Aug 17 2010
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 10-058
NASA'S INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PROGRAM WINS COLLIER TROPHY
WASHINGTON - NASA's International Space Station Program has won the 2009 Collier Trophy, which is considered the top award in aviation. The National Aeronautic Association in Washington bestows the award annually to recognize the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America. The association says it selected the station for the design, development, and assembly of the of the world's largest spacecraft, an orbiting laboratory that promises new discoveries for mankind and sets new standards for international cooperation in space. "We are very proud to receive the Collier Trophy, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. This prestigious award is a testament to the dedication and hard work of thousands of people around the world. With our intention to extend station operations to at least 2020, there are limitless possibilities for science and technological breakthroughs. The station is a joint project of NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency. The orbiting laboratory is nearing completion and will mark the tenth anniversary of a continuous human presence in orbit later this year. "We're honored to be recognized for our past achievements for building and operating the space station, and we're excited about the future, said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate. There's a new era ahead of potential groundbreaking scientific research aboard the station. Congress designated the space station a national laboratory in 2005. The station provides a research platform that takes advantage of the microgravity conditions 220 miles above Earth's surface across a wide variety of fields. These include human life sciences, biological science, human physiology, physical and materials science, and Earth and space science. After completion of assembly later this year, the station's crew and its U.S., European, Japanese and Russian laboratory facilities will expand the pace of space-based research to unprecedented levels. Nearly 150 experiments are under way on the station. More than 400 experiments have been conducted since research began nine years ago. These experiments already are leading to advances in the fight against food poisoning, new methods for delivering medicine to cancer cells and the development of more capable engines and materials for use on Earth and in space. Supporting an international crew of six, the station has a mass of almost 800,000 pounds and a habitable volume of more than 12,000 cubic feet. It is approximately the size of a five-bedroom home. The station uses state-of-the-art systems to generate solar electricity, recycle nearly 85 percent of its water and generate much of its own oxygen. Nearly 190 people have visited the station, which is supporting its 22nd resident crew. The award will be formally presented to the International Space Station Program team on May 13. The trophy is named for Robert J. Collier, a publisher who commissioned it in 1910 with the intent to encourage the U.S. aviation community to strive for excellence and achievement in aeronautic development.
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RELEASE: 10-129
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EXPEDITION 23 CREW LANDS SAFELY
WASHINGTON -- Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi landed their Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft in Kazakhstan Tuesday, June 1, wrapping up a five-and-a-half-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Kotov, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft as it undocked at 8:04 p.m. EDT from the aft port on the station's Zvezda module. The crew landed at 11:25 p.m., east of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Russian recovery teams were on hand to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and adjust to gravity after 163 days in space. Kotov will return to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow. NASA astronaut Creamer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Noguchi will return to Houston on Wednesday. The trio launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec. 21, 2009. As members of the Expedition 22 and 23 crews, they spent 161 days on the station. They supported three space shuttle missions that delivered the U.S. Tranquility module and its cupola; put the finishing touches on U.S. laboratory research facilities; and attached the Russian Rassvet laboratory and storage module. Kotov has logged 360 total days in space on his two missions, and Creamer has 163 days. Noguchi, who also flew on the STS-114 shuttle mission, has compiled 177 days in space. The station is occupied by Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortskov, who took command at 5 p.m. Monday, NASA Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko, who arrived April 4. A new trio of Expedition 24 flight engineers, Douglas Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin, will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:35 p.m. on June 15 (3:35 a.m. June 16 in Baikonur). They will join the crew when hatches between their Soyuz and the station are opened at 8:34 p.m. on June 17 (2:34 a.m. June 18 in Moscow).
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RELEASE: 10-073
CREW LIFTS OFF FROM KAZAKHSTAN TO JOIN CREWMATES ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko safely launched to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on Friday. Liftoff occurred at 12:04 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The three Soyuz crew members are scheduled to dock with their new home at 1:26 a.m. Sunday. Aboard the orbiting laboratory they will join Oleg Kotov, a Russian cosmonaut and station commander, T.J. Creamer, a NASA astronaut and flight engineer, and Soichi Noguchi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and flight engineer. The expanded Expedition 23 crew will continue science investigations and support two space shuttle missions to the station. Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi launched to the station on Dec. 21, 2009. They are scheduled to return to Earth on June 2. Before their departure, Kotov will hand over command of the station to Skvortsov for Expedition 24. In June, NASA astronauts Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker, and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin will join Skvortsov, Caldwell Dyson and Kornienko in orbit to complete the Expedition 24 crew. On April 4, coverage of the docking of Skvortsov, Caldwell Dyson and Kornienko will begin on NASA Television at 1 a.m. NASA TV will return at 3 a.m. for coverage of the hatches opening and the welcoming ceremony between the two crews, which will take place at about 3:45 a.m. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv To follow Twitter updates from Expedition 23 crew members Creamer and Noguchi, visit: http://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts
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