ISS partners agree to expand station crews
Posted: Sat, Jul 24, 2004, 2:55 PM ET (1855 GMT)
Representatives of the five major International Space Station (ISS) partners agreed Friday on a plan that would allow the station to host crews as large as six people by the end of the decade. At meeting in the Netherlands, the ISS partners agreed to a new assembly plan for the station that will, among other things, provide "early opportunities for an enhanced crew of greater than three people." Reports suggested that this would permit a crew of up to six to stay on the station, although Reuters reported the crew could be as small as four; the ISS hosted three-person crews prior to the Columbia accident last year. The expanded crew would also require additional Soyuz spacecraft to serve as lifeboats, which may require NASA to purchase them, something not permitted today by US law. Once the shuttle returns to flight, it will be focused on completing the assembly of the station, with crew rotations to continue to be performed by Soyuz spacecraft. NASA will also look into ways to accelerate the launch of the Kibo and Columbus laboratory modules for Japan and Europe, respectively.
Representatives of the five major International Space Station (ISS) partners agreed Friday on a plan that would allow the station to host crews as large as six people by the end of the decade. At meeting in the Netherlands, the ISS partners agreed to a new assembly plan for the station that will, among other things, provide "early opportunities for an enhanced crew of greater than three people." Reports suggested that this would permit a crew of up to six to stay on the station, although Reuters reported the crew could be as small as four; the ISS hosted three-person crews prior to the Columbia accident last year. The expanded crew would also require additional Soyuz spacecraft to serve as lifeboats, which may require NASA to purchase them, something not permitted today by US law. Once the shuttle returns to flight, it will be focused on completing the assembly of the station, with crew rotations to continue to be performed by Soyuz spacecraft. NASA will also look into ways to accelerate the launch of the Kibo and Columbus laboratory modules for Japan and Europe, respectively.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Vast signs contract with SpaceX for ISS private astronaut missions
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT) Avio signs ESA contracts for Vega upgrades and Earth science satellite launch
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:57 AM ET (1657 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, December 23
Isro to launch 24 experiments to space with PSLV Spadex mission
India Today — 7:16 am ET (1216 GMT) Experimental payloads developed by Karnataka-based academia and start-ups to be launched in ISRO upcoming mission
The Hindu — 7:15 am ET (1215 GMT) ISRO to conduct experiments on growing plants in space
The Tribune (India) — 7:15 am ET (1215 GMT) Isro PSLV-C60 Spadex mission: When will it launch and how to watch it
India Today — 7:13 am ET (1213 GMT) NASA probe to fly closer to the Sun than ever before
Axios — 7:12 am ET (1212 GMT) |
