astronauts | Common News Update

Nov222022 by adminNo Comments

With new supplies, space station astronauts to research mending broken bones

Science

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- New research on the International Space Station will include implantable drug delivery devices and an adhesive that can stimulate bone growth. SpaceX will launch a resupply mission as early as Tuesday to deliver a payload of items developed by commercial companies that need to be tested in orbit. The launch window opens at 3:54 p.m. EST. It will be the 26th commercial resupply service mission by SpaceX and NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket is to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The space-based research is sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory. The bone-mending injectable adhesive, called Tetranite, was developed by medical device company RevBio. The adhesive is intended to speed bone growth after breaks and fractures. The research will focus on how Tetran...

Oct162022 by adminNo Comments

Crew-4 astronauts splash down after 170 days in space

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Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The International Space Station Crew-4 returned to Earth on Friday in the Dragon Freedom capsule after almost six months in space, landing off the coast of Florida. Splashdown occurred at 4:55 p.m. EDT after NASA and Space X mission controllers canceled the attempt Thursday due to weather concerns in the recovery area off Jacksonville. The descent took about five hours, aided at the end by parachutes that eased the SpaceX capsule upright into choppy seas. A team headed toward the capsule to assist the transport onto a recovery ship named Megan, after astronaut Megan McArthur. Aboard the returning capsule were Crew-4 astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti, who lifted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard a Falcon 9 rocket April 27. ...

Jul22022 by adminNo Comments

Long-duration space flight equal to decade of bone loss in astronauts, study says

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July 1 (UPI) -- Scientists have long known that astronauts lose bone density while in space, but a study published this week found they only partially recover this loss one year after returning to Earth. The researchers said the findings suggest long-duration spaceflight is equal to decades of bone loss in weight-bearing bones on Earth. The extent of the impact, though, varies depending upon the subject. Bone loss happens because bones don't have to carry your weight in microgravity, meaning astronauts use them less, leading to weakening. "Bone loss happens in humans -- as we age, get injured, or any scenario where we can't move the body, we lose bone," said Leigh Gabel, assistant professor in kinesiology at the University of Calgary and lead author of the study. The researchers scanned ...

Mar152022 by adminNo Comments

Astronauts plan spacewalk at ISS on Tuesday to prepare for new solar arrays

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ORLANDO, Fla., March 15 (UPI) -- Two NASA astronauts plan a spacewalk on Tuesday to prepare for the installation of new solar arrays at the International Space Station, amid tension between Russia and the United States over the Ukraine conflict. Astronauts Kayla Barron, 34, and Raja Chari, 44, plan to exit the station around 8 a.m. EDT for a roughly six-hour spacewalk -- their second and first spacewalks, respectively. They intend to install brackets and struts that will support the future installation of solar arrays. Two of six new solar arrays have been unfurled to power the station's electronics over the past year. NASA officials commented on the tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a press conference Monday. Joel Montalbano, NASA manager of the ISS program, directly addr...

May22021 by adminNo Comments

Astronauts splash down in Gulf of Mexico off Florida

Science

May 2 (UPI) -- Astronauts from SpaceX's Crew-1 mission splashed down in U.S. waters at 2:57 a.m. Sunday, and crews successfully recovered the capsule and astronauts in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City, Fla. The astronauts saw the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience undock from the International Space Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT Saturday and head for the nighttime splashdown off Florida about 6 1/2 hours later. Advertisement The astronauts were to fly back to Houston. "Welcome home Victor, Michael, Shannon, and Soichi, and congratulations to the teams at NASA and SpaceX who worked so hard to ensure their safe and successful splashdown," said former Sen. Bill Nelson, also a former astronaut confirmed by the Senate to serve as NASA administrator on Thursday. "We've accomplished another incredible ...