Videos: “Space to Ground” & other space habitat reports – Mar.26.2023

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Expedition 68 Astronaut Steve Bowen Talks with NPR’s “All Things Considered” – March 20, 2023 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview March 20 with WGBH Boston’s “All Things Considered” program. Bowen is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars.

** Expedition 68 Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi Answers Dubai Student, Public Questions – March 21, 2023 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 68 flight engineer Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) discussed living and working in space during an in-flight interview March 21 with Emirati media. Alneyadi launched on March 2 on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” as part of Crew-6 which is a science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions.

** LIFE Habitat | Sierra Space Successfully Completes Month Long Creep Test – Sierra Space

Sierra Space has successfully performed a month-long Accelerated Systematic Creep (ASC) test on LIFE – the first milestone in its 2023 testing campaign.

Engineers loaded a one-third-scale version of the inflatable habitat with a sustained amount of pressure over an extended period until it failed.

The campaign demonstrated that the LIFE habitat pressure shell design has a predicted life of far greater than 60 years – or 525,600 hours – based on Sierra Space’s 15-year on-orbit life requirement and the applied 4x safety factor.

The next series of one-third-scale LIFE certification tests will focus on inserting hard structures into the pressure shell and correlating the results to previous tests. Sierra Space anticipates moving toward full-scale LIFE habitat tests later this year.

Thanks to a recently signed Space Act Agreement with NASA, Sierra Space will expand its collaborative environment with Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), in Huntsville, Ala., to continue critical work on LIFE. Alabama is the seventh location across the nation where Sierra Space operates facilities, joining Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.

Press Release: https://www.sierraspace.com/newsroom/…

** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) – NASA

Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8

Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov