International Space Station

CONTRACT RELEASE : C08-020

April 15, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a sole-source contract to Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International Inc., Windsor Locks, Conn., for water production services aboard the International Space Station. The firm fixed-price contract has a potential value of $65 million and extends through Sept. 30, 2014.

The Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station: Photo courtesy NASA    » read more »

April 3, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- The following is a statement by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin after today's successful docking of the European Space Agency's Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle to the International Space Station at 10:45 a.m. EDT Thursday.

ATV Jules Verne Docks with International Space Station: Photo by NASA TV

"I am incredibly proud of and pleased for our European partners with this demonstration of a successful automated docking of the ATV cargo vehicle with the ISS. Only Russia has previously achieved a successful automated docking in space.    » read more »

2008-04-01 -- In a surprising and potentially troubling request, the new space station robot known as Dextre demanded that astronauts refer to it in the future at "Dextre the Magnificent."

Brandishing power tools that would make any handyperson blush, the mobile servicing system thanked humans for creating it and promised a glorious future where humans would retain an important role in the new robot order.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: New Space Station Robot Asks to be Called "Dextre the Magnificent"

Happy April Fools Day from the folks at APOD.    » read more »

CMS Web Site Features Updated and More Robust Information to Help Consumers with Their Health Care Choices

Friday, March 28, 2008 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today posted new survey information at the Hospital Compare consumer Web site offering consumers more insight about the hospitals in their communities.    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour brought an early sunrise to the East Coast Tuesday, launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 2:28 a.m. EDT and beginning the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station.    » read more »

10 February 2008 -- The space shuttle Atlantis completed a giant backflip before its docking Saturday with the International Space Station.

The U.S. space agency NASA says the maneuver allowed crew members aboard the station to look for possible damage to the shuttle's heat shield.

NASA has been concerned about what it calls "foam losses" during the shuttle's launch on Thursday. Cameras detected three instances where insulating foam broke free from the Alantis' external fuel tank shortly after launch.

An earlier inspection by the shuttle's crew found no significant damage.    » read more »

Feb. 7, 2008 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew lifted off at 2:45 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 7 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center to begin the STS-122 mission to the International Space Station.    » read more »

15 January 2008 -- Washington -- After two launch delays in December 2007 and weeks of testing and modifying an element of the external tank’s fuel sensor system, NASA has targeted February 7 for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis (STS-122) to the International Space Station.

Atlantis and its crew will deliver to the station the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Columbus laboratory. In mid-March, space shuttle Endeavour (STS-123) will deliver Kibo, the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s laboratory module, and Dextre, Canada’s new robotics system.    » read more »

NASA readies centers, new lunar science institute for return to moon

07 November 2007 -- Washington – With the International Space Station's Harmony module set for docking by the European and Japanese laboratories, and sections of the station's truss and solar arrays moved and working, Space Shuttle Discovery's crew returned to Earth November 7, the shuttle glinting in Florida's midday sun.    » read more »

07 November 2007 -- The crew of the space shuttle Discovery has returned to Earth after completing a more than two-week mission to the International Space Station. The astronauts performed crucial construction and repair work on the orbiter.

Commander Pamela Melroy and the crew of the shuttle Discovery ended their mission by flying east across the United States before touching down. NASA's Mission Control followed the shuttle as it came in to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.    » read more »

31 October 2007 -- NASA has delayed the fourth spacewalk of a complex two-week mission by U.S. space shuttle Discovery to boost the capability of the International Space Station. The walk, originally set for Thursday, is now scheduled for Friday. It will focus on a tear in one of the station's solar wings. Officials say fixing that problem is the mission's top priority.

NASA originally scheduled a spacewalk on Thursday to inspect a malfunctioning rotary joint on the right side of the station. The joint is needed to keep the station's solar wings turned toward the sun for power.    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- Astronauts have finished installing a solar power unit on the International Space Station Tuesday, during their third spacewalk.

Spacewalkers Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock helped guide astronauts inside the station as they used a robotic arm to install a 16,000 kilogram beam to the end of the station.

The beam's large solar panels will generate electricity for the addition of a European research laboratory in December.    » read more »

25 October 2007 -- The U.S. space shuttle Discovery has docked at the International Space Station, marking the next phase in a complex mission to expand the international orbiter.

Space station crew members, led by Commander Peggy Whitson, welcomed Discovery Commander Pam Melroy and her crew when they boarded the station.

Whitson and Melroy are the first women in NASA history to lead two spacecraft at the same time.

Their crews united after pressure checks ensured the hatches between the spacecraft were safe to open, just two hours after Discovery docked.    » read more »

Oct. 23, 2007 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off Tuesday, Oct. 23, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:38 a.m. EDT to continue construction of the International Space Station.    » read more »

23 October 2007 -- The space shuttle Discovery has launched from Kennedy Space Center on a two-week mission to the International Space Station. The seven astronauts on Discovery will deliver a new module to expand the size of the international orbiter.

Light rain showers cleared just hours before the late morning launch of Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA spokesman George Diller monitored the launch sequence of Discovery, which carried seven astronauts and the Harmony module toward the International Space Station.    » read more »