Agony in the Philippines Satellite images of Super Typhoon approaching and smashing into the Philippines last week were extremely worrisome. Reports and imagery from the ground have now confirmed that the concern was justified. One of the most intense tropical cyclones ever measured by satellites has left the Philippines in chaos. The Capital Weather Gang […]
35 Soyuz (35S) Undock and Landing: Following the change of command ceremony, Soyuz 35S undocked from the Service Module Aft Port bringing Commander (CDR) Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano and FE-6 Nyberg back to earth. The undock command, which initiated the opening of the Soyuz vehicle docking hooks was issued at 5:25pm CST with physical …
Russian Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #36: Flight Engineer (FE)-1 Kotov and FE-2 Ryazanskiy completed the EVA in 5 hours 50 min. The following tasks were performed: Olympic Torch Relay Removal of YAKOR Foot Restraint (FR) from Service Module (SM) ПхО. Installation onto the EVA Work Station (VRM) did not occur after the crew experienced orientation issues …
Soyuz Motion Control Test: Commander (CDR) Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano successfully conducted a Soyuz 35S Motion Control System Test. The test was performed in preparation for their upcoming undocking on Sunday, November 10th at 5:26pm (CST) Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Wireless Access Point (WAP) Installation: FE-3 Hopkins and FE-6 Nyberg completed installation of …
Following their successful “Let It Snow” photo contest, our colleagues at the soon-to-launch Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission are looking for your best photos and videos of rain, sleet, hail, snow and any other precipitation. They describe their “Unique Perspectives” contest this way: There are many ways to view precipitation…We’d like to see weather from […]
We’re one small but important step closer to Mars this morning after the launch team placed MAVEN on the top of the Atlas V rocket that will send the probe to the Red Planet. While most of the Cape Canaveral region was sleeping, a crew drove the MAVEN spacecraft from its processing hangar at Kennedy …
37 Soyuz Launch, Docking and Hatch Opening: Soyuz Commander Tyurin, Mastracchio, and Wakata launched onboard Soyuz 37S last night at 10:14pm CST. Following a successful four-orbit rendezvous, they docked to the Mini-Research Module (MRM)-1 port at 4:27am CST this morning. Once leak checks between the MRM1 and 37S were performed, the hatches were opened at …
Hindus are celebrating Diwali this week. That means cities and towns around the world—but particularly in South Asia—are ablaze with lamps, candles, and firecrackers. It’s also become a tradition (of sorts) to share a colorful image via social media that was supposedly taken by a satellite during Diwali. If that image turns up on your […]
Body Measures: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins, with operator assistance from FE-6 Nyberg, set up cameras and cabin video, performed body marker instrumentation, and collected calibration and body pose photos and circumference measurements. It is anticipated that body measurements will change due to microgravity and fluid shifts. The goal of this study is to gather preliminary …
After showing they could build rockets strong enough to reach space, it didn’t take long for rocket scientists in America and Russia to begin sending satellites toward Mars. The first launch took place Oct. 10, 1960, from the Soviet Union almost three years to the day since the nation launched the first satellite, Sputnik. This …
