Tag Archives: astronauts

NASA names astronauts for first manned U.S. space launches since 2011

The astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon acknowledge the media upon introduction at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., August 3, 2018. The astronauts are (L to R): Victor Glover, Robert Behnken, Michael Hopkins, Douglas Hurley, Eric Boe, Sunita Williams, Christopher Ferguson, Josh Cassada, and Nicole Mann. REUTERS/Richard Carson

By Joey Roulette

(Reuters) – NASA on Friday named nine astronauts for the first manned space launches from U.S. soil since the space shuttle program ended in 2011.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s announcement signals a milestone in the U.S. space program, with its shift to the private sector for ferrying cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.

Since the space shuttle program was shut down, the U.S. space agency NASA has had to rely on Russia to fly astronauts to space station, a $100 billion orbital research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (402 km) above Earth.

The astronauts named on Friday will be carried aloft aboard spacecraft developed by entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Boeing Co, crewing first the test flights, and then missions involving both Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.

The first flight is expected sometime next year.

“Space has transformed the American way of life,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For the first time since 2011, we are on the brink of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.”

The commercial crew program will allow expanded use of the space station. NASA officials have said it is critical to understanding the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and necessary for a sustainable presence on the Moon and for deep-space missions, including to Mars.

In 2014, SpaceX and Boeing received contracts for $2.6 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively, to develop so-called space taxis that can ferry astronauts to and from the space station.

Of the nine astronauts tapped to serve as crew members, all but three are space flight veterans. Additional crew members will be assigned by NASA’s international partners in the space station at a later date, the agency said.

The Government Accountability Office said last month that launch plans could be delayed due to incomplete safety measures and accountability issues in NASA’s commercial crew program.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette in Orlando, Florida; Editing by Tom Brown)

Astronauts get first look inside space station’s inflatable module

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module shown at Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas Nevada

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Monday floated inside an experimental inflatable module that will test a less expensive and potentially safer option for housing crews during long stays in space, NASA said.

Station flight engineers Jeff Williams and Oleg Skripochka opened the hatch to the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, at 4:47 a.m. EDT (0847 GMT) on Monday.

Designed and built by privately-owned Bigelow Aerospace, BEAM is the first inflatable habitat to be tested with astronauts in space. The Las Vegas-based firm previously flew two unmanned prototypes.

BEAM was flown to the space station aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship in April and inflated to the size of small bedroom on May 28. It is scheduled to remain attached to the station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, for two years. Wearing face masks and headlamps, Williams and Skripochka floated inside the darkened module for the first time to collect air samples for analysis and retrieve engineering data from BEAM’s inflation.

Williams told flight controllers the module looked “pristine,” mission commentator Gary Jordan said during a NASA TV broadcast. Williams also said it was cold inside BEAM, but that there was no sign of condensation on the walls, Jordan said.

Astronauts will return to BEAM on Tuesday and Wednesday to install temperature and radiation sensors as well as instruments to collect data from any micro-meteoroid or orbital debris impacts.

BEAM’s hatch will remain closed except when astronauts go inside the module six or seven times per year to retrieve recorded data, NASA said.

Lightweight inflatables, which are made of layers of fabrics and a protective outer shield, are far less costly to launch than traditional metal modules. They may also provide astronauts with better radiation protection.

“This technology can be used in future designs for a mission to Mars,” Jordan said. Bigelow Aerospace is aiming to fly inflatable space modules 20 times larger than BEAM that can be leased out to companies and research organizations.

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Scott Malone, G Crosse)