Space Stories: Threat to Chinese Space Station, Solar Storms on the ISS, and Dream Chaser Prep Continues

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Credit: Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—Time: “China’s Imperiled Astronauts Illustrate the Dangers of Space Debris“

No trip to space can be counted a success unless you make it safely back to Earth…And it’s a lesson that was learned anew this week by the taikonauts—Chinese astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie. The trio arrived at China’s Tiangong Space Station aboard their Shenzhou-20 spacecraft on April 24, and were set to come home on Nov. 5, handing the keys to the station over to the three-person crew of Shenzhou-21, who arrived on Oct. 31. But that was not to be. Not long before Shenzhou-20 was set to carry the three home it was struck by a piece of space debris, leaving cracks in one of its windows. That can be deadly in a spacecraft that is supposed to remain airtight both in the vacuum of space and in the steadily thickening atmosphere as it returns to Earth.

—Yahoo News: “Russian Cosmonauts Take Shelter on International Space Station During Severe Solar Storm“

A powerful geomagnetic storm that dazzled skywatchers across the Northern Hemisphere earlier this month also affected life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). During the Nov. 11-12 solar storm, Russian cosmonauts temporarily relocated their sleeping quarters as a precaution against increased radiation exposure, NASA confirmed.

—Space News: “Dream Chaser Completes Key Tests Ahead of First Flight“

Sierra Space has completed key testing milestones for its Dream Chaser vehicle as the company explores both civil and national security missions for the spaceplane. The company announced Nov. 13 that the first Dream Chaser vehicle, Tenacity, completed electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center...While Sierra Space is emphasizing national security uses, the company is keeping open the option of using Dream Chaser to support the ISS or future commercial space stations, known as commercial low Earth orbit destinations, or CLDs.

A Day in Astronomy: The Arrival of the Expedition 1 Crew at the ISS

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Image (Credit): The Expedition 1 crew of Yuri P. Gidzenko (left), William M. Shepherd, and Sergei K. Krikalev in the ISS’s Zvezda Service Module. (NASA)

It was 25 years ago on this day that the Expedition 1 crew arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), which marked the beginning of very successful space collaboration between five space agencies from the United States, Russia, the European Union, Japan, and Canada.

The Expedition 1 crew, arriving at the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, consisted of NASA astronaut William M. Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri P. Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev. This first mission of four months focused on the continued assembly of the station, with the Expedition 2 crew arriving in March 2001 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.

Some of the key facts related to the ISS include:

  • In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets.
  • The living and working space in the station is larger than a six-bedroom house (and has six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window).
  • A spacecraft can arrive at the space station as soon as four hours after launching from Earth.
  • The space station travels an equivalent distance to the Moon and back in about a day.
Image (Credit): Drawing of the International Space Station with all of the elements labeled. (NASA)

Space Stories: Space Observatory in Need of Rescue, Alien Comet Activates Earth Defense, and Japan Sends Cargo to the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: swift.sonoma.edu/.

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—KJZZ Phoenix: “Flagstaff-based Company Wins $30M Contract for NASA Space Rescue Mission“

A Flagstaff-based space company has won a $30 million contract to raise the orbit of a space-based NASA observatory next year before it can drop uncontrolled back into Earth’s atmosphere. NASA officials say they are in a race against time as the agency’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and its three-telescope system studying gamma rays from space needs a rescue.

—Space Coast Daily: “NASA Activates Earth Defense Over Possible Alien Comet in Our Solar System“

NASA has activated a global planetary defense group to study a massive interstellar object exhibiting strange, possibly artificial characteristics—fueling speculation that it could be an alien probe operating within our solar system. The object, designated 3I/ATLAS, is approximately the size of Manhattan and was first captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21. It has been selected as the first-ever official target of the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN)—a NASA-backed coalition of global agencies and astronomers tasked with identifying and tracking potential threats to Earth.

—ABC News: “Japan Successfully Launches New Cargo Spacecraft to Deliver Supplies to ISS“

Japan’s space agency successfully launched Sunday its most powerful flagship H3 rocket, carrying a newly developed unmanned cargo spacecraft for its first mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the HTV-X1 spacecraft successfully lifted off atop the No. 7 H3 rocket from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center in the country’s south and confirmed it entered targeted orbit 14 minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft was separated and placed into a planned orbit, JAXA said. If everything goes smoothly, it is expected to arrive at the ISS in a few days to deliver supplies. Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, currently at the ISS, is set to catch the craft with a robot arm in the early hours of Thursday.

Video: Plans for the First Commercial Space Station

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If you are eager to understand what comes after the International Space Station (ISS), you might enjoy Vast’s video showing plans for the Haven-1 and Haven-2 missions as well as other future projects.

Vast’s Haven-1 is a single-module station expected to be launched in May 2026. Once Haven-1 is in orbit, four crew members will be launched to the Haven-1 station via a SpaceX Dragon for a two-week mission. This will be the first real test of the new commercial space station module, which is expected to stay in orbit for three years so three additional crews can visit and conduct research and even manufacture in space.

Haven-2 will follow with a larger module. The plan is to link a series of modules to create an expanded station (see image below). The construction of Haven-2 is expected to be underway while the ISS goes out of service in 2030.

Vast is one of numerous companies hoping to fill the gap left by the departing ISS. Whether it is selling seats to NASA scientists, commercial entities, or space tourists, this American company based in California sees a future in space stations.

Audit Report: ISS Spacesuit Issues

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Image (Credit): Figure from the NASA OIG audit report, NASA’s Management of ISS Extravehicular Activity Spacesuits. (NASA OIG)

NASA has spent a significant amount of money on the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits used during spacewalks on the International Space Station (ISS). Even so, these suits have ongoing problems that need to be resolved given that they will be critical to the ISS mission until the decommissioning of the station in 2030.

The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reported on issues with these spacesuits in the past and recently issued a new report on the status of the spacesuits. In its September 30th report, NASA’s Management of ISS Extravehicular Activity Spacesuit, the auditors noted that the contractor maintaining the spacesuits, Collins Aerospace, is having problems, including:

…considerable schedule delays, cost overruns, and quality issues that significantly increase the risk to maintaining NASA’s spacewalking capability.

The auditors stated that lack of competition for these spacesuit services as well as ineffective contract incentives are making the problems a permanent part of the program. While NASA has promoted competition for many years, these spacesuits designed 50 years ago have not benefited from this new approach, in part because the companies that feed into the supply line are slowly disappearing.

It seems dual-use rockets are much more in demand than antique spacesuits, potentially making spacesuits one of the weaker links in the space industry.

Note: Collins Aerospace ended a separate contract with NASA last year to develop a new ISS EMU. Collins continues with its contract to maintain the current EMU.