Tag: International Space Station

The commander of SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronaut mission says that NASA continues to prioritize safety while co-managing an aging space station. The International Space Station (ISS) and the spacesuit that spacewalking NASA astronauts wear, known as the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), are both decades old. And it’s the age of this hardware that has led to issues with both recently, NASA astronaut and Crew-8 commander Matthew Dominick told reporters on Friday (Nov. 8). “None of our spacesuits are spring chickens, as we would say, and so we will expect to see…

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NASA is not yet ready to tell us why one of its astronauts was hospitalized shortly after returning to Earth last month. That astronaut was one of the four members of SpaceX‘s Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which ended with a splashdown off the coast of Florida on Oct. 25. Everything appeared to go well with the landing. Shortly thereafter, however, all four astronauts — NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, and Alexander Grebenkin of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos — were taken to a Florida hospital for…

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The space station will receive a new shipment of supplies this morning (Nov. 5), and you can watch the event live. A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft laden with 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of food, equipment and experiments will dock with the International Space Station (ISS) today around 10:15 a.m. EST (1415 GMT), if all goes according to plan. Coverage will run live on NASA+ and, if possible, Space.com will simulcast the events here. NASA’s broadcast will begin at 8:45 a.m. EST (1245 GMT). SpaceX launched the robotic Dragon aboard a…

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Four astronauts will relocate a SpaceX spacecraft at the space station on Sunday (Nov. 3), and you can watch the event live. The SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts, including two crew members formerly aboard Boeing Starliner, will move their Crew Dragon at the International Space Station. ISS procedures dictate that all astronauts assigned to a spacecraft climb on board for relocations, on the tiny chance something arises that would force the group to come early back to Earth. Live coverage begins at 6:15 a.m. EST (1315 GMT) courtesy of NASA+, and possibly…

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A SpaceX Dragon capsule looks a little ghostly in a new image taken from the space station. NASA astronaut Don Pettit snapped a picture of the Crew Dragon Freedom after the Crew-9 mission, SpaceX‘s ninth operational astronaut effort for the agency, docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 29. The black-and-white image shows the belly of the Dragon, including windows with filters on board to lessen the bright sun. “I like how the sun shines through the stitching, personifying the composition,” Pettit wrote Oct. 24 on X, formerly…

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What effects does spaceflight have on an astronaut’s heart? This is exactly the question that prompted scientists from Johns Hopkins University to send 48 bioengineered heart tissue samples to the International Space Station, where they were monitored for 30 days and compared to identical samples on Earth. The team examined how low gravity impacts things like the cells’ strength of contraction, known as twitch forces, and any irregular beating patterns.  The results were concerning — the scientists found that heart cells “really don’t fare well in space,” beating with about…

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ESA scientists have successfully demonstrated 3D printing of a metal part in space for the first time.  3D printing in space poses challenges, as many methods rely on gravity to position materials during the printing process. This is because when creating metal structures, molten metal is often used as part of the filament, or printable medium. In space, its behavior can be unpredictable, which can result in poor-quality objects, as the filament might shift or be placed incorrectly due to the lack of gravitational forces. Scientists therefore had to adapt…

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ESA scientists have successfully demonstrated 3D printing of a metal part in space for the first time.  3D printing in space poses challenges, as many methods rely on gravity to position materials during the printing process. This is because when creating metal structures, molten metal is often used as part of the filament, or printable medium. In space, its behavior can be unpredictable, which can result in poor-quality objects, as the filament might shift or be placed incorrectly due to the lack of gravitational forces. Scientists therefore had to adapt…

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Boeing’s two Starliner astronauts may learn their fate in the next two weeks — but, for now, NASA still doesn’t know when the duo is coming home.  So, while the space agency’s best and brightest works with Boeing engineers to continue assessing data from ground tests of Starliner’s systems, the spacecraft’s crew, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, will remain aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for now. Wilmore and Williams launched to the ISS aboard Starliner for the spacecraft’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) on June 5. Their mission,…

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Boeing Starliner may not bring its first astronauts home after all. NASA officials, absent a representative from Boeing, updated reporters today (Aug. 7) about how troubleshooting Starliner‘s undocking and landing may affect the next SpaceX astronaut flight to the International Space Station.  Starliner has faced a lot of difficulties since launching its first astronaut mission, most especially after 5 of its 28 reaction control thrusters (RCS) misfired during docking with the ISS on June 6. Work on the matter is ongoing, and as NASA revealed yesterday (Aug. 6), it will require…

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