Blog dedicado a cuentos, notas de interés, actividades políticas , sociales, historia, artes culinarias, fiestas patronales, astronomía, ciencia ficción, temas del Medio Ambiente ,y del acontecer Peruano y Mundial desde otro punto de vista muy personal y diferente!!!!!
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The Expedition 50 crew aboard the International Space Station had a nighttime view from orbit of Europe's most active volcano, Mount Etna, erupting on March 19, 2017. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency captured this image and shared it with his social media followers, writing, "Mount Etna, in Sicily. The volcano is currently erupting and the molten lava is visible from space, at night! (the red lines on the left)."
Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA shared this nighttime image of Dublin on March 17, 2017, writing, "Happy #StPatricksDay - Spectacular #Dublin, Ireland captured by @thom_astro from @Space_Station. Enjoy the #StPatricksFest Parade down there!"
Some of the most wonderful pictures taken by astronauts from space are of aurora dancing over our planet. Now the photos are more than just pretty pictures thanks to an ESA project that makes them scientifically usable.
Aurora offer a visual means to study space weather, the conditions in the upper regions of our atmosphere. These colourful displays are produced when electrically charged particles from the Sun in the solar wind are channelled along Earth’s magnetic field lines and strike atoms high in the atmosphere.
Just as the Sun is instrumental to the weather on Earth, solar activity influences space weather, which in turn can interfere with radio transmissions, satellites and even our electricity supply.
From above and below – and straight through
Thick green fog of aurora
Scientists study space weather and aurora using satellites such as ESA’s Cluster and Proba-2 but also through a network of cameras on the ground. These cameras are often obscured by cloud or snow and coverage from the southern hemisphere is poor because there is not much land at the best latitudes for observing the aurora.
Pictures taken from the International Space Station can provide context and add information by improving estimates of the height and length of aurora. Some reach 500 km high – meaning the Station sometimes flies right through them.
Looking to the stars to find out when and where
Geo-referencing astronauts' auroral photography to further their use in research
First, the images need to be turned into something that scientists can use. Most important is to know the exact time and where the camera was pointing.
The images are downloaded in the highest resolution and faulty camera pixels from cosmic radiation are removed. Software corrects distortion from the camera lens.
Just like 19th century explorers before navigation satellites existed, ESA’s team looked to the stars for reference, using software to identify the stars in the image, and from there calculate the precise position of each pixel and its scale.
Last, the image time is determined by linking cities with their calculated locations and the horizon.
Software engineer and ESA young graduate trainee Maik Riechert, who worked on the project, explains: “The ideal images for processing are pictures showing Earth and the stars with the horizon just above the middle.”
Putting it all together
When all the images are processed, the timelapse videos offer a way to check the process went smoothly. Any jitter or changes in star tracking will show up in the final video, so a smooth run proves that the individual images are ready for analysis.
ESA’s Andrew Walsh, manager for this project, concludes “This project shows that nothing is wasted and you can get useful science from unusual sources.”
International Space Station salutes the Sun28 November 2012 This weekend, the International Space Station will turn itself to position ESA’s SOLAR instrument for a better view of the Sun. It will be the first time the Station has changed attitude for scientific reasons alone.
Capturing the Sun in a computer05 October 2012 ESA’s SOLAR instrument suite on the International Space Station has been granted a longer lease of life to continue recording almost the full spectrum of the Sun’s radiation. SOLAR is vital for understanding the Sun and its effects on Earth.
SOLAR: three years observing and ready for solar maximum11 March 2011 Europe’s Columbus research module has been part of the International Space Station for three years now. During that time, its external SOLAR package has been faithfully monitoring the energy flowing from the Sun.
Today, ground control in Belgium switched off a package that had been continuously watching the Sun from the International Space Station for nine years.
‘Solar’ has been measuring most of the radiation emitted by our closest star across the electromagnetic spectrum. Built to run for only 18 months, it was still working until today – exceeding all expectations.
Solar’s observations are improving our understanding of the Sun and allowing scientists to create accurate computer models and predict its behaviour.
Space Station flies in front of the Sun seen from Earth
To predict how the Sun behaves, scientists create complex computer models to build a virtual star. With more observations, scientists can fine-tune their models. Modelling and predicting the Sun’s activity with precision is an important step towards understanding humankind’s effect on Earth’s climate.
Between 2012 and 2016, the Space Station turned itself five times to position Solar so that it could track the Sun without interruption for a complete solar day – around a month of Earth days.
It was the first time the Station changed attitude for scientific reasons alone and a huge achievement – it’s not every day that you move a 450 tonne orbital outpost.
Today, Solar was moved to a parked position where it was secured with a pin. Even during its last days, Solar was delivering important data.
The teams at the control centre in Brussels, Belgium, used the final moments to stress the hardware to its limits and gain a better understanding of how the observations have been affected by age and the intense changes in temperature it endures outside the Station. Using this extra information, researchers are developing software that will improve calibration of parts of the data.
ESA’s project leader, Astrid Orr, comments, “After all these years of gaining valuable information about our Sun it is an emotional moment for the team, but Solar has far exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
“This kind of research does not deliver pretty pictures, but numbers. I tip my hat to the researchers who patiently sort through the wealth of data – this field of science may seem tedious and unexciting to the outside world, but climate studies heavily rely on these data to understand the world we live in and how we are shaping it.”
International Space Station salutes the Sun28 November 2012 This weekend, the International Space Station will turn itself to position ESA’s SOLAR instrument for a better view of the Sun. It will be the first time the Station has changed attitude for scientific reasons alone.
Capturing the Sun in a computer 05 October 2012
ESA’s SOLAR instrument suite on the International Space Station has been granted a longer lease of life to continue recording almost the full spectrum of the Sun’s radiation. SOLAR is vital for understanding the Sun and its effects on Earth.
SOLAR: three years observing and ready for solar maximum 11 March 2011
Europe’s Columbus research module has been part of the International Space Station for three years now. During that time, its external SOLAR package has been faithfully monitoring the energy flowing from the Sun.
This image of the International Space Station passing in front of the Moon on 4 February was taken from Rouen, France, the birth town of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
Though Thomas considers Dieppe, France to be his home town, he was born in Rouen and completed his secondary education there before studying aerospace engineering. Thomas is spending six months on the Station conducting science experiments as part of the Proxima mission.
Astrophotographer Thierry Legault was unaware of Thomas’ connection to Rouen at the time. He first followed the Station’s transit from Lyon but was unable to capture the sequence owing to cloudy skies. Two days later, the transit line passed close to Rouen where, despite frequent cloudiness, Thierry was successful. He shot this 0.4 second-long transit during daylight.
Watch a video of the transit here. Visit Thierry’s homepage here:
Título del hogarFecha de publicación 13/02/2017 17:30Copyright Thierry LegaultDescripciónEsta imagen de la Estación Espacial Internacional que pasó frente a la Luna el 4 de febrero fue tomada de Rouen, Francia, la ciudad natal de la ESA astronauta Thomas Pesquet. Aunque Thomas considera a Dieppe, Francia como su ciudad natal, nació en Ruán y completó su educación secundaria allí antes de estudiar ingeniería aeroespacial. Thomas está pasando seis meses en la Estación realizando experimentos científicos como parte de la misión Proxima. El astrofotógrafo Thierry Legault desconocía la conexión de Thomas con Rouen en ese momento. Él primero siguió el tránsito de la estación de Lyon pero era incapaz de capturar la secuencia debido a cielos nublados. Dos días después, la línea de tránsito pasó cerca de Rouen, donde, a pesar de la nubosidad frecuente, Thierry tuvo éxito. Disparó este tránsito de 0,4 segundo de largo durante la luz del día. Mira un video del tránsito aquí. Visita la página de Thierry aquí: http://www.astrophoto.fr/
This educational HD video shows how the International Space Station works and operates. In Earth's orbit, NASA Astronaut Sunita (Suni) Williams tours and describes how International Space Station's internal structure is divided into two pressurized modules, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS). The ESA (European Space Agency) also uses the International Space Station for research and experiments. The International Space Station maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km (205 and 270 mi) by means of re-boost maneuvers using the engines of the Zvezda module or other visiting spacecraft. It completes 15.54 orbits around the earth per day. Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams is an American astronaut of Indian-Slovenian descent and holds records for total spacewalks and spacewalk time by a woman. This video is shown in 1080p HD 60fps.a vuelo
For years, their existence has been debated: elusive electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere that sport names such as red sprites, blue jets, pixies and elves. Reported by pilots, they are difficult to study as they occur above thunderstorms.
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen during his mission on the International Space Station in 2015 was asked to take pictures over thunderstorms with the most sensitive camera on the orbiting outpost to look for these brief features.
Denmark’s National Space Institute has now published the results, confirming many kilometre-wide blue flashes around 18 km altitude, including a pulsating blue jet reaching 40 km. A video recorded by Andreas as he flew over the Bay of Bengal at 28 800 km/h on the Station shows the electrical phenomena clearly – a first of its kind. En Español :
Chorros azules desde la Estación Espacial Internacional
9 febrero 2017 Su existencia lleva años debatiéndose: huidizas descargas eléctricas en la alta atmósfera con nombres peculiares como espectros rojos, chorros azules, duendes o elfos. Aunque han sido detectadas por pilotos, resultan difíciles de estudiar, ya que se producen por encima de las tormentas eléctricas.
Durante su misión en la Estación Espacial Internacional en 2015, el astronauta de la ESA Andreas Mogensen estaba encargado de fotografiar este tipo de tormentas con la cámara más sensible del complejo orbital en busca de estos breves fenómenos.
Ahora, el Instituto Nacional del Espacio de Dinamarca ha publicado los resultados, que confirman la aparición de numerosos destellos azules de longitud kilométrica a unos 18 km de altitud, incluyendo un chorro azul pulsante que llegó a alcanzar 40 km. Un vídeo grabado por Andreas mientras sobrevolaba la Bahía de Bengala desde la ISS, a 28.800 km/h, muestra por primera vez claramente estos fenómenos eléctricos.
Cloud turret
Satellites had probed these events but their viewing angle is not ideal for gathering data on the scale of the blue jets and smaller blue discharges. In contrast, the Station’s lower orbit is ideally placed to capture the sprites and jets.
Andreas aimed for cloud turrets – cloud pillars extending into the upper atmosphere – and shot a 160 second video showing 245 blue flashes from the top of a turret that drifted from the Bay of Bengal’s thunderstorm.
The blue discharges and jets are examples of a little-understood part of our atmosphere. Electrical storms reach into the stratosphere and have implications for how our atmosphere protects us from radiation. En Español:
Estos fenómenos ya se habían detectado mediante satélites, pero su ángulo de visión no resulta adecuado para recopilar datos de la escala de estos chorros azules y otras descargas azules de menor impacto. Por el contrario, la baja órbita de la ISS es perfecta para capturar espectros y chorros.
En su búsqueda de cumulonimbos —torres de nubes que se extienden hacia la alta atmósfera—, Andreas grabó un vídeo de 160 segundos con 245 destellos azules procedentes de la parte superior de una de estas torres, desprendida de la tormenta desatada en la Bahía de Bengala.
Las descargas y chorros azules son ejemplos de una parte poco comprendida de nuestra atmósfera. Las tormentas eléctricas llegan a la estratosfera y afectan a la forma en que la atmósfera nos protege de la radiación.
Permanent observation
Lightning seen from Space Station
This experiment confirms that the Space Station is a suitable base for observing these phenomena. As a follow-up, the Atmosphere–Space Interactions Monitor is being prepared for launch later this year for installation outside Europe’s Columbus laboratory to monitor thunderstorms continuously to gather information about such ‘transient luminous events’.
Andreas concludes, “It is not every day that you get to capture a new weather phenomenon on film, so I am very pleased with the result – but even more so that researchers will be able to investigate these intriguing thunderstorms in more detail soon.” En español :
Este experimento confirma que la ISS constituye una base de operaciones idónea para observar estos fenómenos. A modo de seguimiento, se está preparando el Monitor de Interacciones Atmósfera-Espacio, que se lanzará a lo largo de este año y se instalará fuera del laboratorio europeo Columbus, para vigilar de forma continua las tormentas y recopilar información sobre estos ‘eventos luminosos transitorios’.
Como explica Andreas: “No todos los días se puede registrar en película un nuevo fenómeno meteorológico, así que estoy encantado con el resultado y, sobre todo, con que la idea de que los investigadores pronto podrán estudiar estas misteriosas tormentas eléctricas con mayor detalle”.
This panorama, photographed by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows nearly the full length of Lake Powell, the reservoir on the Colorado River in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Note that the ISS was north of the lake at the time, so in this view south is at the top left of the image.
At full capacity, the reservoir impounds 24,322,000 acre-feet of water, a vast amount that is used to generate and supply water to several western United States, while also aiding in flood control for the region. It is the second largest reservoir by maximum water capacity in the United States (behind Lake Mead).
Landscape elevation changes are hard to see from space, but astronauts learn to interpret high and low places by their color. Green forests indicate two high places in the image that are cooler and receive more rain than the dry, low country surrounding the lake. The isolated Navajo Mountain is a sacred mountain of the Native American Navajo tribe and rises to 3,154 meters (10,348 feet). The long, narrow Kaiparowits Plateau rises nearly 1200 meters (4,000 feet) from Lake Powell to an elevation of more than 2300 meters (7,550 feet). More than 80 kilometers (50 miles) long, the plateau gives a sense of horizontal scale.
The region draws nearly 2 million people every year, even though it is remote and has few roads. Most of the area in view is protected as part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument—the largest amount of protected land in a U.S. national monument.
Astronaut photograph ISS048-E-73279 was acquired on September 6, 2016, with a Nikon D4 digital camera using an 800 millimeter lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 48 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed.
Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency photographed the Rocky Mountains from his vantage point in low Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station. He shared the image with his social media followers on Jan. 9, 2017, writing, "the Rocky mountains are a step too high – even for the clouds to cross."
A satellite is ejected from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer on the International Space Station on Dec. 19, 2016. The satellite is actually two small satellites that, once at a safe distance from the station, separated from each other, but were still connected by a 100-meter-long Kevlar tether. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson helped the JAXA ground team to deploy the satellite, called Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite (STARS-C). Once deployed, STARS-C will point toward Earth and use a spring system and gravitational forces to separate, pushing one satellite closer to the planet. Besides being a technology demonstration, the investigation will also collect electrons from the plasma environment in space to analyze the creation of an electrical current.
The satellite deployment capability provides a unique satellite launching system for use on the station. Handled by the robotic arm known as the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), the system provides a reliable, safe and economically viable means of deploying small research satellites into orbit. Crew members load pre-packed satellites into J-SSOD on a special sliding table in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) airlock to transfer the payload to the space environment where the robotic arm will grapple it and maneuver into position for deployment.
Christmas message
Released: 20/12/2016
Length 00:02:42
Language English, French
Footage Type Interior
Shot
Copyright ESA/NASA
Description
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet shares his Christmas plans and wishes on the International Space Station.
Flying 400 km above Earth, astronauts on the International Space Station have a unique experience and vision of our planet that they share in this video. Thomas recounts his memories growing up in Normany, France, and explains what Christmas means to him.
His end-of-year meal was prepared by French chefs – canned of course, there is no way to cook food on the Space Station and includes ox-tongue from his home-region prepared by Thierry Marx, chicken-supreme and for desert, apple gingerbread.
TAGS Open/Close
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Activity Human Spaceflight
Mission Proxima
People Thomas Pesquet
System ISS
Keywords Astronauts , Astronauts on board , Astronauts on board ISS , ESA astronauts , Manned Missions , Space Food
Set Thomas Pesquet
This composite image, made from ten frames, shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, in silhouette as it transits the sun at roughly five miles per second, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, from Newbury Park, California. Onboard as part of Expedition 50 are: NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson: Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Oleg Novitskiy: and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson of NASA sent holiday greetings and festive imagery from the cupola on Dec. 18.
Astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency captured this photograph from the International Space Station on Nov. 25, 2016, and shared it on social media. Pesquet commented, "Sunrises. We experience 16 sunrises every 24 hours on the International Space Station as it takes us 90 minutes to do a complete orbit of our planet flying at 28,800 km/h. Of course we don't notice most of the sunrises as we are working inside, but every now and again I can take a picture."
Middle school students programmed a camera aboard the International Space Station -- the Sally Ride EarthKAM -- to photograph this portion of the Sahara desert in western Libya on October 3, 2016. In early November 2016, the Expedition 50 crew set up the EarthKAM gear once again in the Harmony module’s Earth-facing hatch window, to allow students to photograph targets on Earth and downlink the imagery.
EarthKAM is the only program providing students with such direct control of an instrument on a spacecraft orbiting Earth, teaching them about environmental science, geography and space communications. The project was initiated by Dr. Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, in 1995 and called KidSat; the camera flew on five space shuttle flights before moving to the space station on Expedition 1 in 2001.
A high fidelity test version of NASA’s Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), the largest plant chamber built for the agency, arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida the third week of November, 2016. The engineering development unit arrived by truck, was offloaded and transported to a laboratory at the Space Station Processing Facility. Inside the lab, NASA engineers, and scientists and technicians will train with the test unit to learn how to handle and assemble it before the actual APH unit arrives early next year. They also will test how the science integrates with the various systems of the plant habitat.
The unit is a closed-loop system with a controlled environment than can house large plants. The system will use red, green and blue LED lights, similar to the Veggie growth system that is currently on the International Space Station. The APH also has the capability of using white LEDs and infrared light. The APH unit will have 180 sensors and four times the light output of Veggie. The small-scale experiment, called Plant Habitat 1 or PH01, will contain Arabidopsis seeds, small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard. PH01 and the APH unit will be delivered to the space station in 2017.
The moon, or supermoon, is seen rising behind the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station at 3:20 p.m. EST, Nov. 17 (2:20 a.m., Nov. 18, Kazakh time). All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex. A supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth.
Expedition 50 crewmembers ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, top, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, middle, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos wave farewell before boarding their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft for launch Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, (Kazakh Time) in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The trio will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:20 p.m. EST, Nov. 17 (Nov. 18, Kazakh time). All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex.
Expedition 50 Crew Launches to the International Space Station
In this one second exposure photograph, the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft is seen launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Expedition 50 crewmembers NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016, Kazakh time (Nov 17 Eastern time). Whitson, Novitskiy, and Pesquet will spend approximately six months on the International Space Station.
Human spaceflight and robotic exploration image of the week: Soyuz rocket ready to launch ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet to the Space Station
On Thursday, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and Roscosmos commander Oleg Novitsky will take a lift to the top of this 50 m-tall rocket, climb aboard and wait for the trip of a lifetime. At 20:20 GMT the engines will ignite and propel the trio 1640 km in less than 10 minutes – averaging a 50 km/h increase every second for nine minutes.
The Soyuz launcher delivers 26 million horse-power to reach an orbital speed of 28 800 km/h – but its journey starts on a train: the rocket is rolled to the launch pad by rail from the assembly building.
The rocket was moved into its upright position yesterday surrounded by its support structure.
Despite the enormous power and acceleration, Thomas, Peggy and Oleg will take two days to catch up with the International Space Station flying overhead. They are scheduled to dock with it at 22:00 GMT on 19 November.
Read more about their launch and the Proxima mission on the minisite.
The Soyuz MS-02 rocket is launched with Expedition 49 Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 4:05 a.m. EDT Wednesday (2:05 p.m. Baikonur time). The Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the Poisk module of the space station at 5:59 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21.
The arrival of Kimbrough, Ryzhikov and Borisenko returns the station's crew complement to six. The three join Expedition 49 Commander Anatoli Ivanishin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineers Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The Expedition 49 crew members will spend a little over four months conducting more than 250 science investigations in fields such as biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development.
Tres Nuevos Astronautas Llegan a la Estación Espacial Internacional
21.10.16.- Tres nuevos tripulantes están a bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional. Las compuertas entre la Estación Espacial y la nave Soyuz se abrieron el viernes a las 12:20 GMT, y la astronauta de la NASA Shane Kimbrough, y los cosmonautas rusos Sergey Ryzhikov y Andrey Borisenko de Roscosmos entraron en la ISS.
Su nave Soyuz MS-02 se acopló con el módulo Poisk de la estación a las 9:52 GMT. En el momento del acoplamiento, la Estación Espacial volaba a 403 kilómetros sobre el sur de Rusia.
El trío se une al Comandante de la Expedición 49 Anatoly Ivanishin de Roscosmos y los Ingenieros de Vuelo Kate Rubins de la NASA y Takuya Onishi de la Agencia de Exploración Aeroespacial Japonesa, que han estado a bordo del complejo desde julio. La tripulación entrante pasará un poco más de cuatro meses a bordo de la Estación Espacial, y regresarán a la Tierra a finales de febrero.
Los miembros de la tripulación contribuirán con más de 250 experimentos de investigación en curso en la Estación Espacial, en campos tan diversos como la biología, la geología, la investigación humana, las ciencias físicas y de desarrollo tecnológico.
Tres nuevos tripulantes están a bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional. Las compuertas entre la Estación Espacial y la nave Soyuz se abrieron el viernes 21 de Octubre a las 12:20 GMT, y la astronauta de la NASA Shane Kimbrough, y los cosmonautas rusos Sergey Ryzhikov y Andrey Borisenko de Roscosmos entraron en la ISS. Su nave Soyuz MS-02 se acopló con el módulo Poisk de la estación a las 9:52 GMT. En el momento del acoplamiento, la Estación Espacial volaba a 403 kilómetros sobre el sur de Rusia...
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is raised into the vertical position on launch Pad-0A, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The International Space Station-bound Antares is currently scheduled for launch no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 16, at 8:03 p.m. EDT.
New science experiments launching to the station include investigations on fire in space, the effect of lighting on sleep and daily rhythms, collection of health-related data, and a new way to measure neutrons.
With a launch planned for the early morning of 16 November, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and Roscosmos commander Oleg Novitsky face a busy schedule of Soyuz exams this month.
Soyuz MS-03 crew
The trio will be flying to the International Space Station on a new model of Soyuz ferry designated MS. The MS stands for ‘modernised systems’ and this will be the third launch of the lighter, upgraded Soyuz. A new spacecraft means new flight procedures, so Oleg, Thomas and Peggy have more homework than usual to master the controls.
They passed their first test on 6 October with a manual reentry exam, piloting the craft back to Earth safely in a simulation.
Thomas is the flight engineer, sitting on the left of commander Oleg and acting as co-pilot for launch and return.
On 13 October the trio will enact a rendezvous and docking with the Space Station in their simulator at Star City near Moscow.
These exams are as faithful to the real thing as possible – everything except the weightlessness, the Station and movement is recreated. The instructors invariably programme emergency scenarios into the mix to make sure the astronauts react accordingly and show they know their stuff.
Thomas Pesquet training in Soyuz simulator
After their second test, the trio have 10 days to prepare for the last stretch: in three days they must pass another rendezvous simulation and an exam on the Station’s Russian segment, ending with the final Soyuz qualification exam on 25 October.
That last exam will see them work through a complete launch and docking dressed in the Sokol suits they will wear in space. To begin, commander Oleg will choose an unmarked envelope that contains the emergency scenarios that will be played out – from a fire in the spacecraft to loss of pressure or problems with the docking mechanism.
Afterwards, Oleg, Peggy and Thomas will pay a traditional tribute to fallen cosmonauts at Moscow’s Red Square before heading to the launch site at Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
Thomas says, “These are exciting times and I am privileged to be working with the best instructors and crewmates who inspire confidence at every step of the journey. I cannot wait to be launched be into space with Oleg and Peggy.”
Mission Proxima Thomas’s Proxima mission includes more than 50 experiments for ESA and France’s CNES space agency, plus many more for Station partners. Read more about the experiments via the list on the left.
Thomas is keen on sharing his experience in the run up to launch and his adventure in space – follow him and the mission via thomaspesquet.esa.int and watch the launch live on the ESA website.
Semana Mundial del Ahorro en Perú
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Semana Mundial del Ahorro en Perú “No ahorres lo que te queda después de
gastar, gasta lo que te queda después de ahorrar”, éstas son palabras
sabias del g...
EL CUERPO DE CRISTO
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#lamentedeCristoelprimerdia
Ef 2: 19 Así que ya no sois extranjeros ni advenedizos, sino conciudadanos
de los santos, y miembros de la familia de Dios.
Fo...
