Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** How NASA will bake in space for the first time and why that’s a BIG deal!
On November 2nd, 2019, Northrop Grumman launched a Cygnus Cargo Ship on a resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. On board was just over 3,700 kg of science experiments, vehicle hardware, crew supplies, and other important space stuff. But included on this flight was a space first. An oven. And not just any oven, but a custom zero g oven developed by Nanoracks, a leading provider of commercial access to space, that will be used to bake the first food in space – the DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie. So today, I thought we should do a history of space food, figure out why we haven’t ever baked anything in space before, and learn from the experts on how DoubleTree by Hilton, the sponsor of this video, will actually bake their cookies on the International Space Station. Article version here – https://everydayastronaut.com/cookies…
** Expedition 61 Thanksgiving Message
Right now, half of the crew members on board the International Space Station are American astronauts who are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, and they have a message for us. Check in with NASA’s Christina Koch, Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan, to learn more about what the holiday means to them and get a look at what Thanksgiving in space will be like in 2019.
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** AskNASA┃ What is the International Space Station?
NASA’s Jacob Keaton answers questions about the International Space Station. He highlights building this home off Earth and what astronauts do while aboard. Research and other lessons learned from the space station will help us send humans to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for Mars.
Astronauts Andrew Morgan of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA) will venture outside the International Space Station starting at ~7:05 a.m. EST to continue repairing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) instrument. This is the second in a series of repair spacewalks – the most complex of this kind since the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. AMS is attached to the outside of the space station, where it has been operating since 2011. It is a particle physics experiment working to help us understand dark matter and the origins of the universe.
** Science Launching On SpaceX CRS 19
The 19th SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-19) contract mission for NASA carries a variety of cutting-edge scientific experiments to the International Space Station. Learn more about some of the scientific investigations riding on Dragon to the orbiting laboratory on CRS-19: https://go.nasa.gov/2qZGYBd Learn more about the research being conducted on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science Follow Twitter updates on the science conducted aboard the space station: https://twitter.com/iss_research
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Expedition 61 AMS Overview Briefing – November 12, 2019
At the Johnson Space Center, space station operations integration manager Kenny Todd and Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) project manager Ken Bollweg discuss the activities aboard the International Space Station and the science of the AMS in a briefing on Nov. 12 ahead of a series of spacewalks to repair the particle physics experiment on the outside of the space station. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano are to conduct all of the complicated spacewalks that are set to begin November 15th.
** Expedition 61 AMS Spacewalk Briefing – November 12, 2019
At the Johnson Space Center, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) spacewalk repair project manager Tara Jochim, spacewalk flight director Jeff Radigan, and lead spacewalk officer John Mularski discuss the preparations and procedures behind a series of spacewalks to repair the particle physics experiment on the outside of the space station during a briefing on Nov. 12. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano are to conduct all of the complicated spacewalks that are set to begin November 15th.
** Suiting Up for a Spacewalk
On Friday International Space Station commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA’s Andrew Morgan start a series of spacewalks to upgrade the cooling system on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Each of those spacewalk days will start with the lengthy process of getting into the spacesuits that support them as they float in the vacuum of space. Want to see what that looks like? Here’s an accelerated view of the process, taken from an October 2019 spacewalk in which Parmitano helped Morgan and astronaut Christina Koch get ready for their spacewalk.
** Christina Koch and Jessica Meir in-flight interviews from ISS
ISS Expedition 61 In-Flight Interviews with the Kelly Clarkson Show and Elle Magazine’s Digital News Platform with NASA Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir.
** Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Repair Spacewalk #1, Nov. 15, 2019 – Video of Friday’s spacewalk:
Astronauts Andrew Morgan of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA) will venture outside the International Space Station starting at ~7:05 a.m. EST to begin repairing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) instrument. This is the first in a series of repair spacewalks – the most complex of this kind since the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. AMS is attached to the outside of the space station, where it has been operating since 2011. It is a particle physics experiment working to help us understand dark matter and the origins of the universe.
A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images related to human expansion into the solar system (see also previous space settlement postings):
** A settlement on Mars has always been the primary goal for SpaceX. The accelerating development of the Starship space transport system means that such a settlement is becoming more feasible and nearer in time. In fact, if the Starship space transport system achieves Elon Musk’s expectation of a $10-20/kg operating cost to reach low earth orbit, then all sorts of space concepts previously considered distant future sci-fi become feasible.
A SpaceX vision of a Mars settlement built by people transported there by Starships.
Elon recently posted at on Twitter a series of comments about Starship capabilities and how it would enable Mars settlement:
In response to a remark about $20/kg flight costs with the Starship, Elon said, “The economics have to be something like that to build a self-sustaining city on Mars“
“A thousand ships will be needed to create a sustainable Mars city“
“Payload to orbit per year of Starship fleet is most mind-blowing metric, as it’s designed to fly 3X per day, which is ~1000X per year“
“If we build as many Starships as Falcons, so ~100 vehicles & each does 100 tons to orbit, that’s a capacity of 10 million tons of payload to orbit per year“
“Current global payload to orbit capacity is about 500 tons per year, of which Falcon is about half“
“So it will take about 20 years to transfer a million tons to Mars Base Alpha, which is hopefully enough to make it sustainable“
In response to a comment about whether the Starship is needed so one can “escape if the earth is getting close to its end”, Elon said, “No, in the beginning, assuming you even make it there alive, Mars will be far more dangerous & difficult than Earth & take decades of hard labor to make self-sufficient. That’s the sales pitch. Want to go?”
And in response to the comment, “It’s not about escaping, it’s about survival of the species if one planet is wiped out”, Elon said, “Exactly! It’s also a far more exciting & inspiring future if consciousness is out there among the stars, than forever confined to Earth until some eventual extinction event, however far in the future that may be (hopefully, very far)“
Based on all this research and the image locations being chosen by SpaceX, we therefore might someday hear a pilot of Starship take a breath and then announce to the world, “Arcadia Base here, the Starship has landed.”
Model of the space habitat designed by Robert Skelton and partners. The design allows for the habitat to start small and grow. Image credits: Justin Baetge/Texas A&M Engineering.
He proposes to start the habitat at the size of 20 meters radius, enough to sustain about 20 people, with the final structure being built over time out to 225 meters, housing 8,000 people with 300 square meters of agricultural space per person.
The initial habitat would be small and built from materials launched from Earth. Because material resources are costly in space, Skelton suggests using tensegrity systems for the design of the growth adaptable space structure. These minimal mass structures make the habitat easy to change in shape, and it’s very strong and lightweight. Subsequent growth stages of the habitat would rely on tensegrity robots mining materials from the moon and asteroids.
With the overall shape of the habitat designed in concentric cylinders, the outer shell would be a thick-wall of regolith for radiation protection that would rotate slowly to enhance stability. Regolith is a layer of loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock found on Earth, the moon and asteroids. The habitat inside would spin at a faster rate to provide artificial gravity (due to the centrifugal forces) for the inhabitants inside. The habitat would provide all levels of gravity from 0 G to 1 G where the lower g-level space is reserved for agriculture and the people occupy higher g-levels up to 1 G.
** Bigelow Aerospace opened up B330 and B2100 expandable habitat prototypes to the press on Sept.12th:
** Improved spacesuits are needed are needed for modern space endeavors. ILC Dover, which designed and built Apollo spacesuits, has developed a line of Commercial Spacesuits that includes the “Astro™, the EVA (Extravehicular Activity) spacesuit, and Sol™, the LEA (Launch, Entry and Abort) spacesuit”.
ILC Dover introduces the Sol™ LEA (Launch, Entry and Abort) suit shown on the left and the Astro™ EVA suit on the right with life support module designed by Collins Aerospace.
Both Astro™ EVA and Sol™ LEA will be vital in moving forward with commercial space travel. Combining astronaut needs with an emphasis on safety, ILC Dover has created the next generation spacesuits.
Astro™ EVA and Sol™ LEA spacesuits are designed with an astronaut’s mission in mind. Astro™ EVA is equipped with the newly patented Hybrid Upper Torso to accommodate all astronauts. The Hybrid Upper Torso can be resized without tools, thereby minimizing EVA spacesuit inventory. In addition, the engineers placed the mobility joints where it matters, optimizing mobility without compromising weight. Sol™ LEA is a lightweight highly mobile all soft spacesuit providing astronauts a comfortable safe ride to and from space.
Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Students Supporting Spacewalks
Did you know undergrad students are contributing to NASA missions? Check out the MicrogNExT Lone Star College-Cy Fair team’s contribution to International Space Station spacewalks! Learn how you – the Artemis generation — can contribute to NASA’s mission by visiting stem.nasa.gov/artemis
The next crew that will launch to the International Space Station held a news conference Nov. 7 at the Johnson Space Center, Houston to discuss their upcoming mission. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin are scheduled to launch next April in the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a planned six-month mission.
