Tech Time in Space: Mars news; Earth’s new companion; NASA to crash International Space Station
There's a lot happening in space lately -- here's a roundup of what's new this week, including a tree stump of sorts on a different planet, Earth has a new companion and the International Space Station will come crashing to Earth soon.
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Live Stream: Astronauts spacewalk outside International Space Station
This photo provided by NASA shows US astronaut Kate Rubins outside the International Space Station during a space walk on Friday, March 5, 2021. Rubins and Japan's Soichi Noguchi floated outside to complete unfinished work from Sunday's spacewalk. More mounting brackets and struts need to be installed for new and improved solar panels due to arrive in June. (NASA via AP)
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LIVE STREAM: Astronauts spacewalk outside ISS
Back dropped by the rotating earth, U.S. Army and NASA Astronaut Col. Andrew Morgan pauses for a photo opportunity during extravehicular activity (EVA) #64 at the International Space Station’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer worksite Jan. 25, 2020. Col. Morgan and Italian Air Force and ESA astronaut Col. Luca Parmitano participated in this fourth and final EVA to complete repairs on the AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector. The emblems displayed on Col. Morgan's cuff checklist are U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (top) and U.S. Space Command (bottom). (Photo by ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano)(Department of Defense)
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Russian-US crew welcomed aboard the space station
In this image made from video footage released by Roscosmos Space Agency, the Soyuz-2.1a rocket booster with the Soyuz MS-17 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station (ISS), blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. (Roscosmos Space Agency via AP)MOSCOW – A trio of space travelers blasted off to the International Space Station on Wednesday, using for the first time a fast-track maneuver that allowed them to reach the orbiting outpost in just a little over three hours. NASA’s Kate Rubins along with Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos lifted off as scheduled Wednesday morning from the Russia-leased Baikonur space launch facility in Kazakhstan for a six-month stint on the station. For the first time, they tried a two-orbit approach and docked with the space station in just a little over three hours after lift-off. Ryzhikov, who will be the station’s skipper, said the crew will try to pinpoint the exact location of a leak at a station’s Russian section that has slowly leaked oxygen.
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Are you Space Curious? Submit your intergalactic questions here
What do you want to know about spaceflight and planetary exploration in the era of a new space industry? Space exploration is fueled by the need to answer questions about the great unknown. There’s no need to have a background in physics or a degree in engineering; this is open for the space curious to the space obsessed. Space reporter Emilee Speck will answer your intergalactic questions with help from astronauts, scientists and engineers. Your questions could be featured on Space Curious, a podcast from Graham Media Group and ClickOrlando.com.
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These basic functions prove challenging on International Space Station -- here’s how astronauts cope
Here are answers to five questions about what “basic” life is like for astronauts on the ISS. As if they are going to a restaurant, astronauts can choose which food items they want off of a menu. On the ISS, astronauts use liquid soap, water and no rinse shampoo. Given the microgravity means, there is no up or down, and astronauts can sleep in any orientation, according to NASA. The station has small crew cabins with sleeping bags that astronauts sleep in.
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Watch live stream of historic SpaceX astronaut launch for NASA
SpaceX and NASA are preparing to launch astronauts into orbit Wednesday afternoon. If SpaceX does not launch during Wednesdays split-second window, the next try would be Saturday. Weather-permitting, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are set to ride SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. It will be the nations first astronaut launch to orbit in nearly a decade. Watch live coverage here:NASA plans coverage of the SpaceX Demo-2 launch to the International Space Station to begin at 12:15 p.m.At 7:30 p.m., NASA/SpaceX will hold a Demo-2 post-launch news conference with Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
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LIVE STREAM: SpaceX, NASA launch astronauts to International Space Station
SpaceX and NASA are preparing to launch astronauts into orbit Wednesday afternoon. If SpaceX does not launch during Wednesdays split-second window, the next try would be Saturday. Weather-permitting, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are set to ride SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. It will be the nations first astronaut launch to orbit in nearly a decade. Watch live coverage here:NASA plans coverage of the SpaceX Demo-2 launch to the International Space Station to begin at 12:15 p.m.At 7:30 p.m., NASA/SpaceX will hold a Demo-2 post-launch news conference with Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
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SpaceX, NASA rocket launch scrubbed due to weather; Next window set for Saturday
SpaceX and NASA were preparing to launch astronauts into orbit Wednesday afternoon, but the weather had other ideas. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are set to ride SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. It will be the nations first astronaut launch to orbit in nearly a decade. NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station in a new kind of public-private partnership. Development of SpaceXs Dragon and Boeings Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however.