International Space Station (Updates)

[Arachno 1D]

Who is the statue they are laying flowers too?

[DocM]

A monument dedicated to Yuri Gagarin.

[flyingskippy]

Here is an article on all Russian pre-launch rituals. It's pretty interesting.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/1/8324707/astronauts-blessing-nasa-space-baikonur

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Here is an article on all Russian pre-launch rituals. It's pretty interesting.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/1/8324707/astronauts-blessing-nasa-space-baikonur

Excellent article..........rituals/traditions, IMHO...mean a lot.....keeping in sync with "karma and the flight gods" 

 

A very long time ago, as a greenhorn on the flightline....a master technologist gave me one of his "secrets" to fault finding.........touch the equipment and get a feel for it, listen intently....feel what is wrong, and use this method along with normal fault finding procedures and it will serve you well. Many scoffed at it............Myself, 40 years later, I still use this method, and am still grateful for learning it.....Cheers...

[Draggendrop Veteran]

At the NASA ISS Conference in Boston, a lot of station "users" stated that they require more info on station lifespan for large investments......

 

 

 

BOSTON

[Draggendrop Veteran]

NASA ISS On Orbit Status for 9th July 2015

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-9-july-2015.html

 

 

 

The International Space Station will get an orbital boost tonight to get ready for upcoming Soyuz crew missions. On the ground, three new crew members are preparing for their Friday departure to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The orbiting Expedition 44 trio, with Commander Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko, is looking forward to expanding to three new crew members. Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui will take a six-hour ride July 22 in the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft for a five month stay in space.

On the station, Kelly is getting Japan's Kibo airlock ready for next week's deployment of 16 Cubesats over four days. Kornienko continued moving supplies from the new ISS Progress 60 space freighter. Padalka worked on the Vozdukh, a Russian carbon dioxide removal system, the Zvezda service module. All the crew members then practiced emergency evacuation procedures.

 

 

On-Board Training (OBT) ISS Emergency Response: This training session was performed by both the ground and crew to practice ISS Emergency response based on information provided by a simulator. During the exercise the crew practiced required actions during a depress event, ammonia event and US and Russian segment fire events. Following the training the crew and ground teams had a conference to discuss questions and comments.

 

 

ISS Reboost: A planned reboost is scheduled at 9:54 pm CDT tonight using 58P thrusters. Delta V will be 1.22 m/s and burn duration is estimated to be 10 minutes and 57 seconds. The reboost will set up phasing for 43S docking and dynamic operations for future visiting vehicles.

 

 

 

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

JEMAL depress [Deferred]
OASIS video
Emergency OBT ops
Lab CDRA Activation
Lab TCCS Activation
N3 TCCS Deactivation
N3 CDRA Deactivation [Planned]
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Friday, 07/10: NRCSD Prep, N3 CDRA leak check
Saturday 07/11: Crew off duty, housekeeping
Sunday, 07/12: Crew off duty
QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[???] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[???] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Warmup
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Off

Cheers......

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Warning...goofy post.....

 

A few posts ago, NASA named the four astronauts that will be involved in commercial crew for the ISS. The vessels will be Boeing's CST-100 and SpaceX's Dragon V2. Boeing and SpaceX will also have their own astronaut/pilots. On page 5 of this thread, DocM had mentioned the requirement that the suits would be pressurized.

During the NASA ISS R&D conference, that just wrapped up in Boston, a "fireside" chat with Elon Musk covered many subjects, but a quick question about space suits came up. He said..without divulging too much...that the suits, to look really cool, would not be functional and a compromise must be met, which brought a few laughs...He stated that a suit should look great to a point where someone would say "I want to wear one of those", to inspire space travel. I have a feeling that the suit they choose will be neat. DocM showed a picture of a prototype suit by Orbital Outfitters, called the IS3...

 

 

Just for fun, I thought I would throw around some unique SciFi suits used on movies and TV series...I eliminated the ones that looked like beekeepers, metal water buckets, lampshades and ones that show cleavage...for a clean post....   

 

Prometheus 2012

Armageddon drilling suits

Mission to Mars, 2000

Red Planet, 2000

Star Trek Enterprise, TV series

Stargate episode....

The Martian...new movie, from trailer..

 

Cheers.....   

 

Edit...forgot to show the collar detail on the Prometheus suit......

 

[DocM]

And then there's the MIT BioSuit, developed by Prof. Dava Newman. Rather than using pressurized air BioSuit uses mechanical pressure in the form of skin-hugging inner layers. Prof. Newman is now the Deputy Director of NASA.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

40 years ago this month......was the defining moment that began the progression to what the ISS is today.

 

On the 17th of July, 1975...the docking of the Apollo- Soyuz Test Project, ASTP.....The first time for a co-operative venture that included a storied group of astronauts and voice communication to the project from both presidents.

 

In January 1973, two years before launch, the two crews were identified. Aboard the Soviet Soyuz 19 would be Alexei Leonov

[Draggendrop Veteran]

What's Up....edition  *.0

 

GPS 2F-10 going up on Wednesday, 15 July, 2015

 

 

CAPE CANAVERAL

[Draggendrop Veteran]

NASA ISS On Orbit Status for 13 July, 2015

 

 

On board the International Space Station, One-Year crew member Scott Kelly set up the Japanese Kibo airlock for Cubesat deployments this week. Kelly also explored fluid physics for the Capillary Beverage study. Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko studied liquid crystals and observed chemical reactions in the Earth's upper atmosphere.

 

 

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA): Sunday 12-July-2015 the Remote Power Controller (RPC) that powers the Lab CDRA valves tripped due to an overcurrent event, this signature has been seen past several times. Several RPC reclosure attempts have been performed followed by additional overcurrent trips. At the time of this report the RPC has been closed for two hours. Earlier today, the Node 3 (N3) CDRA Air Selector Valve (ASV) 104 faulted out when it failed to reach position B. Ground controllers performed multiple troubleshooting steps, but were unsuccessful in getting the valve to reach position B. The next step is to leave the RPC open overnight to allow the CDRA to cool down and cycle the valve again tomorrow. If ASV 104 cannot be recovered, it will likely need to be replaced. The Vozdukh is operating as the primary means for scrubbing CO2 and is operating nominally. Onboard ppCO2 is currently at 2.2 mmHg.

 

 

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Tuesday, 07/14: Radi-N, NanoRacks #3 comm troubleshooting, Pilot, Sprint setup
Wednesday, 07/15: Sprint ops, VEG-01 plant thinning, JEM mesh cover-return grille cleaning, SSC loading prep for 43S crew
Thursday, 07/16: JEMRMS/CubeSat activities, SPHERES Slosh review, N3 CDRA leak check
QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[???] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[???] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Override
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

For further activities, please see link...

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-13-july-2015.html

 

40th Anniversary of Apollo Soyuz Test Program (ASTP)

A few posts prior, a bit was covered on this event.......

 

But by the mid-70s things had changed. The U.S. had "won" the race to the Moon, with six Apollo landings between 1969 and 1972. Both nations had launched space stations, the Russian Salyut and American Skylab. With the Space Shuttle still a few years off and the diplomatic chill thawing, the time was right for a joint mission.

 http://spaceref.com/missions-and-programs/nasa/history-remembered-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-flight-of-apollo-soyuz.html

Here is the video.....Please put your 70's "cheesey filter" on.......good video.....

 

Misc Fun Stuff.....

 

NASA MARS TREK...

Today, NASA released it's interactive Mars Trek...A compilation "engine" for 2D and 3D viewing of the Martian surface...multilayered information which is selective......this is neat.......

http://marstrek.jpl.nasa.gov/

 

SciFi Fans.....something new.....crowdsourced movie......Star Trek Axanar.....Normally, these trekky video's can be a bit much....BUT....this is going to be a four part movie and got my curiosity...and Space.com's as well......

http://www.space.com/29902-star-trak-axanar-fan-film-funding.html 

 

 

"For you, the 'Star Trek' fan, Axanar is a return to the type of 'Star Trek' we all grew up on, with a hopeful future where mankind works with other races to explore the stars, via storytelling that is positive and teaches us about ourselves," the new Indiegogo page for the film stated.

The story follows the exploits of Garth of Izar, a Starfleet captain mentioned in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "Whom Gods Destroy." The adventures of Garth take place about 21 years before Captain James T. Kirk's first "Star Trek" episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before."

 

Shooting is expected to start in November, with a tentative release date set for spring or summer 2016. Major stars in the film include Richard Hatch, Kate Vernon (both of "Battlestar: Galactica"), Gary Graham ("Star Trek: Enterprise") and Tony Todd ("Candyman", "Chuck", "24").

 

This trailer is good.....This movie could be real good...can't wait now.....

Cheers....

[Arachno 1D]

 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/PlutoFlyby?src=hash

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

NASA ISS On Orbit Status for 14 July 2015

 

 

NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) Operations: Overnight there was an issue with a NRCSD deploy. Ground teams sent the command but only one door opened. Later during a night pass it was discovered that the CubeSat had deployed. Ground teams met and agreed to go forward with an additional deploy which was completed successfully. So far 8 of 16 Cubesats have been deployed. The complement consists of 14 Planet Lab Doves, 1 Arkyd-3 and 1 Centennial-1 satellite.

 

 

 

Node 3 (N3) CDRA: Today, ground controllers successfully commanded the N3 CDRA Air Selector Valve (ASV) 104 to position B. N3 CDRA was activated and is currently operational. Ground teams will continue to monitor ASV 104 performance and if necessary, a Removal & Replacement (R&R) will be planned later this week. Vozdukh was commanded to Mode 4 to assist with ppCO2 level management.
Lab CDRA: Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) LAD62B-A Remote Power Controller (RPC) 12, which powers the Lab CDRA valves, continues to experience overcurrent trips. Yesterday, the RPC stayed closed for over 7 hours before it tripped. Ground controllers are reviewing the data on the most recent trips prior to attempting to reclose the RPC. An R&R of the RPCM is being considered for next week to rule out the RPCM as the source of overcurrent trips.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-14-july-2015.html

Various other activities at the link...

 

 

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Wednesday, 07/15: Sprint ops, VEG-01 plant thinning, JEM mesh cover-return grille cleaning, SSC 20 and 23 loading prep for 43S crew
Thursday, 07/16: JEMRMS/CubeSat activities, SPHERES Slosh review, N3 CDRA leak check
Friday, 07/17: SPHERES Slosh run
QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[???] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[???] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

 

Video of ISS Polar freezer mobile units...

 

Video congrats for New Horizons from the ISS...

 

Planet Labs buying up 2 constellations...

 

 

WASHINGTON

[TrevorLahey]

Debris from old Russian satellite forced ISS crew into contingency ops

 

 

Life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has returned to normal after a late conjunction threat forced the Station

[Draggendrop Veteran]

ISS Monthly Research Report for June 2015

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/international-space-station-monthly-research-report-for-june-2015.html

 

NASA ISS Weekly Report 17 July, 2015

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---17-july-2015.html

 

NASA ISS On Orbit Status for 16 July, 2015

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-16-july-2015.html

On July 15, 2015 aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 44 crew members Scott Kelly of NASA (left), Expedition Commander and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (middle), and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (right) commemorated the 40th anniversary of the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission. Credit: NASA.

 

 

 

The Expedition 44 crew is back at work after taking precautions as a piece of orbital debris safely passed the International Space Station this morning. Meanwhile, three new crew members are conducting final preparations before next week's launch to the orbital laboratory.

Mission Control in Houston tracked a fragment of an old weather satellite and predicted a possible conjunction with the station at 8:01 a.m. EDT. Flight Director Ed Van Cise then ordered Commander Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko to take shelter in their docked Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft as a precaution. After a safe pass, the crew then went back to work resuming normal station operations.

Back on Earth, three new Expedition 44 crew members from the U.S., Russia and Japan are counting down to their July 22 launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft. The trio consisting of Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final prelaunch activities while engineers inspect their Soyuz vehicle before next week's roll out to the launch pad.

 

 

NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) Operations: The final 4 CubeSats were successfully deployed overnight. Kelly coordinated with ground teams who used the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) to return the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) containing the NRCSD #5 to the JEMAL slide table. The slide table was retracted, bringing the MPEP inside the JEMAL. Kelly will configure the JEMAL and monitor NRCSDs in preparation for A/L depress next week.

 

 

Node 3 Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA): Due to the crew shelter in place, N3 CDRA maintenance scheduled for today has been postponed to Monday 7/20/15. This includes the Air Selector Valve (ASV) 104 removal and replacement (R&R) and N3 CDRA leak check. The Lab CDRA is currently operating, and as of this writing ppCO2 is 1.6 mmHg.

 

 

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Friday, 07/17: SPHERES Slosh run
Saturday, 07/18: Crew off duty, housekeeping
Sunday, 07/19: Crew off duty
QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[???] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[???] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Off

 

Russia Begins Major Space Division Amalgamations.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_Starts_Implementation_of_Fundamental_Space_Industry_Reform_999.html

 

 

Russia is starting to implement comprehensive reforms to its space industry, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday. The establishment of two large holdings, specialized in engine building and instrument-making has already been planned, Rogozin said.

"We are effectively commencing the implementation of a fundamental reform of the space industry. We now need to undertake several top-priority measures. Firstly, establishing authorities to manage the state corporation, namely the Supervisory Board."

The announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a package of draft laws on the issue on Monday.

The sweeping reforms were initiated in 2013. As part of the industry's modernization program, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos will be merged with the United Rocket and Space Corporation formed by the Russian government in 2013 - to create the Roscosmos State Corporation, thus consolidating all the enterprises active in the industry.

 

Cheers.......

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Planetary Resources Launches It's First Orbital Test Satellite From ISS

A3R and Centennial-1 (the shorter cubesat) deploy from the NanoRacks dispenser aboard ISS. Credit: NASA

 

 

SpaceX

[Draggendrop Veteran]

ISS Astronauts Prepare to Eat Their Experiment......

 

 

 

Today

[Draggendrop Veteran]

This will be an off beat space related post.....

 

In the last few posts, the Apollo Soyuz Test Program (ASTP) has been covered a bit for the 40th anniversary of that great achievement. I was wandering through some space related articles and came across this.....an article by a former Nasa astronaut, Ron Garan, on what the ASTP meant to him. I really enjoyed the article and will quote a few snippets, but, imho,  it is worth a read....

The author...

 

 

SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: Ron Garan completed his first spaceflight in 2008 on STS 124 as Mission Specialist 2 (Flight Engineer) for ascent and entry. STS-124 Discovery (May 31 to June 14, 2008) was the 123rd space shuttle flight and the 26th shuttle flight to the International Space Station . STS-124 launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and docked with the space station on June 2, 2008, to deliver the Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS). STS-124 shuttle astronauts delivered the 37-foot (11-meter) Kibo lab and added its rooftop storage room, and Garan accumulated 20 hours and 32 minutes of EVA in three spacewalks required to maintain the station and prime the new Japanese module

[Draggendrop Veteran]

20th of July, 1969......needs no introduction......46 years ago......

For this post, I thought I would throw up some items that are a little different....

 

This is the Apollo 11 launch, with a twist. Slowed down footage to show the raw power of a Saturn V...awesome...

 

Apollo 11 launch with data stream...

 

The footage that captivated many....

 

Now for some "different" photo's...,

A technician works atop the white room, through which the astronauts will enter the spacecraft, on July 11, 1969. (NASA)

 

Aerial view of the Saturn V rocket rollout for the Apollo 11 mission on May 20, 1969. (NASA)

 

Launch of Apollo 11, on July 16, 1969. Fully fueled for liftoff, the Saturn V weighed 2.8 million kilograms (6.2 million pounds)

[Draggendrop Veteran]

continued.....

 

LM from CM window after undocking

 

Armstrong's first photo after setting foot on the moon

 

Armstrong's shadow selfie...

 

Aldrin's boot during soil mechanics test a.k.a. how the most iconic photo of the Moon landing was made

 

Plaque on the lander

 

Pickup

 

First and last: Armstrong, left, the first man on the moon, is seen with Eugene Cernan, the last man to stand on the lunar surface

 

Credits for last 2 posts are NASA and

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2194513/Neil-Armstrong-Rarely-seen-photos-capture-late-astronauts-epic-moon-mission.html

http://www.rsvlts.com/2014/07/15/apollo-11-photos/

http://www.rsvlts.com/2014/07/15/apollo-11-photos/

 

There are not a lot of Armstrong photographs since he had the camera most of the time recording the mission.

 

Hope you liked the shots...Cheers......   

[Draggendrop Veteran]

NASA ISS On Orbit Status for 17 July, 2015

 

 

 

Today: Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Slosh: Kelly configured two SPHERES satellites and coordinated with ground controllers to observe the dominance of fluid forces during higher accelerations.

The investigation uses small robotic satellites to examine how liquids move inside containers in microgravity. A water bottle's contents slosh around differently in space than on Earth, but the physics of liquid motion in microgravity are not well understood which affects computer simulations of liquid rocket fuel behavior. University undergraduate and graduate students control the SPHERES to study how liquids behave inside containers in space, which increases the safety and efficiency of future rockets.

 

 

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Saturday, 07/18: Crew off duty, housekeeping
Sunday, 07/19: Crew off duty
Monday, 07/20: N3 CDRA ASV R&R/leack check, EVA battery maintenance, CSA CP battery build
QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[???] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[???] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Off

For more info.....

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-17-july-2015.html

 

 

TMA-17M crew set for Wednesday (5:02 pm EDT) / Thursday (3:02 am local)

 

Expedition 44 backup crew members Timothy Kopra of NASA, left; Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), center; and Timothy Peake of the European Space Agency (ESA), right, take photos as the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft is rolled to the launch pad by train on Monday, July 20, 2015 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for July 23 and will carry Expedition 44 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren of NASA, and Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) into orbit to begin their five month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani).

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-17-july-2015.html

 

Soyuz TMA-17M Commander Oleg Kononenko (center) will be embarking on his third long-duration voyage to the International Space Station (ISS). By contrast, Flight Engineer-1 Kimiya Yui (right) and Flight Engineer-2 Kjell Lindgren are making their first flights. Photo Credit: NASA

 

With liftoff targeted for 3:02 a.m. local time on Thursday, 23 July (5:02 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, 22 July), Launch Day promises to be a long one for the prime and backup crews. They will be awakened about 8.5 hours before T-0. They will shower and be disinfected, after which microbial samples will be taken in support of the scientific and biomedical investigations to be undertaken in orbit. Breakfast will be followed by departure from Baikonur

[Blue-Vision]

Awesome, DD.

 

I'm late to the party, but ... this is the one I personally like the best:

 

 

Really gives ya an inside look at what goes on when you get past the "public face" of NASA during a launch and can get right down to the nitty-gritty business of getting hardware uphill.

 

Cheers, all.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Excellent perspective...I saw the length at 22 minutes..........got a bag of cheezies, killed the lights and cranked up the headphone volume.....and watched the whole thing.......... I turned on the lights when done.........I ate half a (family size) bag of cheezies while listening to the comms.........that was fun!.....

[Blue-Vision]

I get lost in time listening to it. I swear, I was one of those people working there at JSC/Mission Control in a past life. I can almost remember the smell of the cigarette smoke, the ambition and the raw intellect of the place. It's just that familiar to me, and I can't explain why. That whole time period, the 50's, 60's and on to the late 70's I feel like I actually was there, working for NASA and then for one of the various Contractor Companies later on.

 

It's crazy .. I wasn't born until 1973, but I remember being in the 50's and 60's. I can tell you things that were going on, feelings, attitudes, everything. Strange, isn't it? And I don't believe in the whole "past lives" thing.

 

Bleh. That's a topic for the "It's A Conspiracy!" thread. 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

As a youngster, watching this event on a black and white TV, listening to everything....the world stood still.......and the lunar landing, well, next stop was Saturn and Jupiter and........ooops, shook my head and I'm back. It is astounding what the US and Russia had done in this era......but a new era is now unfolding...and it is exciting again....Cheers....