Audio Blogging With Richard Garriott

Challenger Center Launches New Audio Blog Forum

"In April Richard Garriott, the next civilian to visit the International Space Station in October, 2008, joined Founding Chairman of Challenger Center for Space Science Education, Dr. June Scobee Rogers, for the first in a series of monthly audio blog podcasts. Dr. Rodgers and Richard discussed various topics from his childhood to the motivation that brought him to where he is today."

Students to Create YouTube Videos for Live Webcast by Private Space Explorer Richard Garriott

Blending Art and Science: Challenger Center Invites Students to Create Art for Space Flight

Eat it, Jon Stewart! I'm talking to space

Astronaut trades jokes with Colbert in space interview, Houston Chronicle

"We have gone galactic," crowed Colbert. "I should say something really profound. Eat it, Jon Stewart! I'm talking to space."

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 8 May 2008

"At ~10:50am EDT, Garrett Reisman participated in a live interactive PAO TV interview with Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report". [Stephen Colbert is the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. The "Colbert Report" has garnered huge ratings and critical success as one of the top shows on television. This interview was live-to-tape to be aired on Comedy Central tonight at 11:30pm EDT.]"

Insight Into Soyuz Ballistic Reentry

Internal NASA Documents Give Clues to Scary Soyuz Return Flight, IEEE Spectrum

"Although the technical investigation will take weeks to resolve, NASA and Russian engineers have come to several credible preliminary conclusions. And internal NASA documents, such as "15S Ballistic Entry Outbrief" by George Kafka, chief of the Safety & Mission Assurance Directorate for the ISS program, reveal a plausible idea of what probably happened."

Congress Pushes for More Money, Science, at NASA

Texans in Congress try to boost NASA budget, Houston Chronicle

"In the Senate, Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, said she was asking colleagues to add at least $1 billion to the NASA budget. Hutchison said she wants to add one more shuttle flight in order to ferry the $1.5 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the international space station to study the energy-producing possibilities of cosmic rays. "We're not giving NASA the priority it should have," said Hutchison, a member of the Senate Republican leadership. "It should remain the premier agency for innovation and research."

Students Call The ISS

ARISS Status April 28, 2008, ISS Fan Club

"Upcoming School Contacts: The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. has been approved for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Saturday, May 3 at 15:52 UTC via the telebridge station NN1SS in Greenbelt. This year Space Day will celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA and NASA's achievements through space exploration. Youth, ages 12 -18, will participate."

South Korean Astronaut Hospitalized for Back Pain

Korea's First Astronaut Hospitalized after Rough Landing, Telecoms Korea

"Korea's first astronaut has been hospitalized due to severe back pains caused by a rough return voyage, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said Tuesday."

SKorea's first astronaut says still feels some pain, AFP

"South Korea's first astronaut Yi So-Yeon returned home Monday, saying she still feels some pain following her unorthodox re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere."

ISS Hearings Focus On Science and Assembly

House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Examines the Status of the International Space Station

"Although NASA talks about providing research opportunities on the ISS, we cannot forget that the funding cuts NASA has made to its microgravity research programs in recent years--whether willingly or not--have largely decimated that research community," stated Udall. "I think the onus has to be on NASA to prove that it means what it says by taking meaningful steps both to make the ISS a productive venue for research and to start to rebuild that research community. Yet, it won't be possible to have a productive ISS unless the facility can be sustained after the Shuttle is retired."

Construction of ISS Progressing, Subcommitee Explores Research Capabilities

Hearing Charter

Statement by Cristina Chaplain
Statement by William Gerstenmaier
Statement by Cheryl Nickerson
Statement by Jeffrey Sutton
Statement by Louis Stodieck
Statement by Edward Knipling
Statement by Thomas B. Pickens, III

Post Landing Audio Interview With Peggy Whitson Released

Audio file

Editor's note: According to NASA HQ Public Affairs: "this is an audio file of Peggy Whitson's interview with NASA Public Affairs Officer Rob Navias recorded soon after her landing aboard the Soyuz on Saturday. During the interview, Whitson states that some rescuers were there because of a fire. For clarification, the Soyuz capsule landed near an area where Kazak farmers were burning grass off the steppes. The fire was not related to the Soyuz landing."

Despite multiple questions from the media as to what was reported by the crew and others about the Soyuz reentry, no mention was made by NASA personnel of this JSC PAO interview during a media telecon earlier today. Subsequently, NASA HQ PAO promptly released the original JSC audio after multiple media requests were submitted for this audio.

NASA not worried about Soyuz space capsule's bumpy ride home, AP

"Saturday's bone-jarring landing happened after the capsule went into an unplanned ballistic re-entry. The Russians thought they had solved the descent problem after it cropped up last October and NASA agreed with their original analysis that a frayed wire was to blame, Gerstenmaier said."

- NASA Official Plays Down a Troubled Soyuz Landing, NY Times
- Soyuz spacecraft safe despite botched landing: NASA, Reuters
- A Scary Return to Earth, Washington Post
- Did a short circuit cause spacecraft's steep descent?, New Scientist

Just How Dangerous Was That Soyuz Reentry?

NASA Offers Only Minor Insight Into Soyuz Off Course Landing, SpaceRef

"Gerstenmaier was rather reluctant to get into any specifics preferring instead to defer, and to "let the Russians get the spacecraft back, dump the data from its computers, and allow the commission that has been established to look at what happened". He would repeat this caveat more than a dozen times during the press teleconference."

Space crew's hard landing raises hard questions, MSNBC

"How on earth did the Russians lose track of the descending spacecraft? Why did alarming details of the landing -- including the ignition of a brush fire that set the collapsed parachute ablaze and filled the landed spacecraft with smoke -- take so long to reach the public?"

Report: Soyuz capsule nearly burned up, AP

"A Russian news agency says the crew of the Soyuz capsule that landed in Kazakhstan this weekend after an unexpectedly severe descent was in serious danger. Interfax quotes an unnamed space official as saying that the capsule entered the atmosphere improperly, with the hatch first, instead of with heat shields leading the way. The official says the hatch suffered significant damage. The official also says the capsule's antenna burned up during the descent, meaning the crew could not communicate properly."

Spacecraft's Shaky Descent Under Scrutiny, CBS

"The capsule apparently entered the discernible atmosphere in an unusual orientation and was subjected to relatively violent buffeting until the attached section finally broke away, as planned in such scenarios, allowing the descent module to settle into a normal heat- shield-down orientation. The failure of the lower propulsion module to cleanly separate is believed to have forced the craft into a steep, so-called ballistic re-entry."

Just Send Rubles

Russia will not need space tourism when space program well financed -analysts, Interfax

"There are plans to manufacture four Soyuz spacecraft in 2009 to launch crews to the ISS," [Vitaly Lopota, the president of the Energia space rocket corporation] said. If the Russian space program was financed in full, Russia would not need to make money on space tourism, Krasnov said. "If we lack money, we will have to launch space tourists," he said."

Russia looks at all options to invest its oil billions abroad, Times Online

"Russia could soon follow the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and invest billions of dollars in direct overseas investments if, as expected, its national welfare fund is given more freedom to invest."

Editor's note: Interesting how the govenrment-owned Energia is now using a quasi-state controlled news outlet to lobby for increased government funding for Russia's space program. One upon a time Russia's space program was so broke the only way to could continue was with outside financial help - from the U.S. and selling seats on Soyuz flights. Now, I guess, those Russian petro-Rubles are easier to find. Too bad. In retrospect, the commercial space traveler program has given the ISS a more cosmopolitan face since its inception and has injected some actual commercialism into the otherwise (multi) government-controlled ISS.

Rough Reentry for Expedition 16 Crew

Station crew OK after Soyuz capsule lands short of target, SpaceflightNow

"At a Russian news conference, Russian officials said the crew was in good health after a "controlled, ballistic decent. The crew feels great, all of them. ... The reasons for the ballistic descent will be investigated after the descent module will be delivered to the Energia Corporation."

No More Progress Purchases

NASA Wants All-commercial ISS Resupply

"NASA will not ask Congress for permission to continue buying cargo space on Russian Progress resupply vehicles for the International Space Station (ISS) after 2011, opting instead for an all-commercial approach under its nascent Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Administrator Michael Griffin has sent a letter to Capitol Hill specifically excluding Progress from a request to continue using Russian Soyuz capsules to deliver crew to the ISS after the shuttle retires in 2010. Griffin had no immediate comment, but William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for space operations, said April 16 that NASA believes one of the commercial vehicles in development under the COTS program will be able to meet its ISS-supply needs."

Russia Talking About 9 Person ISS Crew

Putin orders construction of new space launchpad, vows to give boost to space industries, AP

"Perminov said Friday that Russia may stop selling seats on its spacecraft to "tourists" starting in 2010 because of the planned expansion of the international space station's crew. He said the station's permanent crew is expected to grow from the current three to six or even nine in 2010. That will mean that Russia will have fewer extra seats available for tourists on its Soyuz spacecraft, which are used to ferry crews to the station and back to Earth."

MPLMs VS ATVs

NASA rejects non-Shuttle answers to stranded ISS instrument, Flight Global

"To make room for AMS in the orbiter's payload bay the ISS cargo rescheduling idea was to move equipment from the bay's interior into a Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), which is transported by Shuttle, or ESA's ATV."

Editor's note: MPLMs are only carried to/from ISS by Space Shuttles. Portions of the ATV's cargo section structure are based on MPLM designs - but they are not MPLMs.

Jules Verne Joins ISS

ATV Jules Verne Docks with Station

"The Jules Verne, the first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, docked to the aft port of the International Space Station's Zvezda Service Module at 10:45 a.m. EDT Thursday. The unpiloted cargo spacecraft carries more than 7,500 pounds of equipment, supplies, water, fuel and gases for the station. It also carries hopes and aspirations of the European Space Agency. The ATV and its advanced rendezvous system could play an important role in future space exploration."

Tracking Jules Verne

From ESA's ATV Blog: "We've come across a cool ATV online tracker gadget which we really want to share with you. Click through for Isana Kashiwai's GoogleSatTrack which uses Google Maps. Not only is it exciting to get a visualisation of where Jules Verne is flying right now, but you also get an idea of how fast it's whizzing round the planet up there. And, what's different about this tracker... on the same screen you can see the International Space Station chasing behind ATV."

What Happened to Kermit The Space Frog?

Editor's note: It would seem this image (S123E00737B) of a specially outfitted Kermit the Frog aboard the ISS appeared - and then disappeared - from the NASA Human Spaceflight website. Larger image.

What gives? Does NASA PAO have something against frogs?

Hey Dextre, Wake Up

NASA struggles to wake space station robot, USA Today

"The International Space Station's new $210 million robot, a two-armed giant named Dextre, refused to come to life on command Thursday, jeopardizing NASA's plans to get the robot up and running over the next week. Mission Control tried to power up the robot's pieces early Thursday soon after they were installed on the station, but there was no response. Engineers plan to make a software fix sometime after 5 a.m. ET Friday that might wake the robot from its sleep."

Increasing The Value of ISS

NASA STS-123 Execute Package FD04

"Today, you will open up the JLP and add to the total square footage of ISS. The Harris County tax assessors estimate that this will increase the value of the station by $43.6 M, and the millage rates will be increased accordingly. We may have to dip into your per diem as we had not counted on the higher resulting rent for your crew. The good news is that if we add a bathroom and bamboo flooring to the JLP, we can more than double that assessed value in resale price!"

Endeavour Docks With ISS

Space Shuttle Endeavour Docks Successfully to the International Space Station

"Space shuttle Endeavour docked successfully to the International Space Station at 11:49 p.m. EDT. About an hour before docking, STS-123 Commander Dominic Gorie and Pilot Gregory H. Johnson guided the shuttle through a back-flip maneuver, giving the Expedition 16 crew the opportunity to take pictures of the orbiter's protective heat-resistant tiles. These photos will be sent to engineers on Earth for analysis."

Additional ISS and Shuttle news

Jules Verne Launched

ESA's Jules Verne Is In Orbit

"Jules Verne, the first of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV), a new series of autonomous spaceships designed to re-supply and re-boost the International Space Station (ISS), was successfully launched into low Earth orbit by an Ariane 5 vehicle this morning."

Europe's resupply rocket a good step, Huntsville Times

"For intents and purposes, the ATV is like a mini-space station or a separate module. It's automated and can dwell in orbit for an extended period of time and then dock with the station," said Keith Cowing, editor of NASAWatch.com. "It's really an alternative to what the Russians have, the Progress (capsule). Progress has worked well for decades, but the ATV brings new capabilities to the station."

Jules Verne ATV Blog

ISS Increment Definition and Requirements Documents

NASA SSP 54018 Increment Definition and Requirements Document for Increment 18 Baseline (Draft - December 2007)

NASA SSP 54017 Increment Definition and Requirements Document for Increment 17 Baseline October 2007

NASA SSP 54016 Increment Definition and Requirements Document for Increment 16 Revision A June 2007

More ISS and Space Shuttle News

COTS and Constellation Procurement Notices

NASA JSC Solicitation: ISS Commercial Resupply Services

"NASA/JSC plans to issue an RFP for the following Commercial item/services: cargo upmass, disposal and return to and from the International Space Station, nonstandard services and special studies as defined in the Statement of Work."

NASA Solicitation: Constellation Program Ground Processing Services

"The purpose of this notice is to apprise interested parties of the current planning schedule for competition of the Constellation (Cx) ground processing, provide high level information on the potential requirements, acquisition approach, and solicit industry input."

The Mother of all ISS EVAs

Astronaut Scott Parazynski at the Explorers Club: Fixing A Solar Panel in Space

"Astronaut Scott Parazynski describes his solar panel repair EVA during the STS-120 mission at a presentation made at the Explorers Club in New York City on 21 February 2008."

Orbital Wins COTS Funding

Editor's update: According to NASA's Doug Cooke the winning proposal of the COTS-1 re-competition is worth $170 million. 13 companies competed and submitted proposals in November 2007.

Results of the review were presented to Cooke last Thursday. The Space Act Agreement will be made with Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC).

OSC is looking to develop an new medium class launch vehicle they call the Taurus II. The first stage will use LOX/Kerosine liquid fuel using Aerojet engines. ATK would develop the Castor-derived solid fueled second stage.

The COTS Visiting Vehicle would be the payload - and will have variants that can deliver pressurized cargo using a MPLM derivative developed by Alenia or unpressurized cargo using a derivative of the Express Logistics Carrier being designed and developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for use on the ISS.

The OSC proposal mentions possible crewed missions but did not formally propose that option. OSC will be using DART and Orbital Express hardware and experience in the design of their proximity and operations concepts.

OSC plans to launch the Taurus II COTS flights from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Shuttle Update

Space Shuttle Atlantis Departs ISS

"Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 4:24 a.m. EST today, ending its almost-nine-day stay at the orbital outpost."

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis Set to Land Wednesday

"The space shuttle Atlantis crew is expected to complete a 13-day mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Feb. 20."

Space Shuttle Endeavour Arrives at Launch Pad, Countdown Test Set

"After safely reaching its launch pad Monday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle Endeavour now awaits its next major milestone for the upcoming STS-123 mission. A full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy from Feb. 23 to 25."

Newsflash: Armed Astros

Space Station Crew Can Access Gun, WESH

"Astronauts aboard the International Space Station apparently have access to a gun. Russian Cosmonauts carry a gun on their Soyuz space capsule, which is attached to the space station."

Editor's note: This is not exactly "news"...

Strange Cravings On Orbit

Editor's note:This image was taken on 27 January 2008 - before Atlantis docked with the ISS.

If you look at the OVHD side of the hatch heading out of Destiny through Node 1 toward the FGB you will see a White Castle logo.

So ... who is the White Castle burger fan?

Peggy, Dan - or Yuri?

Atlantis Docks With ISS and Delivers Columbus

Space Shuttle Atlantis Docks with the International Space Station

Space Station and Space Shuttle Crews Work to Install Columbus Lab Module

Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-122 crew arrived at the International Space Station at 12:17 p.m., delivering the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory and a new crew member to the orbital outpost.

Additional ISS and Space Shuttle News

Is NASA's Interest in COTS Fading?

NASA May Buy Russian Transport Services, AP

"NASA hinted that it might rely on Russian rockets to deliver crew and cargo to the international space station when the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010 if private space companies fail to fill the gap."

Today's Video: What's That Clear Liquid Yuri Is Drinking?

Reader note (from Russia): "On New Year holidays Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (who is now staying on board ISS) during the live broadcast on Ukrainian TV channel "1+1" (www.1plus1.tv), showed how things behave themselves in weightlessness. This thing appeared to be Ukrainian VODKA. After this cosmonaut proposed a toast to New Year holidays and drank vodka. Drinking vodka in weightlessness already has a big resonance in Ukrainian media. We don't know the position of Russia, especially of ROSCOSMOS. Please look the video. You can find it here:"

A Tidy Spaceship is a Happy One

Tips on Organizing Your Room from the Zvezda Space Habitat, io9.com

"If you've ever lived in a dorm or a small apartment, you know how hard it can be to cram in all your computers, books, and general stuff while still staying organized. This problem has reached epic engineering proportions in the International Space Station's "living quarters" on the the Zvezda Module. Three people use the 43-foot cylinder for sleeping, eating, relaxing, cleaning up, going to the bathroom, exercising, doing science experiments, and using their computers. What can you learn about space saving from people in space? Turns out there are three basic rules of organization on Zvezda that are useful on Earth, too."

Sensationalist Headlines at USA Today

Shuttle delays endanger space station, USA Today

"Like many home-improvement projects on Earth, NASA's most ambitious building effort in space languishes half-done. Now new delays, combined with the space shuttle's looming retirement, are raising worries about whether it can be finished at all."

Editor's note: What a bad choice of words for a headline. A headline contains the words you first see and is supposed to represent the gist of an article. In this case the headline is misleading - to say the least. There is no "danger" (i.e. as being "endangered") to the space station if this mission is delayed. The crew are quite safe. Nor is the station "endangered" if a number of shuttle flights with space station parts never get launched. No one is going to cancel it. The space station will stay in orbit and work just fine - without being "endangered" - with whatever parts are launched - just as it is doing right now.

ISS On Orbit Status Report Availability

Editor's note: After several months of making the daily ISS On Orbit Status Reports available to the public on its HQ website, NASA has now decided (so it would seem) that these reports are not going to be available. When you visit this link which once provided these reports you now get this message "Attention! You have requested information which can be accessed only from a NASA facility..."

Editor's Update: I just got a call from NASA PAO. Apparently there was a server issue that blocked access inside NASA as well. NASA IT folks have restored access.

Hurry Up And Buy Those Soyuz Tickets

Russia sees end of road for space tourism, AFP

"Space tourists may have to seek alternative transport after 2009 due to a lack of room on the Russian capsule serving the International Space Station, Russia's space agency chief said Thursday. "It has to do with international agreements that stipulate that from 2009 the (ISS) crew must be made up of six people if Japanese and European scientific modules are launched," said Roskosmos chief Anatoly Perminov."

COTS In Stealth Mode Within JSC Organization

Reader note: "You seem to get answers... So... With all of the recent interest in COTS and NASA's attempt at commercialization, why is it that at JSC, they don't even have a website linked to the main JSC organization chart??

http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/orglist/scripts/structure/orglist/index2.cfm

QA - Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Office [No website]

Furthermore, here's the list of personnel in QA at JSC.[below]  In my opinion, that's not a whole lot of folks dedicated to the pursuit of commercialization."

(281)483-2166   BULK, TIMOTHY A(ORG-QA)(NASA)           JSU00Q92     1/704A     QA      

(281)480-7427   CARPENTER, EDWARD J(JOE)(ORG-QA)(BAH)   JSU00KCN 2525 Bay Area Blvd/204   QA/BAH  

(281)212-1469   GAUNTT, RACHEL L(ORG-SA)(WLS)           JSU00T59 1300 HERCULES/116    QA/W4   

(281)244-7508   HORKACHUCK, MIKE(ORG-QA)(NASA)          JSU0024D     1/704E     QA111   

(281)483-5483   KELSO, ROBERT M(ORG-QA)(NASA)           JSU001XP     1/842      QA      

(281)244-7064   LINDENMOYER, ALAN J(ORG-QA)(NASA)       JSU001P4     1/704B     QA      

(281)483-1992   MANNERS, BRUCE A(ORG-QA)(NASA)          JSU00N6Z     1/704G     QA111   

(281)244-2404   MEEHAN, KEVIN M(ORG-QA)(NASA)           JSU00ER2     1/704A     QAZC    

(281)483-3662   RUEMMELE, WARREN P(ORG-QA)(NASA)        JSU0072S     1/704A     QA111   

(281)792-5570   STONE, DENNIS A(ORG-QA)(NASA)           JSU000HF     1/840      QA      

(281)483-4626   SURBER, MICHAEL R(MIKE)(ORG-QA)(NASA)   JSU003Z0    4S/3900B    QA      

(281)483-0819   TAYLOR, STARR F(ORG-QA)(NASA)           JSU00IZR     1/704      QA      

(281)244-7097   THORN, VALIN B(ORG-QA)(NASA)            JSU000DE     1/704C     QA      

(281)483-0819   WASHINGTON, DEOBRAH A(ORG-QA)(4WS)      JSU00T3W     1/704      QA      

More COTS News

Space Florida to assist PlanetSpace with NASA bid, Orlando Business Journal

"Space Florida has agreed to assist PlanetSpace in its efforts to develop an orbital launch facility at Cape Canaveral. The facility, which could provide up to 346 new jobs, is part of PlanetSpace's attempt to develop commercial orbital transportation services as part of a request for proposals issued by NASA. The project would include manufacturing, training and research and development facilities expected to generate an economic impact of $313 million annually to the state."

SpaceX Moves Ahead With COTS

SpaceX Successfully Completes NASA Systems Requirements Review for Dragon Spacecraft Demonstration to Berth at International Space Station (with video animation)

"Under COTS, SpaceX will conduct three Falcon 9 / Dragon flights, demonstrating the ability to approach, berth, and ultimately deliver cargo to the $100 billion International Space Station (ISS), and return cargo to Earth. On this third demonstration, the Dragon spacecraft will approach the ISS and hold its position nearby. Then, according to the SpaceX plan, a robotic arm on the station will capture Dragon and guide it to a berthing port on the Harmony module."

Kistler COTS Issues Hold up Entire COTS Program

Joint Explanatory Statement to Accompany Consolidated Appropriations Amendment Division B--Commerce, Justice, Science

"The amended bill provides $160,000,000 for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, which is intended to demonstrate private sector technologies that could potentially resupply the International Space Station in the future. However, the Appropriations Committees note that one of the two COTS contracts is currently in dispute, and are concerned by NASA's recent decision to re-compete the disputed contract before all challenges have been resolved. In doing so, NASA could potentially create a liability to fund three proposals instead of two as originally envisioned, increasing the costs of this program to the taxpayers. Therefore, NASA is directed not to select a new contractor until all challenges are decided. Further, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is directed to perform a full review of COTS program expenditures and management."

I Think I'm Speaking NASAese - I Really Think So

Editor's note: There is a press conference underway right now from NASA JSC regarding Expedition 16. A few minutes ago I heard several instances of NASAese - i.e. NASA people taking simple sentences and reformatting them so as to make them quasi-cryptic to people outside the agency. As is usually the case, several nouns and verbs were injured in the process.

Kirk Shireman (speaking NASAese): "... we will deconflict these two ..."
English translation: "... we will resolve conflicts between these two ..."

Holly Ridings: (speaking NASAese)" "... we ingressed into Node 2 ..."
English translation: " ... we entered Node 2 ..."

Life Science Cutback Update

Microbes May Threaten Lengthy Spaceflights, Washington Post

"With NASA now actively planning for the day when astronauts will live for months on the moon or make the years-long flight to Mars and back, a potentially troublesome question is being raised with increasing urgency: Is the human body -- even a well-protected human body -- capable of living in space for long periods without suffering serious damage?"

Editor's note: So what does Mike Griffin do? He slashes space life science research.

Value of ISS

Countdown to launch of space shuttle carrying European science lab, The Guardian

"Though drastically scaled down by a string of budget cuts, the space station is a crucial nursery slope for future space missions, such as the Bush administration's much-publicised hopes for a moonbase and a crewed voyage to Mars, said Cowing. "You've got to practise things first. To say the purpose of the space station is to be fixed is to some extent true. There's a difference between sitting down here and thinking 'will this work in space' versus being there and testing it out in real conditions."

Fixing ISS

A Closer Look, Aviation Week

"NASA still doesn't know what's causing the big rotary joint on the starboard side of the International Space Station to chew itself up, but they're closing in on a plan to overcome the problem. The first step comes as early as Thursday, when the space shuttle Atlantis is set to lift off for the ISS."

Smart People Can Say Dumb Things

The Device NASA Is Leaving Behind, Washington Post

"Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, a theoretical physicist at the University of Texas, is one of many researchers frustrated by the priorities NASA has set, and he has publicly discussed the AMS issue as a prime example of what he thinks has gone wrong. If the instrument were ferried to the station, he said, its study of cosmic rays "would be the only significant science ever done on the space station."

Editor's note: This just goes to show you that really smart people can also be ignorant - and wrong.

It is these predictions of things yet to come which are really annoying. Unless, of course, Weinberg has also invented a time machine which allows him to see what will be done on the yet-to-be-completed ISS. If so, I am certain NSF would love to have him sit on their peer review panels and rate the future results of all proposed projects.

That said, it is sad that Mike Griffin's priorities do not include the science the ISS is supposed to have been built for in the first place. Rather, he just wants to be done with it.

Reader note: "I would find the quandary (and Congressional, and Nobel-laureate, whining) over the AMS's potentially being grounded amusing—if it wasn't so tragic. Where are all those folks who criticized–no, vilified–Sean O'Keefe for his decision to NOT fly a Hubble repair mission? If that well-considered assessment of safety versus science had been held to (recall, the decision was made in light of comparably capable ground-based assets that will be available until the Webb ST gets delivered) instead of being dumped (under extreme Congressional pressure, mind you), a slot would exist on the 2010-constrained shuttle manifest to launch the AMS to the ISS. Too bad that the powers that be have so cleverly painted international science into a corner."

NASA refuses $1.5B space experiment, riles Sen. Nelson, others, Orlando Sentinel

"The whole purpose of having an international space station . . . is to be able to do these kinds of extraordinary science experiments, such as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer," Nelson said. "It is almost like cutting off our nose to spite our face."

I'M Sorry But ...

Original Expedition 16 image

I Want my DirecTV

DIRECTV Offers to Install HD in the New International Space Station Module; Ready to Bring HD to the Final Frontier

"Congratulating NASA on the completion of a successful shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the recent unveiling of a new living space aboard the orbital laboratory, DIRECTV is offering the ISS a complete HD makeover - including its industry-leading line-up of national HD channels, the most advanced HD DVR on the market, a 42" flat screen HDTV and a sturdy velcro-wrapped remote control. "Sure, there's the awe-inspiring view of planet earth from more than 200 miles up, but what do you do for an encore after you've entered your 180th day in space?" said Jon Gieselman, senior vice president, marketing for DIRECTV, Inc."

Editor's note: Looks like Dan was busy tinkering with a TV dish during one of those long EVAs while Scott was busy elsewhere ... click on image to enlarge.

Griffin on Shuttle and ISS

Testimony by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin: The Space Program after The Shuttle is retired

"Retirement of the Space Shuttle is on schedule for 2010 and critical to future Exploration plans. As we approach this date, we are hopeful that we can complete the ten remaining Space Station assembly flights, the servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, and the two contingency Shuttle missions to the ISS within this timeframe. If it becomes clear that we will not complete the flight manifest by 2010, NASA will evaluate options and make adjustments consistent with not flying any flights beyond 2010. Continuing to fly the Shuttle beyond 2010 does not enhance U.S. human spaceflight capability, but rather delays the time until a new capability exists and increases the total life cycle cost to bring the new capability on line."

EMU Update

Spacesuit smoke alarm threatens NASA plans, MSNBC

"NASA's already-tight schedule for assembly of the international space station is under new threat, this time because a trainee smelled smoke inside his spacesuit during a pressure-chamber test here on Earth. Until the event can be explained, plans for two critical spacewalks at the space station are on hold. And without those spacewalks, NASA would have to delay next month's shuttle mission to deliver Europe's long-awaited Columbus space lab. Such a delay could ripple down next year's tight launch schedule and complicate NASA's plans to finish construction of the space station by the end of 2010."

ISS EMUs "Grounded"

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 12 November 2007

"EMU Spacesuit Troubleshooting: During a SSATA (Space Station Airlock Test Article) chamber run on the ground this past Friday, a crew member reported the smell of smoke inside the EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit). The run was terminated, and the crew member extracted without incident. A mishap investigation board was formed and has recommended that all life support system operations (power, O2 ops, etc.) for the on-orbit EMUs be terminated until a root cause can be determined. Thus, the on-orbit EMUs are No Go. All other ops, such as suit resizing, can be performed."

NY TImes Almost Understands Things

Ingenuity in Space, Editorial, NY Times

"It was an impressive feat of improvisation that kept plans for completing the station on schedule. Yet the patchwork repair was a reminder that space ventures can encounter problems that threaten a mission — and that the stakes will rise as humans try to plant outposts on the Moon and on Mars."

Editor's note: ... and that's part of the value of having the ISS.

Stopping Fights In Space

Columbus launch puts space law to the test, European Science Foundation

"Whose law will apply when Europe's Columbus space laboratory joins the US-led International Space Station in December? And what happens if astronauts from different countries get into a fight? Those were two of the questions posed at a meeting in Vienna last month to examine the contributions made by the humanities to the exploration of space. Columbus is due to be launched into orbit aboard the US space shuttle Atlantis on December 6. It will become part of the International Space Station (ISS) and the most important module supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA)."

Stunning ISS Photos

Space Shuttle Discovery's Stunning Departure Photos of the International Space Station

"Backdropped by a colorful Earth, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-120 and Expedition 16 crews concluded 11 days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 4:32 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 5, 2007."

Discovery Starts The Trip Home

Space Shuttle Discovery Leaves Newly Configured International Space Station

Discovery undocked from the International Space Station at 5:32 a.m. today. The shuttle and station crews ended joint operations when the hatches closed at 3:03 p.m. EST Sunday. STS-120’s stay at the station began Oct. 25 and featured four spacewalks to continue the on-orbit construction of the station. Discovery also carried the Harmony Node 2 module and a new crew member, Daniel Tani, to the station.

NASA STS-120 Report #27 2:45 a.m. CST Monday, Nov. 5, 2007
NASA STS-120 Execute Package FD 13
NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 4 November 2007

Additional ISS/Shuttle News

Today's Video: Official Japanese Space Curry For Sale

'Space Curry' for astronauts to be sold in Japan, Daily Mainichi

"The "Space Curry" that House Foods Corp. will start selling on Monday. A curry recognized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a Japanese space food product is set to go on sale in Japan, it has been learned. House Foods Corp. will start selling "Space Curry," which is packaged in a retort pouch, on Monday."

Official Japanese space menu, Pink Tentacle

Buy it here (Japanese)

Press release (Japanese) [English]

Video below

Yesterday's EVA - and the Big PIcture

A reality check on dreams for space: the repairs, Christian Science Monitor

"The farther from Earth astronauts travel, the more acute maintenance challenges become, notes Larry Bell of the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture at the University of Houston. Planners try to build redundancy into critical systems and to provide the tools and materials for making some repairs. Indeed, one tool Parazynski used to handle the undulating solar array took shape from a sheet of Teflon and some insulating tape in the space station's workshop. But mission planners always face a trade-off between trying to plan for maintenance needs and keeping materials within the weight limits during launch. Especially when talking about trips to the moon or Mars, "it's a long way back to the hardware store," Dr. Bell says."

Groundbreaking EVA Is A Success

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 3 November 2007

"Day 149 for Clayton Anderson. Flight Day 12 for STS-120/10A; Day 10 of Joint Ops. "It's been a great day!" (MS1 Scott Parazynski).....and thank God for the Canadian MSS!"

Crews Complete Fourth Spacewalk Outside of International Space Station

"The crews completed the fourth spacewalk of the mission at 1:22 p.m. EDT. The main objective of the spacewalk was the repair of a torn solar array. After successfully repairing the array, the crews fully deployed it."

Additional ISS/Shuttle News

Challenging EVA Ahead

NASA: Spacewalk will have 'higher risk than usual', USA Today

"Astronaut Scott Parazynski, one of NASA's most experienced spacewalkers, will face grave risks and nerve-wracking challenges Saturday when he is scheduled to fix a damaged solar panel on the International Space Station. Among the dangers Parazynski could encounter: potential electrical shock, sharp objects that could puncture his spacesuit and a long journey back to the safety of the station."

NASA Scrambles to Plan Spacewalk, AP

"NASA worked furiously Thursday to plan a spacewalk to fix the ripped solar wing at the international space station, hoping to solve the problem before the shuttle Discovery undocks. The agency wanted spacewalking astronauts to tackle the job Friday but had to push back the outing to Saturday to give officials on the ground more time to fine-tune the repair plan."

ISS Tasks Ahead

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 31 October 2007

"The IMMT (ISS Mission Management Team) this morning deferred EVA-4 from tomorrow to Friday (11/2). Top priority on board & ground has been re-directed from inspecting the Stbd SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint) to fixing the ripped P6 4B Solar Array Wing (SAW) blanket as best as can be done, as long as the Discovery crews are on ISS. EVA-5 (Whitson/Malenchenko) may become a Stage EVA. Four special teams (Damage/root cause, EVA Assessment, Solar array constraints, Stage ops assessment) have been designated to study the situation and develop a new EVA-4 timeline for alleviating the current structurally unsound SAW condition. Stbd SARJ meanwhile remains in Directed (fixed) Position, out of Autotrack."

Bad News From the ISS

Astronauts Spot Rip on Solar Panel, AP

"Spacewalking astronauts bolted a solar power tower to the international space station on Tuesday, completing an ambitious three-day moving process that ended with elation when the beam's giant solar panels began to unfurl. Their joy turned to concern, however, when a rip was spotted in the second solar panel. NASA needs to get the tower up and running to prevent malfunctioning station equipment from delaying the addition of a much-anticipated European research lab."

ISS Rotary Joint Surprise

Spacewalkers make disturbing discovery: metal shavings inside solar wing joint, AP

"Spacewalking astronauts doing construction work outside the international space station Sunday made a disturbing discovery: what appear to be metal shavings inside a joint that is needed to turn a set of solar power panels. The rotary joint, 10 feet in diameter, has experienced intermittent vibrations and power spikes for nearly two months. Space station managers were hoping a thermal cover or bolt might be hanging up the mechanism, which would have been relatively easy to fix, and were disheartened when Daniel Tani radioed down that metal shavings were everywhere."

Expedition 15 Comes Home

Expedition 15 Returns Home , NASA

"After bidding farewell to the Expedition 16 crew Saturday night, the Expedition 15 crew, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, boarded their Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft for the return to Earth. They undocked from the station around 3:14 a.m. EDT Sunday and landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 6:36 a.m."

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 10/21/07

"Instead of flying on the closed-loop-guided trajectory designed to reduce peak deceleration & heating while extending the downrange, the ballistic mode results in a steeper trajectory, ~2g's higher deceleration forces on the crew (7g max instead of 5g), and an undershoot of around ~250 mi. The crew was never in any increased danger, and the SAR (Search & Rescue) personnel did not require any additional time to reach the capsule, which they reportedly had in sight during parachute descent from ~4600m altitude down.]"

Origins of ISS Computer Problems

Space Station: Internal NASA Reports Explain Origins of June Computer Crisis, IEEE Spectrum

"Aboard the International Space Station, the three Russian computers that control the station's orientation have been happily humming away now for several weeks. And that's proof that the crisis in June that crippled the ISS and bloodied the U.S.-Russian partnership that supports it, has been solved. ... The critical computer systems, it turned out, had been designed, built, and operated incorrectly--and the failure was inevitable. Only being so relatively close to Earth, in range of resupply and support missions, saved the spacecraft from catastrophe."

NASA Space Station Guide Wins Adobe Award

Adobe Announces 2007 MAX Awards Winners, Adobe

"Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the winners of the 2007 MAX Awards. Now in its fifth year, the global awards program recognizes innovative applications of Adobe software for creating engaging experiences. Adobe received nearly 600 entries from 30 countries in seven categories. Finalists in these categories also competed for a People’s Choice Award selected by the MAX attendees. - In the Public Sector category the winner was NASA for its International Space Station: An Interactive Reference Guide."

NASA's Interactive Space Station Guide presentation

Does It Really Matter What Mike Griffin Thinks - or Says?

Space station partners bicker over closure date, AFP

"NASA administrator Michael Griffin has told space station partners that the US agency has no plans for "utilisation and exploitation" of the science research lab for more than five years after it is completed, Dordain said."

Editor's note: In situations such as this, I just have to say: who cares what Mike Griffin thinks or says? Seriously. He will most certainly be job hunting in 15 months and a new Administration - and a new Administrator - will be making (or reversing) such important decisions - not Mike Griffin.

Reader note: I actually spoke to several European space program leaders while in Hyderabad last week, and the questions were certainly in the air: what about ISS? what about the Moon? What about the Vision for Space Exploration? What about Dr. Griffin's programs and restrictive policies on international participation in lunar infrastructures?

The single big, big reason that the Europeans (particularly those in ESA) have to care about Mike Griffin's plans and policies during the next 18 months has little to do with him, and everything to do with their own internal decision-making processes and schedules. Only once every 3 years is there an "ESA Ministerial Meeting"--the big decision making soiree at which budget decisions for the coming three years get made.

The next meeting of the ESA Ministers is in December 2008 (one month after the election in the U.S.). In preparation, during the next 12 months--long before there is a clue as to what might be the policies / plans of the next President, or the next NASA Administrator--ESA has to put together their policy proposals, program plans and budget estimates that will be binding through 2011 or so.

Basically, ESA plans for most of the NEXT adminstration in the U.S. get set in the next 12 months or so, and all they have to go on is Dr. Griffin's black-and-white, "my way or the highway" approach to international cooperation.

This extended decision making process makes ESA less agile than NASA, but it also makes it more stable--not changing direction every couple years. And it is causing them no little angst in laying out proposals for their big meeting next year. The current lack of insight into what direction the U.S. will REALLY be taking after 2009 will probably restrict their range of options significantly.

ISS Foodfight

Space station partners bicker over closure date, AFP

"NASA administrator Michael Griffin has told space station partners that the US agency has no plans for "utilisation and exploitation" of the science research lab for more than five years after it is completed, [European Space Agency (ESA) chief Jean-Jacques] Dordain said. "ESA is not prepared to pay NASA's share when NASA has left the space station," Dordain told reporters Tuesday night on the sidelines of the space summit. "If NASA is staying, we are ready to follow," he added. "If NASA is quitting, I shall not propose to ESA to pay part of the cost that NASA is covering today."'

Effect of Space Environment on Pathogenicity

Spaceflight shown to alter ability of bacteria to cause disease, Arizona State University

"Space flight has been shown to have a profound impact on human physiology as the body adapts to zero gravity environments. Now, a new study led by researchers from the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has shown that the tiniest passengers flown in space--microbes--can be equally affected by space flight, making them more infectious pathogens."

Fumbling Opportunities To Be Relevant

Editor's 14 Sep note: It has been more than 48 hours and it would seem that ARC PAO is utterly uninterested in updated its events page or home page to reflect this upcoming conference. However, someone did send me an invitation after I made this posting. Update several hours later: they finally put a link up. Wow, this website stuff is so hard to do.

Free Evening Lecture: "International Space Station: Your Lab of the Future"

"On Tuesday, October 2, 2007 from 7-9 p.m., the NASA Research Park Exploration Lecture Series will present a lecture and panel discussion featuring Dr. Baruch S. Blumberg, Nobel Laureate; Thomas B. Pickens III, CEO, SPACEHAB; & Dr. Cheryl Nickerson, Assoc. Professor Life Sciences at Arizona State Univ. ..."

Editor's 12 Sep note: Wow. Barry Blumberg - a Nobel Prize winner - and former NASA Astrobiology Institute Director - is speaking about the science value of the International Space Station at Ames. What a perfect heavy hitter to roll out just as the NIH/NASA MOU is signed. Alas, who knew he was even speaking? I only found out about this because I am on some upcoming lecture mailing list. Nothing is mentioned on the ARC events page and nothing is to be found on the main ISS page. NASA has all these great opportunities to enhance the value and relevance of what it does and yet it seems to fumble nearly every one of them.

But wait - there's more. According to the Alliance of Commercial Enterprises and Education for Space there is an ISS National Laboratory Workshop at NASA Ames from 2-4 October 2007. That's in less than 3 weeks folks. Speakers include Baruch Blumberg, William Gerstenmaier, Jeff Bingham, etc. etc. Does NASA ARC - or NASA HQ or SOMD - tell anyone about this? No. No links. No media advisories or press releases. Nothing. I guess they were going to wait until the last minute after airfares had gone up for all of us non-government folks - the same audience that they are trying to court to use the ISS. Go figure. Will someone please tell me where the "strategic communications" is?

NASA and NIH Sign MOU

NASA and NIH Partner for Health Research in Space Related Health Research

"A Sept. 12 signing of a memorandum of understanding marked a key milestone for NASA and the National Institutes of Health in their long partnership to advance scientific discovery. The two agencies entered into an agreement that helps American scientists use the International Space Station to answer questions about human health and diseases. The pact signals to researchers the availability of a remarkable platform on which to conduct experiments."

Memorandum Of Understanding Between The NIH and NASA for Cooperation in Space-Related Health Research

NASA Ends RpK's COTS Hopes

NASA Cuts Funds for Private Space Venture, Wall Street Journal

"U.S. space officials, after several attempts to help resuscitate a private space venture led by closely held Rocketplane Kistler Inc., have issued a default letter effectively cutting off future federal assistance for the proposed $1 billion reusable rocket project, industry officials said."

RpK's COTS Contract Terminated, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

"NASA has informed Congress it is terminating its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) because the company has failed to meet financial milestones. Aides said that after reviewing the company's performance, the space agency sent RpK formal notification Sept. 7 saying that additional activity under the agreement is "not in the best interest" of NASA."

ISS Shut Down in 2015-2016?

Russia to send manned mission to the Moon by 2025 - space agency, Novosti

"The agency chief said that in 2016-25, after the ISS is put out of operation, Russia plans to deploy a platform in a low-earth orbit to assemble spacecraft. The United States has said the station should be scrapped in 2015, while Russia has proposed using the Russian segment until 2020. Perminov said: "The ISS will be transformed into a laboratory complex where research will be conducted."

Editor's note: Let's see: NASA spends 1984-1998 designing and then building the ISS; 1998-2010 deploying and completing it (that's 26 years) and then only 5-6 years using it in its completed configuration? Sadly, this is more than just bad translation and Russian arm waving. And NASA wonders why some in Congress question NASA's current plan to implement the VSE?

So Much for this ISS Selling Point

Magnetic gravity trick grows perfect crystals, NewScientist.com

"One of the few scientific success stories of the International Space Station has been its use to grow large, pure crystals in microgravity (see Space station unlocks new world of crystals). Now scientists from the Netherlands and Japan have shown that a strong magnetic field can mimic the effects of microgravity when growing protein crystals. The new Earth-bound technique could provide a cheaper and easier way to produce crystals of the same quality as those grown aboard the ISS."

Endeavour Begins To Head Home

Endeavour Undocks from Space Station

"Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:56 a.m. EDT today, ending an almost nine-day stay at the orbital outpost for the STS-118 crew. Undocking was moved up a day in preparation for landing on Tuesday. The earlier landing opportunity was selected in the event Hurricane Dean threatens the Houston area. It allows an opportunity for the shuttle to land before Mission Control, Houston, would be shut down in preparation for a storm. Mission managers are continuing to monitor the situation and assess their options."

More ISS and Shuttle News

Shuttle/ISS Crew Press Event

Shuttle Endeavour, Space Station Crew News Conference

"The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station will participate in a news conference at 12:34 p.m. CDT on Friday, Aug. 17. Date:  Aug. 16, 2007"

Watch NASA TV

Editor's note: Looks like I will be on CNN Domestic/CNN International at around 12:30 pm EDT today - just before the press conference.

Here's Your Chance to Use the ISS

Opportunity for the Use of the ISS by U.S. Non-government Entitites for Research and Development and Industrial Processing Purposes

"In preparation for the ISS post-assembly phase, NASA is announcing limited opportunities for U.S. non-government entities to conduct R&D activities on the ISS. Under this arrangement, NASA may enter into Space Act Agreements with such entities to allow access to NASA facilities, personnel and technical information as the need and situation warrants, however, there will be no provision of funds. Respondents will be responsible for financing their own activities."

Another Drive-by Science Critique From Bob Park

Editor's note: In his latest "What's New" rant, AIP's resident curmudgeon Bob Park reveals his chronic and absolute ignorance with regard to biology when he says:

2. ENDEAVOUR: NOT THE FIRST TIME IN SPACE FOR S. PNEUMONIAE. School teacher Barbara Morgan, we're told, has been busy using the camera on the robot arm to examine the shuttle skin for signs of damage from three pieces of foam that broke off the fuel tank on launch.  Not a word though on how Streptococcus pneumoniae is doing.  A vial of the pneumonia bacteria was taken up on Endeavour to study how microbes adapt to microgravity.  Are they kidding?  In the human space flight program this is called "science." Of course, S. pneumoniae have been to space many times before - they're in the upper respiratory tract of 40% of the population.  Why didn't they just swab the nasal passages of astronauts?

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonizes the nasopharyngeal cavity in 5 - 70% of adults in the population depending primarily on whether they have recently been in close proximity to small children. As such, Park's claim of 40% is an oversimplification.  It is precisely because this organism may colonize otherwise healthy adults and cause them no problems unless or until they become immune-compromised (which indeed may occur during long-duration exploration-class missions), at which point space life scientists really do need to know whether S. pneumoniae behaves differently under conditions of microgravity.

There is precedent for changes in potentially pathogenic bacteria when grown in the microgravity environment (see papers by Duane Pierson et al). The researchers for this experiment and others (Cheryl Nickerson, Arnold Dement) see changes in patterns of gene expression or production of secondary metabolites in ground-based analogs of microgravity.

Alas, Bob Park never bothers to research the actual science behind things before he dumps on them. Then again, "What's New" about that, eh Bob?

Sneakernet is Use Aboard ISS

NASA STS-118 Execute Package FD04

"MSG 026 (15-0902) - EXECUTE PACKAGE SNEAKERNET FROM ISS SSCS

The following procedure should be followed on MCC "Go" to perform a sneakernet transfer of execute package messages from the ISS SSCs to the Shuttle PGSCs. During the docked timeframe, the Shuttle Ku coverage is very limited in the hours before crew wakeup due to ISS blockage. The Shuttle OCA OFFICER will uplink the Shuttle execute package to a Shuttle PCMCIA card (inserted into an ISS SSC) and you (shuttle crew) will move the PCMCIA card to a Shuttle PGSC in the morning and run a batch file to copy the execute package files to their standard location on the KFX PGSC."

Mike Griffin Still Can't Smile And Talk About ISS At The Same Time

A wide-ranging interview with the leader of NASA, CBS/SpaceflightNow

"Griffin: ... There is and there will continue to be much debate on the scientific merits of the space station and I think there should be that debate, that's fine. We will find a way to utilize the space station to help benefit human exploration of the solar system. But leaving all of that aside, it is the most amazing construction project ever attempted by human beings."

It Must Really Be Boring in Outer Space

Photos From Space: What Astronaut Clay Anderson Is Reading, SpaceRef

Editor's note: "It is getting harder and harder to find interesting things in the photos sent back from the ISS. Not only are there fewer internal photos being sent back these days, but someone is clearly screening them so as to not let anything interesting slip through. I am told that Mike Griffin's favorite communications guru Marsha Ivins used to do this screening personally."

Reader Comments: "Regarding your last commentary - Clay has a daily trivia quiz that he does with MCC-Houston and (I think) the POCC at Goddard for fun. Apparently that's where he gets his questions from."

"Right after Clay arrived at ISS, he started a ritual of asking ground controllers in Houston and Huntsville trivia questions, getting the answer the following day. He apparently uses the book to get the questions and answers."

Guess What New Cameras Astronauts Will Be Using

NASA JSC Solicitation: Digital Cameras and Digital Peripherals

"NASA/JSC has a requirement for multiple digital cameras and camera peripherals. The digital cameras and all camera peripherals must be manufactured from the same lot. NASA has a requirement for 48 Nikon D2XS SLR Digital Cameras. The cameras must be lubricated with Braycote lubricating grease which is approved for spaceflight during the manufacturing process. Attempts to compete similar efforts have been unsuccessful due to the camera equipment having to be manufactured from the same lot and items requiring Braycote lubricant grease having to be lubricated during the manufacturing and assembly process."

Editor's note: This Expedition 15 photo should give you an idea of what camera gear they already have on orbit.

ISS Hardware Sabotage?

NASA Investigates Apparent Sabotage Of Space Station Hardware, SpaceRef

"According to NASA sources, three External Wireless Instrumentation System Network Control Units (EWIS NCU) have been damaged. Apparently, the damage was deliberate. The EWIS NCU is a computer designed to store various data on the International Space Station."

NASA confirms shuttle Endeavour to launch Aug. 7, Reuters

"NASA also revealed that it had discovered the apparent sabotage of a noncritical component of the International Space Station due to be carried up by the shuttle. It launched an investigation after finding cut wires in a piece of computer equipment intended to transfer data from station sensors to the ground, the agency said."

NASA reports sabotage of flight computer, AP

"A space program worker deliberately damaged a computer that is supposed to fly aboard shuttle Endeavour in less than two weeks, an act of sabotage that was caught before the equipment was loaded onto the spaceship, NASA said Thursday."

COTS Falling Behind?

COTS Support Of ISS Doubted. Aviation Now

"Tommy Holloway, chair of the International Space Station (ISS) Safety Task Force and former ISS manager for NASA, told House lawmakers July 24 that he doubts the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program can make up for a "substantial part" of the projected ISS logistics shortfall in the crucial first few years after the space shuttle's 2010 retirement. "I think depending entirely on COTS would be a significant risk to the long-term viability of the station," Holloway said during a hearing of the House Science Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee."

House ISS Hearing

Opening Statement By Mark Udall: Hearing on NASA's Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs: Status and Issues

"Another area of great concern is how the ISS will be supported logistically once the Shuttle is retired. It's not yet clear that NASA's budget for logistical support of the Station is sufficient for the task, or that all of the planned capabilities will be available when needed. I hope that today's hearing will shed some light on the situation. Yet all of the work being done to assemble the ISS and support it logistically is not meant to be an end in itself. Rather, it's the degree to which it is utilized productively that will determine the ultimate success or failure of the ISS. That is why a number of us have been so concerned about the severe cutbacks in NASA's Space Station research program and budget over the past several years. Those cuts have largely decimated the research community that had planned to use the ISS, with potentially serious implications for the productivity of the ISS as a research facility once it is assembled."

Opening Statement By Cristina T. Chaplain
Opening Statement By G. Paul Neitzel
Opening Statement By Tommy Holloway
Opening Statement By William Gerstenmaier
House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee Examines Challenges Facing Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs
Subcommittee Reviews Plans for Space Station and Shuttle

An Amazing Image You Must See

A Visit from Atlantis

"Explanation: This remarkable image of the space shuttle orbiter Atlantis docked with the International Space Station (ISS) was taken at a range of 190 nautical miles. To record the fast moving pair, last week astronomers at Clay Center Observatory, near Boston, Massachusetts, planet Earth, used a satellite tracking system and 25-inch diameter telescope in combination with a digital video camera."

"That's no moon! That's a space station!"

Editor's note: I was just listening to an interview between CNN's Miles O'Brien and the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis. He mentioned something about "tie fighters" being seen with the space station.

Sure enough, I checked NASA TV and there they were.