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NASA boss: China could claim the moon as its own territory and BAN US astronauts from touching down

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A chief at NASA is raising red flags over China’s ambitions to get to the moon. 

In a new interview, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says he and others within the scientific agency are growing increasingly concerned over what the country plans to do when they make it to the moon. 

Nelson believes China could attempt to corner the market on resource-rich locations on the moon’s surface and try to block out the U.S. and other countries looking to make it to the lunar object.

‘There is potentially mischief China can do on the moon,’ said one other official monitoring the ‘space race.’ 

‘There is potentially mischief China can do on the moon,’ said one other official monitoring the ‘space race’

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says he and others within the scientific agency are growing increasingly concerned over what China plans to do when they make it to the moon

The concerns come less than one month after three Chinese astronauts returned from a six month trip in which they helped to build and open a new space station. 

In an interview with Politico, Nelson said he and others are concerned the Communist nation will attempt to claim territory over the moon upon their arrival. 

‘It is a fact: we’re in a space race,’ said the NASA administrator who was appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden in 2021. 

‘And it is true that we better watch out that they don’t get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, “Keep out, we’re here, this is our territory,”‘ Nelson continued. 

The NASA boss said he fears China will mimic their strategy when it came to claiming land- and water- in the South China Sea. 

‘If you doubt that, look at what they did with the Spratly Islands,’ Nelson said. 

China has taken claim over the hotly contented Spratly Islands and have used the islands to house weaponry and other structures possibly large enough to store ballistic missile launchers. 

NASA officials have pointed to islands in the South China Sea to explain their fears over Chinese claiming the moon as their territory 

In December, three Chinese astronauts returned to earth after a six month space mission

Security officials worry China could attempt to block the U.S. and other countries from the moon

NASA and China’s space program are both working overtime to make it to the moon in the coming years and have spent recent months working towards the goal. 

The 26-day Artemis I mission from November to December was considered a success as an Orion capsule orbited the moon, moving NASA one step closer to its goal of building a human presence on the moon. 

Estimates say NASA could see success in their mission as early as 2025. 

Nelson’s concerns could be exasperated by Congress’ passage of a budget that did not include the full funding the agency requested. 

Despite the agency not receiving the full budget, Nelson said they will still fund all of their most important assets, including the upcoming Artemis II and Artemis III moon missions. 

NASA completed a 26-day lunar orbit mission in December

Nelson said NASA hopes to launch the next Artemis mission by end of 2024

The primary concern is that delays in any of NASA’s programs in the coming years could put the U.S. behind china. 

‘It’s entirely possible they could catch up and surpass us, absolutely,’ Space Force Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno said last month.   

‘The progress they’ve made has been stunning — stunningly fast,’ Armagno said. 

China in the last few years alone has launched orbiters, landers, and rovers that have reached the moon and Mars. 

‘China within the last decade has had enormous success and advances,’ echoed Nelson. ‘It is also true that their date for landing on the moon keeps getting closer and closer.’ 

Another key concern for security experts is that China’s broader space goals could include interfering with space systems operated by the United States. 

‘It’s entirely possible they could catch up and surpass us, absolutely,’ Space Force Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno said last month

One former commander of the International Space Station said they believe the country who comes out on top in the has much to gain from the ‘space race.’

‘On one level, it is a political competition to show whose system works better,’ said Terry Virts, the former commander of the International Space Station. 

‘What they really want is respect as the world’s top country. They want to be the dominant power on Earth, so going to the moon is a way to show their system is working. If they beat us back to the moon it shows they are better than us,’ Virts said.

Virts believes the Chinese government could work swiftly to dominate space if given the chance. 

‘If they set up infrastructure there they could potentially deny communications, for example,’ said the former commander for the International Space Station

‘There is potentially mischief China can do on the moon,’ Virts said. 

‘If they set up infrastructure there they could potentially deny communications, for example. Having them there doesn’t make things easier. There is real concern about Chinese meddling,’ Virts continued. 

Chinese officials deny any assertions made by U.S. space and security experts. 

‘Some U.S. officials have spoken irresponsibly to misrepresent the normal and legitimate space endeavors of China,’ said Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy. ‘China firmly rejects such remarks.’ 

One Chinese official vehemently denied the assertation that China could work to block the U.S. from the moon of meddle in other space relations

Nelson said with the approval of $24.5 billion for 2023, a five percent increase over 2022, he believes NASA will have enough to cover the ‘essentials.’ 

The goal for the next Artemis mission is to have it operational ‘within two years,’ according to Nelson.  

‘Hopefully we can speed that up,’ he said, sharing that the agency hopes to send a crew into the moon’s orbit by 2024. 

That goal may be ambitious, however, as Nelson told Politico. 

The U.S. is hopeful they can put astronauts back on the moon by 2025

‘They tell me they can’t [speed it up,] that they need that time to redo them and recertify and all that,’ of the process to use the avionics from the Artemis I in a cost-saving move. 

The eventual goal is to get astronauts back on the moon by 2025.  

‘All of that is going to depend on two things,’ Nelson told Politico. 

‘The space suits, are they ready? And is SpaceX ready? And I ask the question every day: ‘How is SpaceX’s progress? And all of our managers are telling me they are meeting all of their milestones.’ 

‘The good Lord willing,’ said Nelson when asked if the U.S. will make it back to the moon before China. 

China has made major strides when it comes to space in recent years, sending multiple rovers and orbiters into space 

The unmanned Artemis I mission returned to earth in December and was regarded as a success by NASA officials 

Not all are entirely concerned that the U.S. may find itself in a full-blown ‘space race,’ however. 

‘I’m dubious,’ said Victoria Samson, who works with Secure World Foundation. 

Samson pointed to the Outer Space Treaty and states that countries who signed, including the U.S. and China, are unable to make claims on the moon. 

She did however agree the two countries could fight for limited resources.   

‘That’s where we have made the argument that there is a need to engage with China,’ Samson said. 

One space expert says they are not concerned over China blocking the U.S. from the moon or meddling in relations, but that the nation could claim valuable and limited resources

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Astronauts trapped in space hope for Hollywood happy ending to nightmare voyage

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A group of astronauts are trapped in orbit around the Earth after their space ship suffers catastrophic damage.

A rescue ship is available to bring them home, but there is a catch. It has only four seats ― and there are seven of them.

It sounds like the nail-biting plot of a Hollywood film to rival the plight of Bruce Willis in Armageddon or George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in Gravity.

In fact, this is the real-life dilemma that could face astronauts on the International Space Station after a Russian Soyuz capsule was so badly damaged it may be beyond repair.

Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev and Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio arrived at the ISS in September on a Soyuz ship that was scheduled to take them home in March. Two weeks ago while docked at the ISS, the Soyuz sprang a huge coolant leak that some experts believe means it can no longer fly safely.

The only other spacecraft at the ISS is an American SpaceX Dragon, which carried a group of four astronauts, two from Nasa, a Canadian and a Russian, in October.

Plotting an escape route

If the ISS needed to be evacuated in an emergency, this group could escape in the Dragon. For the remaining three, though, there would be no way home.

Russia’s space agency Roscomos is still assessing the extent of the damage to the Soyuz, as well as the possible cause.

A stream of particles, which Nasa says appears to be liquid and possibly coolant, sprays from the Soyuz spacecraft at the International Space Station. Photo: Nasa

Video taken on December 14 showed coolant streaming from the ship into the vacuum of space from a hole in a pipe less than a millimetre wide, with temperatures inside the capsule already rising.

The damage is thought to be the result of a strike from either a micro-meteorite or a tiny piece of space debris. Either way, the risks of using the ship during the heat of re-entry are high.

Tommaso Sgobba, former head of spaceflight safety at the European Space Agency, believes the Soyuz is unusable. He told the website Space.com “I have to assume that the active coolant system of the Soyuz spacecraft was compromised and therefore, the Soyuz is no longer available for operation. It’s my personal feeling, but if it’s true, we have a big problem on the space station. We are missing the crew escape system.”

Any rescue will have to involve another Soyuz. Astronauts using the newer SpaceX Dragon ship wear made-to-measure customised suits, meaning those on the ISS who arrived in the Russian ship would not fit in a SpaceX capsule.

Solo flights to lead rescue

The most likely solution is for Russia to send up the next Soyuz capsule, due to blast off in March or late February, as an unmanned launch, allowing the stranded astronauts to return in the empty craft.

Sgobba, who now heads the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, doubts this can be achieved. ”I don’t think Soyuz can dock completely autonomously. I believe that at least one person has to be on board,” he said.

If that is the case, then Russia would need to launch two capsules, both manned, to the ISS, to bring everyone home. In the meantime, the three astronauts on the space station face several nervous months.

The risk that something might happen to the ISS during that time, prompting an evacuation, is ever present. At the end of November, a space walk by two Nasa astronauts was cancelled after debris from a Russian satellite destroyed in a missile test came dangerously close.

A month earlier, the ISS was forced to fire thruster rockets to avoid a potential collision with more debris from the same Cosmos 1408 satellite.

These incidents are a timely reminder of the dangers of space travel. All 19 astronauts killed since 1971 died in the Earth’s atmosphere, either on take-off or re-entry.

A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Luzhniki Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Reuters

Stark reminder of dangers of space travel

But it is the prospect of a lonely death in space itself, with no hope of rescue, that is most chilling. The 12 men who have walked on the Moon knew there was no way back if their equipment failed, but the aborted Apollo 13 mission, 50 years ago, came closest to disaster.

Only the ingenuity of the three crew and Nasa’s Mission Control brought them safely home after an explosion nearly 322,000km from Earth.

Now the Artemis programme promises to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024, with new spaceships, but all the attendant dangers.

Artemis will not even have back-up from the lunar lander, which provided life-saving refuge for the three Apollo 13 crew on their journey home. The new Orion spacecraft will travel to the Moon separately from the lander, which will link up only once the two craft are in lunar orbit.

And with a growing number of players in manned spaceflight, including Elon Musk’s deep space SpaceX Starship, Boeing and Blue Origin, funded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, the issue of whether a rescue can be effected is again on the agenda.

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 was developed by the United Nations and requires astronauts from one state to assist those of another country if they get into trouble. But it doesn’t say how.

While building Skylab, the original US space station in 1973, Nasa kept a second shuttle on the launchpad during missions in case of an emergency.

For the ISS, a lifeboat called the Crew Return Vehicle was proposed, to be kept permanently docked on the space station, with enough seats for everyone on board.

The ship was a version of the Space Shuttle, but the Challenger and Columbia disasters cast doubt on the safety of the design and the project was scrapped.

Since then the Soyuz, and now Dragon capsules have served as “lifeboats”, an arrangement which has worked well ― until now.

While astronauts were previously aware of the dangers of space flight, the dramatic growth in space tourism ― soon to include the actor Tom Cruise who plans to shoot a movie on the ISS next year ― means the question of some kind of official rescue service is being considered.

The US-funded space research centre Aerospace published a report last year, highlighting what it called the “in space rescue capability gap”.

“Neither the US government nor commercial spaceflight providers currently have plans in place to conduct a timely rescue of a crew from a distressed spacecraft in low Earth orbit or anywhere in space,” it concluded.

Grant Cates, who worked on the Space Shuttle programme and now works for Aerospace, published his own analysis in the Journal of Space Safety Engineering last year.

“The risks involved in space travel are many, and they are magnified by the fact that there are no plans and attendant capabilities in place for the timely rescue of a crew from a disabled spacecraft,” he wrote.

At the same time, Gates concluded: “As the world’s greatest spacefaring nation [the US] has the wherewithal to develop and employ effective in-space rescue capabilities.”

Next year we could see the launch of the dearMoon mission. A SpaceX Starship will carry nine passengers on a six-day mission that will include a flyby of the Moon.

These will be no ordinary astronauts. Only the commander, the Japanese fashion retail billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa, has flown in space, and only as a tourist to the ISS.

The other eight include Steve Aoki, an American dance music producer and DJ, Rhiannon Adam, an Irish photographer, Dev Joshi, 23, an Indian TV star, a Czech choreographer, a YouTube star, a dancer who has worked with Kanye West and T.O.P, a South Korean rapper.

The stated objectives of dearMoon are world peace and artistic creation, but if something goes wrong it will be remembered more as a 21st-century version of the Titanic.

Except the Titanic did, at least, have a few lifeboats.

Updated: December 30, 2022, 6:00 PM



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NASA considers SpaceX to rescue ISS leak astronauts • The Register

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NASA is considering using SpaceX to bring three astronauts back to Earth from the International Space Station after the Russian spacecraft due to return the crew suffered a significant coolant leak. 

On December 14, the Russian MS-22 Soyuz capsule, which is right now docked to the ISS, started spraying droplets of coolant into space. That’s the coolant that’s supposed to control the internal temperature of the podule, and it is reportedly now drained of that vital liquid.

The leak lasted hours, disrupting station operations, and forcing station cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin to abandon a spacewalk planned for that day. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos reckoned the leak could have been caused by a tiny micrometeoroid puncturing the capsule.

Officials are still assessing the situation, and will decide whether the Soyuz craft will be able to safely return Prokopyev and Petelin, as well as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, to Earth in March. With a broken coolant system, the capsule may be unsafe for humans as it reenters our atmosphere. Russia is said to be pulling together plans to get the trio home.

While eggheads tackle that issue, NASA is considering how to rescue the crew if they are indeed stranded on the ISS without a ride home. The station’s inhabitants may be able to hop onboard a handy SpaceX Dragon capsule, NASA spokeswoman Sandra Jones suggested.

“We have asked SpaceX a few questions on their capability to return additional crew members on Dragon if necessary,” she told Reuters on Wednesday.

It’s not clear if a replacement Dragon capsule would fly to the ISS to fetch the three astronauts, or if they can go back on a SpaceX pod that brought NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s astronaut Koichi Wakata, to the orbiting science lab in October.

The Dragon capsule those four boarded, named Endeavor, isn’t big enough to carry both teams back to our planet, so multiple trips would be needed anyway to ferry all seven. There’s another issue, too: all astronauts traveling in a Dragon spacecraft have to wear tailored SpaceX spacesuits, and the crew that arrived at the space station in the Soyuz don’t have that fancy clobber.

NASA and Roscosmos are examining the Soyuz capsule, and tested its thrusters on December 16. The fluid leak was traced to the external cooling loop of the spacecraft.

“The systems that were tested were nominal, and Roscosmos assessments of additional Soyuz systems continue. Temperatures and humidity within the Soyuz spacecraft, which remains docked to the Rassvet module, are within acceptable limits,” NASA previously said in a statement. ®

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NASA Mulls Using SpaceX to Rescue Astronauts After Russia’s Space Station Leak

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On Dec. 15, NASA and its astronauts faced a scary situation when a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station sprung a massive coolant leak, shortly before a spacewalk was set to commence by a pair of Russian cosmonauts. The crew on board is safe and not in any immediate danger, but two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut were supposed to use the Soyuz vehicle to return back to Earth early next year. With the spacecraft’s status in limbo, NASA and Roscosmos (Russia’s space agency) have been trying to figure out their options for how to move forward.

To that end, NASA is pondering one contingency plan: using a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to effectively rescue the stranded astronauts in the coming months.

“International Space Station teams continue to meet about the Soyuz MS-22’s external cooling loop leak,” a NASA spokesperson told The Daily Beast in an emailed statement. “NASA and Roscosmos will continue to review options together before making a final decision on how to safely bring the crew home. The Expedition 68 crew remains in good condition, performing maintenance and research activities.

“Additionally, we have asked SpaceX a few questions on their capability to return additional crew members on Dragon if necessary but that is not our prime focus at this time.”

SpaceX did not answer The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.

It’s unclear yet exactly what a SpaceX mission would entail. A Crew Dragon spacecraft (named Endeavor) is already docked to the ISS, and theoretically more seats could be added to that mission when it is supposed to come back to Earth next year. But that mission is already filled up with four people: NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

Another option would be for NASA to prioritize a new SpaceX Crew Dragon launch to the ISS specifically to pick up the three crew members who were supposed to come back on Soyuz: NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dimitri Petelin.

The loss of coolant means the current Soyuz capsule is seeing huge spikes in temperature. NASA has said the capsule’s temperatures remain “within acceptable limits,” and is being cooled with vented air flow allowed from an open hatch to the rest of the ISS. But it seems almost impossible to imagine the capsule could still be used to ferry humans back to Earth.

The cause of the Soyuz leak remains unknown. An investigation found a hole in the radiator exterior, which may have been caused by a micrometeoroid or tiny piece of orbital debris. A hardware failure may also be to blame—which would only add more scrutiny to Roscosmos’s increasing space screwups.

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How astronauts celebrate Christmas in space: Holiday photos that are out of this world

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A Christmas that’s out of this world! Cheery photos show how astronauts celebrate the holidays with stockings and trees made from leftover food containers on NASA’s space stations

  • The Apollo 8 mission in 1968 was the first time humans spent Christmas in space and hosted a live broadcast on Christmas Eve morning
  • It was not until 1973 did astronauts first celebrate Christmas on a NASA space station, Skylab, which also saw the first Christmas tree in space
  • The tree was made using leftover food containers and used colored decals as ornaments
  • From there, astronauts have had artificial and real Christmas trees, hung stockings up in doorways and have even projected a fiery Yule log on the interior of the International Space Station 

By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

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More than 200 miles above Earth’s surface, astronauts are enjoying a Christmas celebration out of this world.

Spacefaring heroes may have spent many holidays far away from friends and family, but have brought joy to their tight quarters with Christmas trees, stockings hanging from doorways and a Yule log projected on the interior of the International Space Station (ISS). 

The Apollo 8 mission in 1968 was the first crew to spend the holidays in space and celebrated by broadcasting the first image of Earth back home, along with a live broadcast on Christmas Eve morning.

The first Christmas tree in space: Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, William R. Pogue and Edward G. Gibson spent the holidays aboard NASA’s Skylab in 1973, which was America’s first space station. The crew put a tree together using leftover food containers and decorated it with colored decals

Commander Frank Borman spoke during the broadcast, describing the moon as a ‘vast,’ ‘lonely,’ and ‘forbidding,’ but ‘makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.’

And five years later, humans celebrated the first holiday aboard a space station. 

Three crew members of the 1973 Skylab 4 mission, a research platform in low-Earth orbit, built a Christmas tree using leftover food containers, finished it with colored decals as ornaments and topped it with a cardboard cutout in the shape of a comet.

The tradition has since carried on over the decades as astronauts spend the holidays singing Christmas carols, exchanging gifts and watching holiday movies in hopes of bringing some cheer to the final frontier. 

Rockin’ around the Christmas tree: The makeshift tree branches were attached to a pole fixed to the floor since there was zero gravity inside the station. And at the top was a cardboard cutout in the shape of a comet

Deck the halls: Expedition 34, which occupied the ISS in 2012, had a real Christmas tree for the holidays, which they decorated with sparkling pompom ornaments, and hung stockings inside a doorway. NASA’s Kevin Ford brought his guitar along for the trip to space and played it on Christmas Day

The first noel: The first Christmas spent in space was in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission. The crew, Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders, shared the first picture of Earth that has since been known as the ‘Blue Marble’. Borman spoke during a live broadcast from space on Christmas Eve morning and described how lonely the moon is 

Christmas time is here: Kayla Barron shows off presents she wrapped for her six crew mates during Expedition 66 in 2021

Santa Clause is coming to the ISS: Festive hats are always worn by crew members on Christmas Day, and because the station has zero gravity, the tip of the hats stand straight up. Resupply missions before the holidays brought astronauts an artificial Christmas tree. Pictured is the  Expedition 30 crew  in 2011

Christmas is not the only holiday celebrated in space: The first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1993 and mission specialist Jeffery Hoffman was the first person to celebrate Hanukkah on a spacecraft. He brought along a small dreidel that floated inside the craft

Expedition 24 flight engineer and NASA astronaut David A. Wolf took a picture with his menorah and dreidel to celebrate Hanukkah in 1997. The crew also had a small Christmas tree and dressed up an astronaut suit to look like Santa Claus

Say Merry Christmas: NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts share the ISS and spend the holidays together. Valeri I. Tokarev of Roscosmos (left) and NASA astronaut William  McArthur of Expedition snapped a festive pictured of them holding stockings while they were both on the ISS in 2005

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in space: Santa clause hats are worn yearly on Christmas. In 2006, NASA’s Michael Lopez-Alegria and Sunita Williams and Russia’s Mikhail Tyurin showed off the hats in a photo

Silent night: A projection of a Yule log was displayed on the ISS in 2020. The fiery imagery with stockings hanging above made it feel like home for astronauts who spent the holidays 250 miles above Earth’s surface 

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Apollo 8 astronauts shared Christmas Eve message while orbiting the moon

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On Christmas Eve in 1968, Apollo 8’s astronauts captivated the world with a live broadcast from lunar orbit.

It was the night before Christmas in 1968 when the Apollo 8 astronauts beamed back a message for “the good Earth” while circling the moon.

NASA Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders became the first to orbit the moon on Dec. 24, 1968.

With the pressure mounting under President John F. Kennedy’s challenge for a moon landing and the tragedy of the Apollo 1 fire, NASA made bold changes to Apollo 8, pressing ahead with a human lunar orbiting mission.

The decision sent the crew to the moon and back without a lunar module on the first human spaceflight of the Saturn V rocket and with a single engine on the capsule to bring them back home. 

After launching on Dec. 21, 1968, Borman, Lovell and Anders arrived in lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, orbiting the lunar surface 10 times.

Left: A still image from the fifth TV broadcast of the Apollo 8 mission. Right: An image of the Earth from the mission’s final TV transmission. (Image: NASA)

(NASA)

When the crew emerged from behind the moon on the first orbit, the Apollo 8 astronauts shared images of the moon and Earth, including the view of Earthrise more than 240,000 miles away. The image of Earth with the moon below became one of the most well-known images of the Apollo era, according to NASA. 

Fast-forward more than 50 years to December 2022, and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, designed to carry the next humans to the moon, also shared a similar view of Earthrise. 

NASA managers had told the Apollo 8 astronauts to prepare to share some words with the world that would be broadcast around the globe. The crew was given the creative freedom to choose what to say but were told “to do something appropriate,” Borman said in a 2008 interview.

With that in mind, they chose to read the first 10 verses of the Book of Genesis.

Lovell said years later, the message was chosen because of its universal meaning.

ARTEMIS I MISSION HIGHLIGHTS: FROM MEGA MOON ROCKET LAUNCH TO ORION SPLASHDOWN

“The first ten verses of Genesis is the foundation of many of the world’s religions, not just the Christian religion,” Lovell said in 2008. “There are more people in other religions than the Christian religion around the world, and so this would be appropriate to that, and so that’s how it came to pass.”

As the Apollo 8 capsule orbited the moon more than 240,000 miles from Earth, each astronaut took turns reading verses.

“From the crew of Apollo 8, we close with goodnight, good luck, a merry Christmas, and god bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.”

The broadcast was seen or heard by 1 out of 4 people on Earth. 

The message from the moon would be the last before the astronauts attempted to return to Earth, and mission control waited to learn if Apollo 8’s engine burn to leave moon orbit worked. 

After the successful engine burn, Lovell told mission control, “Roger, please be informed there is a Santa Claus.”

The Apollo 8 capsule splashed down on Dec. 27, 1968, in the Pacific Ocean. 

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Soyuz Capsule Leak Could Lead to Rescue Mission for 3 Astronauts on ISS

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  • Russia’s space agency is considering a rescue mission for three International Space Station astronauts.
  • The Soyuz capsule that took them to space has a leak but everyone on the ISS is safe, NASA said.
  • A Russian space agency official said an un-crewed capsule may be sent to bring them back to earth.

Russia is considering a rescue mission to bring back three crew members from the International Space Station, after a leak was detected in the Soyuz capsule that brought them to the station.

Russian space agency Roscosmos said at a Thursday news conference that it was considering a “rescue” plan to bring back the crew members earlier than expected, which would involve sending an empty spacecraft to the ISS to pick them up, Reuters reported.  

The mission would bring back two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut, The Washington Post reported.

Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos, top, Frank Rubio of NASA, and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, bottom, wave farewell prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft to go to the ISS on September 21, 2022.

NASA Johnson



NASA said that there had been a coolant leak in the capsule, which is docked at the ISS, but that the crew was not in danger.

Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos’ executive director of human spaceflight programs, said at the news conference that NASA and Roscosmos were trying to figure out if the Soyuz currently docked at the ISS was safe enough to bring them home, the Post reported.

Joel Montalbano, NASA’s ISS program manager, said that an un-crewed Soyuz capsule could be sent up in February, according to The Guardian, cutting their stay short by around a month.

According to NASA, the leak was detected on December 14, when two Roscosmos cosmonauts were preparing to go on a spacewalk.

Both NASA and Roscosmos officials said at the Thursday press conference that they were investigating how the coolant line of the capsule’s external radiator got punctured, The Guardian reported.

NASA said in a statement that the leaking capsule is the one that brought the two cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio into space on September 21.

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Astronauts complete spacewalk to boost ISS power

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The International Space Station got its second solar power boost in a month as two NASA astronauts carried out a spacewalk to install a new solar panel. The event comes after a piece of wayward space garbage interfered with plans to carry out the spacewalk Wednesday.

NASA was forced to implement a 24-hour delay so that the space station could fire up its thrusters to move out of the way of the debris, which was identified as a fragment of an old Russian rocket. Near-collisions in space are common, as low-Earth orbit — the area in which the ISS orbits — is becoming increasingly congested with satellites and space junk.

“The crew is not in any immediate danger,” NASA noted in a blog post Wednesday.

The spacewalk kicked off Thursday around 8:30 a.m. ET and lasted about seven hours.

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio installed a new solar array, called an iROSA, outside the floating laboratory. Rubio is serving as extravehicular crew member 1 and is wearing a suit with red stripes, while Cassada is wearing an unmarked white suit as extravehicular crew member 2.

The solar array deployed around 2 p.m. ET, finishing off the primary goal of the spacewalk. Rubio and Cassada returned to the ISS airlock, concluding the event, about an hour later.

Cassada and Rubio already installed one solar array outside the space station during a spacewalk on December 3. And the first two iROSAs were deployed outside the station in June 2021. The plan is to add six total, which will likely boost the space station’s power generation by more than 30% once all are operational.

Two more arrays were delivered to the space station on November 27 aboard the 26th SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply mission, which also carried dwarf tomato seeds and other experiments to the orbiting laboratory. Rolled up like carpet, the arrays weigh 750 pounds (340 kilograms) each.

The solar array installed Thursday will increase capacity in one of the space station’s eight power channels, located on its port truss. During a webcast of the spacewalk, a NASA commentator confirmed the newly installed iROSA was already generating power for the ISS.

Fully unfurled, the solar array measures about 63 feet (19 meters) long and 20 feet (6 meters) wide.

The original solar arrays on the space station are still functioning, but they have been supplying power for more than 20 years and are showing signs of wear after long-term exposure to the space environment. The arrays were originally designed to last 15 years.

Erosion can be caused by thruster plumes, which come from both the station’s thrusters and those of the crew and cargo vehicles that come and go from the station, as well as micrometeorite debris.

The new solar arrays are being placed in front of the original ones. It’s a good test because equipment using this same design will power parts of the planned Gateway lunar outpost, which will help humans return to the moon through NASA’s Artemis program.

The new arrays will have a similar 15-year life expectancy. However, since the degradation on the original arrays was expected to be worse, the team will monitor the new ones to test their longevity because they may last longer.

While US spacewalks continue, Russian ones conducted by cosmonauts aboard the space station are on hold following the discovery of a coolant leak from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which is docked to the Russian segment of the space station.

The leak was found December 14 ahead of a planned Russian spacewalk, when liquid began spewing out from the Soyuz.

The external radiator cooling loop of the Soyuz is the suspected leak source, according to a December 15 update from NASA.

While the space station crew remained safe, investigation of the leak is ongoing. During a news conference Thursday, NASA’s ISS program manager, Joel Montalbano, said it’s still not clear what caused a 4-millimeter hole in the spacecraft, though it could have been a piece of spaceborne debris or a hardware issue.

NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, are still evaluating if the spacecraft is safe to carry a crew.

The Soyuz MS-22 ferried NASA’s Rubio and two Russian cosmonauts to the space station on September 21 and was scheduled to bring them back to Earth in March.

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Science

Astronauts embark on spacewalk to boost ISS power

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The International Space Station is set to receive its second solar power boost in a month during a spacewalk on Thursday. The event comes after a piece of wayward space garbage interfered with plans to carry out the spacewalk Wednesday.

NASA was forced to implement a 24-hour delay so that the space station could fire up its thrusters to move out of the way of the debris, which was identified as a fragment of an old Russian rocket. Near-collisions in space are common, as low-Earth orbit — the area in which the ISS orbits — is becoming increasingly congested with satellites and space junk.

“The crew is not in any immediate danger,” NASA noted in a blog post Wednesday.

The spacewalk kicked off Thursday around 8:30 a.m. ET and is expected to last for about seven hours. Live coverage began at 7 a.m. ET on NASA’s website.

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio are working to install a solar array outside the floating laboratory. Rubio is serving as extravehicular crew member 1 and is wearing a suit with red stripes, while Cassada is wearing an unmarked white suit as extravehicular crew member 2.

Thursday’s spacewalk is one of many intended to install rollout solar arrays, called iROSAs, to increase electrical power on the space station.

The first two rollout solar arrays were installed outside the station in June 2021. The plan is to add six iROSAs, which will likely boost the space station’s power generation by more than 30% once all are operational.

Two more arrays were delivered to the space station on November 27 aboard the 26th SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply mission, which also carried dwarf tomato seeds and other experiments to the orbiting laboratory. Rolled up like carpet, the arrays weigh 750 pounds (340 kilograms) each and are 10 feet (3 meters) wide.

Cassada and Rubio already installed one outside the space station during a spacewalk on December 3.

During Thursday’s spacewalk, the two will install a solar array to increase capacity in one of the space station’s eight power channels, located on its port truss.

Once the array is unfurled and bolted into place, it will be about 63 feet (19 meters) long and 20 feet (6 meters) wide.

The original solar arrays on the space station are still functioning, but they have been supplying power for more than 20 years and are showing signs of wear after long-term exposure to the space environment. The arrays were originally designed to last 15 years.

Erosion can be caused by thruster plumes, which come from both the station’s thrusters and those of the crew and cargo vehicles that come and go from the station, as well as micrometeorite debris.

The new solar arrays are being placed in front of the original ones. It’s a good test because equipment using this same design will power parts of the planned Gateway lunar outpost, which will help humans return to the moon through NASA’s Artemis program.

The new arrays will have a similar 15-year life expectancy. However, since the degradation on the original arrays was expected to be worse, the team will monitor the new ones to test their longevity because they may last longer.

While US spacewalks continue, Russian ones conducted by cosmonauts aboard the space station are on hold following the discovery of a coolant leak from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which is docked to the Russian segment of the space station.

The leak was found December 14 ahead of a planned Roscosmos spacewalk, when liquid began spewing out from the Soyuz.

The external radiator cooling loop of the Soyuz is the suspected leak source, according to a December 15 update from NASA.

While the space station crew remained safe, investigation of the leak is ongoing. NASA is expected to give an update on the issue on Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.

The Soyuz MS-22 ferried NASA’s Rubio and two Russian cosmonauts to the space station on September 21 and is scheduled to bring them back to Earth in March.

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Science

Astronauts install new solar array outside International Space Station – Spaceflight Now

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NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, wearing the spacesuit with red stripes, holds the ISS Roll-Out Solar Array while riding the space station’s robotic arm Saturday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio headed outside the International Space Station Saturday for a seven-hour spacewalk to install and unfurl a new roll-out solar array recently delivered by a SpaceX cargo ship.

Cassada and Rubio, both on their first flights to space, began the spacewalk at 7:16 a.m. EST (1216 GMT) Saturday. The start of the excursion was officially marked when the astronauts switch their spacesuits to battery power.

The astronauts moved from the space station’s Quest airlock to the starboard, or right, side of the lab’s solar power truss, where the station’s robotic arm placed two new ISS Roll-Out Solar Array, or iROSA, units earlier this week after extracting them from the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. The Dragon spacecraft delivered the solar arrays to the space station Nov. 27, along with several tons of supplies and experiments.

The new solar array blankets were wrapped around spools and unrolled like a yoga mat once installed onto a mounting bracket on the starboard 4, or S4, section of the space station’s power truss, which measures more than the length of a football field from end-to-end.

The astronauts initially worked to remove one of the two newly-delivered iROSA units from its carrier by releasing bolts and launch restraints. Cassada took position on a foot restraint on the end of the Canadian-built robotic arm, and held the solar array spools by hand while the arm moved him to the S4 truss.

The two spacewalkers positioned the iROSA unit onto a mounting bracket pre-positioned during a previous spacewalk. They unfolded the iROSA unit on its hinge, then installed bolts to secure it into place. Cassada and Rubio mated electrical connectors to link the new iROSA unit to the space station’s electrical system. Then they put in a Y cable to route power generated by both the new roll-out solar array and the original S4 solar panel into the lab’s power grid.

In this file photo, NASA astronauts Josh Cassada (left) and Frank Rubio (right) prepare for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Nov. 15. Credit: NASA

The mounting bracket plugs the new arrays into the station’s power channels and rotary joints, which keep the solar wings pointed at the sun as the spacecraft races around Earth at more than 17,000 mph.

The International Space Station has eight power channels, each fed with electrical power generated from one solar array wing extending from the station’s truss backbone. The new solar array deployed Saturday will produce electricity for the space station’s 3A power channel.

The original solar panels launched on four space shuttle missions from 2000 to 2009.  As expected, the efficiency of the station’s original solar arrays has degraded over time. NASA is upgrading the space station’s power system with the new roll-out solar arrays — at a cost of $103 million — which will partially cover six of the station’s eight original solar panels.

When all six iROSA units are deployed on the station, the power system will be capable of generating 215 kilowatts of electricity to support at least another decade of science operations. The enhancement will also accommodate new commercial modules planned to launch to the space station.

The first pair of new roll-out solar arrays launched to the space station last year, and were installed over the station’s oldest set of original solar panels on the P6 truss section, located on the far left end of the outpost’s power truss. Two more iROSA units are slated to launch on a SpaceX resupply mission next year.

The new solar arrays were supplied to NASA by Boeing, Redwire, and a team of subcontractors.

Once the new iROSA unit was mechanical and electrically integrated onto the station’s S4 truss, the astronauts released clamps keeping the roll-out solar array spooled in its launch configuration. That allowed the blankets to gradually unroll using strain energy in the composite booms supporting the solar blanket. The design of the deployment mechanism eliminates the need for motors to drive the solar array.

“It’s starting to move,” one of the astronauts radioed mission control, prompting applause among the support team in Houston.

“That is incredible,” Cassada said. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Rubio chimed in.

 

Each of the new iROSA wings will be canted at an angle of 10 degrees relative to the space station’s existing solar panels. Credit: NASA

The carbon fiber support booms were rolled back against their natural shape for storage during launch.

It took about 10 minutes for the solar array to unroll to its fully extended configuration, stretching about 63 feet long and 20 feet wide (19-by-6 meters). That’s about half the length and half the width of the station’s current solar arrays. Despite their smaller size, each of the new arrays generate about the same amount of electricity as each of the station’s existing solar panels.

Once the blanket unfurled, the astronauts adjusted tensioning bolts to secure the iROSA blanket in place.

Then the astronauts headed back in-board on the space station’s truss to prep another iROSA unit, which will be installed on the left-side P4 truss section on a spacewalk tentatively scheduled for Dec. 19.

With their tasks complete, Cassada and Rubio made their way back to the Quest airlock and closed the hatch. They started repressurizing the airlolk compartment at 2:21 p.m. EST (1921 GMT), completing the 7-hour, 5-minute spacewalk.

The spacewalk Saturday was the second in the careers of Cassada and Rubio, and the 256th spacewalk since 1998 in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance.

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