Space Stations: Past, Present, And Future

[willedoo]

There's a bit of ISS activity coming up in July. The Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module will launch and dock to the lower port of the Zvezda module. Reequipping the Proton-M launch complex to accommodate the Nauka has been happening since April at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. In preparation for the arrival of the Nauka, the Pirs module will be undocked and de-orbited with a Progress cargo freighter. The Pirs has occupied the port since 2001.

[pmccarthy]

If the USA and China are the only two nations to have sent rovers into space, whatever happened to the Irish rover?

[Bruce Tuncks]

Octave is right to scoff at those who say " everything has been invented" . In the late 1700's, a US patents office applied to close down for the same reason.

I reckon we are just at the beginning of lots of exciting discoveries. The list of things we don't know is endless...  for example, how does memory really work?

[spacesailor]

I 'me '.

I never had a good memory.

So don,t ask questions l cannot remember! !.

BUT lv,e heard it,s a matter ' grey ' that has to be learned. 

Eerr

Whats my name again ?

 

[onetrack]

The Irish rover never made it to Mars, because Paddy and Mick heard that the planet was all Orange - and as the rover came from the Green side, they didn't want any troubles.

[Marty_d]

13 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

If the USA and China are the only two nations to have sent rovers into space, whatever happened to the Irish rover?

Or that dog on the Good Ship Venus?  He couldn't woof for some reason...

[willedoo]

NASA head Bill Nelson did an interview with Politico this week. He spoke about the long history of space cooperation with Roscosmos since the mid 70's and how it's continued despite political differences between the countries. He expressed the view that Russia will not pull out of the ISS any time soon.

 

It comes a few days after Roscosmos head, Dmitry Rogozin, said that Russia will pull out of the ISS in 2024 if the U.S. doesn't lift sanctions on the Russian space programme. Russia is locked in and committed until 2024 but can walk away after that date if they decide to do so. Rogozin is an ex politician and tends to play the politics somewhat, so at this stage, leaving the ISS seems to be just words and not a set plan.

[willedoo]

The three Chinese astronauts are in residence at their space station module.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-18/chinese-astronauts-board-space-station-module/100224980

 

Here's a question, do the Chinese call themselves astronauts or do they have an alternative term for it, like the Russian Cosmonauts.

[Old Koreelah]

30 minutes ago, willedoo said:

…Here's a question, do the Chinese call themselves astronauts or do they have an alternative term for it, like the Russian Cosmonauts.

What is a Chinese astronaut called?

Those Soviet and later Russian individuals who travel into space are known as cosmonauts (from the Greek words for “universe” and “sailor”). China designates its space travelers taikonauts (from the Chinese word for “space” and the Greek word for “sailor”).

[spacesailor]

HAY The Chinese  can,t have my name !.

spacesailor

[onetrack]

Did you register your name, Spacey? Too late, it looks like the Chinese have your name! 

[willedoo]

Work is progressing on the Russian space station but it's looking unlikely the Russians will leave the ISS in 2024 when their obligations expire. More likely a year or two overlap. The concept is ready and Roscosmos are talking of the first governmental review of the concept by the end of June. Work is already underway on the first module, a research and power facility. The module was originally intended to be launched to the ISS in 2024. 2025 seems to be the current date for the new station.

[willedoo]

Some footage of the latest supply run to the ISS. Progress MS-17 lifted off on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket this morning from Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan. It's carrying a 2.5 tonne payload of fuel, drinking water, oxygen, clothes, food, medical supplies and maintenance kits.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Expensive supplies. I guess the used oxygen cylinders are sent to burn up on re-entry.

I presume they recycle as much air and water as possible.

[willedoo]

The Progress stays docked until just before the next one arrives. They fill it with waste and de-orbit it to burn up. I'd guess the empty cylinders would be part of the waste. Expensive supplies for sure. It would be interesting to know the full cost of a crewed Soyuz launch as the cargo run would be comparable in price. Non Russian astronauts pay around 8o to 90 million USD per seat, but I don't know how that amount compares to total cost.

[octave]

Most of the oxygen on ISS is generated onboard by electrolysis.   And some is transported.

 

 

Electrolysis of water (H2O) is the main method to generate oxygen aboard the ISS. Water is split into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2). The oxygen is vented into the breathable cabin air system, known as the Oxygen Generation System, while the explosive hydrogen is vented externally.

The station’s football-field-sized solar arrays are the power source to electrolyse the water. Each day the OGS continuously provides between 2.3 and 9kg (5 to 20lbs) of oxygen. The OGS is a component of the ISS life support system, known as ECLSS or Environmental Control and Life Support System, located in the US Destiny module. The Elektron system aboard the Russian Zvezda service module performs the same vital electrolysis service for the ISS crew. The Electron system was also used aboard the Russian Mir Space Station.

Pressurised oxygen storage tanks replenished by visiting unmanned cargo ships provide a backup to the electrolysis method. Finally, the crew can also generate oxygen chemically by igniting Solid Fuel Oxygen Generation (SFOG) canisters comprised of lithium perchlorate. Each canister provides the oxygen needed to support one crew member for one day.

[willedoo]

The Progress MS-17 freighter is cutting it a bit fine. Tomorrow morning it will have a couple of near misses; the first within 1.5 klm of a Starlink satellite and three minutes later within 500 metres of a fragment of Musk's Falcon 9 rocket.

[Old Koreelah]

20 hours ago, willedoo said:

The Progress MS-17 freighter is cutting it a bit fine. Tomorrow morning it will have a couple of near misses; the first within 1.5 klm of a Starlink satellite and three minutes later within 500 metres of a fragment of Musk's Falcon 9 rocket.

The mathematics that can predict those orbital intersections do my head in,

[Dax]

24 minutes ago, Old Koreelah said:

The mathematics that can predict those orbital intersections do my head in,

I don't even bother thinking about the maths, never been able fathom it all out above simple adding and subtracting. It;s lucky we have computers to work these things out ans don't think we'd be able to have space stations without the computers of today.

[Old Koreelah]

1 minute ago, Dax said:

I don't even bother thinking about the maths, never been able fathom it all out above simple adding and subtracting. It;s lucky we have computers to work these things out ans don't think we'd be able to have space stations without the computers of today.

Probably true, Dax. It’s impressive to look back at what was achieved without today’s processing power. 

The two Voyagers each have ancient reel-too reel tape memory and 4k of RAM. Despite this primitive technology, one of them was reprogrammed from immense distances and they are both still functioning almost a half century later and beyond the Solar System.

[Dax]

Been following the voyagers since their launch, they are amazing things as big as buses whereas today they'd be the size of open umbrella. 

[willedoo]

2 hours ago, Dax said:

I don't even bother thinking about the maths, never been able fathom it all out above simple adding and subtracting.

I can relate to that. If I need to count past ten, the shoes have to come off.

[Marty_d]

1 hour ago, willedoo said:

I can relate to that. If I need to count past ten, the shoes have to come off.

Twelve, if you're from some isolated rural areas...

[nomadpete]

Wise words from a native taswegian

[nomadpete]

I really admire these incredible space achievements. 

But why, when we have all this precision available through modern technology, why, oh why can't they put a shredder or robovac on the front of these spacecraft. Solving the problem of avoiding space trash.