Philosophy
The three-man crew of the International Space Station climbed into the Soyuz spacecraft lifeboat for 11 minutes Thursday afternoon as a small but potentially dangerous piece of an old rocket motor whizzed past.
The space debris was about five inches wide and although the odds of a collision were small, “It’s enough we were worried about the crew, and they were taking an abundance of caution,” said Josh Byerly, a NASA spokesman.
Similar near-misses where the crew was at least prepared to enter the Soyuz have occurred five times since the station’s construction began in 1998, Mr. Byerly said. Usually, the crew can nudge the space station’s orbit out of the way of oncoming debris, but NASA received notice of the latest object late last night after the crew — Michael Fincke, Yury Lonchkov and Sandra Magnus — had already gone to sleep.
Instead, the crew members were instructed to evacuate the station and climb into the attached Soyuz module at 12:34 p.m. Eastern time. The space debris passed by at 12:39 p.m., and the crew emerged six minutes later.
1 in 318...odds are not good
Good reason to keep feet on the ground
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- Mark Your Calendar...2020...iss Scuttled
"ISS to be sunk after 2020: Russian space agency" July 27th, 2011 Space & Earth / Space Exploration Russia and its partners plan to plunge the International Space Station (ISS) into the ocean at the end of its life cycle after 2020 so as not to...
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- Case In Point--privatization Of Nasa
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- "happy Days Are Here Again"...
"Space Station Toilet Is Working Again" by John Schwartz June 5th, 2008 The New York Times The troublesome toilet aboard the International Space Station appears to be working again, thanks to a replacement pump taken to the station by the shuttle Discovery....
Philosophy
ISS and orbital debris
"Space Station and Crew Avoid Debris"
March 13th, 2009
The New York Times
March 13th, 2009
The New York Times
The three-man crew of the International Space Station climbed into the Soyuz spacecraft lifeboat for 11 minutes Thursday afternoon as a small but potentially dangerous piece of an old rocket motor whizzed past.
The space debris was about five inches wide and although the odds of a collision were small, “It’s enough we were worried about the crew, and they were taking an abundance of caution,” said Josh Byerly, a NASA spokesman.
Similar near-misses where the crew was at least prepared to enter the Soyuz have occurred five times since the station’s construction began in 1998, Mr. Byerly said. Usually, the crew can nudge the space station’s orbit out of the way of oncoming debris, but NASA received notice of the latest object late last night after the crew — Michael Fincke, Yury Lonchkov and Sandra Magnus — had already gone to sleep.
Instead, the crew members were instructed to evacuate the station and climb into the attached Soyuz module at 12:34 p.m. Eastern time. The space debris passed by at 12:39 p.m., and the crew emerged six minutes later.
1 in 318...odds are not good
Good reason to keep feet on the ground
- The 70 Million Does Include A Bag Of Nuts
"Russia Hikes Price for Space Rides to $70 Million" by Irene Klotz May 1st, 2013 Discovery Communications Unsure when U.S. companies will be ready to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA has signed up for six more rides with the...
- Mark Your Calendar...2020...iss Scuttled
"ISS to be sunk after 2020: Russian space agency" July 27th, 2011 Space & Earth / Space Exploration Russia and its partners plan to plunge the International Space Station (ISS) into the ocean at the end of its life cycle after 2020 so as not to...
- Six To Four Astronauts...smart Move
Space Shuttle Atlantis astronauts, from left, Doug Hurley, Rex Walheim, Sandy Magnus and Chris Ferguson after a crew news conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston last month. "Only 4 Fliers for Last Shuttle Launch" by Kenneth Chang July 6th,...
- Case In Point--privatization Of Nasa
Crew Space Transportation-100 [CST-100] "Boeing unveils its commercial capsule spacecraft" July 22nd, 2010 PhysOrg.com Boeing won an award worth $18 million from NASA under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Space Act Agreement, which was intended...
- "happy Days Are Here Again"...
"Space Station Toilet Is Working Again" by John Schwartz June 5th, 2008 The New York Times The troublesome toilet aboard the International Space Station appears to be working again, thanks to a replacement pump taken to the station by the shuttle Discovery....