestors dancing around a ceremonial fire. Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090719194337.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720083419.htm When the lunar module took off from the surface of the moon 40 years ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were relying on 4 cubic tonnes of N2O4 — one of the most important rocket propellants ever developed — to return them to lunar orbit and rendezvous with the Apollo Command and Service Module. Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720083419.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707121411.htm The US civil space program should be aligned with widely acknowledged national challenges, says a new report from the National Research Council. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707121411.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090628174451.htm Plans for a new international space hotel students have been unveiled by students this month as part of a project for their Masters degree. Students had to grapple with the challenges of designing that could function in a zero gravity environment. Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090628174451.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090626140124.htm Upon receipt of the last command from Earth, the transmitter on Ulysses will switch off on 30 June, bringing one of the most successful and longest missions in spaceflight history to an end. Ulysses, which operated for more than 18 years, had charted the unexplored regions of space above the poles of the sun. Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090626140124.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090626140128.htm ESA has informed Argentinean authorities that an area 30 km south of the town of Malargüe in Mendoza province, about 1000 km west of Buenos Aires, has been chosen as the best option to build a new 35-meter antenna in support of its programs. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090626140128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624152941.htm The mysterious 1908 Tunguska explosion that leveled 830 square miles of Siberian forest was almost certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth's atmosphere, according to new research. The conclusion is supported by an unlikely source: the exhaust plume from the NASA space shuttle launched a century later. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624152941.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171722.htm The interstellar stuff that became incorporated into the planets and life on Earth has younger cosmic roots than theories predict, according to researchers. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171722.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603091258.htm Scientists have implemented a new radar mode to create clearer picture of space weather. Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603091258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602083348.htm Researchers are calling for space headache to be established as a new secondary disorder after carrying out a study of 17 astronauts. Their study jettisons the theory that astronauts’ headaches are normally caused by space motion sickness, after showing that more than three-quarters of those studied had no connection. Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602083348.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528204402.htm In 1919, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) launched an expedition to the West African island of Príncipe, to observe a total solar eclipse and prove or disprove Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Now, in a new RAS-funded expedition for the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009), scientists are back. Astronomers Professor Pedro Ferreira from the University of Oxford and Dr Richard Massey from the University of Edinburgh, along with Oxford anthropologist Dr Gisa Weszkalnys, are paying homage to the original expedition led by Sir Arthur Eddington and celebrating the 90th anniversary of one of the key discoveries of the 20th century. Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528204402.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528120653.htm Using data from NASA's THEMIS mission, researchers have pinpointed the impact epicenter of an earthbound space storm as it crashes into the atmosphere, and given an advance warning of its arrival. Fri, 29 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528120653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090529111111.htm Take one space shuttle, seven highly trained astronauts, tons of equipment, and one legendary orbiting telescope and you have the 5.3 million-mile odyssey that was the final servicing mission for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090529111111.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090525105226.htm The historic and successful Hubble Servicing Mission 4 concluded with a trouble-free Space Shuttle landing on Sunday. During a series of unprecedented spacewalks, astronauts replaced and repaired a total of four instruments. The Wide Field Camera 3 and Cosmic Origins Spectrograph were installed and the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph were successfully repaired. Mon, 25 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090525105226.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520111625.htm NASA's PharmaSat nanosatellite successfully launched Tuesday (May 19) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. PharmaSat will investigate the effects of antifungal agents on the growth of yeast in microgravity. This research could improve understanding of how microbes may become resistant to the drugs used to treat sick astronauts on long-duration space missions. Wed, 20 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520111625.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520112439.htm NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the first test of the Ares I rocket's three main parachutes Wednesday. The parachutes -- the largest rocket parachutes ever manufactured -- are designed to slow the rapid descent of the rocket's spent first-stage motor, permitting its recovery for use on future flights. Wed, 20 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520112439.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520111216.htm Space Dynamics Laboratory has announced that it has completed NASA's Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) science instrument. The WISE instrument was shipped from SDL's manufacturing and test facility in North Logan, Utah, to Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., where it will be integrated onto the satellite. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520111216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519100010.htm Human hands have touched the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. Astronauts spent seven hours and two minutes putting the finishing touches on the telescope in the final spacewalk from a space shuttle airlock. Tue, 19 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519100010.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507164400.htm A new instrument to probe the evolution of galaxies, stars and intergalactic matter from its perch on the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope is on schedule for its slated May 11 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard NASA's space shuttle Atlantis. Fri, 08 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507164400.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430120746.htm NASA is preparing to fly a small satellite about the size of a loaf of bread that could help scientists better understand how effectively drugs work in space. The nanosatellite, known as PharmaSat, is a secondary payload aboard a U.S. Air Force four-stage Minotaur 1 rocket planned for launch the evening of May 5. Fri, 08 May 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430120746.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429151946.htm Many of the organic molecules that make up life on Earth have also been found in space. Astronomers will use the Herschel Space Observatory to study these chemical compounds in new detail in the warm clouds of gas and dust around young stars. Wed, 06 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429151946.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090413093755.htm Of all the things that can bring down a rocket, bubbles seem the most unlikely. They are a threat to rockets that use very cold liquid fuels, like the upper stage of NASA's new Ares 1 rocket, which will carry astronauts to the space station and join up in orbit with spacecraft carried by the larger Ares 5 rocket for missions to the moon and beyond. Bubbles can form when frigid liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel are pumped into a rocket engine. The problem arises when they pop. Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090413093755.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409153252.htm The first mirror segment that will fly on the James Webb Space Telescope has completed its first series of cryogenic temperature tests in the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409153252.htm