The International Space Station, a partnership of five space agencies, has been orbiting Earth for 20 years. Most astronauts have been Americans and Russians. The two countries have agreed to cooperate through 2024, but beyond that, the future of the space station is uncertain. A Vox video.
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On Saturday, four new astronauts arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in a used SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, a recyled capsule used in a previous mission. The four new arrivals join the seven already on the ISS, which only has nine beds. That means two astronauts will have to sleep in the used SpaceX vehicle in their “I Went through NASA Training for THIS?” PJ’s.
More:
“With 11 people on space station, astronauts get crafty with sleeping spots,” Doris Elin Urrutia, Space
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Friday night, while you were watching Donald Trump’s helicopter touch down at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, an Antares rocket lifted off from Wallops Island carrying a $23 million titanium toilet to the International Space Station. The new low-gravity space potty, known as the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), sports a smaller footprint and improved efficiency, and is equally adapted to the needs of male and female astronauts. As NASA astronauts say, “you go, girl!”
More:
“Finally, a Space Toilet for Ladies,” Amanda Arnold, The Cut
“NASA’s new $30M space toilet is smaller, better smelling and more female-friendly,” CBC Radio
“State-of-the-art space toilet successfully launched into space,” Mark Kaufman, Mashable
“Antares rocket launches new astronaut toilet and more to space station for NASA,” Chelsea Gohd, Space.com
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NASA’s much-publicized all-female spacewalk has been cancelled due to a wardrobe malfunction. The U.S. space agency has only one spacesuit in size “Medium.” Houston, we have a gender-specific problem.
More:
“NASA: All-Women Space Walk Is ‘Inevitable,’ but Sorry, Not the Right Spacesuits This Time,” George Dvorsky, Gizmodo
“First All-Female Spacewalk Canceled Because NASA Doesn’t Have Two Suits That Fit,” Jacey Fortin and Karen Zraick, New York Times
“Not enough spacesuits in women’s sizes?! Twitter reacts to NASA canceling all-female spacewalk,” Jennifer Sangalang, USA Today
“NASA has an awkward history with the whole women-in-space thing,” Gillian Brockell, Washington Post
“In NASA’s spacesuit saga, women see their own stories,” Jena McGregor, New York Times
“If space is the future, that future needs to include everyone,” Mary Robinette Kowal, Washington Post
Update:
“NASA Says It Hopes to Accommodate Smaller Sizes in a New Space Suit Planned for the 2020s,” Emily Moon, Pacific Standard
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Astronauts on the International Space Station grew and ate heads of red romaine lettuce. With extra virgin olive oil and Italian balsamic vinegar. Next stop: Entrées Mars!
If you want decent coffee in space, invite the Italians.
When Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano was on the International Space Station in 2013, he really missed having a decent cup of coffee. Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian flight engineer from the European Space Agency, has been on the ISS for a year and feels the same. Lavazza and Italian tech firm Argotec just delivered an experimental ISSpresso Machine to her so she can finally get espresso in space. NASA threw in a matching set of high-tech coffee cups for zero-gravity sipping.
Of course now an Italian astronaut will want a decent bombolone or cornetto.
Astronaut Peggy Whitson‘s first NASA mission was a six-month stay on the International Space Station in 2002. During that mission, a supply shuttle docked with special cargo from her husband: A pecan pie and a bottle of hot sauce.
More:
“That Time an Astronaut Got a Pie Sent to the International Space Station,” Megan Garber, The Atlantic
“Why Astronauts Crave Tabasco Sauce,” Joe Palca, NPR
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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully delivered it’s cargo of Blue Bell Ice Cream Sundae Cups to the orbiting International Space Station. This is the first of a dozen missions on SpaceX’s $1.6 billion contract with NASA. See the quantum leap you get with a private space launch company? No more freeze-dried astronaut ice cream.
To boldly go where no man has gone before …. Manned space flight presents a unique set of challenges. When you go to into space, sooner or later you have to … well, go. The International Space Station has presented a unique challenge to waste-removal engineers: the zero-gravity toilet.
(Artist’s concept)
The geriatric space shuttle Atlantis wheezed into the International Space Station without calling for a tow. This is a considerable achievement for a 1985 vehicle, but it can be done if you sink enough money into it and forget about developing improved models. After all, new alternatives might not benefit the status quo, and we can’t have that.
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