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By NASA
Pictured (clockwise) from bottom left are astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Mike Foreman, Leland Melvin, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists; along with Barry E. “Butch” Wilmore, pilot; and Nicole Stott, mission specialist.NASA The STS-129 crew members pose for a portrait following a joint news conference with the Expedition 21 crew members on Nov. 24, 2009. Astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, Mike Foreman, Leland Melvin, Robert L. Satcher Jr., Randy Bresnik, Butch Wilmore, and Nicole Stott launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 16, 2009, aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Traveling with them was nearly 30,000 pounds of replacement parts and equipment that would keep the orbital outpost supplied for several years to come.
The Atlantis crew performed three demanding but successful spacewalks – and enjoyed a surprise Thanksgiving dinner on the station, courtesy of the Expedition 21 crew.
Image credit: NASA
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The thermal protection system on the outside of the space shuttle included hundreds of ceramic tiles custom made for the orbiter. These reflected heat off the shuttle’s outside surface during atmospheric re-entry and were an inspiration for the ceramic ingredients in Super Therm. Credit: NASA Without proper insulation, sunlight can make buildings feel like ovens. In the late 1980s, Joseph Pritchett aimed to solve this problem by developing a coating for building insulation. He knew of NASA’s experience with thermal testing, particularly with ceramics, which have several uses for the agency. Their heat-resistant properties make them excellent materials for spacecraft reentry shields, and their durability is perfect for airplane components. Pritchett thought by infusing paints with both insulating ceramic compounds and tough, resilient polymers, he could develop an insulation coating with the best features of both.
Pritchett contacted the materials lab at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, through the center’s Technology Transfer Office. The facility had many ways to test heat-resistant materials, and the Marshall engineers and research scientists provided Pritchett with lists of material compounds to test for his insulation coating.
Super Therm has been applied in several places, including handrails on the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge over the Colorado River. The selection of its makeup of ceramic and polymeric materials was assisted by NASA scientists.Credit: Superior Products InternationaI II, LLC Over a period of six years, Pritchett tested every compound on the lists NASA provided, narrowing down the potential compounds until he found the ideal insulation. Pritchett founded Superior Products International II, Inc. of Shawnee, Kansas, in 1995. His product, dubbed Super Therm, is a composite of both ceramic and polymeric materials. In 2011, when tested by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, Pritchett’s product proved successful in saving energy when cooling homes.
The engineers at Marshall played a pivotal role in Super Therm’s development, as their knowledge was key to finding the right ceramic material. In addition to insulation for buildings, the material has been used in other industrial applications, such as keeping equipment like tanks and pumps cool on oil rigs. Pritchett’s Super Therm is yet another example of how NASA’s Technology Transfer Program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate drives innovation in commercial industry.
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Last Updated Nov 19, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress spacecraft pictured on Feb. 7, 2023, from the International Space Station.Credit: NASA NASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station.
The unpiloted Progress 90 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 7:22 a.m. EST (5:22 p.m. Baikonur time) Thursday, Nov. 21, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Live launch coverage will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 9:35 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 23. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 8:45 a.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website.
The Progress 88 spacecraft will undock from the Poisk module on Tuesday, Nov. 19. NASA will not stream undocking.
The spacecraft will remain docked at the station for approximately six months before departing for a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.
Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Claire O’Shea / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Nov 18, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Humans in Space ISS Research Johnson Space Center View the full article
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By NASA
Anthocyanins protect seeds in space
After exposure to space outside the International Space Station, purple-pigmented rice seeds rich in anthocyanin had higher germination rates than non-pigmented white rice seeds. This result suggests that anthocyanin, a flavonoid known to protect plants from UV irradiation, could help preserve seed viability on future space missions.
Plants are key components for systems being designed to produce nutrients and recycle carbon for future sustained space habitation, but space has been shown to reduce seed viability. Tanpopo-3, part of a series of investigations from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), examined the role of anthocyanins in maintaining seed viability. Results of this and previous experiments suggest that solar light in space is more detrimental to seeds than radiation.
Preflight image of the Tanpopo panel used to expose seeds and other samples to space. Tanpopo-3 team Low-cost, autonomous technology validated for space research
Researchers verified a pair of devices for conducting experiments in space that have multi-step reactions and require automatic mixing of solutions. This type of low-cost, autonomous technology expands the possibilities for space-based research, including work by commercial entities.
Ice Cubes #6- Kirara, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency) developed by the Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation, used a temperature-controlled incubator to crystallize proteins in microgravity. The Kirara facility also enables production of polymers, including cellulose, which have different uses than protein crystals. This experiment synthesized and decomposed cellulose.
The Kirara incubator used for experiments in microgravity. United Arab Emirates/Sultan Alneyadi Insights from observations of an X-ray binary star
Researchers used Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to observe the timing of 15 X-ray bursts from 4U 1820–30, an ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB) star. An X-ray binary is a neutron star orbiting a companion from which it takes matter. If confirmed with future observations, this result makes 4U 1820–30 the fastest-spinning neutron star known in an X-ray binary system and provides insights into the physics of neutron stars.
NICER makes high-precision measurements of neutron stars (the ultra-dense matter created when massive stars explode as supernovas) and other phenomena to increase our understanding of the universe. NICER has monitored 4U 1820–30 since its launch in June 2017. A short orbital period indicates a relatively small binary system, and 4U 1820–30 has the shortest known orbital period among low-mass X-ray binaries.
Animated image of a binary star system,NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris SmithView the full article
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