Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Mike Hopkins works with a cell array for the Selectable Optics Diagnostic Instrument-Diffusion Coefficient in Mixtures 2 (SODI-DCMIX 2) investigation. Findings may help refine petroleum reservoir models for more efficient extraction of oil resources. (Credit: NASA)

ISS Science Highlights
Week of Jan. 27, 2013

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins read the first children’s books for the Story Time from Space activity. They read “Max Goes to the Space Station,” “The Wizard Who Saved the World” and “Max Goes to the Moon.” Crew members on the space station host Story Time from Space by videotaping themselves reading children’s books.

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The International Space Station, backdropped by the blackness of space and the thin line of Earth’s atmosphere. (Credit: NASA)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s Physical Science Research Program will fund seven proposals to conduct physics research using the agency’s new microgravity laboratory, which is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in 2016.

NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) will provide an opportunity to study ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the space station — a frontier in scientific research that is expected to reveal interesting and novel quantum phenomena. Five of the selected proposals will involve flight experiments using the CAL aboard the space station, and two call for ground-based research to help NASA plan for future flight experiments.

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BRUSSELS, Belgium — On January 27th, 2014, Alcantara Cyclone Space (ACS) and Von Karman Institute (VKI) signed a launch service contract for the QB50 Project co-funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Program. The contract was signed by Oleksandr Serdyuk, Ukrainian ACS General Director, and Jean Muylaert, VKI Director. QB50 will place into Low Earth Orbit a combination of 50 double and triple CubeSats for atmospheric science and […]

Three nanosatellites, known as Cubesats, are deployed from a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD) attached to the Kibo laboratory’s robotic arm. (Credit: NASA)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected 16 small satellites from nine states to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The proposed CubeSats come from universities across the country, a primary school, non-profit organizations and NASA field centers.

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“The EDC’s Defense Infrastructure Grant, secured with support from Space Florida and clearance from the U.S. Air Force, will enable the design and integration of next-generation commercial flight safety infrastructure at the Cape required to support unmanned aerial systems as well as the launch and re-entry of a full spectrum of spacecraft.”

Read the full press release after the break.

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Schematic view of asteroid (25143) Itokawa. (Credit: ESO)

ESO PR — ESO’s New Technology Telescope (NTT) has been used to find the first evidence that asteroids can have a highly varied internal structure. By making exquisitely precise measurements astronomers have found that different parts of the asteroid Itokawa have different densities. As well as revealing secrets about the asteroid’s formation, finding out what lies below the surface of asteroids may also shed light on what happens when bodies collide in the Solar System, and provide clues about how planets form.

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Stephen Harper with cats

Well, better late than never.

A day after celebrating its eighth year in power, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper released its first-ever framework for Canada’s future in space on Friday. The document is not a detailed space policy, of course, but provides a framework for ongoing efforts to define exactly what Canada will do in space and how it will do those things.

The framework, part of the government’s response to the Review of Aerospace and Space Programs and Policies published 15 months ago, lays out five core principles that will guide Canadian space efforts in the years ahead and identifies three area for action.

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George Nield

Looks like the honeymoon between the FAA and the nascent commercial space industry is coming to an end. Or at least the moratorium on government regulation.

George Nield, who heads up the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation, said earlier this week in Washington that he is against extending the “learning period” for commercial human spaceflight when it expires in 2015.

During that period, the FAA is generally restrained from rule making to allow the commercial spaceflight industry to experiment with different designs and systems for getting into space. However, the FAA can act if there is an accident or a close call.

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FSDC PR — Two public scoping meetings will be held to solicit input from the public on potential issues that may need to be evaluated in the EIS. The first scoping meeting will be held on Feb. 11 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m., at the New Smyrna Beach High School, 1015 10th Street, New Smyrna Beach. The second scoping meeting will be held on Feb. 12 from 5:00- 8:00 p.m., […]

Tukwila, WA (Andrews Space PR) — Andrews Space (Andrews) announced that their Cargo Module Power Unit (CMPU) was used to supply power to payloads aboard Orbital Sciences Corporation’s (NYSE:ORB) Cygnus™ cargo logistics spacecraft, which recently delivered of 1,260 kilograms of supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to the International Space Station for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.

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