The SpaceX Dragon capsule that just left Earth for the International Space Station is carrying many an important item: a new laser communication system, coffee (which they just ran out of!), a planter for fresh produce, and billions and billions of microbes swabbed from dinosaur bones, sneakers, and spacecraft clean rooms. Over the next few days, we’ll find out how well these bacteria grow in space.
This is what America’s most famous pit—the Grand Canyon—looks like from the International Space Station. A winding craggy oasis in the middle of the desert. [NASA]
It’s no subspace transceiver but this prototype communicator bound for the ISS could revolutionize how we share data over the vast expanses of solar space. It will deliver Gigabit speeds through deep space.
NASA has announced that it is set to send the OPALS – or Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science – device to the ISS. What that means is that NASA is sending a laser up to the ISS that can be used to send messages including HD video back to the Earth with more bandwidth and speed than conventional methods. This is a big deal since the amount of data being sent back to Earth is growing constantly.
The OPALS device will be able to send data, including video, to Earth in the form of laser transmissions and is likened to upgrading from dial-up to cable at your home. The conventional method used to send data back from the ISS has about 200 to 400 Kbps of bandwidth. The lasercom device will be able to provide up to 50 Mbps of speed.
NASA says that in the future a similar deep space laser device will be able to support transmissions from Mars at up to 1 Gbps. The laser will head to the ISS this week aboard the SpaceX Dragon resupply cargo ship – assuming that the rocket overcomes its current launch delay.
Robonaut 2 is a robot living aboard the International Space Station with its many scientists, taking on tasks that allow the crew to do more scientific research while it does … Continue reading
NASA is getting ready to conduct its first optical communications experiment aboard the ISS orbiting the Earth. The experiment is called the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science or OPALS. The … Continue reading
In an internal memo, NASA has stated that it will suspend all interaction with the Russian government, in response to Russia’s violations of Ukraine’s territorial independence. Fortunately for U.S. astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson, both currently orbiting on the International Space Station, the two agencies will still cooperate to transport supplies and personnel to and from the ISS.
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The European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle Georges Lemaître will soon deliver over 2,600 kg of dry cargo to the International Space Station—and even packing it looks kinda fun.
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Anyone dreaming of casting off the shackles of Earth
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Yesterday afternoon’s Soyuz launch
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