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International Space Station Cupola Video Released
quaith writes "With the Space Shuttle Endeavour scheduled to launch at 4:39 AM EST on Sunday for a trip to the International Space Station, the European Space Agency has released a video that shows how the modules it's carrying — Node-3 ('Tranquility') and Cupola — are going to get attached. Node-3 is a connecting module. Cupola has six trapezoidal windows and circular roof designed to provide a unique vantage-point for observing Earth. The video animations show how the station's robotic arm will be used initially to put the modules in place as a single unit, and then to detach Cupola from the end of Node-3 and reattach it on the Earth-facing side. With this addition, the ISS will start to look like something that Jules Verne would have wanted to visit."
... one cupola?
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
and that looks like it delivers. Interesting idea to forge the frame from a single piece of aluminum... definitely saved some weight on a bunch more seals...
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
This is going to do wonders for their resale value when the market turns around.
My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
but I know it my heart it should be "Colbert."
I think it was a partnership between France and Ford. I could be wrong.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
Cupola has six trapezoidal windows and circular roof designed to provide a unique vantage-point for observing Earth.
I think you meant to say "designed for monitoring dockings, robotic-arm operations and spacewalks."
But I'm sure the residents of the station will be begging command to let them open the aluminum shutters that protect those windows from space junk and meteorites, since the windows coincidentally would provide a unique vantage-point for observing Earth and space, too. :)
As well as anything else that might be outside... glass elevators, vermicious knids, etc.
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
they're gonna put a cupola new bits on the ISS..
I'm building a coffee table in my garage. NASA probably wouldn't pass my engineering for space use :(
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
What I would give to spend 8 hours in that cupola
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"I'd never want to join a club that would have me as a member" - G. Marx
and cancel the Aries rocket and manned space exploration.
We can always do manned space exploration with the Delta IV Heavy and Atlas V Heavy. And since NASA will be using commercial vehicles, they'll help the US develop space instead of being the usual obstacle.
Sure, the international cooperation on the ISS was done pretty suboptimally (e.g. over-reliance on the delay-prone and costly Space Shuttle), but there's still something really inspirational about a European-built observatory module being launched on an American rocket, so that astronauts can (among other things) effectively control a Canada-built robotic construction arm, powered by US and Russian solar panels. Also, the robotic Canadarm and Cupola will be used to install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer in a few months, one of the space station's most promising scientific instruments.
Some more info on the Cupola over at wiki (of course): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupola_(ISS)
I like the use of the .int top-level-domain.
This is seems to be part of an agreement with the European space agency so it probably was money well spent.
I thought that the cupola was the commanders turret on top of a tank, usually mounting a heavy machine gun.
Chill. The super heavy IS coming. Bolden is trying hard to get the ducks in a row first. It will likely be direct stage one, but it might not be. From what I hear, it WILL be private space.
Would be very nice. I'd have to say though that I'm a bit reluctant to believe it. The problem is that commercial space, while it does have a lot of launch experience is starting to push into ground where nobody outside of Shuttle program really has much experience. For example, for bigger than the current breed of 20-25 ton launchers (there are three currently, Ariane 5, Proton, and Delta IV Heavy), there is no experience outside of the Shuttle, Apollo, and Energia. That means that this is new ground for the commercial sector. I hope you are right, but it'll be a big challenge.
"No-go" for Endeavour's Launch
Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:30:56 AM EST
Space shuttle Endeavour's launch attempt has been scrubbed due to a low cloud ceiling over Kennedy Space Center.
Managers initially plan for a 24-hour turnaround, but will evaluate tomorrow's weather before making a final decision. Next possible launch attempt is Monday, Feb. 8 at 4:14 a.m. EST.
Exercise equipment is essential for keeping the crew healthy; Cupola is a useful observation deck for EVA and Canadarm activities as well as basic Earth observation - that it also provides a very nice view is a good thing, if only because of possible benefits in keeping the crew functioning nicely, all around.
Speaking of hauling equipment - the view of Shuttle on the launchpad with cargo visible was really depressing; so much barely needed structure, so much waste in launched mass...
One that hath name thou can not otter
Maybe it's because I'm not a native English speaker, but this sounds very much like redundancy (I think the correct grammatical term is "tautology"), probably induced by some so-called SEO expert: "screw common sense, just toss in the keyword 'video' as much as possible".
At least until one of the commercial vehicles explode.
At its maximum capacity the Soyuz could supply 18 astronauts a year to the space station via six annual launches. But Soyuz has never operated at that high capacity. Four launches would be considered more likely. The US quota is 2 of the 6 ISS astronauts, Russia another two, and the remaining two more for Japan, ESA, and Canada. More likely there will be 4-5 at a time and four launched, hence the four US astronaut estimate. Contrast this to the 25-30 in recent years to build the ISS.
How is a commercial vehicle explosion different from a government vehicle explosion? There's a simple answer here. There is no obligation to use a commercial vehicle. If it cannot demonstrate that it can meet or maintain the safety standards that NASA needs (I'm not talking of the bogus safety standards and estimates designed to exclude commercial vehicles like are present in the Exploration Space Architecture Study which rationalized use of the Ares I), then they can be dropped. If a NASA program like the Shuttle or Ares I cannot meet the safety standards, then NASA does a bit of safety theater and keeps using the vehicle. There is an obligation to use a NASA vehicle.
Ugh... My point was that space travel is dangerous. What do you think will happen when a private companies space craft explodes? If it is anything like what happened when the space shuttle exploded then said company will be out of business...
Ugh... My point was that space travel is dangerous. What do you think will happen when a private companies space craft explodes? If it is anything like what happened when the space shuttle exploded then said company will be out of business...
There are a couple of things to remember here. First, it won't be like the Space Shuttle. Even if a manned launch fails and kills astronauts, the business can still continue to launch unmanned missions. That doesn't work for every vehicle, but most vehicles can lift unmanned payloads (some already do). This provides a way to test fixes on the vehicle without risking astronaut lives, both lowering the cost of testing and speeding up necessary fixes. The Shuttle was unusual in that it required people on each flight so there was a lot of soul searching prior to a launch after an accident. Second, while a commercial launcher won't have the deep pockets of NASA, they probably will be immune to a number of legal liabilities.
I was under impression that we already paid them to bring up the number of launches. In particular, I thought that we paid them several years ago to keep the levels up for several years.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
That's an interesting point and you are right to a certain degree. I just wonder about the venture capital and stock prices dropping for these private companies. I guess we will see how the market reacts when there is a major accident. I personally hope people don't freak out but I'm not so sure that they won't. I'd love to take a trip to LEO sometime regardless of the risk but that will never happen until the price is driven down by the free market.
Lolz, yea they really should have pulled out a cutting torch and cut out the middle third of the shuttle. :)
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No matter how thin you slice it, its still baloney.