I really enjoyed this video tour from one end of the International Space Station to the other. If you have the right stuff, watching this in high definition mode is wonderful.
Tags : Watch this cool animation by NASA showing how the International Space Station has come together over the past 11 years.
OMG! Upside down!: (Not a space toilet.)
Courtesy KcstsgTo celebrate the 40th anniversary of man and mankind’s first steps on the moon, one of the International Space Station’s two toilets has broken.
I hate to say, “I told you so,” but, really, they should have seen this coming. See, my understanding of the ISS is that it’s sort of like a little floating frat. Getting in can be a hassle (but once you are in it’s vaguely uncomfortable), everybody has the same haircut, their jokes are largely based on cable TV and women are few and far between. So I feel like they should have known that the toilet was going to get a lot of use the day after a celebration.
In any case, one of the toilets broke for some reason. And, just like in a frat, they’re making the foreign guy fix it. (I guess in space everybody is foreign. But a Belgian guy is really foreign in space. Also, I don’t know how many foreign exchange students belong to frats. But you know what they say about assumptions: they’re useful and awesome.)
They aren’t sure yet how serious the malfunction is (so I guess it’s not overflowing, or anything), but eventually it will have to be sorted out, because a single bathroom apparently isn’t enough for the full ISS crew of six. Until that happens, though, there’s still the other bathroom, as well as plenty of “Apollo-era urine collection bags.”
Best wishes, spacemen. (And woman.) You’re living the dream.
Sarychev Volcano: a stunning view from the International Space Station.
Courtesy NASA Earth ObservatoryAstronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) snapped this amazing photograph of Sarychev Volcano as it erupted and punched a hole through the clouds. The volcano is located in the Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan. The ISS just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Talk about lucky! Go here to learn more about the geological event, and how the image was captured.
The same story twice in a row? Time must have looped!
in Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Flow of Matter and Energy, and Human Organism
Pure, delicious water: Drink up!
Courtesy viking_79Raise a glass of cool, clear water for our girls and boys in space.
After the removal of a “sticky check valve” in the Urine Processing Assembly on Monday, astronauts on the International Space Station have finally been given a “go” to drink “recycled” water. Wondering, no doubt, what exactly made that valve so sticky, our brave orbiting scientists can now sit back and hesitantly sip tepid, musty water from pouches not entirely unlike catheter bags.
That’s how I like to imagine it, anyway. I suspect, however, that most things on the space station are pretty fancy, and that any water recycling system they’d have up there would do a pretty good job of removing the subtle flavors of urine, sweat, and exhaled moisture (all of which are processed by the system). Hopefully it chills the end product a little bit too. There’s nothing like drinking something the temperature of spit for making you feel like you’re drinking spit.
The technology has been a long time coming. The system was only installed late last year, but it has been the dream of mankind for generations that we might somehow find a way to reuse what we so wastefully flush away (“yellow gold,” we call it). Especially in space. If we ever want to take extended trips in space (and we do—even going to Mars would take months and months), water and waste recycling systems are going to be essential. These brave, thirsty astronauts are finally taking a bold step toward that wonderful future.
Um, that's not Tang that you're drinking
Drinking our waste to our health: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station toasted their first sips of water converted from urine they've expelled during their time in the station.
Courtesy NASAAs we approach the start of the summer cool beverage season, here's an exotic drink you might want to try. Yesterday astronauts on the International Space Station raised their glasses in a special toast to the newest accessory on board their space craft. This device converts their urine, sweat and spit into drinkable water.
And you thought the hardest part of being an astronaut was going to be feeling the G-forces for blast-off and re-entry.
Converting body fluid wastes into water is an essential efficiency for long distance space missions to locations like Mars and beyond. And even with at the space station, the device reduces the amount of water that needs to be transported from Earth by 65 percent.
Six seems to be the operative number with this new contraption. A crew of six on the space station creates enough urine to convert into six gallons of water in six hours. Currently, ISS crews are limited to three people because of limited water supply. Now the station will be able to handle up to six crew members at a time.
The new device directs water from the station's toilet to a special tank where the fluid is boiled, separating the water contents from the urine brine.
Want to learn more? Here are some links about this new space travel technology:
NASA coverage of the new water system
USA Today
Past Buzz coverage on space urine-to-water conversion
Spaced-out thinking?: Should NASA give away naming rights of our legacy to the highest vote-getter?
Courtesy DrBaloney (adapted with NASA public domain photo)I know it’s not rocket science but NASA may have made a huge blunder allowing write-in suggestions for naming a new room on the International Space Station (ISS). Urged on by Comedy Central’s popular political pundit, Stephen Colbert, fans of his satire show The Colbert Report have come through and given his name suggestion “Colbert” the most votes in the NASA contest that ended last Friday.
The name received nearly 20 percent of the total votes surpassing all four of NASA’s own selections (Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, Venture), and several other write-in names.
Node 3 is set to be delivered by the Shuttle Endeavor in early 2010 and will provide room for many of the life support systems on the ISS. NASA was obviously hoping suggestions would be in a similar vein as the two previous nodes, Unity (Node 1) and Harmony (Node 2).
However, all is not lost. Since rules for the contest allow the space agency to scrub any and all suggestions and/or winning votes, it can select whatever name it deems most appropriate for the new addition. I’m not sure, but considering the current mood of the US populace regarding the shenanigans going on with AIG bonuses and the usual governmental ineptitude in dealing with things, NASA may want to be careful in their final ruling unless they want to deal with severe backlash from the vox populi.
Personally, I think the space agency should override the vote but what do you think? Should NASA honor the will of the majority and name Node 3 "Colbert"?
By the way, the second most popular write-in name was "MyYearBook" (????). I’m not even sure what that means but quoting the maitre d’ in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “I weep for the future.”
A view of the ISS from above: This full view of the International Space Station was photographed from the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-114 Return to Flight mission, following the undocking of the two spacecraft.
Courtesy NASAThe three crew members of the International Space Station were forced to take cover inside a Soyuz escape vehicle for about 10 minutes yesterday when a 5 inch chunk of space junk came too close to the space station. The space junk was spotted (how do you spot something that small in space?) too late to move the space station to safety.
This is the sixth time that the crew of the ISS has had to take cover in the Soyuz escape vehicle due to nearby space debris. You may not think a 5 inch chunk of space junk would be all that big of a deal, but remember, that stuff is orbiting the Earth at crazy speeds - 17,500 miles and hour and faster. When something hits you traveling that fast it will do some significant damage.
If you are interested in the International Space Station, there are a ton of cool things on line about it, including live video and audio feeds.
International Space Station: To see a really big version of this click on the word NASA (in red).
Courtesy NASA
Two space vehicles joined Dec. 1998
The Russian-built Zarya module and the U.S.-built Node 1, also called Unity, were connected together ten years ago. Thus began one of the greatest international, technological, political, and engineering achievements in human history.
Ten years later, the station's mass has expanded to more than 627,000 pounds, and its interior volume is more than 25,000 cubic feet, comparable to the size of a five-bedroom house. Since Zarya's launch, there have been 29 additional construction flights to the station: 27 aboard the space shuttle and two additional Russian launches. NASA
Learn more about the space station's past and future
Future launch dates and additions
Computer rendering of future ISS assembly
International Space Station assembly sequence and componant descriptions
Latest news from NASA International Space Station webpage
Remember last week when astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (a St. Paul native) lost her tool bag while making repairs to the International Space Station? Through the magic of YouTube you can relive the historic moment by watching the the following video.
I'm sure astronaut Heidemarie was hoping the story would go away, but now it's back in the news. Kevin Fetter, an amateur satellite observer in Brockville, Ontario, has claimed to have located the orbiting bag of errant tools, and was kind enough to have videotaped it so everyone could see.
The tool bag was the one of the largest items lost by NASA during a spacewalk and cost something like $100,000!!! Obviously, NASA doesn't shop at Sears or Home Depot.
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