The January 2015 puzzler (top image) might look like bacteria in a petri dish—many guesses played off some variation of that theme. However, if you answered “coral reef,” you were on the right track. Alexandre Mathieu was the fist to submit a comment to our Earth Matters blog suggesting that the image was a reef. There […]
Space Freighters Prepped for Departure During Troubleshooting Activities
Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-5 (ATV-5) is operating with one less electronics chain that provides power to its batteries after it failed Wednesday. The other three electronics chains are operating normally as flight controllers and the station crew prepare the ATV-5 for its departure Feb. 14. Cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov set up gear in …
Launch Forecast: 90 Percent ‘Go’
Weather forecasters from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron are predicting a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for launch of DSCOVR, the new NOAA satellite to monitor space weather. The primary concern is for thick clouds at launch time. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. The spacecraft …
NOAA’s DSCOVR Press Kit Available
NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service has posted this press kit for that agency’s DSCOVR mission due to launch Sunday at 6:10 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida adjacent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. A SpaceX Falcon 9 will be used to lift the spacecraft to the L1 point in space a million …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/04/15
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)-5 Status: Yesterday, ATV experienced a failure with Battery Power Chain #4. ATV ground teams have confirmed the failure is real and not a sensor issue. The ground teams have taken the necessary precautions and are continuing their investigation. The vehicle has a total of four power chains. Should a second power …
Crew Reviews Spacewalk Procedures
Commander Barry Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts reviewed spacewalk procedures Wednesday. They are scheduled to start the first of three spacewalks Feb. 20. The duo will set up cables and communication equipment allowing the future installation of International Docking Adapters accommodating commercial crew vehicles. A CubeSat delivered to the International Space Station in January …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/03/15
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)-5: Today, ATV experienced a possible failure with Battery Power Chain #4. ATV ground teams are investigating and attempting to confirm whether the failure signature is in fact realistic and not a sensor issue. The Flight Control Teams are taking precautions as if it is a true failure, until more status is …
Canadarm2 Prepares to Grab Dragon; Life Science for Crew
Mission Controllers in Houston will send commands to the 57.7 foot long Canadarm2 to grapple the SpaceX Dragon space freighter Tuesday. The robotic arm will latch on to a grapple fixture ahead of next week’s release of Dragon from the Harmony module. It will splash down off the Pacific coast of Baja California loaded with …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/02/15
Combustion Integration Rack (CIR): Virts removed the CIR alignment guides in preparation for a FLEX-2 run. The CIR is currently configured for MDCA FLame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)-2, binary droplet test session which uses small droplets of fuel to study the special burning characteristics of fire in space. The FLEX-2 experiment studies the rate and manner …
SMAP: The Dirt Behind Improved Forecasting
Dara Entekhabi has been waiting 15 years for this moment—the launch of NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Even a snowstorm wasn’t going to stop him: He flew out of Boston just before a major storm dumped over 30 inches of snow on his home. The satellite, […]