Questions tagged [iss]
Questions about the ISS (International Space Station), a habitable man-made low Earth orbit satellite whose first component was launched in 1998 and used to conduct experiments for a wide variety of research fields in a microgravity environment.
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Have there ever been any incidents where something valuable was unintentionally thrown out with the trash?
In "What do astronauts do with their trash on the ISS?", a commentator asked the title question and was encouraged to make it a new question, but apparently never did.
The linked question is ...
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28V vs. 124V on the ISS
Apparently the US segment of the ISS runs on 124v DC, while the Russian segment is on 28v DC. Why the difference? I understand it is often safer to have several different voltages rather than one, but ...
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How much does the ISS "banana" or flex under the constantly changing conditions of solar heating?
This answer to Do antennae on the ISS have to constantly move to maintain data links? discusses some of the challenges precisely pointing an antenna mounted to the ISS exterior. While the ISSs orbit ...
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What's the shiny triangular feature on this Progress vehicle?
Picture from here
What's the shiny, slightly curved triangular plate with rails above it?
A larger version, cropped from here, thanks to a comment by ohsin.
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How long could the ISS function if removed from Earth orbit?
Suppose the ISS were instantaneously moved to the opposite side of the Sun from Earth - how long would it continue to function? Are there any systems aboard that depend on passing behind the planet ...
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Did CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang see the ISS during an EVA?
This answer to Has an astronaut ever seen another object in LEO pass by that wasn't mission-related? says:
The encounter happened at longer distances ($\sim47\;km$) and the Shenzhou-7 is smaller than ...
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ISS - Tiangong 2 minimum safe distance
Using the SGP4 propagator, I calculated the minimum distance between ISS and Tiangong-2 for this year.
I obtained 12.32 km for 2017-09-27 17:29:36.376 UTC (which ...
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New spin on laundry day: How will ISS cope with washing machine vibration and angular momentum?
Although the ISS currently has no laundry facilities, NASA’s Glenn Research Center sponsored a washing machine design contest to do the drudgery during spaceflight. Plans have been made for testing a ...
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How does European jurisdiction in the ISS works?
This answer notes that participant nations have jurisdiction over their modules. So in a US module, you are in US jurisdiction, etc.
Which means that in an European module, you are in European ...
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Is the ISS in danger of the outer radiation belt?
Is the ISS in danger of the outer radiation belt? I know that the ISS is in the low earth orbit and that it briefly passes through the base of the outer RB, but it is actually in danger? How does the ...
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What is astronaut Alexander Gerst signaling with this K-shaped hand signal?
In this AP/WISN news item Air leak at International Space Station temporarily plugged by a thumb they show a file photo of German astronaut Alexander Gerst at the Baikonur cosmodrome, making what ...
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Common Berthing Mechanism Dimensions
I've found detailed information on the International Docking Standard, enough to start work on a detailed CAD of the mechanism.
(http://www.internationaldockingstandard.com/download/...
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Why is there no common "docking" interface for express rack payloads?
It seems strange to me that given all of the concerns about living space and color palette aboard ISS, the data/power/cooling ports for different mid-deck locker equivalent (MLE) express rack payloads ...
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What to do until the hearse arrives: is there a designated morgue on ISS?
When I have asked, every commercial ocean-going vessel I’ve been on has provision for a refrigerated morgue. In the good old days, it was a cannon ball at your feet and six feet of sail cloth with the ...
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Can a spacecraft be "too large to dock" to the ISS?
A comment below Is Starship planned to fly directly to the ISS without first stage? Is it even possible? says:
to my best knowledge, the Starship will never be near the ISS. it is too large to dock ...
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Did or do space station engineers need to worry about angular momentum stored in circulating fluids?
One of the ISS' main uses is to provide a long duration microgravity environment for a wide variety of experiments. For some experiments residual acceleration needs to be much smaller than average.
...
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Duration of SpaceX Demo-2 mission
I've read that the duration of the current SpaceX demo mission to the ISS and back is highly variable. It was originally estimated they could be on-board the ISS from 1 to 4 months, and currently ...
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How many laptops onboard ISS?
About how many laptops are there on board the ISS? I saw the header image in this article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/science/scott-mark-kelly-twins-space-nasa.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
and ...
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Did NASA "publish", then "delete" this and other photos of the ISS leak?
A tweet by @NASASpaceflight (Chris B - NSF, "Managing Editor of NASASpaceFlight.com" says:
ISS Leak summary:
First thought was MMOD strike.
Then NASA released pics. Lots of people: "...
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How many hours/week on the ISS is spent on science vs maintenance?
This was asked in 2016 : Does ISS crew exercise time count toward their X hour work week? The answer as of 2016 was 40 hours / week for a crew of 6.
But as noted there, when the crew size increases to ...
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How long does it take for the ISS astronauts to isolate a module
In the chosen answer for What size hole in the International Space Station would be catastrophic, we find that a 0.6cm hole would depressurize the ISS to life threatening levels in 14 hours. A 20cm ...
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When docked, do Dragon solar panels contribute to ISS mains power?
What it says on the tin.
Does a docked Dragon trunk section contribute to the ISS's batteries? I'm aware it would probably be minimal though due to orientation and occlusion of the panels, and when ...
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What are the contingency plans for lost ISS attitude control?
Apparently the Russians had a mishap with their new ISS module. The module fired its thrusters after docking and caused attitude control loss
The Russian "Nauka" module linked to the space ...
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How does ECOSTRESS measure both temperature and emissivity of the Earth's surface simultaneously? (Science package aboard the ISS)
The This Week at NASA video A U.S. Commercial Spacecraft Departs the Space Station on This Week @NASA – July 2, 2021 includes the following quote:
Data from NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal ...
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Does the ISS currently use "night glider mode" as part of its solar array positioning plan?
I've seen several references on the site to a mode of ISS solar array position management called "night glider" where the solar arrays are turned to minimize drag when the ISS is on the ...
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How many kilograms of nickel particles will be dispersed in Earth's atmosphere by dumping old ISS batteries overboard?
update: CNN's November 7, 2023 Japanese scientists want to send a wooden satellite into space links to October 16, 2023 NOAA scientists link exotic metal particles in the upper atmosphere to rockets, ...
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Is there a publicly available inventory of things sent to the ISS?
I spent some time looking through NASA datasets and news articles, and couldn't find anything, so I'm hoping that someone in the community will know better than I do:
I'm trying to understand what the ...
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How much cargo volume is devoted to food
On the ISS resupply missions go up about every 90 days or so. On those resupply missions how much volume and mass are devoted to food for the astronauts?
I've found estimates for the mass to be about ...
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How do ISS astronauts keep proficient on capsule procedures in long duration missions?
Before astronauts and cosmonauts go to the ISS they have months of simulator training on Soyuz spacecraft procedures for launch, rendezvous, docking and re-entry. Yet, once they are on the ISS they ...
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ISS DMA vs C&DH?
The Early design of the ISS specified a global Data Management System (DMS) for operations and management of Station software-dependant systems. The DMS was based on ISO/OSI standards for ...
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How frequenty have space walkers been changed based on space suit configuration?
On Friday, March 29, two astronauts were supposed to conduct what would have become the first all female space walk, Christina Koch and Anne McClain. After her first space walk on March 22, Anne ...
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How are the payload limits of robot arms on the space station determined?
I have just been wondering how the payload limits for the arms on the ISS were determined. Any back of the napkin calculations to explain these? In that vein, I could not find any information on the ...
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What would be needed for ISS to function in lunar orbit?
Not only the Chinese are rather unimpressed by the concept of "Lunar Gateway", which is summed up as a much smaller ISS in the Moon orbit.
It made me wonder - wouldn't it be better to move ISS into ...
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How many ways of communication with ground can ISS crew use?
I'm currently writing fictional story which is happening at ISS and I have so many questions about this topic, but this one is the most important to me. How many possibilities of communication they ...
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What are the disturbing torques on the ISS?
What are the orders of magnitude of disturbing torques on the ISS itself, preferably split into the following categories, but any numbers (with source) will be useful:
Gravity gradient
Magnetic
Solar ...
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What level of radiation protection do electronics on the ISS or in LEO need?
The harsh radiation environment in space requires that electronics on spacecraft be "radiation hardened." However, the radiation environment in LEO is not as intense as say a spacecraft traveling ...
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Has the psychological impact of social media exposure for astronauts aboard ISS been studied?
Given the "recent" (few years) exposure and access of astronauts/cosmonauts aboard ISS to social media in order to communicate with the general public, I was wondering if the decision to allow them to ...
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Do the ECLSS components aboard ISS deteriorate at the same rate as they would on Earth?
Just what the title states.
Wikipedia writes to say about the ECLSS (Environment Control Life Support System)
The highest priority for the ECLSS is the ISS atmosphere, but the system also ...
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ISS battery "de-orbit" burnup?
In reading these two questions: How many kilograms of nickel particles will be dispersed in Earth's atmosphere by dumping old ISS batteries overboard? and Why does it take so long for ISS garbage ...
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Will the International Space Station be able to see the Falcon 9 (Inspiration4 launch)
Will astronauts aboard the International Space Station be able to see any part of the Inspiration4 flight of the Falcon 9 during launch and/or during orbit?
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Do astronauts on ISS notice Earth's seasons?
Has anyone stationed on the ISS for some months reported noticing the changing seasons on Earth in any way like people on the surface do, subconsciously without needing to look up numbers for anything?...
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Do ISS astronauts have a preference for when EVA tasks are scheduled with respect to lighting conditions?
Given the choice, do ISS astronauts prefer to schedule EVA tasks on the “day light” side of the ISS, the “shadow" side of the ISS or in the shadow of Earth’s night side?
I suspect the intense, ...
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Why is ~280 km one month before reentry the lowest altitude that the final ISS crew may see? Isn't that cutting it kinda close?
Writing this answer to When will the ISS deorbit? I came across Space Policy Online's NASA Solidifies Planning to Deorbit ISS in 2031 and the image below.
It shows the estimated last crew occupying ...
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Deorbit of ISS is a unique event. Are there plans for scientific observation?
The ISS deorbit will be unique. Not only because of its mass, but because the time, location and observing conditions can be accurately chosen. Instruments could be placed for detailed observation. ...
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Exterior "running lights" on ISS?
In Scott Kelley's memoir "Endurance," he describes how challenging it is to navigate the exterior of ISS when in Earth's shadow, and he mentions that his Russian colleagues would just stay ...
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How many burns does it take to reboost the ISS?
When the International Space Station is given a reboost, how many burns are performed? Is it a Hohmann transfer orbit, with one perigee burn and one apogee burn? Or is it one burn at apogee just to ...
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Why have astronauts had to take Soyuz capsules "out for a spin" on 15 separate occasions? (move from one Soyuz port to another)
NASA News item Space Station Crew to Relocate Soyuz to Make Room for New Crewmates says:
Three residents of the International Space Station will take a spin around their orbital neighborhood in the ...
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CBM dimensions for docking rings, auxillary umbilicals, and passage are in both active and passive sides
I am trying to 3D print some models for imagined and actual space craft. I was wondering if anyone was aware of technical drawings or other documents that give shapes and dimensions of the elements of ...
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ISS Life Support Consumable use rate
At what rate does the International Space Station, (ISS), consume life support resources and other consumables?
I'm attempting to calculate long term life supoprt requirements for a system based on ...
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Potential catastrophic death on the ISS from mistakes
Other than from decompression and fire, what other ways has NASA or the Russian space program identified unique ways someone on the ISS could die suddenly, in particular from human error with the ...
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