International Space Station’s Orbit Adjusted by 4 km
RIA Novosti
Europe’s ATV-3 unmanned resupply spacecraft, which docked with the ISS last week, readjusted the space station’s orbit once again, the Russian Mission Control said. Two main engines of ATV-3 were switched on at 23:05 Moscow time on Thursday [19:05 GMT] to raise the International Space Station (ISS) orbit by 3.9 km, to 393.1 km. Engines of Europe’s ATV-3 spacecraft remained switched on for 904.2 seconds, almost 15 minutes.
Near-misses between space station and debris on the rise
Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com
Statistics show the International Space Station came under growing danger from space junk after 2007, with half of the orbiting lab's close calls since then due to near-collisions with debris from a Chinese anti-satellite missile test, the mysterious explosion of a Russian military spacecraft, and the cataclysmic high-speed crash of two satellites. The space station, assembled in orbit beginning in 1998, has fired its thrusters 14 times to avoid space debris, with half of the maneuvers coming since August 2008. If ground controllers recognize a debris threat, or conjunction, too late, they ask the station crew to take refuge inside their Soyuz escape capsules during the predicted closest approach. The lab's crew has moved into their Soyuz lifeboats three times, first in March 2009. NASA says the number of hazardous debris conjunctions per month more than tripled between 2006 and 2008.
Boeing CCDev Entrant Has Parachute Drop Test
Mark Carreau - Aviation Week
Boeing’s candidate in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) initiative, the CST-100 capsule, completed the first in a series of parachute drop tests this week at the Delmar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev. A second test is planned for later this month, and will incorporate the landing system drogue chute for the first time, demonstrating the full anticipated parachute system sequence.
Boeing's New Crew-Carrying Spaceship Taking Shape
Leonard David - Space.com
Boeing’s new private spaceship may be ready to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and other locales in low-Earth orbit by 2015, company officials say. Work on CST-100 design, manufacture, testing and evaluation is well underway. So too is scoping out launch vehicle and mission operations to support NASA’s commercial crew development program, which aims to spur the astronaut-carrying capabilities of private spacecraft. For example, Boeing successfully completed a helicopter-aided parachute drop test of the craft Tuesday at the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev. Three main parachutes deployed to slow the capsule’s descent before six airbags inflated as part of the ground landing system. This first appraisal of the fully combined CST-100 landing system will be followed by another test later this month.
Existing Rocket Could Launch Private Space Taxis by 2015
Mike Wall - Space.com
An unmanned rocket that three private spaceflight companies hope will be upgraded to help launch NASA astronauts into orbit could be operational by 2015, the rocket's builders said Wednesday. A crew-carrying version of United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket — which is slated to loft the space taxis built by Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin — requires about three more years of work, ULA officials said. That means the rocket's development is on track to help the companies start flying astronauts to the International Space Station by NASA's desired 2017 start date, they added. "For Atlas 5, we believe we could do that within three years," Jeff Patton, manager for NASA and commercial crew and cargo programs at ULA, said during a presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group Wednesday. "We could certainly have Atlas ready by the time the spacecraft is ready."
NASA T-38 supersonic jets fly over US Capitol
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