Duncan Steel • Mar 04, 2019 •
As I write, the Dragon capsule – a spacecraft intended to loft US astronauts into orbit – has been docked with the Space Station for almost 18 hours on its initial test flight. It happens that you will be able to see the station plus capsule passing over New Zealand each evening for the next week or so, before the … Read More
Duncan Steel • Feb 22, 2019 •
The International Space Station (and many other satellites) can easily be viewed passing overhead using the naked eye, so long as you know when to look, and where. But why can we see it, and how does it return so often? In a blog post a few days ago I presented tables of times when the International Space Station (ISS … Read More
Duncan Steel • Feb 19, 2019 •
It’s easy to see the International Space Station passing overhead: you just need to know when and where to look. Oh, and a clear sky. The International Space Station (ISS) regularly passes across New Zealand, a little more than 400 km above our heads – rather less than the distance between Auckland and Wellington. Most of these transits … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 29, 2016 •
Ivy Shih, The Conversation Some species of bacteria have made themselves right at home in space, with one species, Bacillus safensis, found to thrive more in the microgravity of the International Space Station than here on Earth. The study was a product of Project MECCURI, a citizen science project where members of the public and microbiologists collected … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 03, 2016 •
Kathryn Harriss, University of Kent Would you like to spend a year gazing down from the International Space Station? Before you pack your bag, you should think about what actually might happen to you in microgravity, away from the protection of the atmosphere and magnetosphere. Thanks to two astronauts who’ve recently landed back on Earth, we’ll now be … Read More
Ken Perrott • Apr 16, 2013 •
Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) tweeted the above picture today from the International Space Station. As he wrote – “A somber Spring night in Boston.” Boston Marathon bombings I think it demonstrates the sort of high-tech world we now live in – … Continue reading → … Read More
Ken Perrott • Jul 22, 2011 •
This is a time exposure taken from the International Space Station (ISS). It shows the plasma trail of Atlantis as it travelled through the atmosphere on its final return from orbit. Thanks to NASA – Station Crew Views Shuttle Landing. Read More
Aimee Whitcroft • May 04, 2011 •
There’s nothing better than a spot of spacepr0n (well more accurately, shuttlepr0n) on a Wednesday morning. And so, let me present an absolutely fantastic video showing the 2010launch of STS-131, the 33rd mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It delivered science racks to be used in the labs onboard the … Read More
Ken Perrott • Apr 05, 2011 •
US Astronaut, Ron Garan, is spending today travelling on board a Russian Soyuz vehicle up to the Inernational Space Station for a 5 ½ month stint. He finished his last post at his blog, FRAGILE OASIS, before the launch with … Continue reading → … Read More
Ken Perrott • Jan 07, 2011 •
There’s been a few eclipses lately. Here’s some photos showing a different perspective of eclipses. This one was one of 1999 August 11 solar eclipse was one of the last ever taken from the Mir space station. The two bright … Continue reading → … Read More