In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

Space habitat reports – June.17.2024

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

=== International Space Station & NASA

** Space to Ground: Flight Test: June 14, 2024 – NASA Johnson

** Boeing Starliner successfully delivers crew of two to ISS for first time

After completion of this final test mission, Starliner can begin regular transport of crews to the Station.

— First crewed Boeing Starliner docks with the International Space Station – VideoFromSpace

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have arrived at the International Space Station aboard Boeing Starliner. The spacecraft docked with the orbital outpost on June 6, 2024.

— Boeing Starliner crew enters space station after docking – VideoFromSpace

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams completed ingress onto the International Space Station shortly after docking on June 6, 2024.

** A view of the Starliner docked to the ISS:

Maxar demonstrates the ability of its imaging satellites to view not just earth but other spacecraft as well by releasing an image of the Boeing Starliner crew vehicle docked to the ISS.

** Technology Advancement and Applied Research Leveraging the ISS National Lab: 2024-7 – ISS National Lab

On May 22, 2024, the ISS National Lab held a webinar is to discuss the ISS National Lab Research Announcement (NLRA) 2024-7 soliciting proposals focused on applied research and development, translational medicine, technology readiness level maturation, and technology demonstration.

** NASA Astronaut Butch Willmore Answers Tennessee Student Questions – Tuesday, June 11, 2024 – NASA Video

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore discussed living and working in space as part of the Crewed Flight Test (CFT) of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft during an in-flight interview with Tennessee Tech University on June 11. Wilmore is an alumnus of the school and is the midst of completing a test flight to check out Starliner’s systems ahead of spacecraft certification. Wilmore will remain at the space station for about a week to complete a series of test objectives before departing the complex for a landing in the southwestern United States alongside NASA astronaut Suni Williams.

** Metal 3D printing in microgravity has been accomplished aboard the ESA’s Columbus laboratory module by an industrial team led by Airbus:

The Metal 3D Printer’s design is based on stainless-steel wire being fed into the printing area, which is heated by a high-power laser, about a million times time more powerful than a standard laser pointer. As the wire dips into the melt pool, the end of the wire melts so that metal is added to the print.

The print process is overseen entirely from the ground. All the onboard crew has to do is open a nitrogen and venting valve before the printing starts. For safety reasons the printer operates within a fully sealed box, preventing excess heat or fumes from escaping.

Four shapes have been chosen for subsequent full-scale 3D printing, which will later be returned to Earth to be compared with reference prints made on the ground in normal gravity.

—- 3D printing metal in space! Tech developed by Airbus – VideoFromSpace

Airbus is developing a 3D printer that heats up metal to “1,200 degrees Celsius to produce new parts such as radiation shields, tooling or equipment directly in orbit.”

** First Space Station missions for new ESA astronauts – European Space Agency, ESA

Watch the replay as ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announces the first two astronaut missions for the new ESA astronaut class of 2022 on the first day of the Space Council, held in Brussels on 22 and 23 May 2024.

ESA’s most recent class of astronauts selected in 2022 includes Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois, and Marco Sieber. They recently completed one year of basic training and graduated as ESA astronauts on 22 April at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Germany, making them eligible for spaceflight. During their missions aboard the International Space Station, ESA astronauts will engage in a diverse range of activities, from conducting scientific experiments and medical research to Earth observation, outreach and operational tasks.

=== Commercial space habitats

** Axiom Space

—- Update from Axiom on module construction: Axiom Station Update | Habitat One – Axiom Space Youtube

Axiom Station’s ‘Habitat One’ module has taken another major step towards completion at the Thales Alenia Space production facility in Turin, Italy. Take a look at the module bulkhead and forward cone coming together as Axiom Space expands global access to low Earth orbit.

—- An overview of Axiom’s space habitat program. Includes comments from George Motter, senior vice president at Axiom Space and chief engineer for Axiom Station. Rocket science: Axiom Space balances risk with reward in its quest to design a new space station. | MMA Limitless Magazine – May.9.2024

The goal is to build a station that

will be the first commercial space laboratory. He and his colleagues have big dreams for the structure, which will enable new innovations in physics, biology, and other sciences that thrive in microgravity. They want this next-generation orbital platform to be useful and comfortable— one step closer to our science fiction dreams.

—- Axiom EVA spacesuit update: AxEMU Artemis III Integrated Test – Axiom Space Youtube

The first Artemis III Integrated Test is now complete.
Axiom Space, along with NASA and SpaceX, tested how the #AxEMU and elements such as Starship will work together during the Artemis III mission. Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Peggy Whitson, and NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock donned the AxEMU, providing crucial data and expertise.

Learn more about how we’re suiting humanity’s return to the moon with #AxEMU: https://bit.ly/3VsF0F1.

** Sierra Space

—- Pressure testing update

** VAST Space

—- The Exploration Company provide cargo supply services for Vast’s second orbital station. The Exploration Company, which is based in Europe, is developing the uncrewed Nyx  vehicle for orbital supply operations.

–— The European Space Agency (ESA) becomes a Vast partner. ESA will use the Haven-1 station “for astronaut missions and research activities as well as commercial business development“. ESA will also help enable European companies to “supply subsystems and equipment for future Vast space stations“. ESA will also encourage the development and use of European crew and cargo transport services to support Vast stations.

—- VAST unveils structural prototype:

Haven-1 Primary Structure Pathfinder pic.twitter.com/dbFsm0bAk7

—- VAST CEO Max Haot talked recently with CNBC’s Morgan Brennan: Space Station Acceleration with VAST CEO Max Haot | Manifest Space with Morgan Brennan – May.16.2024

—- Free-Flying Stations, with Jed McCaleb & Max Haot (Vast) – Payload on Youtube

This week on Pathfinder, we’re joined by Jed McCaleb, Founder, and Max Haot, CEO, the leaders behind VAST, a company advancing the development of commercial space stations. Jed, a seasoned software entrepreneur, and Max, a veteran in space and internet ventures, bring their unique expertise to the ambitious goal of advancing human habitation in space.

Our conversation covers the critical aspects of creating economically viable space stations, the strategic role of life support systems, and the significance of reducing transportation costs. We also explore:

– Space station economics, pros/cons of competition
– Military opportunities and sensitivities in space station use
– Integration of Launcher post-acquisition
– Challenges and excitement of Haven One’s launch
– Vast’s product roadmap

And much more…

• Chapters •
00:00 Intro
00:53 Jed’s career path and creating Vast
02:57 Balancing aspirations and making money
04:57 Max’s history building business and how he came to Vast
08:49 Max’s primary objective at Vast
11:22 Jed’s experience building a hardware company
12:31 Market opportunity for a free flying space station
15:20 Haven 1
19:17 Building components in house
21:07 Materials use and construction safety
23:03 Vast’s approach vs competitors
29:45 Importance of being first in the market
31:41 Is the market large enough to sustain multiple station providers?
33:25 Common misconceptions of space station investment
38:02 Vast x SpaceX partnership
40:55 Product roadmap
43:22 Coinciding with Starship timelines
45:06 Will Starship be converted into a space station?
46:10 Fundraising
47:09 Economics around Haven 1
51:37 Military applications
53:30 Utilization after acquisition
54:13 What excites you and keeps you up at night?

** Starlab – Voyager Space

—- MDA Space partners with Starlab

—- Paragon Space Development Corp. to provide water purification system for Starlab habitat: Paragon Announces Water Purification System EDU for Starlab | Aviation Newswire – May.30.2024

=== Chinese space habitats

** China’s space station crew conducts spacewalk to install ‘space debris protection devices’ – VideoFromSpace

Spacewalking astronauts Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu successfully installed space debris protection devices and more outside the Tiangong space station on May 28, 2024. Astronaut Li Cong assisted from inside the orbital outpost.

** See zebrafish swim in space on China’s Tiangong space station – ISS Above

China is studying zebrafish aboard the Tiangong space station and they are doing just fine. Full Story: https://www.space.com/china-tiangong-…

** Shenzhou-18 Crew Conducts Maintenance, Scientific Experiments Aboard Tiangong Space Station – CCTV Video News Agency

The Shenzhou-18 mission crew has been busy conducting various facility maintenance works and scientific experiments aboard China’s Tiangong space station over the past month.

=== Space station technology

** BE Webinar: The Next Steps Toward Artificial Gravity – Beyond Earth Institute on Youtube

Long-term human space migration has always been tempered by the challenge of a microgravity environment. This webinar, moderated by BE’s Senior Technical Advisor, Steve Hoeser, will focus on the pathways forward for mitigating the effects of microgravity. Panelists will discuss the value of revisiting investigations into spin gravity as an avenue to address the microgravity problem.

Panelists:
-Steve Hoeser (Moderator) – Senior Technical Advisor, Beyond Earth Institute
-Donna Roberts, MD, MS – Deputy Chief Scientist, ISS National Lab
-Dr. Dana Levin – Chief of Space Medicine, Vast Space
-Gary Hudson – President, Space Studies Institute
-Dr. Ted Hall – Extended Reality Software Developer, University of Michigan

See also The benefits of artificial gravity for space settlements | Space Settlement Progress – June.15.2024

=== Space resources

** TransAstra: Revolutionizing Asteroid Mining and the Future of Space Economy | Presented by Celestron – Cosmos Safari

Check out this Celestron Cosmos Safari podcast interview with Joel Sercel, CEO of TransAstra, which is developing technologies to access and utilize the resources of space:

Prepare to ignite your cosmic curiosity as we join forces with Joel Sercel, the visionary CEO of TransAstra, to navigate the extraordinary complexities and boundless opportunities of space engineering. Our interstellar conversation steers us through the nuances of space junk cleanup, asteroid mining, and the potential gold rush lurking in the cosmos. Joel describes how our future in space is sooner than we can imagine, as we harness the vast resources of space to sustain humanity’s future. Discover the sheer brilliance behind technologies reshaping our celestial pursuits, from AI-enhanced telescope arrays to propulsion systems that could rewrite the rules of space travel.

Have you ever gazed up at the night sky and yearned for the secrets it holds? This episode grants you access to the pioneering minds and technologies that are making the stars a little closer to home. Joel provides a guided tour of TransAstra’s four-pronged strategy for space resource utilization; detect, move, capture, and process. We traverse the philosophical corridors of terraforming ethics and the practical concerns of low-gravity health implications, leaving no asteroid unturned in our quest to comprehend humanity’s place in the cosmos.

Our journey culminates in a thoughtful exploration of mankind’s innate drive to explore the unknown. Uncover the entrepreneurial spirit that propels us toward the stars, consider the future of space colonization, and ponder the impact of AI on the space industry’s trajectory. With each revelation from our episode, we invite you to stretch your imagination across the galaxy, and in doing so, find inspiration to be part of the next chapter in our cosmic safari.

Join us each month as we continue to explore the universe’s greatest mysteries, with experts like Joel Sercel guiding the way.

A Special Thanks to Will Young at https://www.deepskydude.com/ for the right to use his awesome music.

0:00 Engineering the Future of Space
15:57 Space Exploration and Conversation
32:04 Space Force-Funded TKO Turnkey Observatory
41:06 Overview of RASA Astrograph Telescope
48:57 Asteroid Mining for Space Exploration
59:33 Future of Space Colonization and Exploration
1:09:42 Asteroid Prospect Telescopes in Space
1:17:00 Asteroid Mining and Rocket Propulsion Future
1:29:32 Vision of Human Expansion Into Space
1:43:54 Values, AI Impact, Cosmos Safari Podcast
1:50:10 Great Chat and Podcast Announcement

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

=== Earth views from ISS

** NASA ISS crewmember  Matthew Dominick posted a cool video of the Starliner crew vehicle with aurora in the background:

** Timelapse NRAL Canadarm2 05 29 2024 – ISS Above

Just a quick little (5 hour) Canadarm2 operation to move an experiment payload from one port on the Nanoracks Airlock (NRAL) to another.

** Highlight: Night Buenos Aires Argentina – Jun 2 2024 – 23:58 ART – 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