September 18, 2006 - Just another day in Space

Well spaceship Earth is on its way through space and it would be wise to know what lies on the path ahead.

There seems to be some that are looking up at the many sights to see.

The oxygen generator acted up on the ISS. It makes oxygen, they throw the hydrogen away. When you decide to live permanently off world you had better come prepared to fix it with what you have in your tool kit.
- LRK -
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http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/cda75b4a1db84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
High Maintenance
Broken gyroscopes, missing parts, air leaks: Is the International Space Station falling apart?

By Dawn Stover | December 2004

You might think that astronauts living onboard the International Space Station spend most of their waking hours observing Earth and conducting experiments. In fact, the bulk of their time is devoted to housekeeping: unpacking groceries, collecting trash, repairing everything from computers to the toilet, and slogging through mundane maintenance checklists. It's not surprising that equipment breaks down occasionally-that's why the space station carries backup systems and spare parts. But now that the station has been permanently occupied for four years, it's beginning to show signs of wear and tear. In recent months, astronauts have had to overhaul essential gear, including space suits, exercise equipment and an oxygen generator.

"The ISS is a disaster waiting to happen," warned a NASA flight controller in an anonymous internal survey done in 2003. But officials maintain that safety hasn't been compromised and that patching up equipment is great training for future exploration missions. "Many of the operational techniques and processes we're developing now, in order to operate without a lot of supply shipments, will be required for those longer missions," says Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's program manager for the station. Here, a look at recent and future "training opportunities."

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Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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As noted in the JPL Space Calendar - LRK -
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# Sep 18 -Hot[Sep 17] Soyuz TMA-9 Soyuz FG Launch (International Space Station 13S) http://www.skyrocket.de/space/index_frame.htm?http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/soyuz-tma.htm
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060917undocking/index4.html

# Sep 18 - Workshop on Exploring and Using Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer Data, Adelphi, Maryland http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/PRODOCS/misr/workshop/current_workshop.html

# Sep 18-20 - Pale Blue Dot III Workshop, Chicago, Illinois http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/pale_blue_dot/index.shtml

# Sep 18-20 - Meeting: Recent Developments in the Study of Gamma-ray Bursts, London, United Kingdom
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/event.asp?id=3188&month=9,2006

# Sep 18-20 - Conference: Astronomical Data Analysis IV, Marseille, France http://www.oamp.fr/conf/ada4/

# Sep 18-22 - 6th Microquasar Workshop: Microquasars and Beyond, Como, Italy http://www.brera.inaf.it/microqw6/

# Sep 18-22 - European Planetary Science Congress, Berlin, Germany http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc2006/index.html

# Sep 18-22 - Meeting: LISA Astro-GR@AEI, Potsdam, Germany http://www.aei.mpg.de/~pau/LISA_Astro-GR@AEI

# Sep 18-23 - Conference: Physical Processes in Circumstellar Disks, Vidago Palace, Portugal http://www.astro.up.pt/disks2006/

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Space Weather News for Sept. 18, 2006
http://Spaceweather.com

SOLAR ECLIPSE: On Friday, Sept. 22nd, the Moon's shadow will cut across Earth, producing an annular ("ring of fire") solar eclipse. Unfortunately, most of the eclipse takes place over uninhabited ocean, but sky watchers in South America and Africa will be able to see at least a fraction of the display. Visit http://spaceweather.com for timetables and animated maps of the eclipse.

SPACESHIP SILHOUETTES: The space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station yesterday. In a moment of cosmic coincidence, an amateur astronomer in France caught the two spacecraft separating just as they passed in front of the sun. His unusual photo, entitled "Spaceship Silhouettes", may be found on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com .

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-- Harmful chemical leaks in space station, AP http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/4195265.html

"We don't exactly know the nature of the spill ... but the crew is doing well," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager. "It's not a life-threatening material."

"The crew first reported smoke but it turned out to be an irritant, potassium hydroxide, leaking from an oxygen vent, Suffredini said."

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Another matter of nomenclature
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When Anousheh Ansari made it into orbit Monday, she was called by many the first female space tourist, although not without a bit of controversy. Jeff Foust examines the debate and whether the term "space tourist" itself is all that useful.
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/706/1

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http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/09/18/spacetourist_spa.html?category=human&guid=20060918090030
NASA Resigned to Space Tourism
Irene Klotz, Discovery News

Sept. 18, 2006 - It's a busy time aboard the International Space Station, which just got its first new addition since before the 2003 Columbia accident.

The shuttle Atlantis crew has left, a Russian Progress capsule needs to be dumped and a new crew is coming aboard to take over control of the half-built outpost.

Not the ideal time for a space tourist, or spaceflight participant in NASA parlance, but the fourth visitor is en route, nonetheless.

"I think there are risks having non-professionals (aboard)," the station's incoming commander Michael Lopez-Alegria said in an interview. "If nothing else, you reduce your efficiency because you always have to have one guy looking at him out of the corner of his eye."

Unlike the previous three station tourists, this tourist is a woman.

Soft-spoken space philanthropist Aneousheh Ansari, whose family sponsored the $10 million Ansari X Prize for private manned spaceflight, bought a seat on Russia's Soyuz capsule for about $20 million after officials ruled out Japanese-born businessman Daisuke Enomoto for undisclosed medical reasons.

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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