 ESA's Jules Verne ATV reentry caught on video
03 October 2008 - On Monday evening the end came for the ESA’s first cargo ship. The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle plunged into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean in a destructive reentry that burned up most of the craft and left only a few dozen small fragments of the ship to fall into the uninhabited waters. The fiery plunge was caught on video by two NASA airplanes contracted by the ESA to collect data on the reentry, as well as data gathered by imagers aboard the International Space Station as it traveled overhead. The reentry marked the end of a successful premiere mission for the ATV system, the first cargo ship built by the ESA.
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 Russian cargo ship, Jules Verne cast off from ISS
07 September 2008 - In the past week both Russia’s Progress cargo ship and the ESA’s Jules Verne ATV undocked from the International Space Station. Both of the unmanned cargo spaceships are on their way towards a fiery destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean. Progress 29 undocked on Monday and the Jules Verne ATV on Friday, though both will remain in orbit for several more days to conduct further tests.
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ISS dodging orbital debris
29 August 2008 - In orbit of our blue marble are at least 10,000 bits of space litter, ranging from functioning satellites to discarded rocket segments to the remains of satellites obliterated by ground based rockets. Also up there are satellites that have simply died and are circling our planet until their orbit decays and they fall out of the sky. Either way, most of the 10,000 tracked pieces of debris would pose a threat to any craft in their path, be it a space shuttle or the International Space Station with its massive sweeping solar panels. Such a threat arose this week for the ISS with its path coming uncomfortably close to that of Object #33246 - the remains of a defunct Russian satellite.
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 ISS laptops hit with virus
28 August 2009 - Inexplicably, a computer virus designed to steal the passwords of online gamers has appeared on laptop computers in use aboard the International Space Station. Deemed a low risk, the virus was detected late last month, and according to NASA, does not pose a threat to the space station. The virus several laptop computers used to tabulate data for minor experiments and for personal use by the three astronauts aboard the ISS. There are 71 laptops aboard the orbital outpost, though not all of them are vulnerable to the Windows-based virus, many lack basic virus protection.
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 Discovery departs ISS, lands safely
20 July 2008 - Space shuttle landing(From June 14, 2008) Following a successful and busy construction mission to the International Space Station, the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery is now back on terra firma. The 15-day flight to the ISS began on May 31, and involved the installation of the station’s largest module, as well as a much-needed toilet repair that has made life in orbit a little easier.
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 Discovery crew installs new toilet, lab module, on ISS
05 June 2008 - On Monday the space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station, carrying with it a massive new Japanese lab, a new crewmember, and a replacement toilet pump. The two orbital craft met 335 km over the Pacific Ocean, where Discovery performed a slow back flip so that the ISS crew could take hundreds of detailed photos of the shuttle’s heat tiled belly for transmission back to the surface for analysis.
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 Discovery blasts off with Buzz Lightyear aboard
31 May 2008 - To infinity and beyond, indeed. As part of a partnership between Disney and NASA, a 12-inch figure of Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story fame signed up as an eighth astronaut aboard Discovery, seeking to expand and invigorate childhood space, science, and math education. Back in the cargo hold of Discovery was the Japanese Experiment Module of JAXA’s Kibo Laboratory - this massive module is the size of a touring bus and fills the entire cargo hold of the space shuttle.
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ISS residents calling the space plumber
28 May 2008 - Of all the expensive complicated things that could have broken on the International Space Station, it had to be the toilet. For the rest of us Earth-bound humans, having one commode for three people is no big problem. If it breaks, you can use the neighbors and call the plumber to fix it for a few dollars. In space, however, nobody can hear you scream inside the bathroom. There is one toilet on the ISS, inside the Russian-built Zvezda module, and in recent days it’s started to act up.
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 Progress cargo ship launches supplies and snails to the ISS
15 May 2008 - The unmanned Progress 29 Russian cargo freighter lifted off yesterday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan towards the International Space Station. Aboard are two tons of the usual supplies, including fresh clothing, food, and other cargo. Also aboard are 90 snails that will live on the station for five months (in their experiment container) before being returned to Earth to die in the name of science: examining the effects of long-term space occupancy on organisms.
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No Star Trek on the ISS?
02 May 2008 - There’s an organization called GovernmentAttic.org that makes it its business to file Freedom of Information Act requests to see what it can get from the United States federal government’s files. Their site is filled with loads of obscure data that is available to the public, but the government doesn’t publish unless you ask about it. Most FOIA requests are for things that the government was secretive about in the past, but GovernmentAttic recently filed a request that was an odd one: the contents of the International Space Station’s media library. As you can imagine, a space station is going to have loads of science fiction, and there’s plenty, from Star Wars to The Matrix to Lost. But there’s something missing: Star Trek.
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 Jules Verne boosts ISS orbit
28 April 2008 - The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle was used for the first time on Friday to adjust the orbit of the International Space Station. The 12 minute burn of the ATV’s main engine raised the 280 ton orbital station by 4.5 km to an altitude of 342 km. The ATV was designed to carry plenty of additional fuel for such maneuvers.
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 ISS Expedition 16 crew lands 260 miles off target
20 April 2008 - The International Space Station Expedition 16 crew, Commander Peggy Whitson, Yuri Malenchenko, and So-yeon Yi, yesterday found themselves 260 miles short of the landing target zone in Kazakhstan. While all three were deemed well by medical personnel, this is the second Soyuz reentry in a row - and the third in recent years - that ended up on a ballistic path, where it reenters the atmosphere at a steeper than desired angle. The steeper reentry not only forces the reentry craft off target, but subjects the occupants to much higher forces of gravity.
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 Yankees opener first pitch tossed from ISS
17 April 2008 - The New York Yankees opened last night against the Boston Red Sox. Historically, the ceremonial first pitch has been tossed by a variety of dignitaries and celebrities, including 1956 Yankees pitcher Don Larsen, US President George W. Bush, and now an astronaut in space. Orbiting in the International Space Station, US astronaut Garrett Reisman threw the opening pitch as the station passed over New York City and was broadcast down to the big screen into Yankee Stadium.
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Peggy Whitson sets new US spaceflight record
17 April 2008 - International Space Station Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson has surpassed the US spaceflight record for the most time spent in orbit, reaching to 377 days by the time she lands. Whitson passed British/American astronaut Michael Foale, who has accumulated 374 days in space. Whitson’s record places her as the 20th most-experienced spaceflyer, behind a long list of Soviet and Russian cosmonauts.
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 Space tourist to take his camera to space and take pictures for you
17 April 2008 - American video game developer and space tourist-to-be Richard Garriott will be headed to the International Space Station in October, and like any tourist, he’s taking his camera. But he’ll take pictures for you while he’s in orbit. In what could be the ultimate orbital postcards, Garriott will take custom-targeted photographs of planet Earth for about 200 paying subscribers as part of a partnership with the “Earth Portraits” program of the Association of Space Explorers and the space website collectSPACE.com.
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Expedition 17 heads to the ISS
15 April 2008 - The 17th crew to man the International Space Station launched last week from the Baikonour Cosomodrome towards the orbital station. Aboard the Soyuz TMA-12 were Russian cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Oleg Kononenko and South Korea’s first astronaut, So-yeon Yi. They launched from the Kazakhstan spaceport last Tuesday and docked with the ISS on Thursday.
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ATV makes perfect docking debut with ISS
06 April 2008 - Carrying eight tons of cargo for the International Space Station, the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle successfully completed its first docking flawlessly. The European Space Agency's first cargo ship, and the first dedicated such ship for the ISS, launched last month and after passing a battery of orbital tests, was cleared to dock with the station. ISS commander Peggy Whitson and Yuri Malenchenko watched as the ATV performed an automated docking at the end of the Russian Zvezda service module.
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Jules Verne ATV clears final tests, to dock with ISS on Thursday
01 April 2008 - The ESA's Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ship has passed a final battery of tests and been approved for docking with the International Space Station on Thursday. The craft launched on March 9th and has been performing a shake-down cruise to be certified by ESA, NASA, and Roskosmos for docking with the ISS.
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Astronauts equip Dextre with toolkit and cameras
21 March 2008 - The hard-working astronauts of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have continued their work on the massive Dextre robot and the Japanese Logistics Pressurized module, both installed on the orbital space station this week. Dextre, built by the Canadian Space Agency, is a multi-handed robot mounted on the end of the ISS's robotic arm that will aid the crew in common repair tasks, negating the need for as many spacewalks. A toolbelt of sorts was attached to the robot and it was mounted to the station's hull, completing its installation.
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 Astronauts install Japanese lab, assemble giant robot
16 March 2008 - The astronauts aboard the International Space Station and the space shuttle Endeavour have been hard at work since the shuttle docked with the station on Thursday. They have already attached the first segment of a massive Japanese laboratory and are busy assembling the Canadian Space Agency's dexterous robot, Dextre.
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Endeavour docks with ISS, busy construction schedule ahead
Thursday, 13 March 2008 - The space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station last night in what is the start of the longest and one of the busiest construction missions in ISS history. The two orbital craft met at 343 km over Singapore, where the shuttle performed a backflip to allow the ISS crew to take photographs of the ship's heat shield underside for transmission back to Earth for analysis.
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ATV recovers from propulsion glitch
11 March 2008 - After the dissapointing failure of a propulsion system controller aboard the ESA's Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, the dedicated cargo ship is now back on its metaphorical feet. The unmanned craft launched on March 8th into orbit and soon afterwards a computer controlling one of the four maneuvering thruster packages died. Even though the ATV is designed to function with three operational thruster packs, for this shakedown cruise the mission controllers wanted everything to be online before they attempted to boost its orbit.
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 Endeavour launches towards ISS
11 March 2008 - The space shuttle Endeavour launched early this morning towards the International Space Station, carrying aboard a new robotic arm and the first part of a new Japanese laboratory. Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canveral, Florida, at 2:28 AM this morning. The shuttle, commanded by Dominic Gorie, is on a 16-day construction mission to the ISS.
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Jules Verne ATV suffers propulsion setback
11 March 2008 - Right at the start of its four-week shake down cruise to the International Space Station, the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle has come across a glitch in its propulsion system. Despite the successful launch this weekend, the ATV's onboard computer detected the failure of an electronics unit that controls a quarter of the cargo ship's thrusters, in addition to a discrepancy in the mixing pressure of the monomethylhydrazine fuel and the N2O4 oxidizer.
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ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle launches successfully
09 March 2008 - The world's first dedicated ground-to-space cargo ship launched today from French Guiana aboard a powerful Ariane 5 rocket. The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, named by the ESA for the famed science fiction author, had been in development for more than a decade before today's successful launch and will supplement cargo delivery systems like Russia's Progress and the United State's space shuttle fleet.
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Columbus Lab installed on ISS
12 February 2008 - After years of delays and billions of dollars, the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory was finally attached to the International Space Station yesterday. The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis working with the Expedition 16 crew of the ISS installed the new module in a eight hour spacewalk.
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Atlantis passes inspection, docks with ISS
09 February 2008 - After a hitch-free launch on Thursday, the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis performed an inspection of the craft's sensitive heat shield, discovering that none of the debris shed off the external fuel tank damaged the tiles. The shuttle played a game of orbital chase to catch up with the International Space Station and docked with the outpost early this afternoon.
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Space Shuttle Atlantis launches into orbit
08 February 2008 - At 2:45 PM EST yesterday, the Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle launch had been delayed for nearly two months after the failure of fuel level sensors in the external fuel tank. A faulty connector was blamed for the problems and repaired, and the shuttle launched with no outstanding issues. In the cargo bay is the ESA's Columbus Laboratory, destined for addition to the ISS.
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Spacewalk repairs for ISS
02 February 2008 - Astronauts Daniel Tani and Peggy Whitson ventured outside the International Space Station to replace a dead motor used to control the station's solar array's angle towards the sun. They spent seven and a half hours outside the orbital outpost working to restore the station's power systems to their intended output. The crippled motor had prevented them from angling the arrays for optimal sunlight reception.
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UK has plans to join the ISS
17 January 2008 - The United Kingdom has drafted plans to add two habitation modules to the International Space Station that would dramatically improve onboard living conditions for the astronauts in orbit. The plan, not yet a part of the ISS partnership (which includes the USA, Russia, ESA, Italy, Japan, and Canada, but not the UK), would add 100 cubic meters of living space to the ISS.
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 NASA targets February 7 for Atlantis launch
13 January 2008 - NASA is currently looking at Febuary 7th as the launch date for the space shuttle Atlantis and the ESA's Columbus Laboratory. The shuttle was grounded late last year following repeated failures of external fuel tank sensors. Engineers disovered that the problems were caused by a faulty connector that bridged the 500,000 gallon liquid fuel tank and the shuttle's belly, which was replaced yesterday. Russia's planned February 5 launch of an unmaned Progress cargo craft was moved up two days to accomodate the docking space needed by Atlantis. Also, the originally planned February 14 launch of Endeavour and the first segment of JAXA's Kibo laboratory has been pushed back to March.
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 January shuttle launch delayed indefinitely
28 December 2007 - Following the discovery of the disconnect inside a connector that bridged the gap between the space shuttle Atlantis and its massive external fuel tank that resulted in faulty readings from the tank's fuel sensors, NASA today announced that the launch of Atlantis would be delayed indefinitely while engineers fixed the problem. The sensor failures - a critical fail-safe system for launch safey, cancelled the launch of the shuttle and the International Space Station-bound Columbus Laboratory aboard early this month.
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Christmas presents and space hamburgers for ISS crew
28 December 2007 - An automated Russian cargo ship docked with the International Space Station yesterday morning, carrying aboard Christmas gifts for the two American astronauts aboard, and birthday gifts for Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who turned 46 on Saturday. The Progress 27 spacecraft also carried 2.5 tons of fuel, oxygen, food and other supplies for the ISS crew.
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NASA targets January 10 for Atlantis launch
16 December 2007 - Shuttle program managers are planning for a January 10, 2008, launch for the space shuttle Atlantis. The launch was delayed earlier this month after fuel sensors failed prior to two attempts. The delay will allow for engineers to dig into the problems that have plagued the fuel sensors and to have some time off during the holiday season.
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Atlantis launch delayed to January
10 December 2007 - This weekend's launch of the space shuttle Atlantis was again foiled by malfunctioning fuel sensors. In an effort to track down the reason behind the glitching engine cut-off sensors, NASA has delayed the launch to no earlier than January 2, 2008. The shuttle still remains on the launchpad with the ESA's Columbus Laboratory in the cargo bay, engineers are confident they will be able to track down the problem and complete repairs without having to pull back to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building and unmounting the shuttle's external fuel tank.
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Fuel sensor glitch scrubs today's Atlantis launch
06 December 2007 - The launch of the space shuttle Atlantis was today delayed at least one day by malfunctions in two of four hydrogen fuel sensors the control the shuttle's main engines. The mission to carry the ESA's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station was set to launch at 4:31 PM EST from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. While one glitching sensor is not a cause for alarm, NASA's flight rules require at least three of the sensors be operating correctly for a launch. Atlantis is now set for a launch no earlier than Friday at 4:09 PM, with an 80% forecast of favorable launch weather.
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 NASA: $2,000,000,000 would be useful
18 November 2007 - Speaking in front of a Senate panel, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said that the development of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle could be accelerated. Orion is currently on track to be ready for deployment by 2014, four years after the planned retirement of the space shuttle fleet. Griffin said that an additional $2 billion for development could get Orion into service a year earlier.
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ISS astronauts move Harmony Node to permanent berthing
14 November 2007 - Today astronauts aboard the International Space Station relocated the new Harmony Node module from its temporary dock where it was placed by the Space Shuttle Atlantis to its new home at the end of the Destiny module. Astronauts will have to perform two spacewalks next week to connect power, data, and evironmental systems to the Harmony Node.
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ISS repaired, Discovery begins trip back to Earth
06 November 2007 - It took over seven hours, but Scott Parazynski successfully repaired one of the torn solar arrays of the International Space Station. Assisted by Doug Wheelcock and guided on more than 100 feet of robotic arm, Parazynksi attached five 'cufflinks' to stabilize the solar wing. The rings were hand crafted aboard the shuttle as part of the quick effort to repair the station before Discovery departed.
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Astronauts to attempt repair of broken ISS solar array
01 November 2007 - NASA has decided to yet again rearrange the Discovery's spacewalk schedule. This time they are scrapping the planned inspection of the damaged rotary joint on another of the International Space Station's solar array to repair the solar array that suffered a two foot tear during deployment yesterday. Even though the wing is generating plenty of power in spite the damage, engineers are concerned about the structural integrity of the array, which is exposed to extreme temperature shifts as it orbits the Earth.
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ISS solar array ripped
30 October 2007 - Things just aren't going well for the STS-120 crew. First they discover that the starboard side rotator joint for the International Space Station's massive solar arrays is possibly grinding against itself, and now today after successfully moving another of the station's solar arrays, one of the power generating arrays was ripped as it was unfurled. The 115 foot long solar array was discovered to be ripped along its edge, and neither the astronauts in space nor the engineers on the ground are cetain as to if the damage will prevent the array from generating neccesary power for future ISS modules.
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NASA extends Discovery mission to deal with worrisome ISS joint
29 October 2007 - Two days after spacewalking astronauts helping with the construction of the International Space Station discovered metal shavings - evidence of grinding - inside a large solar wing joint, NASA has decided to extend the shuttle's stay at the orbital laboratory for one day. The joint is used to rotate the station's massive solar panel wings for optimal exposure, and the astronauts aboard the ISS had reported power spikes and vibrations during movements. Certain that the joint has sustained some degree of damage, ground controllers immediately halted the joint in place.
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Harmony Node hooked up to ISS
27 October 2007 - The Italian-built connecting module 'Harmony' was today attached to the International Space Station by astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, which is currently docked at the orbital station. Discovery docked with the station yesterday and began a long series of complicated ISS contruction missions, beginning with the movement of the Harmony Node from the shuttle's payload bay to a temporary berthing on the ISS.
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Discovery docks with ISS
25 October 2007 - At 10:39 AM EDT today the hatches between the Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station were opened, completing docking between the two spacecraft. After spending two days chasing the ISS while in orbit, Discovery commenced docking procedures at 8:40 this morning while cruising over the Pacific Ocean. Commanded by Pam Melroy, Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday morning for a 14 day mission to continue construction of the ISS. Onboard is the Italian-built Harmony Node, a critical component for expanding the station.
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Discovery launches towards ISS
24 October 2007 - The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, today at 11:38 AM EDT. The seven person crew, led by veteran commander Pam Melroy, blasted through weather that threatened to delay today's launch. On board was the Harmony Node, an Italian-built connecting module that will enable future expansion of the International Space Station.
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New crew headed for ISS
11 October 2007 - A Russian Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying two crewmembers for the upcoming Expedition 16 International Space Station crew. Onboard was American astronaut Peggy Whitson, destined to be the station's first female commander, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a physician and Malaysia's first astronaut.
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Calling all astronauts - NASA opens applications
18 September 2007 - NASA is accepting applications for the 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class. Those selected could fly to space for long-duration stays on the International Space Station and missions to the moon. "We look forward to gathering applications and then being able to select from the largest pool possible," said Ellen Ochoa, NASA's chief of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center. "Continuing our impressive record in successfully carrying out challenging human spaceflight missions depends on maintaining a talented and diverse astronaut corps."
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South Korea selects AI expert as first astronaut
05 September 2007 - South Korea announced Wednesday that a 30-year-old expert on artificial intelligence will be the country's first person in space when he flies on a Russian Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station next year. The Ministry of Science and Technology selected Ko San, who has done research on artificial intelligence, said Vice Science Minister Chung Yoon.
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 Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to make the trek into orbit
30 August 2007 - While we are a site dedicated to the future of Star Trek, this one was just too good to pass up. The original prop lightsaber used by Mark Hamil as the Jedi hero Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy from 1977 will be flown to the International Space Station in October. When the Space Shutle Discovery launches (currently scheduled for October 23rd), the lightsaber will ride along into orbit, visit the ISS - where it will not be used during construction of the station - and return to Earth a few days later.
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Space teacher conducts first orbital lesson
15 August 2007 - Teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan transformed the space shuttle and space station into a classroom Tuesday for her first education session from orbit, fulfilling the legacy of Christa McAuliffe with joy and also some sadness.
“I’ve thought about Christa and the Challenger crew just about every day since 20-plus years ago,” Morgan said in a series of interviews right before class got under way. “I hope that they know that they are here with us in our hearts.”
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 Astronauts inspect gash on Endeavour
12 August 2007 - Maneuvering a laser-tipped boom designed for the job, astronauts closely inspected a gash to shuttle Endeavour's belly Sunday, providing 3-D images that NASA hopes will rule out the need for risky spacewalk repairs. A chunk of insulating foam smacked the shuttle at liftoff last week in an unbelievably unlucky ricochet off the fuel tank and carved out the gouge.
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Shuttle performs inspection flip, docks with ISS
10 August 2007 - The space shuttle Endeavour docked with the international space station Friday after performing an orbital backflip that permitted a close-up look for any damage from flyaway foam on launch day.
With commander Scott Kelly at the controls, Endeavour pulled up to the space station and neatly parked as the two spacecraft soared above the South Pacific. The shuttle and its crew of seven, including teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan, will remain at the outpost for at least a week.
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