Image (Credit): The Progress 86 resupply ship approaches the ISS. (NASA)
This week’s image shows the Roscosmos Progress 86 cargo craft approaching the International Space Station (ISS) last Sunday with three tons of needed supplies. The space craft almost appears to be performing ballet. I expect everyone one on board the station was happy to see it arriving, hopefully loaded with some holiday treats.
The Russian cargo craft needed to be guided in manually by cosmonauts after the auto system failed. Backup systems are great, but fully functioning space systems are better. I guess the Russians got some practice that day.
Image (Credit): The ISS’s Zarya module (in the image bottom to center). (NASA)
On this day in 1998, two modules, the Russian Zarya and American Unity, were joined in Earth orbit to create the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS was built by five space agencies involving 15 nations. NASA notes that 273 people from 21 countries have visited the ISS over the years to assist with more than 3,300 research and educational investigations. The station has been busy, and pretty expensive at more than $150 billion to design and build.
Back in 2012, Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson stated:
If the United States commits to the goal of reaching Mars, it will almost certainly do so in reaction to the progress of other nations – as was the case with NASA, the Apollo program, and the project that became the International Space Station.
Eleven years later, the ISS continues to orbit the Earth while plans are still being made to return to the Moon and visit Mars. Maybe Dr. Tyson was right given our current race with China to the Moon. We sometimes need that extra push to move towards the stars (as least in terms of crewed flights).
Are you looking for that perfect book for a space enthusiast? You may want to take a look at some of the books authored by NASA astronauts in the last few years. Be it inspiration or adventure you are seeking, you can find it with these authors. Below are three books to consider as gift ideas.
Mike Massimino achieved his dream of exploring space. Now he distills stories and insights from NASA into an actionable guide to accomplish your biggest goals. Mike reveals how to make possible the seemingly impossible—on Earth. Written with characteristic wit and a big heart, Mike identifies ten hard-earned lessons of spaceflight and his other life experiences, including:
One in a Million Is Not Zero: The odds are against you. Do it anyway.
The Thirty-Second Rule: You’re going to make mistakes. Learn how to deal with them.
Be Amazed: The universe is an incredible place. Stop what you’re doing and look around.
Know When to Pivot: Change is inevitable. Accept and embrace it.
We all have our own personal “moon shots” we’d like to take in life, but as mission control will tell you, doing one big thing really means getting a thousand little things right along the way. Moonshot is the book that will show you how to do just that, and help set you on the right path to achieve your own personal and professional dreams.
Stott imparts essential lessons in problem-solving, survival, and crisis response that each of us can practice to make change. She knows we can overcome differences to address global issues, because she saw this every day on the International Space Station. Stott shares stories from her spaceflight and insights from scientists, activists, and changemakers working to solve our greatest environmental challenges. She learns about the complexities of Earth’s biodiversity from NASA engineers working to enable life in space and from scientists protecting life on Earth for future generations. Ultimately, Stott reveals how we each have the power to respect our planetary home and one another by living our lives like crewmates, not passengers, on an inspiring shared mission.
NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras “Kaz” Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it.
But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue.
Did you have a chance to attend the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Summit 2023 earlier this month in Seville, Spain? Well, neither did I, but from what I hear it appears the Europeans are trying to address some shortfalls in their space program.
We already know that Europe is having difficulties timely developing its own rockets for space missions, and the Russians are no help these days. So SpaceX and others are helping out for now. But the Europeans can see they need to set things right, and soon.
The Guardianreports that the 22 ESA members agreed to encourage competition among private sector companies to build cargo spacecraft to support the International Space Station (ISS). Moreover, the competition may expand to crewed spacecraft.
This is similar to President Obama’s commercial competition initiatives years ago, helping to create a web of companies that NASA now relies on for the ISS and its Artemis program.
A crewed spacecraft would be something new for the ESA and suggests greater investment and involvement in future space missions, which is good for everyone.
Could we see an ESA lunar station one day? It seems more possible now.
While NASA seeks to maintain an uninterrupted human presence in low Earth orbit, an agency official said a short-term gap between the International Space Station and commercial successors would not be “the end of the world.” NASA’s current approach to its future in LEO counts on supporting development of commercial space stations with the goal of having at least one such station ready to support NASA astronauts and research by 2030, when the ISS is scheduled for retirement. A key question, though, will be whether any of the several companies working on such concepts will be ready by the end of the decade.
Hundreds of tech and science jobs will be lost in California if NASA moves forward with a plan to cut funding from the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, according to state lawmakers. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30), sent a letter on Wednesday to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to reverse a decision to slash the mission’s funding. The funding cut would “result in the loss of hundreds of California jobs, prevent the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from making its 2030 launch window, and lead to the cancellation of billions of dollars in contracts supporting American businesses,” the lawmakers wrote.
The Canadian Space Agency announced two astronauts will fly to space in the coming years on Wednesday (Nov. 22) as the country continues a historic ramp-up of its human space program in 2023. François-Philippe Champagne, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada, announced the assignments in front of a crowd of hundreds gathered in the lobby of Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec.
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