Space habitat reports – Mar.20.2024 | Space-for-All at HobbySpace

Here is this week’s selection of videos and news items about space habitats, living in space, and space settlement. Starts with NASA’s latest Space to Ground report for the International Space Station:

** Expedition 71 Space Station Crew’s Soyuz Rolls to the Pad – NASA Video

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz 2.1a rocket that will launch the Soyuz MS-25 crew to the International Space Station rolled out from its integration building to the launch pad for final preparations. While that took place, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Soyuz commander Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus completed their training for their launch aboard the Soyuz to the orbital outpost

** NASA’s SpaceX CRS-30 Mission: National Stem Cell Foundation – ISS National Lab

The National Stem Cell Foundation will launch its 6th investigation to the space station evaluating the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Learn more about this project launching on NASA’s SpaceX CRS-30 mission to the orbiting outpost.

** Axiom Space news: Axiom Space Partners with Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine on National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines | Axiom Space – Mar.6.2024

Axiom Space has partnered with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, recipient of an inaugural U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Engines grant. The NSF Engines grant allows user-inspired technical challenges to be addressed in collaboration with partnered institutions, including Axiom Space, through Innovation, Translation, and Education Cores (ITECs), each focused on a broad area of unmet need.

The ITECs will focus on Development and Manufacturing, Biomaterials, Cell Biology, In-Space Manufacturing, and Workforce Development and will be located with Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), the RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO), and Forsyth Technical Community College (FTCC), respectively. In partnership with Axiom Space the In-Space ITEC will explore a new frontier for tissue and organ regeneration in microgravity, adding significant forward-thinking engagement and workforce development through the In-Space ITEC….

** Gravitics adapts modules to various launch providers:

We currently have 4-meter, 6-meter, and 8-meter class space station modules in development that are designed to get to orbit on Falcon 9, Vulcan, New Glenn, and Starship. These modules and their components will be the ultimate building blocks for human and robotic activity in… pic.twitter.com/7Xdwdwa4qj

— Gravitics (@GraviticsInc) March 14, 2024

** Blue Origin completes life support system milestones: NASA See s Progress on Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef Life Support System | NASA – Mar.20.2024.

The Blue Origin Orbital Reef project completes four milestones that are part of the NASA Space Act Agreement awarded to Blue in 2021:

“These milestones are critical to ensuring that a commercial destination can support human life so NASA astronauts can continue to have access to low Earth orbit to conduct important scientific research in the unique microgravity environment,” said Angela Hart, manager of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program. “Additionally, each milestone that is completed allows NASA to gain insight into our partner’s progress on station design and development.”

Humans living and working in space do so in a closed environment that must be monitored and controlled. On the International Space Station, components for the environmental control and life support system maintain clean air and water for astronauts. The regenerative system recycles and reclaims most of the water and oxygen produced by normal human activities. This significantly reduces the amount of mass that would have to be launched to the orbiting laboratory for these functions.

Orbital Reef will have a similar system in place. All four milestones tested different parts of the system, including a trace contaminant control test, water contaminant oxidation test, urine water recovery test, and water tank test.

** World’s First Commercial Space Station Design and Testing Questions Answered | LIFE Habitat Tech – Sierra Space

Our full scale burst test film prompted a number of questions on the design and function of our LIFE habitat technology. We asked Shawn Buckley – Senior Director, Engineering and Beth Licavoli – Softgoods Certification Lead, to answer your most popular questions along with a few favorites.

Learn more about this technology as we continue to develop the world’s first commercial space station: https://sierraspace.com/space-destina…

** Chinese Space Station Retrieves over 400 Material Samples After Space Exposure – CCTV Video News Agency

A robotic arm on China’s Tiangong space station successfully transferred an extravehicular experiment facility alongside with 407 material samples from outside the station’s Wentian lab module to the station interior on Thursday night.

** Private space stations overview – Interview with Lauren Andrade on The Space Show

[Lauren Andrade] from Beyond Earth Institute was with us to discuss her report on commercial space stations. We discussed all aspects of private space stations including liability, centralized regs with the Dept. of Commerce and more. Please read the full summary of this program at www.thespaceshow.com for this date, Sunday, March 17, 2024.

See also Andrade’s report: 2023 Commercial Habitats Working Group Report | BEI (pdf)

** Other news and articles:

** Two orbital views of earth via NASA’s EHDC6 live views imaging system on the ISS – ISS Above

—- Highlight: FL – KSC – Mar 17, 2023 – 18:31 EDT

—- Highlight: Melbourne Australia – Mar 17, 2024 14:34 AEDT

** 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