Posts Tagged: ‘space station’
Invention – skin tight spacesuits help prevent astronaut bone problems
by Marshall Brain | December 14, 2010
It’s officially called the gravity loading countermeasures suit (GLCS presumably). The goal is to reduce bone loss and spinal elongation during long duration space flight. It is a skin-tight suit designed to be worn inside the space station. It elastically squeezes the body and the spine: See also: New Skintight Astronaut Suit Could Reduce Bone [...]
Anything in low earth orbit (like the space station, the space shuttle or the Hubble space telescope) is traveling 17,500 MPH. But how fast is that in real, down-to-earth terms? Here’s the answer: It’s a pretty amazing speed. It’s Los Angeles to Tokyo (approximately 5,400 miles) in 18 minutes: The space shuttle achieves that speed [...]
NASA’s Robonaut robot is about to go to the International Space Station to do real work alongside human astronauts. It’s been in development since 1998, and is a good example of “dexterous telepresence”. The R2 version will be the first to go to the space station. This video shows not only what the robot can [...]
Skylon – The British space plane that could revolutionize space travel
by Marshall Brain | September 21, 2010
If nothing else, the Skylon space plane is ambitious. It will be a shuttle-like vehicle with wings and a cargo bay, and it is reusable. However, it will take off from a runway and be able to turn around for its next mission very quickly…
What would it take to create a colony on another planet?
by Marshall Brain | September 8, 2010
You Asked:
What would it take to create a colony on another planet? — Daniel, Munich, Germany
Marshall Brain Answers…
Imagine you are a an astronaut working outside the space station in the hard vacuum of space. You are wearing a spacesuit, and it is protecting you against the vacuum. But what if something goes wrong – for example the suit gets a hole sliced in it by an errant tool – and the suit depressurizes? If this video you can see exactly what happens to a human being in that situation…
February was an incredibly depressing month if you love NASA and the whole spaceflight thing. Right before the STS-130 Shuttle launch, NASA formally announced the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2010 and the immediate cancellation of the Ares and Constellation program for going back to the moon. Human space flight for America died [...]
The STS-130 Shuttle Mission #19 – The shuttle has safely landed
by Marshall Brain | February 22, 2010
Space Shuttle Endeavor landed safely, bringing STS-130 to a successful conclusion after a nearly flawless mission. Here is the landing: The video description mentions: Flames from the tail are normal. The APU which powers the hydraulics vents excess energy after landing. The hydraulics system is what helps the crew to land since they have no [...]
The STS-130 Shuttle Mission #18 – Getting ready to come home
by Marshall Brain | February 19, 2010
The following video talks about NASA’s activities yesterday, as the shuttle crew starts making preparations to come home: The video talks about the view out of the new Cupola, boosting the space station to a higher orbit, stowing equipment in the shuttle for the return home, capping off oxygen tanks and so on. Day 11 [...]
The third spacewalk wrapped up all of the EVA tasks necessary to complete installation of the Tranquility node and the Cupola. NASA describes it this way: Behnken and Patrick wrapped up their third and final planned spacewalk, a 5-hour, 48-minute excursion, at 3:03 a.m. EST. They completed all of their planned tasks, removing insulation blankets [...]
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