Reaching #orbit means accelerating up to around 28,000kph (22 times the speed of sound). A five-gram #bolt hitting at #OrbitalSpeed packs as much #energy as a 200kg weight dropped from the top of an 18-storey building. The typical #radiation dose from one day in #space is equivalent to what you’d receive over an entire year back on #Earth https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/space-travel-exploration

#SpaceSuit testing leak 1965 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO8L9tKR4CY

What happens to the unprotected human body in #space ? https://www.cnet.com/culture/what-happens-to-the-unprotected-human-body-in-space

#NASA April 2020 #Micrometeoroids and #SpaceDebris will strike an #orbiting Station throughout its lifetime, as is evident on the #ISS, where several #solar arrays show #damage caused by micrometeoroids. The #hope is that the #meteoroids will not hit any #critical areas and cause #emergency #evacuation of the structure. Damage from meteoroids may include damage to #habitation modules.
#Welding is one of the best ways to create hermetic seals. The ability to #weld these structures without waiting for new equipment may limit the #risks to #astronauts in the event of damage.This ability for rapid #repair may also become more significant as orbiting Stations such as #Gateway move further from #Earth and the associated #cost of shipping parts increases. It is important to #develop these technologies now.

#NASA has recently funded work on #development of #spacewelding capabilities https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20200002259/downloads/20200002259.pdf

#SpaceX launches and landings, once bordering on #magic, have become #predictable, if not monotonous. “This is not #routine,” said Benjamin Reed, the senior director of #human #spaceflight programs at SpaceX. “When you are sending #people into space, you cannot err,” said William Gerstenmaier, the vice president of build and flight #reliability at SpaceX https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/29/science/spacex-launch-mission-control.html

Picture : Crew-1 Launch https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SpaceX_Crew-1_Launch_(NHQ202011150027).jpg

#NASA “We're not calling this a #rescue #Soyuz. No immediate need for the crew to come home. I'm calling it a replacement Soyuz.” Launch postponed until early March https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/space/roscosmos-delays-soyuz-ms-23-launch-until-early-march

Launch of #ISS #rescue mission that #NASA says is not a rescue mission https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2023/02/this-week-in-spaceflight-the-dont-call-it-a-rescue-mission-to-iss-and-more

The #WaPo also uses the bad "R"-Word "Since Roscosmos is now sending that spacecraft as a #RescueVehicle , the replacement crew won’t fly until September." https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/15/space-station-rescue-delayed/

#Micrometeroid protection : #Starship is made of 4mm stainless steel. The #ISS got so-called "Whipple shields". The future of #spacecraft #shielding could stem from ongoing research into “self-healing” shields, materials that #automatically #repair themselves after they’re hit https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-do-you-shield-astronauts-and-satellites-from-deadly-micrometeorites-3911799

#HumanSpaceflightSecurity

Pictures : #SpaceShuttle debris holes, #Satellite panel hit by #SpaceDebris https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_debris_impact_on_Space_Shuttle_window.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STS-118_debris_entry.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SMM_panel_hole.jpg

#Politico 11/02/2022 #SpaceRescue : Don’t count on being #rescued — by #NASA or the #SpaceForce, or even the company that built your private #spaceship.
#Seafaring explorers traditionally sailed with #additional #ships, #Apollo missions included #redundant capsules that proved crucial in #saving the #Apollo13 astronauts. #Skylab had #rescue #rockets and #spacecraft on #standby for in-#orbit #emergencies
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/02/space-rescue-service-astronauts-00064633

#SpaceRescueService #redundancy #Soyuz #ISS #international #cooperation

Picture : The #SpaceForce #rescue team . Based on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stephen_Colbert_and_Steve_Carell_MFF_2014.jpg For those who didn't get the joke : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Force_(TV_series)#Premise

#BBC #Columbia #SpaceShuttle Investigation https://youtu.be/2eTRaJGDe-8

'You know, there is nothing we can do about #damage to the TPS. If it has been damaged it’s probably better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don’t you think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on #orbit, knowing that there was nothing to be done, until the air ran out ?'”
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150130-what-caused-the-columbia-disaster

#Reuters Dec 28 #NASA is exploring whether #SpaceX's #CrewDragon #spacecraft can potentially offer an alternative* ride home for some crew members of the International #SpaceStation https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nasa-mulls-spacex-backup-plan-crew-russias-leaky-soyuz-ship-2022-12-28/

* potential #capacity : https://techhub.social/@spaceflight/109539681610450034

Picture : #CrewDragon interior https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_astronauts_work_aboard_the_SpaceX_Crew_Dragon_(iss064e004754).jpg

#ISS #spacewalk canceled as of #SpaceDebris
Debris Avoidance Maneuver Dec. 21 #trackingdata showed a close approach of a #fragment of #Russian Fregat-SB #upperstage #debris. It was #estimated that the debris could have passed less than a quarter of a mile from the station https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2022/12/21/space-station-maneuvers-to-avoid-debris-after-conjunction-postpones-spacewalk

Picture : Samantha #Cristoforetti outfitting the #European #robot arm 21 July 2022 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS-67_Spacewalker_Samantha_Cristoforetti_works_outside_the_Nauka_module.jpg

#Tiangong is fitted with the #Chinese #docking mechanism based on the #Russian APAS-89/APAS-95 system. #NASA is describing it as a "clone" to #APAS on the #ISS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiangong_space_station#Docking
Would be an #alternative to a #risky landing with a partly operational #Soyuz in case of an #emergency (#depressurization / #ammonia #contamination or similar) ?

Wonder whether #GatewaySpaceport's #Hatship #pod got a docking mechanism which fits (both) ? https://gatewayspaceport.com/pod-2

Picture : APAS-95 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STS-131_flight_day_two_Discovery%27s_RMS_and_OBSS.jpg