Progress Cargo Ship Launches to Resupply Space Station

The Russian Progress M-28M cargo vehicle has successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of a two day-long commute to resupply the International Space Station.

The Progress lifted off from Pad 1A at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:55 a.m. Irish Time carrying 2,381kg of food, fuel and supplies for the crew of Expedition 44.

Progress M-28M launched from Baikonur at 5:55 a.m.
Credit: Roscosmos 

After a flawless ride into orbit aboard a Soyuz-U rocket, the Progress separated from the rocket's third stage after eight minutes and forty-nine seconds of powered flight, deploying its antennas and solar arrays a short time later. 

Initial views from video cameras on board the Progress confirmed that everything was nominal and that all systems were "Go" for mission controllers in Korolev in Moscow to send commands to the vehicle to perform a series of orbital manoeuvres to reach the International Space Station.

Progress is scheduled to dock with the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Russian segment of the orbiting complex at 8:13 a.m. on Sunday morning.

This morning's launch comes just two months after the Progress M-27M was lost after the vehicle went into an uncontrolled spin and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere several days later.

It also comes in the wake of the disintegration of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a SpaceX Dragon capsule to resupply the station just 139 seconds into flight on June 28.

In a NASA public affairs event yesterday, astronaut Scott Kelly was asked how the crew were feeling ahead of the launch of this latest Progress; "Third time's a charm I hope. We're hoping that we get this one obviously.. If these next two get delayed or move out beyond September or October it will cause problems but we're as confident as we can be."

Progress will spend several months docked to the International Space Station before it is loaded with waste, undocked and sent to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Today's launch will be followed in August by a Japanese HTV flight. Orbital ATK is moving ahead with plans for its next launch later this year.

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Progress Resupply Ship Docks with Space Station

The Russian Progress M-26M resupply ship, carrying 3.1 tons of cargo, has successfully docked with the International Space Station.

Docking obetween the Progress and the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module occurred at 16:57 GMT as the International Space Station flew 257 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.

Current configuration of the station's Russian Segment
image credit: Space Shuttle Almanac

This afternoon's docking comes just six hours after the Progress lifted off atop a Soyuz rocket under overcast skies from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The arrival of the Progress comes in the midst of a very busy traffic period for visiting vehicles at the orbiting complex. Just this past Sunday(February 15), Europe's final Automated Transfer Vehicle vacated the aft port of Zvezda after spending six months docked there.

Inside the International Space Station, preparations are being made on the US Segment of the station for a trio of spacewalks which will be conducted by Expedition 42 commander Butch Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA. The first of the three Extra Vehicular Activities(EVAs) will commence on Friday, February 20.

But before all that, after a series of leak checks have been conducted between the newly-arrived Progress and station, the crew will open the hatch and begin unloading over 3,300 lbs of cargo on Wednesday morning.

Progress M-26M is expected to remain on board the station until late August.

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Soyuz Trio Arrive at International Space Station

The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying three astronauts and cosmonauts has arrived at the International Space Station, just six hours after launch from Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz rocket carrying Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:01 GMT.

On reaching Earth orbit less than nine minutes after launch, the Soyuz spacecraft deployed it's solar arrays, performed a series of orbital burns and manoeuvres- setting its course for the orbiting complex.

After a four orbit orbital rendezvous, the Soyuz successfully docked with the Rassvet Module of the International Space Station's Russian segment at 02:53.

The Expedition 42 crew aboard the ISS speaking with family.

The hatches between the Soyuz and the station were opened after leak checks were completed, as Shkaplerov, Virts and Cristoforetti were greeted by the Expedition 42 prime crew members already aboard the station, restoring the station's crew complement to six people.

The new station residents who are expected to remain on the ISS for the next five months, before returning to Earth in May 2015. They will begin life aboard their new home by adjusting to microgravity and becoming familiar with their surroundings.

This is the second long duration mission mission to the ISS for Shkaplerov, who spent six months aboard the orbital laboratory as a Flight Engineer during Expedition 29/30. 

This is the first long duration flight for Virts, and his second flight into space, after piloting Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station on shuttle mission STS-130 back in 2010.

This is the first flight into space for rookie ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, having been selected as an astronaut by the agency in 2009.

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The Challenges of a One-Year Mission to Space

On Friday March 27 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of a year-long mission to the International Space Station.

Kelly and Kornienko, known as the "One Year Crew" launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with cosmonaut Gennady Padalka at 19:42 GMT on Friday. The pair will live aboard the orbiting complex for one year, before returning to Earth in March 2016.

Padalka, Kelly and Kornienko prior to launch from Baikonur
credit: NASA

The one year mission will allow scientists to see how the human body will adapt to the microgravity living and working conditions found aboard the ISS, as well as examining the psychological effects of living off the planet for one year.  The scientific community will also be carefully watching how Kelly and Kornienko re-adapt to life back on Earth after spending a year in low-Earth orbit.

Changes in vision are just one of the many side effects that have been observed in some astronauts returning from long-duration spaceflights, and researchers want to learn more about its root causes and develop countermeasures to minimize this risk.

The duo will also have to combat bone and muscle loss (which happens to every astronaut when they fly in space for several months) by exercising for 2.5 hours each day, using the station's treadmills, bike machine known as CEVIS(Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System) and a weights machine called ARED(Advanced Resistive Exercise Device). For a six month mission, astronauts can lose up to 15% muscle volume.

Just in case you were wondering, this will not be the first time human beings will be sent into orbit for a year-long mission. In 1994, cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent over 437 days living aboard the Russian space station Mir, before returning to Earth in 1995. Despite suffering from a clear decline in morale for the first two months of his mission, Polyakov was able to regain his pre-flight mood for the rest of his stay aboard the station.

Upon returning to Earth in his Soyuz capsule after a successful mission, Polyakov decided he would rather walk the small distance from his spacecraft to a nearby reclining chair, demonstrating that humans would be able to walk on the surface of Mars after several weightless months in transit from Earth. This extra-long duration mission showed that the human body could deal with the strains and stresses of living in space for such an extended period of time. However, Kelly and Kornienko will be the first space farers to spend a year living on the International Space Station.

Recently I began asking astronauts who have spent time living and working aboard the ISS about the one year mission, and what they thought the biggest challenges will be for Kelly and Kornienko.

ESA astronaut and Expedition 26/27 Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli, who spent six months living on the ISS in 2010 & 2011, told me that now is a good time to an attempt a mission of this nature:

 "I feel we need to know more about what happens to the body and what happens to the mind when you stay in space for a long time, so I think that now is a good time and I think we should do it."

Nespoli went on to mention that the technology we have on the space station is far superior to what Polyakov had at his disposal on Mir, and how it will be easier to connect with family friends and Mission Control teams all over the world.

Kelly in the station's Cupola during Expedition 26
credit: NASA

"There was a Russian cosmonaut(Polyakov) who stayed in space for well over a year, so the Russians have done this in a more restricted and confined environment than what is today space station, where we have internet, telephone, teleconference capabilities so we can talk to Mission Control whenever we want".

I also asked Doug Wheelock, who, like Nespoli, lived aboard the ISS alongside Scott Kelly, about his thoughts on the upcoming mission, and what challenges would be faced by the one year crew. He went on to say that the biggest obstacles would be dealing with the mental stresses of living off the planet for such a long time:

"I think the greatest challenge will be managing the physiology & psychology of isolation, emotion, & senses... it is critical to stay in the moment".

Finally, I recently spoke with Expedition 35/36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy, who returned from the International Space Station back in September 2013, about his thoughts on the one year mission:

"In my experience on coming home day, as we were closing the hatch I thought to myself "What would I think if I was halfway done right now? How would I feel? What would I need? To be honest I felt a little accumulative fatigue- when you're living at your workplace, and you can't shut the door to work and go home in the evening and kick back and watch Monday Night Football- you're there all the time and it eventually catches up to you".

Cassidy, who completed a total of three spacewalks, or EVAs, during his most recent flight, also had a few ideas regarding how the crew doesn't become fatigued with the heavy workload that comes with living aboard the orbiting outpost, suggesting a longer weekend from time to time in the second half of the mission:

"I think my recommendation would be in months 7 through 12, the second half of the year is to have a three day weekend every month because you really need a good recharge. Sunday is a really good day to have a recharge, and to have an extra Sunday thrown in the mix every now and then would go a long way".

The International Space Station
credit: NASA

All in all, it appears that everyone in science and space exploration fields are confident about the one year mission. Both Kelly and Kornienko have lived aboard the ISS before, so it's fair to say that we have a very experienced crew on our hands, logging a total of 356 days in space between them. In addition, their Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka will become the first four-time commander of the space station, and upon returning to Earth at the end of Expedition 44 will have logged a total of nearly 900 days in space.

It is hoped that data recorded from this mission will assist teams on the ground in their understanding of the effects of long terms weightlessness on the body, and what it may be like for humans if they were sent on a mission to Mars in the future. After Kelly and Kornienko return to Earth in 2016, we will no doubt, be one small step closer to the human exploration of the Red Planet.

Godspeed Scott and Misha!


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JFK and the Moon

"I believe this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon, and returning him safely to the Earth."

If you haven't heard these words before, I suggest you look them up.

These are the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, as he outlined his plans to land an American on the Moon in a speech to a Joint Session of Congress on May 25,

Kennedy addresses Congress- May 25 1961

1961.

Just twenty days before Kennedy made this speech, Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space, after completing a successful sub-orbital flight on Freedom 7. Now, less than three weeks later, the president challenged the nation and its space agency to land on the Moon in just nine years. Time to get to work!

It wasn't long before the hard work really got started. Project Mercury was in full swing, and by May 1963, six Americans had flown in space- four of them achieving orbital flight.

There were now seven years left for America to land a man on the Moon, and everything was going according to plan. NASA was now in the process of developing it's two-man spacecraft for Project Gemini- one step closer to Apollo. However, 50 years ago, on a fateful November afternoon in Dallas, Texas, a young, ambitious American president was gunned down.

The assassination of President Kennedy is a discussion for another day, and be debated by people who know far more about that day than me! But all we need to worry about here is that the man who challenged the nation to go to the Moon was no more.

Despite Kennedy's assassination, NASA continued to press towards the Moon, with Project Gemini launching a two-man crew into low-Earth orbit to demonstrate techniques and gather scientific data needed before any lunar mission could be attempted.

Ed White during Gemini 4 EVA

A total of ten Gemini missions(Gemini 3-12) were flown between 1965 and 1966. Programme highlights included Ed White becoming the first American to walk in space, and the crews of Gemini 6 and 7 proving to the world that NASA could perform a rendezvous between two different spacecraft- a vital operation needed for a successful Moon mission.

With yet another fatal setback, this time the loss of the Apollo 1 crew due to a fire in their spacecraft, it was time to step back and look at what mistakes had been made, and how they would be corrected. People were beginning to ask questions about whether or not NASA would actually be able to land on the Moon before Kennedy's deadline.

Gene Cernan(Gemini 9, Apollo 10, Apollo 17) has spoken about what he initially thought of Kennedy's bold statement:

"He challenged us to do what I think most people thought was impossible, including me!"


However, 8 years, 1 month and 26 days after Kennedy pledged to congress to land a Man on the Moon, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Amstrong became the first man to walk on the lunar surface. Up until then, one half of the president's goal had been achieved- "Land a man on the Moon." After spending 2.5 hours walking on the Moon, it was time to start thinking about the other half of Kennedy's vision, "Returning him safely to the Earth."

After Armstrong and Aldrin, ten more American astronauts walked on the lunar surface, collecting more and more scientific data and samples so scientists back on Earth could try and find the answers to questions like "How old is the Moon?", "What is the Moon made of?", "Could life have ever existed on the Moon?". However, you don't have to be a genius to try and figure out why Kennedy challenged the nation to reach for the Moon. Of course there was the scientific aspect of it, but the main reason was to beat the Soviet Union to it- the race to the Moon.

Perhaps this video of President Kennedy talking to then NASA Administrator James Webb will explain this point further.  

For me, one line in particular from Kennedy stands out more than anything else:

"We shouldn't be spending this kind of money because I'm not that interested in space."

Now if you watched the video, you will understand that JFK doesn't mean he isn't interested in space exploration, but rather that he is only interested in landing a man on the Moon before the Soviets.

People have been questioning whether or not Kennedy was that enthusiastic about space exploration ever since the days of Apollo. 

Politically, landing a man on the Moon was one of JFK's biggest interests. But whether or not he was all that interested on a personal note remains unclear. I guess we will never know!

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Cosmonauts Yurchikin and Misurkin Complete 6.5 Hour EVA

Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have successfully completed an Extra-Vehicular Activity(EVA) on the exterior of the International Space Station.

Spacewalker Yurchikin(left) and Misurkin
credit: NASA

Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikin, and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian Federal Space Agecncy donned their Orlan spacesuits and got straight to work on the tasks on hand, after leaving the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock at 2:32 p.m. GMT.

The majority of today's work took place on the exterior of the station's Zarya Module. Yurchikin and Misurkin firstly replaced a regulator panel that has expired in the Russian coolant system, before moving on to the installation of a series of cable clamps in preparation for the next Russian EVA, scheduled for August 15.

The spacewalking duo then routed cables which will provide power and data ahead of the arrival of the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module(MLM) Nauka, which is expected to launch to the ISS later this year. Nauka will replace the Pirs Docking Compartment, which was launched in 2001, and will be de-orbited after it becomes the first ISS module to be decommissioned. Nauka will serve as the primary Russian research module aboard the orbiting laboratory. It will be fully equipped with crew quarters, a toilet, and the all-important scientific laboratory.

Fyodor Yurchikin during the EVA
credit: NASA

Yurchikin and Misurkin also spent time retrieving and deploying a number of scientific experiments located on the station's exterior, allowing them to be exposed to the vacuum of space for their specified lifespan. One such experiment is the Photon-Gamma Experiment, which measures gamma splashes and optical
radiation during terrestrial lightning and thunder conditions, from a portable workstation on Zvezda. This will be removed to make way for the installation of an Optical Telescope on future EVAs. The Zvezda Service Module was also the focus of a lot of today's activity, with the spacewalkers testing the KURS docking equipment ahead of the arrival of the MLM. Misurkin and Yurchikin also installed some gap spanners to aid future spacewalkers.

Today's spacewalk by Misurkin and Yurchikin is the first of five EVAs planned for Expedition 36. A further three Russian spacewalks will be performed by Yurchikin and Misurkin, mainly focusing on preparing space station systems for the arrival of the MLM. Two US EVAs will be performed by Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy of NASA and Luca Parmitano of ESA during the remainder of Expedition 36.