In 1967, Christine Darden was added to the pool of ‘human computers’ who wrote complex programs and tediously crunched numbers for engineers at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
NASA Image of the Day
Powered by WPeMatico
Beginning at 10:30 p.m. EDT Monday, NASA Television and the agency’s website will air the arrival and docking to the International Space Station of an uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz MS-14 is scheduled to dock to the station’s aft-facing Zvezda module at 11:12 p.m.
It is the spacecraft’s second attempt to dock to the station after cosmonauts aborted its first attempt Saturday at 1:36 a.m. because of a problem on the station’s side of the so-called KURS automated rendezvous system that prevented its automated docking. The Soyuz has been on a safe trajectory above and behind the space station.
To enable the second attempt, three Expedition 60 crew members boarded their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft Sunday night and relocated it from the Zvezda module to the Poisk module, making the Zvezda port available.
The uncrewed Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Aug. 21 on a test flight to validate the spacecraft’s compatibility with a revamped Soyuz booster rocket. The booster will be used to transport crews to the International Space Station beginning in spring 2020.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
Mark Garcia
Powered by WPeMatico
At 11:59 p.m. EDT, the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft with three Expedition 60 members inside successfully docked to the International Space Station’s Poisk module. The crew of Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrew Morgan of NASA began the relocation maneuver when they undocked from the aft port of the station’s Zvezda module at 11:35 p.m.
Skvortsov flew the spacecraft, backing about 124 feet (38 meters) away from the space station before completing a roll maneuver to take them to the Poisk module for the manual docking.
The move frees the port for an uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 that currently is on a safe trajectory above and behind the space station to execute a second docking attempt Monday night to the Zvezda port. The so-called KURS automated rendezvous system has been tested and is in perfect working order. NASA TV coverage of the docking Monday night will begin at 10:30 p.m. with docking scheduled at 11:12 p.m.
The uncrewed Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Aug. 21 on a test flight to validate the spacecraft’s compatibility with a revamped Soyuz booster rocket. The spacecraft will deliver 1,450 pounds of cargo to the Expedition 60 crew.
The last relocation of a Soyuz was in August 2015 when Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos and NASA’s Scott Kelly conducted a similar operation, but in reverse, flying their Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from Poisk to Zvezda.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
Mark Garcia
Powered by WPeMatico
At 11:35 p.m. EDT, the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft with three Expedition 60 members inside undocked from the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module. They are beginning a 25-minute journey to relocate their spacecraft to the to the Poisk module.
Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrew Morgan of NASA donned their Russian Sokol launch and entry suits before climbing aboard their Soyuz for the relocation maneuver.
The relocation will accommodate a second rendezvous and docking attempt for an uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft on Monday night. The uncrewed Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 11:38 p.m. EDT (8:38 a.m. Aug. 22 Baikonur time) on a test flight to validate the spacecraft’s compatibility with a revamped Soyuz booster rocket. Cosmonauts aborted its first attempt to dock on Saturday at 1:36 a.m. because of a problem on the station’s side of the so-called KURS automated rendezvous system that prevented its automated docking.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
Mark Garcia
Powered by WPeMatico
SSDV picture from a PIE balloon – Image credit Dave Akerman M0RPI
The 2019 UK High Altitude Society Conference is taking place in White City, London on Saturday, September 7. Ticket sales close August 31.
The conference takes place at The Invention Rooms, 68 Wood Lane, White City, London, W12 7TA, and attracts those interested in learning about building and flying High Altitude Balloons or in tracking their 434 MHz signals.
Some of the radio amateurs giving talks on high altitude balloon communications are:
• AutoRX by Mark Jessop VK5QI
• Citizen space exploration & inflatable spacecraft by Michael Johnson M0MJJ
• The Apollo Flight – model-making and tech behind the dashboard by Dave Akerman M0RPI
• Insurance & UKHAS Server Support by Steve Randall G8KHW
• Recovering, Reprogramming and Re-flying Radiosondes by Andrew Mulholland MI0BPB
• Hwoyee NSL-45 Experiences by Dave Akerman M0RPI and Steve Randall G8KHW
There will be helium and foil balloons available for the pico launch at the end of the conference.
UKHAS conference information is at https://ukhas.org.uk/general:ukhasconference2019
m5aka
AMSAT-UK
Powered by WPeMatico
