International Space Station – Page 61

Soyuz rocket launches cargo freighter to International Space Station

February 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

Running two days later after a last-minute abort Sunday, a Russian Progress resupply and refueling freighter lifted off in a blanket of fog Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to deliver three tons of cargo, propellant and water to the International Space Station.

Trump budget aims to kick-start lunar exploration, cancels space telescope

February 12, 2018 Stephen Clark

The White House’s $19.9 billion NASA budget outline released Monday would continue development of NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule and begin the deployment of a mini-space station around the moon as soon as 2022, but the proposal would cancel WFIRST, a flagship-class astronomy mission planned for launch in the mid-2020s.

Trump administration supports transition to commercially-focused space station

February 12, 2018 William Harwood

The Trump administration is proposing to end direct government support of the International Space Station in 2025, but plans to include $150 million in NASA’s fiscal 2019 budget, to be unveiled Monday, to begin work on transitioning, if possible, to a more commercially focused outpost, according to an internal NASA review.

Resupply launch scrubbed, thwarting fast-track rendezvous with space station

February 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

The launch of a Russian Progress cargo ship aboard a Soyuz rocket was aborted in the final minute of the countdown Sunday, forcing a delay of at least two days in the start of a resupply and refueling mission to the International Space Station.

Soyuz rocket positioned on launch pad for station resupply flight

February 9, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz booster and an automated Progress resupply ship reached their launch pad Friday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, two days before firing into orbit test out a new expedited rendezvous sequence that will culminate in the Progress spacecraft’s docking with the International Space Station just three-and-a-half hours after launch.

Cosmonauts upgrade station high-gain antenna on record-breaking spacewalk

February 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Anton Shkaplerov floated outside the International Space Station on Friday and installed an upgraded electronics box on a high-gain communications antenna at the aft end of the Zvezda service module.

Software patch fixes station robot arm; Monday spacewalk repair called off

January 28, 2018 William Harwood

A corrective software patch has fixed a problem with a newly installed grapple fixture on one end of the International Space Station robot arm, NASA officials said Sunday. With the mechanism now fully operational, a re-planned spacewalk Monday to re-install a degraded unit has been called off.

Newly installed space station robot arm grapple fixture not operating properly

January 26, 2018 William Harwood

The grapple mechanism installed on one end of the space station’s robot arm during a spacewalk Tuesday is experiencing problems. It will be removed during a re-planned spacewalk Monday and the original fitting will be re-installed, NASA said Friday.

Spacewalkers complete repairs to station robotic arm

January 23, 2018 William Harwood

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station early Tuesday and replaced one of the grapple fixtures on the end of the lab’s robot arm, the first of two excursions over the next week to complete a complex overhaul that began with a pair of spacewalks last October.

End to government shutdown should limit impact on space operations

January 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA and the U.S. Air Force are expected to return to normal operations Tuesday after lawmakers passed a budget bill Monday evening, ending a government funding lapse that threatened to cut off live television coverage of an International Space Station spacewalk and interrupt SpaceX launch operations in Florida and California.