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.
The Japanese government has said it will establish a $6.6 billion (¥1 trillion) fund to develop the country’s space industry as programs in the U.S., Russia, China and India rush to put men on the moon, build lunar sites and plan for the future of the International Space Station in a renewed race for celestial supremacy...Nikkei, a Japanese newspaper, reported that funding will be given to companies developing technologies that could be used to support national security or those that could rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX by developing rockets and “satellite constellations”—groups of satellites that operate as one system.
With just two Starship integrated test flights under its belt, SpaceX announced last week it is already working on a major overhaul of its second-stage Starship vehicle. The design changes will be significant enough to speciate the ship, giving it the title of Version 2. SpaceX plans to finish and launch four or five additional Starship V1 prototypes before transitioning to its V2 product line, Elon Musk said on X. Insights gained from the upcoming flights will be integrated into the next-gen rocket.
When the US imposed sanctions to degrade Russia’s aerospace industry, including embargoes on semiconductors, lasers, sensors, and navigation equipment, Dmitry Rogozin, then chief of Russia’s space program, warned it might cause the International Space Station to fall on the US or Europe. These comments and others from a supposedly serious scientific organization did cause a crash — the decades-old US-Russia space partnership was effectively ended after decades of joint work, including the Soviet era, that had benefited science, détente, and humanity. The events of 2022-2023 have made it more likely Russia would step away from exploration and, with China, focus on military applications in space.
Note: The helpful graphic below is used in the Center for European Policy Analysis story.
Image (Credit): Russia’s Nauka laboratory module on the ISS. (NASA)
We know Mr. Putin wants to pursue his own space station, but how about fixing the one Russia is already part of?
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub conducted a spacewalk this week to investigate the third leak aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Luckily, the source of the leak was found – a 2010 radiator attached to Russia’s Nauka laboratory module.
News reports indicate that Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, is downplaying the leak, noting that it did not impact the primary coolant loop. Roscosmos finished by stating, “the crew and the station are not in any danger.” That’s hopeful, but still a worrisome incident for the aging space station.
A disaster with the $100 billion space station will set back if not kill future funding for similar stations. As with the US space shuttle, the space station could be a passing phase if we cannot keep it running and our astronauts and cosmonauts safe.
Maybe it is time for Russia to go its own way if it is not willing to keep the ISS afloat. I would rather Russia steps up its game, but it may have trouble fighting wars and funding space at the same time.
Note: The US and Russian need to get this fixed so that the focus can return to science. While the ISS crew was searching for leaks this week, China sent another team to its Tiangong space station.
Our Awesome Universe 