Human Spaceflight – Page 60

Bigelow’s expandable module goes into overtime on space station

December 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

A commercial module mounted outside the International Space Station last year will remain attached to the orbiting research complex for at least three more years, carrying out additional tests for future space habitats and serving as a storage closet for the lab’s crew.

Live coverage: Cygnus supply ship readied for station departure

December 5, 2017 Stephen Clark

After a 22-day stay at the International Space Station, an Orbital ATK Cygnus supply ship is set for departure Wednesday en route to a higher orbit for release of 14 CubeSats for commercial weather monitoring and technology demonstrations. The robotic Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for release from the station’s robotic arm at 8:10 a.m. EST (1310 GMT) Wednesday.

NASA expects first Space Launch System flight to slip into 2020

November 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

The maiden flight of NASA’s Space Launch System, a heavy-lift human-rated rocket and one of the agency’s core programs, will likely not be ready for takeoff until 2020, officials said recently.

Cygnus arrives at space station with food, experiments and cache of CubeSats

November 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

A commercial cargo craft owned and operated by Orbital ATK wrapped up a two-day journey to the International Space Station on Tuesday, delivering ice cream and pizza for the lab’s six-person crew and hardware for a slew of research experiments, including CubeSats slated for orbital deployments in the coming weeks.

Engine for upgraded Falcon 9 rocket explodes on test stand

November 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Merlin engine designed for the version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that will carry astronauts into orbit for NASA failed during testing Saturday in Texas, but the company said its upcoming launches will not be affected by the accident.

Richard Gordon, Gemini and Apollo astronaut, dies at 88

November 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

Richard “Dick” Gordon, a Navy test pilot-turned-astronaut who pioneered spacewalking procedures and orbited the moon, died at his home this week in California. He was 88.

NASA making steady progress on SLS mobile launch platform

October 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

Construction crews at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are making steady progress outfitting the Space Launch System’s mobile platform with umbilical connections and access arms, and the walkway for astronauts to board the rocket is the most recent arrival at the Florida spaceport.

Astronauts wrap up spacewalk, accomplishing all primary tasks

October 20, 2017 William Harwood

Staging NASA’s third spacewalk in 15 days, two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Friday and installed a new high definition camera, replaced a degraded camera on a recently attached robot arm grapple fixture, finished lubricating the mechanism and carried out a variety of other “get-ahead” tasks.

Astronauts stage second spacewalk in five days

October 10, 2017 William Harwood

Five days after work to replace the grapple fitting on one end of the space station’s robot arm, commander Randy Bresnik and flight engineer Mark Vande Hei ventured back outside the lab complex Tuesday to lubricate the new arm mechanism, to replace a degraded camera and to carry out a variety of lower-priority chores.

Spacewalk concludes with successful robot arm repair

October 5, 2017 William Harwood

Two astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station early Thursday and performed what amounted to hand transplant surgery on the lab’s Canadian-built robot arm, removing a crippled grapple fixture on one end of the space crane and replacing it with an on-board spare.