OrbitalHub

ESA dixit:

“The Space Storm Hunter, also known as the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, completed its trip to space in a Dragon cargo vehicle in April 2018. This video shows the different stages of that voyage, from launch to installation on the International Space Station. The suite of instruments rode in the Dragon cargo vehicle that was launched on 2 April from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

After orbiting Earth for two days, Dragon positioned itself below the Station for capture. ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen played a crucial role at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston as lead ‘capcom’ during Dragon’s rendezvous and berthing. Operators on Earth commanded the International Space Station’s 16-m long robotic arm to move the 314-kg facility from the Dragon spacecraft’s cargo hold to its place of operation on Europe’s Columbus laboratory on 13 April.

It is the first time that such a set of sensitive cameras, light sensors and X- and gamma-ray detectors will study the anatomy of luminous phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere and bursts of high-energy radiation. Data from this observatory will improve our understanding of the effect of thunderstorms on the atmosphere and contribute to more accurate climate models.”

Credits Video: ESA

Soyuz MS-09 is a Soyuz spaceflight planned for June 6, 2018. It will transport three members of the Expedition 56 crew to the International Space Station. The crew will consist of Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, Alexander Gerst of ESA, and NASA’s Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor, both flight engineers.

Credits Video: Roscosmos

NASA dixit:

“Orbital ATK’s vision for the next step toward human space missions to Mars employs our flight-proven Cygnus advanced maneuvering spacecraft as a human habitat in cislunar space, the region between the Moon and Earth. In the early 2020s we would launch the initial habitat on NASA’s SLS rocket. Featuring a modular design, the habitat would serve both as a destination for crewed missions and as an unmanned testbed to prove-out the technologies needed for long-duration human space missions. The habitat is also envisioned as a base for lunar missions by international partners or commercial ventures. With additional habitation and propulsion modules, the habitat could be outfitted for a Mars pathfinder mission.”

Credits Video: NASA

NASA dixit:

“The new Cold Atom Lab (CAL) facility could help answer some big questions in modern physics. CAL produces clouds of atoms that are ten billion times colder than deep space. The facility uses lasers and magnetic forces to freeze the atoms until they are almost motionless. In the microgravity environment on the space station, it’s possible to observe these ultra-cold atoms for much longer in than what’s possible on the ground. The research done using CAL could potentially lead to a number of improved technologies, including sensors, quantum computers and atomic clocks used in spacecraft navigation.”

Credits Video: NASA

NASA dixit:

“This time-lapse video packs 90 minutes from the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship’s rendezvous and capture maneuvers at the International Space Station on April 4, 2018 into just one minute. This is SpaceX’s 14th cargo mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon is scheduled to depart the station in May, 2018 and return to Earth with more than 3,500 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.”

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“SpaceX CRS-14 begins with an on-time liftoff of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch occurred at 4:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon is carrying equipment, science and supplies to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 14th commercial cargo resupply mission.”

Video credit: NASA/SpaceX