http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200808/20080825347061.html
美俄關係冷淡 美航太總署太空計畫將受影響 
法新社╱簡長盛 2008-08-25 10:35     
 
 
（法新社華盛頓二十四日電）美國專家說，因俄羅斯軍事入侵喬治亞而轉趨冷淡的美國和俄羅斯之間關係，可能會對未來美國使用國際太空站造成問題。

美國國家航空暨太空總署在二零一零年目前的太空梭機隊退役後，將依賴俄羅斯的聯合號太空船飛行到國際太空站。長久以來，航太總署都是利用美國自己的太空梭運送人員到國際太空站。

航太總署最快要到二零一五年，下一代太空載具「獵戶座」才能開始飛行。「獵戶座」太空載具計劃用來恢復登月任務。

這種新冷戰的可能性將影響需要前往國際太空站的美國太空人。美國和俄羅斯之間可能爆發新冷戰是因為兩星期前，俄羅斯為了南歐希夏的爭執問題，以其強大的軍事力量侵入喬治亞的許多地方。

美國「戰略暨國際研究中心」載人太空探險專家沙巴席爾說：「假如最近俄羅斯的行動有任何指標意義，那就是，為了地緣政治目的，以技術為藉口全面封殺美國使用國際太空站，這將是很適合克里姆林宮使用的工具之一。」

沙巴席爾說，不只是短暫的喬治亞戰爭，而且美國決心在波蘭和捷克設置飛彈防禦系統也是對美、俄關係的一項嚴重傷害。俄羅斯稱美國的飛彈防禦系統對俄羅斯軍方是一項威脅。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080824/sc_afp/usrussiaspaceisspolitics_080824190215;_ylt=AkbVW.iA2nplxUYyd52kCJbPOrgF
US-Russia chill threatens NASA space program

by Jean-Louis Santini
Sun Aug 24, 3:02 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The chill left on US-Russian relations by Moscow's military incursion into Georgia could spell problems for future US access to the International Space Station, US experts said.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will become dependent on flights to the ISS by Russia's Soyuz spacecraft when it retires the shuttle fleet that has long ferried US astronauts into space in 2010.

NASA will only get its successor space vehicle, Orion, planned for a revival of trips to the moon, ready for flight in 2015 at the earliest.

That leaves the needs of US astronauts visiting the ISS vulnerable to the possibility of a new Cold War between Washington and Moscow after Russia's powerful military overran much of Georgia two weeks ago in the dispute over South Ossetia.

"If recent Russian actions are any indicator, a technical excuse to completely block US access to the ISS for geopolitical reasons would fit nicely into the Kremlin toolkit," Vincent Sabathier, an expert on human space exploration at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told AFP.

Sabathier noted that not only was the short Georgia war a serious thorn in relations, but also the US determination to set up in Poland and the Czech Republic its missile defense system, which Russia calls a threat to its military.

"Almost immediately after the Czech Republic signed an agreement with the US to place missile defense tracking radar in its territory, oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to the central European country were reduced to a trickle... ostensibly for technical reasons," Sabathier said.

The end of the three-decade-old shuttle program leaves NASA with at least a five-year hole on which it will have to pay Russia's space agency to deliver and retrieve US astronauts and cargo to the ISS.

That depends as well on the US Congress voting an exemption to a 2000 law that bans US government agencies from opening contracts with countries like Russia that are considered aiding Iran and North Korea, which the US has labelled supporters of terrorism.

Even before the Georgia fighting erupted on August 8 there was opposition in the Congress to such an exemption, and now that has likely increased, according to Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.

"In an election year, it was going to be very difficult to get that waiver to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to an increasingly aggressive Russia," Nelson said.

"Now, I'd say it's almost impossible."

Nelson, who supports allowing NASA to contract the Soyuz, said that without the exemption the US could find itself in 2011 with no access to the 100-billion-dollar space station -- largely paid for by the United States.

Because the ISS needs someone aboard all the time to keep it going, the situation, Nelson said, would mean leaving the station to "degrade and burn up on rentry, or with us ceding it to those who can get there."

NASA's chief Michael Griffin told AFP just days before the Georgia conflict erupted that it was a "great concern" that something could happen to make Soyuz unavailable.

"If anything at all in that five years period goes wrong with the Russian Soyuz, then we have no system to access the space station."

But after the Russia invasion of Georgia, NASA downplayed the political risk, saying it has a long history of cooperation with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200807/20080718628500.html
五國太空總署討論延長國際太空站使用期限
法新社╱盧瑞珠 2008-07-18 09:20     
 
 
（法新社巴黎十七日電）五個合建國際太空站的太空總署負責人今天聚集巴黎，討論如何解決逐漸浮現的國際太空站運輸問題，同時對於延長這個太空站的使用年限到二零一五年之後表達正面看法。

國際太空站預定在二零一零年全部建設完成，屆時必須再進行一次美國太空梭運輸任務，搭載替代的人員和貨物。不過，美國太空梭預定於二零一零年停飛。

美國預計在二零一五年左右，以一種火箭太空船系統Aries-Orion，取代太空梭開始運作。

俄羅斯太空總署署長貝米諾夫告訴記者，美、俄兩國將討論如何利用蘇聯時代建造的聯合號太空船（Soyuz），在二零一一年到二零一四年間，加強運送太空人往返國際太空站任務。

他在歐洲太空總署總部舉行的記者會上指出：「至少在今年底或明年初，整個合作計畫就會呈現出來。」

各國太空總署主管考慮以太空梭取代太空船運輸的都是商業活動，例如日本將在明年首次由H-2火箭發射H-II運輸飛船升空；俄羅斯的補給太空船「進步號」和歐洲太空總署的運輸太空船也會在明年三月自動停靠在國際太空站。

國際太空站建設工作始於一九九八年，預計在二零一零年全部完工。中間歷經哥倫比亞太空梭爆炸和經費透支等事情，造成進度嚴重落後。

美國負擔最多的建設經費，其他四個參與建設的夥伴包括俄羅斯、歐洲太空總署、日本和加拿大。

美國航空暨太空總署署長葛里芬在記者會中表示，國際太空站預計到建設完成時將花費一千億美元，當整套設備的正式營運期限到期時，參與興建的各國太空總署不太可能願意放棄這項投資。

他說：「我相信屆時各國夥伴會各自向政府要求，延長這個太空站的使用期限到二零一五年之後。我個人認為只要這個太空站有效能，就會一直使用下去。」 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080717/sc_afp/spaceiss_080717175350;_ylt=AhM0KlwssMbsgSzzy_ZTtRHPOrgF
Space chiefs ponder ISS transport problem, post-2015 future

Thu Jul 17, 1:53 PM ET

PARIS (AFP) - The heads of five agencies building the International Space Station staged talks here Thursday on tackling a looming transport problem for the ISS and gave positive signals for extending the orbital outpost's life beyond 2015.
 
The ISS will need extra transport for crew and freight to substitute for the US space shuttle, scheduled to be retired in 2010 when the ISS is completed.

A US replacement for the shuttle, a rocket-and-capsule system called Aries-Orion, is due to be operational around 2015.

The head of the Russian Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, told reporters that the United States and Russia will hold talks on beefing up flights by the Soviet-era workhorse, Soyuz, to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS between 2011 and 2014.

"By the end of this year or by the beginning of next year at the latest, the whole rationale for our cooperation will be laid out," Perminov told a press conference at European Space Agency (ESA) headquarters.

Possible shuttle substitutes for freight, mulled by the agency chiefs, are commercial operators as well as Japan's unmanned cargo ship, the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), due to be launched for the first time next year by its H-2 rocket, the Russian supply vessel Progress, and ESA's own cargo ship, which docked automatically with the ISS in March.

Begun in 1998, the ISS is scheduled to be completed in 2010 after suffering long delays as a result of the loss of the shuttle Columbia and enduring major cost overruns.

The US has shouldered the lion's share of the cost. The four other partners are Russia, ESA, Japan and Canada.

NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told the press conference that the ISS would be a 100-billion-dollar (63-billion-euro) asset when completed, and it was unlikely that the station's partners would want to give up this investment when the facility's official life comes to an end.

"I believe all the partners expect to go to their governments supporting the extension of the station's life... beyond 2015. I personally think the station will continue to be used as long as its use is productive.

"I think the idea of having a fixed end-date for the space station is technically and politically unrealistic," said Griffin.

"One doesn't put up a 500-tonne orbiting research facility, one doesn't decide to simply shut it off because a certain calendar date has been reached.

"There will come a day when the space station's sustenance costs us as a partnership more than the value of the research that continues to be generated from it and on that day the partnership to move on to other things. But that will be a utility-driven decision in my opinion, not a date-driven decision."

The agency chiefs hailed what they said had been an excellent year for the ISS, with the addition of several important modules.

Griffin said the ISS had been a testbed for future cooperation. He mentioned US plans to set up a lunar colony and eventually head to Mars.

"The partnership will outlive the space station," he said.

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200807/20080716591552.html
國際太空站兩俄籍太空人再度太空漫步
法新社╱郭無患 2008-07-16 12:35     
 
 
（法新社莫斯科十六日電）俄羅斯太空中心表示，國際太空站上的兩名俄羅斯太空人昨天展開新的太空漫步任務，為上週開始進行的一項任務收尾。

「國際傳真社」引述太空官員的話說，國際太空站指揮官伏科夫和飛航工程師科諾南科在太空站外待了六小時。

這是伏科夫與科諾南科的第二次太空漫步，兩名太空人為太空站裝置了未來靠泊俄羅斯研究模組時需要用到的瞄準設備，以及新的地球物理研究的硬體設備。

這兩名太空人十一日成功完成六個多小時的太空漫步任務，回收一枚爆炸螺栓。這個爆炸螺栓被認為是造成最近兩次任務中，聯合號太空船危險高速下降、降落的原因。

俄羅斯太空專家認為，這個螺栓在聯合號脫離國際太空站靠泊點時未能正確作用，以致造成聯合號在去年十月二十一日以及今年四月十九日重返地球大氣層的角度不正確。 
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080716/sc_afp/russiaspaceiss_080716010450;_ylt=Avl67OA0ccTzdKbLcbhsfDXPOrgF
Two Russian cosmonauts make new space walk

Tue Jul 15, 9:04 PM ET

MOSCOW (AFP) - Two Russian cosmonauts on board the International Space Station made a new space walk to finish off work begun during an earlier operation last week, the Russian space centre said.
 
ISS commander Sergei Volkov and flight engineer Oleg Kononenko remained outside the space station for six hours, the Interfax news agency cited space officials as saying.

The spacewalk, second for both Volkov and Kononenko, had the two cosmonauts install targeting equipment for the station's future docking with a Russian research module, as well as hardware for a new geophysical experiment among other tasks.

The two cosmonauts on Friday completed a successful space walk of just over six hours to retrieve an explosive bolt believed to be the cause of the Soyuz spacecraft's dangerously high-speed descent and landing on two recent missions.

Russian space officials believe that the pyro bolts, which help separate the Soyuz from its docking position ahead of its trip back to Earth, were failing to operate correctly.

These failures, they suspect, caused the Soyuz to enter the atmosphere at an incorrect angle on October 21, 2007, and April 19 this year.

http://1-apple.com.tw/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Article&Sec_ID=3&ShowDate=20080712&IssueID=20080712&art_id=30744324&NewsType=1&SubSec=11
太空漫步拆螺栓 破天荒
2008年07月12日蘋果日報

【蔡佳慧╱綜合外電報導】國際太空站兩名太空人前天進行太空漫步並完成一項史無前例的大膽任務：切開聯合號太空船絕緣體、拆下一只爆炸螺栓。倘若不慎，這可能引爆該螺栓，導致太空人的手被炸掉。

避偏軌道安全返航
俄羅斯太空人伏科夫（Sergei Volkov）和科諾南科（Oleg Kononenko）前天共花6小時出勤，先以刀切開包覆螺栓的多層絕緣體，而後安裝消除靜電裝置，終於在任務進入4小時後，拆起一只約7.6公分的爆炸螺栓，並且立即裝入防爆容器中。當太空人以俄語大叫「收好了」時，立刻有人以俄語回答：「太好了，感謝老天。」

事實上，兩名太空人出勤之前，莫斯科控制站人員曾保證螺栓不會爆炸，而這項史無前例任務可確保他們今秋安全返抵地球。不過，任務控制中心也曾再三要求他們在處理爆裂物時要謹慎以對，「慢慢來，拜託務必小心」。

聯合號太空船與國際太空站共以10個螺栓相連，這些螺栓在太空船返航時會爆炸，以利兩邊分離。前兩次聯合號返航任務時，都曾發生角度過大、偏離軌道的問題，俄羅斯工程師懷疑是有部分爆炸螺栓未爆炸所致。這次太空人拆除的是其中一個問題螺栓，希望可以避免偏離軌道，安全運送太空人返家。

http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0,4521,110504+112008071200389,00.html
稍有不慎手炸爛…太空炸彈成功拆除
2008-07-12 中國時報 【王嘉源／綜合十一日外電報導】

　派駐「國際太空站」的兩名俄羅斯太空人10日進行長達6小時的太空漫步，順利從與太空站對接的「聯合號」TMA-12太空船保護外殼摘除一個可能影響返航的「爆炸螺栓」。

　這次作業十分危險，如果處理不當，螺栓可能爆炸，威力足以炸掉太空人的雙手，甚至危及性命。

　負責這次艙外作業的是俄羅斯太空人伏科夫和柯諾年科，他們用一把鋸齒狀刀具切開螺栓外包裹的絕緣體，再用扳手擰下長約7.5釐米的螺栓，裝入防爆桶，帶回國際太空站。太空人進行太空漫步時，一般應避免接觸鋒利工具，以免劃破加壓太空服和手套。但為拆除這個螺栓，兩名太空人只能冒險。

　在作業期間，莫斯科的俄國地面飛行管制人員向兩名太空人保證，螺栓不會在他們手中引爆，但還是敦促他們小心作業。這次摘除爆炸螺栓的空前之舉，有助於確保太空人10月搭乘這艘聯合號太空船返回地球時，能避免偏離軌道等問題。

　目前俄國使用的聯合號太空船係採用「半彈道式軌道」返回地球。太空船返航時，軌道艙和服務艙在進入地球大氣層前會分別與返回艙分離，在這個過程中起關鍵作用的就是「爆炸螺栓」。

　爆炸螺栓內裝炸藥和點火器，聯合號TMA-12太空船共有10枚這類螺栓。

　但在去年10月和今年4月，與國際太空站對接的聯合號太空船返航時，卻以「彈道式軌道重返大氣層」（ballistic re-entry），太空船返回艙下降角度更陡峭，速度也太快，最後偏離預定著陸點達數百公里。

　俄國工程師研判，這是由於一個控制艙段分離的螺栓並未爆炸，導致分離過程在太空船進入大氣層外層後才開始，返回艙最終被迫以彈道式返航，讓太空人承受超乎正常的高G力（重力加速度），會造成更多身體不適。

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200806/20080609868525.html
發現號太空梭太空人完成第三次太空漫步
法新社╱簡長盛 2008-06-09 13:35     
 
 
（法新社華盛頓八日電）發現號太空梭今天進行更多安裝日本科學實驗艙「希望號」的收尾工作，並且換掉一個空的氮氣槽，完成第三次太空漫步任務

今天的任務和前幾天一樣沒有發生任何問題。太空人賈蘭和佛桑以六小時三十三分鐘的時間，在運行中的國際太空站外面完成清單表列的大小維修任務，並且在台灣時間九日清晨四時二十八分返回太空站內。

這項太空漫步的最戲劇性時刻是賈蘭帶著一個兩百三十九公斤的空氮氣槽，從國際太空站的一邊慢慢移動到另一邊時，他的腳被太空站巨大的加拿大製機械手臂一端套住，像放在一根棒子一端的傀儡一樣。

賈蘭說：「嘿，輕的像羽毛一樣。」美國航空暨太空總署太空人奈柏格則在太空站內負責操作機械手臂，並將賈蘭從黑暗的太空移回到太空站內。

奈柏格說：「搭乘愉快。」

當賈蘭的太空任務結束後，她接著說：「看起來好像很有趣。」

除了將空的氮氣槽換上一個已充滿氮氣的槽外，兩位太空漫步的太空人還將「希望號」機械手臂上的保暖罩移除。「希望號」是發現號太空梭從地球上帶來，並且在這個星期稍早裝設。

他們也測試了固定在「希望號」實驗艙外面的攝影機。

這是發現號太空梭這趟十四天的計劃任務中第三次，也是最後一次的太空漫步。發現號太空梭是在上月三十一日從佛羅里達州卡納維爾角甘迺迪太空中心發射。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080609/sc_afp/usjapanspaceshuttle_080609020754;_ylt=Ah_bfQLjM.4yUWWgRLSPmjTPOrgF
Astronauts complete third spacewalk at space station

Sun Jun 8, 10:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Astronauts from the Discovery shuttle completed the third spacewalk of the mission Sunday, putting more finishing touches on Japan's Kibo science lab and replacing an empty nitrogen tank.
 
In another trouble-free day of the mission, Ron Garan and Mike Fossum checked off a list of maintenance tasks large and small over six hours and 33 minutes outside the orbiting space station, heading back inside at 2028 GMT.

In the most dramatic moment of the walk, Garan -- his feet locked into the end of the ISS's massive Canadarm robotic arm like a puppet at the end of a rod -- was slowly swept from one side of the ISS to the other, carrying a 239 kilogram (528 pound) depleted nitrogen tank in his arms.

"Light as a feather, huh?" Garan said as the arm, manipulated from inside the ISS by NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, began moving him through the dark of space.

"Enjoy the ride," Nyberg said.

"That looked like fun," she added after the traverse was over.

Besides replacing the nitrogen tank with a full one, the two spacewalkers removed a thermal cover from Kibo's robotic arm, brought up from Earth on the shuttle and installed earlier this week. They also tested cameras anchored outside the Kibo lab.

ISS Flight Director Annette Hasbrook said at a press briefing after the spacewalk that one of the planned activities for Monday was a trial run of Kibo's robotic arm.

"This will be the first large motion of the arm, so we'll just be watching to make sure that it's performing as expected and it's staying within the guidelines and constraints that the Japanese have laid out for the deploy," she said.

Hasbrook added that Fossum during the spacewalk retrieved samples of a powdery substance from the left solar alpha rotary joint, which will be analyzed later by experts on the ground.

"It could be expected debris, it could be something unusual," she said. "Until we get the data home, we really can't characterize what that is."

It was the third and final spacewalk of the planned 14-day mission, begun when Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 31.

The principal job of the mission has been to deliver and install the Kibo lab's huge central pressurized module, along with its robotic arm.

Astronauts completed that setup and also attached an earlier-delivered storage module to the new lab during the first two spacewalks.

Kibo -- "Hope" in Japanese -- marks a huge advance in Japan's participation in the ISS, which already has units from NASA and the Russian and European space agencies, and key equipment from Canada as well.

The 11.2-meter (36.7-feet) long pressurized module, with room for four astronauts to do research, is now the ISS's biggest single room.

Installation was aided from inside the ISS by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, one of the seven astronauts who rode up on the Discovery.

Earlier Sunday Hoshide told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda he was in awe of the view of the Earth from 338 kilometers (210 miles) in space.

"Earth, as I see it from here, is very beautiful," he said, pointing out one of the round windows of the lab.

"I think to myself it is so wonderful and fragile."

Fukuda, amazed at how sharp the image was, said: "I can see you very clearly."

"Maybe you can see my face getting dark, too," Hoshide replied, referring to the stubble on his chin.

After the completion of the spacewalk Sunday, the astronauts have two days of rest and odd jobs before they are scheduled to undock Discovery from the orbiting station on Wednesday at 1142 GMT.

The shuttle is set to return to the Kennedy Space Center on June 14 at 1513 GMT.

http://1-apple.com.tw/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Article&Sec_ID=3&ShowDate=20080609&IssueID=20080609&art_id=30635897&NewsType=1&SubSec=11
巴斯光年上太空 拍教育片
2008年06月09日蘋果日報

美國
【王潔予╱綜合外電報導】迪士尼動畫中的太空人「巴斯光年」（Buzz Lightyear），終於如願遨遊在無垠太空。迪士尼配合美國航太總署（NASA）兒童科學計劃，派出以捍衛宇宙為己任的「巴斯光年」，隨太空梭「發現號」於上月底升空，經過訓練的他已開始在國際太空站紀錄太空夥伴的生活起居，做為教材。

「他不再只是玩具」
發現號上月31日升空。常惦記著要「飛向無垠宇宙」的巴斯，有幸獲選入團，與七名太空人於上周二抵達國際太空站。從NASA教育網頁的錄影畫面來看，他上周四不但與太空人共進晚餐，喝了一碗羅宋湯，還在艙內透過窗戶，見證兩名太空人進行太空漫步。（網址：www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/000687.html#buzzinspace)
「巴斯」公仔製造業者巴頓也替巴斯高興，說：「他終於不再只是玩具。」巴斯會在太空站待到今年11月，在那之前，他將以錄影畫面及部落格紀錄生活點滴，公布在網站www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

巴斯光年小檔案
◎姓名：Buzz Lightyear，其名來自第二位登陸月球的美國阿波羅11號太空人巴斯艾德林（Buzz Aldrin）
◎口頭禪：飛向宇宙，浩瀚無垠（To infinity, and beyond）
◎演出：電影《玩具總動員》、《玩具總動員續集》、《巴斯光年》，電視影集《巴斯光年》
◎誕生：1995/05/26迪士尼動畫《玩具總動員》
資料來源：維基百科

http://1-apple.com.tw/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Article&Sec_ID=3&ShowDate=20080606&IssueID=20080606&art_id=30627973&NewsType=1&SubSec=11
斥137億 太空站馬桶修復
2008年06月06日蘋果日報

美國
【王潔予╱綜合外電報導】日本太空實驗艙「希望」（Kibo）前天啟用，展現日本太空研發實力。不過，國際媒體報導卻聚焦國際太空站上年久失修的馬桶，遮掩「希望」光芒。過去兩周深受如廁不便之苦的太空人，前天終於在更換了斥資137億元的系統零件後，得以正常「方便」

「希望」艙內部寬敞
本周一，美太空梭發現號將日本太空人星出彰彥在內的七人，和耗時20年打造、15噸重的「希望」，送上國際太空站。星出與美國夥伴奈柏格前天戴著面罩，率先飄進「希望」，檢查艙內空氣品質。「希望」是太空站九個艙室中最大的一個，一旦完成建置，將有23個冰箱大小的實驗架。
「希望」啟用同時，俄國太空人克諾涅科在太空站的「星辰艙」（Zvezda）忙著修廁所。他花兩小時，將俄製集尿系統幫浦及軟管換上。美國航太總署隨後宣告，太空人在修廁所任務「勝利」，零件造價加運費總計約137億元台幣

http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR6/4371829.shtml
太空站廁所修復 太空人鬆口氣

【世界日報╱美聯社佛州卡納維爾角四日電】 2008.06.05 09:09 pm

太空人已把國際太空站廁所修好，使每人都鬆了一口氣，發現號太空梭運到太空站的日本巨型新實驗艙也將打開艙門。

太空站廁所發生的故障很快成為發現號太空梭升空的主要任務，在升空前最後一刻，從莫斯科趕運到卡納維爾角的廁所幫浦才被裝上太空梭。俄羅斯太空人柯諾年科（Oleg Kononenko）在太空站裝好新的幫浦後，廁所開始恢復正常。過去兩周，太空站三名太空人因廁所幫浦損壞，每天要手動沖刷廁所數次，既費時又費水，還有難忍的異味。

太空站的廁所問題曾引起全世界的關注，並是NASA記者會上的主要話題，有關主管在會上描述失重狀態下的如廁問題。太空站副計畫長舍曼說：「很不幸我們在談論廁所，但這就是生活，是人類探索太空的未來。我不認為這是壞事，人們可能每天都會遇到這一問題。」

日本價值數十億元的巨型希望號實驗艙即將打開艙門，日本太空人星出彰彥將是進入實驗艙的第一名太空人。

【2008/06/05 世界日報】

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200806/20080605785562.html
通樂　太空人成功修復國際太空站廁所
法新社╱張仲琬 2008-06-05 10:20     
 
 
（法新社華盛頓四日電）化身太空水電工的科諾南科，今天成功修復國際太空站上唯一的廁所，讓大家鬆了一口氣，而其他同僚則致力於讓新的日本實驗室開始運作。

另外九名太空人忙於自己的太空計畫之際。科諾南科在俄羅斯星號服務艙苦幹兩個多小時，卸換廁所泵浦並安裝全新水管。

美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA）表示，莫斯科任務控制中心在三次測試廁所證實正常後，對太空站機組人員下達「可」重新啟用廁所設備的指令。　

NASA電視評論員稍後宣佈：「約於兩小時前，已宣告勝利。」

太空站廁所的尿液處理系統上週故障，迫使太空站兩名俄羅斯太空人與一名美國太空人改用停泊在太空站上的俄羅斯聯合號太空船廁所。固體排泄系統的運作一直都正常。

美國發現號太空梭前天抵達太空站，帶來七名太空人、全新的日本實驗室與迫切需要的泵浦零件後，太空站更形擁擠。

太空人完成首次太空漫步後，昨天利用機械手臂將公車大小、日文意思為「希望」的Kibo實驗室裝上太空站。日本艙成為太空站最大的空間。

日本太空人星出彰彥與美國太空人奈伯格今天開始裝設太空站與實驗室之間的連接通道、移除隔熱罩並安裝電路跨接器。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080605/sc_afp/usjapanspaceshuttle_080605021450;_ylt=Aq2LFXcHIHLDzvFM75JeJHjPOrgF
Astronauts open space station's 'beautiful' Japanese lab

by Laurent Thomet
1 hour, 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Astronauts opened the International Space Station's newest and biggest room, a bus-sized Japanese laboratory providing the Asian power its first manned space facility.
 
Capping a busy day in space that included repairs of a faulty station toilet and long preparations for the lab's inauguration, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide smiled as he inaugurated his country's Kibo facility.

"This is a great moment for the Japanese folks," Hoshide said before floating into the lab, whose name Kibo means "hope" in Japanese. "It's a beautiful module and we have a new hope on the space station."

Hoshide and American colleague Karen Nyberg entered first, wearing protective goggles and masks to check the air quality.

Hoshide waved a "welcome" at a camera before the station's eight other occupants floated in.

Showing off the 15-tonne lab's roomy interior, the eight astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts performed backflips and twirled as they floated around Kibo.

Peering at the lab -- which had yet to be filled with its experiment racks, Hoshide said: "It looks really empty, but it's full of dreams."

Hoshide, Nyberg and five other Americans arrived at the station aboard the US space shuttle Discovery on Monday, carrying Kibo in its payload bay. The lab was attached to the station on Tuesday with a robotic arm.

At 11.2 meters (36.7 feet) long, the facility is bigger than its American and European counterparts. NASA's Destiny module is 8.5 meters long while Europe's Columbus facility, which was installed in February, measures 6.8 meters.

Kibo's 10-meter (33-foot) robotic arm, which will manipulate materials and equipment for science experiments, will also be installed during the Discovery mission.

Shuttle Endeavour already brought one piece of the laboratory in March -- a logistics module that will be used for storage.

The third and final part of the lab -- an outdoor facility that will allow experiments to be exposed to the effects of space -- will be delivered next year.

When completed, Kibo will allow astronauts to carry out experiments in medicine, biology and biotechnology, material production and communications, both in a pressurized environment and completely exposed to space.

The facility will be jointly monitored from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tsukuba facility and NASA Mission Control in Houston, Texas.

The US space agency, which hopes to complete construction of the ISS in 2010, considers the station a central part of space exploration ambitions, allowing scientists to study the effects of microgravity on humans.

Kibo's opening was the crowning moment in a busy day at the station that included an unusual but pressing plumbing job at the outpost's lone toilet.

The toilet's urine disposal system began to fail last week, forcing the station's two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut to use the facility on the Soyuz capsule moored at ISS before Discovery arrived with a replacement part. The solid waste system always worked.

Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko toiled away in the Russian Zvezda module for more than two hours, successfully replacing the toilet pump and installing new hoses brought by Discovery.

After three tests showed no malfunction, Moscow Mission Control gave the station crew a "go" to use the facility again, the US space agency said.

A NASA television commentator later announced: "Victory was declared almost two hours ago."