In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

Space habitat reports – May.18.2024

Here is a new selection of videos and news items about space habitats, living in space, and space settlement.

=== International Space Station & NASA

** Space to Ground: The ISS Toolbox: May 17, 2024 – NASA Johnson

** Space to Ground: Preparing for Guests: May 10, 2024 – NASA Johnson

** NASA Astronaut Matt Dominick Talks with KMGH, Denver – Friday, May 10, 2024 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Matt Dominick discussed living and working in space during an in-flight interview with KMGH-TV/ABC Denver May 10. Dominick 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 as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

Join NASA as we go forward to the Moon and on to Mars — discover the latest on Earth, the Solar System and beyond with a weekly update in your inbox.

** Space Station Crew Answers Tucson AZ Student Questions – Tuesday May 14, 2024 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy Dyson and Jeanette Epps of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview May 14 with students participating in the TRiO Upward Bound program at the Desert Vista campus of the Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. Dyson and Epps are in the midst of a long-duration mission aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

** NASA Gateway lunar station:

=== Commercial space habitats

** Axiom Space – Overview of Axiom’s space projects: Axiom Space eyes the moon while continuing to dream big in Earth orbit | Space.com – May.8.2024

Axiom Space was founded in 2016, so it’s coming up on that 10-year mark — and the Houston-based company has already checked off a lot of boxes that were likely on its milestone list.

For example, Axiom has organized three all-private crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and obtained a NASA contract to send the first commercial module to the ISS. The company is also building the spacesuits that NASA’s Artemis astronauts will use during their exploration of the lunar surface.

** Blue Origin – A look at the Orbital Reef space station program that involves a collaboration of Blue, Sierra Space and others: Commercial Space Stations Approach Launch Phase – Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef aces milestones while Europe and China aim high | IEEE Spectrum – May.10.2024

Blue Origin is one of a number of private-sector actors aiming to harbor commercial activities in low Earth orbit (LEO) as the creaking and leaking International Space Station (ISS) approaches its drawdown. Partners in Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef program, including firms Redwire, Sierra Space, and Boeing, are each reporting progress in their respective components of the program. The collaboration itself may not be on such strong ground. Such endeavors may also end up slowed and controlled by regulation so far absent from many new, commercial areas of space.

Orbital Reef recently aced testing milestones for its critical life support system, with assistance from NASA. These included hitting targets for trace contaminant control, water contaminant oxidation, urine water recovery, and water tank tests—all of which are required to operate effectively and efficiently to enable finite resources to keep delicate human beings alive in orbit for long timeframes.

** VAST Space making progress on the Haven-1 habitat:

—- Haven-1’s solar wing completed its qualification testing. – VAST Youtube

The first Haven-1 solar wing has completed its qualification campaign, culminating in a deployment test performed at Vast in Long Beach with support from our partner, DHV.

The wing’s six deployable solar panels produce 1.2kW of power in standard orbit conditions. With Haven-1 set to fly twelve wings, a total of 14.4kW is available to power avionics, payloads, and everything in between.

** How Polaris Dawn Will Do The First Commercial Spacewalk! – Everyday Astronaut

I got to speak with the crew of Polaris Dawn to learn more about their exciting mission including the features of the brand new SpaceX EVA suit and all the details about the first commercial spacewalk from a Crew Dragon capsule!

Learn more about their mission by visiting http://polarisprogram.com/dawn

=== Chinese space habitats

** Why China’s Shenzhou is Better Than Russia’s Soyuz – Scott Manley

China’s Shenzhou spacecraft is heavily inspired from Soyuz, and there are likely systems copied directly from Soyuz. However, with the benefits of 21st century development it’s not wedded to many of the limitations imposed by the Soyuz heritage.

Which oddly enough means that between the last flight of Shuttle and the first Crewed flight of Dragon it was the best operational human rated spacecraft…. I never thought about that until I wrote this description.

=== In-space settlements

=== Other space habitat and settlement news and articles:

=== Earth views from ISS

** Highlight: Desert Agriculture – Egypt (close to the River Nile) and Saudi Arabia – Mar 21, 2024 – ISS Above

** 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

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ISS after undocking of STS-132

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Outpost in Orbit:
A Pictorial & Verbal History of the Space Station