 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Space-Based Words Come Down To Earth For U.S. Reps
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 14, 2005 The House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics chaired by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) will hear testimony from Astronaut John Phillips on Tuesday as he orbits the Earth at a speed of five miles a second. It is a first for the Congressional representatives, and for Phillips. Phillips and Commander Sergei Krikalev, a cosmonaut, are the 11th crew of the International Space Station (ISS). They are about a third of the way through their six-month mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, which has had crewmembers aboard continuously for almost five years, since Nov. 2, 2000. Phillips' testimony will take a while to reach the lawmakers. He is 220 statute miles above the Earth, but his radio transmissions will be routed to a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) in geostationary orbit at an altitude of about 22,300 miles. From that TDRS, one of five NASA uses routinely which are in orbits that keep them above the same spot on the Earth's surface, Phillips' testimony will be sent to a ground station in New Mexico and then, by more conventional means, to the hearing room in Washington. The process results in a delay of a few seconds in transmissions to and from the Station. Two other astronauts, Peggy Whitson, who served on the Station from June 7 to Nov. 25, 2002, as a member of its fifth crew, and Mike Fincke, a member of the ninth Station crew from April 21 to Oct. 23, 2004, will testify in person before the subcommittee. A total of 108 individuals have visited the Station since December 1998. The ISS is a unique test bed for research and technology that will enable human exploration and benefit us on Earth.
Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com
NASA Had No Choice But To Buy Soyuz Flights
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 09, 2006NASA's announcement last week that it will pay Roskosmos $43.6 million for a round-trip ride to the International Space Station this spring, and an equivalent figure for an as-yet-undetermined number of future flights to the station until 2012, represents the agency's acknowledgment that it had no alternative. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
