http://news.yam.com/bcc/international/200804/20080411031522.html
韓女太空人乘坐太空船與太空站連接成功
中廣新聞網╱王長偉 2008-04-11 08:47      

南韓第一位女太空人(李素妍)乘坐的俄羅斯「聯合號」太空船，昨晚十點左右，與「國際太空站」連接成功。

據南韓航空宇宙研究院的消息指出，俄羅斯「聯合號」太空船，飛行四十九小時又三十多分鐘、繞地球三十三圈，將高度與「國際太空站」的三百八十公里保持一致，而後於昨晚十點左右接近國際太空站，並將圓錐螺絲狀的探針插入了國際太空站。

李素妍和船長(波爾科夫)及工程師(科諾南柯)等三人，於今天凌晨零點五十分左右完成連接後，打開聯合號和國際太空站的連接大門、進入國際太空站。

報導指出，李素妍成為國際太空站的第158位訪客。

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Expedition 17 Welcomed Aboard Space Station

Commander Sergei Alexandrovich Volkov and cosmonaut Oleg Dmitrievich Kononenko of the 17th International Space Station crew docked their Soyuz TMA-12 with the orbiting laboratory's Pirs Docking Compartment at 8:57 a.m. EDT Thursday, marking the beginning of their six-month stay aboard.

With Volkov, a lieutenant colonel in the Russian Air Force, and Kononenko was spaceflight participant So-yeon Yi. She is a South Korean flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Yi will return to Earth with Expedition 16 crew members Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko in their Soyuz TMA-11 on April 19. Expedition 16 launched to the station Oct. 10.

After the hatches opened at 11:40 a.m., the Expedition 17 crew members were welcomed by the Expedition 16 crew, including astronaut Garrett Reisman. Reisman launched to the station on the STS-123 mission of Endeavour March 11. He joined Expedition 16 in progress and will provide Expedition 17 with an experienced flight engineer for the first part of its increment.

Volkov, 35, is making his first flight into space. He is a graduate of the Tambov Air Force Academy for Pilots. After service as an air force pilot he began cosmonaut training in December 1997. He trained with the Expedition 11 crew and as a backup Expedition 13 crew member. He is the son of cosmonaut Alexander Volkov, who flew three long-duration missions in Soviet and Russian space stations from 1985 to 1992.

Kononenko, 43, also is making his first spaceflight. He is a graduate of the Aviation Institute and worked at the Russian Space Agency's Central Specialized Design Bureau. He began cosmonaut training in June 1996. He trained with the Expedition 9 and Expedition 11 crews.

Astronaut Greg Chamitoff is scheduled to launch on the STS-124 flight of Discovery to join Expedition 17 in progress. He holds a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was selected as an astronaut for the class of 1998. He will be making his first spaceflight.

Two Expedition 18 crew members are expected to arrive next fall to replace Volkov and Kononenko.

http://news.yam.com/rusnews/international/200804/20080409024382.html
聯盟TMA-12號載人飛船與聯盟號運載火箭成功脫離
俄新網╱俄新網 2008-04-08 22:25   

 
 
俄新網RUSNEWS.CN拜科努爾航天發射場（哈薩克斯坦）4月8日電 莫斯科時間15點16分從拜科努爾發射場升空的載有第17期國際空間站考察組的“聯盟TMA-12”號載人飛船與“聯盟-FG”號運載火箭成功脫離。這是俄新社記者從拜科努爾發射場發來的消息。“在預定時間，飛船載著第17期考察組和韓國首位太空人與火箭成功脫離，宇航員們的自我感覺良好”。國際空間站第17期考察組中的主要成員謝爾蓋·沃爾科夫、奧列格·科諾年科以及韓國首位太空人李素妍。此次前往國際空間站的主要成員將駐留近半年時間，而李素妍將在太空停留10天後于4月19日與第16長期考察組的宇航員（美國宇航員佩吉·惠特森和俄羅斯宇航員尤里·馬連琴科）一同返回地面。

http://en.rian.ru/science/20080407/103947227.html
Progress M-63 successfully 'buried' in south Pacific
 18:00 | 07/ 04/ 2008

MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Progress M-63 space cargo ship was successfully 'buried' on Monday at a spaceship cemetery in the southern Pacific, a Mission Control spokesman said.

"Having partly burned up in the Earth's dense atmosphere, Progress ended its existence in the designated area in the southern Pacific," the spokesman said.

In February, Progress M-63 delivered 2.5 metric tons of cargo, including food, equipment and other supplies, to the International Space Station (ISS).

Meanwhile, Mission Control is preparing for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-12 delivery vehicle on April 8 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

The spacecraft is to deliver the members of the 17th ISS expedition - the Russian astronauts Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko, as well as the first South Korean female astronaut, Yi So-yeon - to the orbiting station.

The docking of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft with the ISS is estimated to take place at 5:00 p.m. Moscow time [13:00 GMT] on April 10.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080404/103698823.html
Progress M-63 to undock from ISS on April 7
 15:34 | 04/ 04/ 2008

MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - A Progress M-63 space freighter loaded with garbage will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) on April 7 and buried at a "spaceship cemetery" in the Pacific, Russia's Mission Control said Friday.

In February, a Progress M-63 delivered 2.5 metric tons of cargo, including food, equipment and other supplies, for the ISS.

"The undocking has been scheduled for 12:29 Moscow time [08:49 GMT] on April 7," a Mission Control statement said. "It will burn in the dense layers of the Earth's atmosphere and will end its existence in a set area over the Pacific Ocean."

Meanwhile, Mission Control is getting ready for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-12 delivery vehicle on April 8 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

The spacecraft will bring members of the 17th ISS expedition -- Russian astronauts, Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko, and the first South Korean female astronaut, Yi So-yeon -- to the orbital station.

The docking of the Soyuz TMA-12 craft with the ISS is estimated at 17:00 Moscow time [13:00 GMT] on April 10.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
2008/03/22

Endeavour Crew to Prepare for Undocking

With the final STS-123 spacewalk complete, flight day 14 of the STS-123 mission will see the crew of space shuttle Endeavour prepare for the end of their visit to the station. The orbiter will undock Monday and return to Earth Wednesday.

Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman completed the fifth spacewalk of STS-123 at 10:36 p.m. EDT Saturday. Rick Linnehan, also a mission specialist, coordinated their activities from inside the orbiting complex made up of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station.

Robot arm operators grappled the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), and the two spacewalkers assembled an umbilical designed to keep the boom safe during its time in the harsh space environment. Then, the robot arm handed the OBSS off to Behnken and Foreman, who stowed it on the station’s S1 Truss.

The next component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory, which will be delivered on space shuttle Discovery during the STS-124 mission, is too large to accommodate the OBSS in the shuttle’s payload bay. Once the next element of Kibo is installed on the station, Discovery’s astronauts will detach the OBSS left behind by space shuttle Endeavour, use it to perform tile inspections and bring it home.

After the STS-123 spacewalkers attached the boom to the S1 Truss, Behnken installed the Materials International Space Station Experiment 6 on the outside of the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory, and Foreman inspected the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint.

The spacewalkers also completed a few get-ahead tasks, installing trunnion covers on the Japanese Logistics Module – Pressurized Section and stowing tools in a toolbox on the airlock before ingressing the hatch.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080323978686.html
完成五次太空漫步 奮進號太空人創下新紀錄
法新社╱樊劍萍 2008-03-23 18:35     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓二十二日電）美國奮進號太空梭上的兩位太空人今晚順利完成他們的第五次太空漫步任務，把一枝五十呎長的感知衍架固定在國際太空站外，這也是他們在此行中的最後一次太空漫步。

太空任務專家貝肯與佛曼今晚四時三十四分展開他們的太空漫步，比預定時間提早四十九分鐘，九時三十六分完成任務。這是奮進號太空梭中的七位太空人，下週返回地球以前的最後一次太空漫步。

德克薩斯州休士頓任務管制中心立即宣布，這次長達六小時的太空漫步順利成功。

這兩位太空人安全返回後，任務管制中心主管魏格爾說：「今天是另外一個神奇的日子。太空梭組員的表現極為優異。」魏格爾指出，事實上這次漫步創下新紀錄。

魏格爾指出：「這次我們總共進行了五次太空漫步，這是我們在國際太空站外進行太空漫步並且執行任務最多的一次。」

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080323/sc_afp/usjapanspaceiss;_ylt=AjvPio8FK21vkLt_RPlNrmEPLBIF
US astronauts take a break, ahead of return trip to Earth

19 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Their fifth and final spacewalk behind them, the seven-member crew of the US space shuttle Endeavour enjoyed a break in their busy work schedule Sunday, ahead of their trip back to Earth later this week.
 
Two astronauts from the Endeavour -- mission specialists Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman -- on Sunday attached a 50-foot sensory boom to the outside of the International Space Station.

Their six-hour spacewalk, which began at 2034 GMT Saturday and ended at 0236 GMT Sunday, was hailed by NASA as yet another ringing success.

"Today was another fantastic day. The crew is doing very well," space station flight director Dana Weigel told reporters after the astronauts had safely returned from their mission.

Weigel said the spacewalk, often referred to by National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials as an EVA, or an extra-vehicular activity, had set a new record.

"This was five EVAs, which was more than we've done on any station mission," the flight director pointed out.

"We are all very excited how it all turned out," added Zebulon Scoville, NASA's leading specialist on spacewalks.

Endeavour, whose mission at the ISS is the longest ever, is scheduled to undock on Monday and return to Earth on Wednesday.

The spacewalkers successfully stowed the Orbitor Boom Sensor System (OBSS), a thick rod fitted with a camera and laser which is used to check for damage to a shuttle's protective skin.

The OBSS made its maiden trip in 2005 on the first flight following the Columbia disaster in 2003, when a crack in the shuttle's heat shield caused the craft to explode while re-entering Earth's orbit, killing the seven crew members on board.

An extension of the shuttle's robotic arm, the OBSS would normally return to Earth at the end of each mission.

But the next scheduled flight, by the shuttle Discovery, will bring to the ISS the second of three parts of Japan's space laboratory Kibo -- the first of which was installed during the current mission -- and will have no room for the boom.

Discovery's crew will detach the OBSS from the space station when they arrive, use it to inspect their shuttle and then bring it home.

During Saturday's spacewalk, the ISS' robotic arm grabbed hold of the boom to allow Behnken and Foreman to attach the cable that will power its sensors and protect it from the elements.

The robot arm then handed the boom over to the astronauts, who stowed it on a truss on the space station, guided by fellow crew member Rick Linnehan from inside the ISS-Endeavour complex.

The spacewalkers also successfully installed an experiment on the outside of the European Space Agency's laboratory, which the astronauts had failed to complete during the third spacewalk on March 17.

They completed the walk by installing trunnion covers on the Japanese module and stowing tools in a toolbox before returning to the space station.

The Endeavour mission's main tasks were to install the first part of the Japanese Kibo lab, which will join similar facilities from the United States, Russia and the EU, whose Columbus lab was delivered to the ISS in February.

It has also assembled the Canadian-made Dextre robot, which is designed to undertake maintenance operations on the space station that until now required a human touch, and reduce the need for risky spacewalks.

The robot's human-like upper torso swivels at the waist, and its arms were designed with seven joints to provide it with maximum versatility. Umbilical connectors provide power and data connectivity.

NASA wants to complete construction of the ISS by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080323978170.html
奮進號太空梭太空人展開第五次太空漫步
法新社╱郭無患 2008-03-23 11:05     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓二十二日電）奮進號太空梭兩名美國太空人今天展開第五次、也是最後一次太空漫步任務，他們為把一支五十呎長的感知衍架固定在國際太空站外部。

太空人貝肯與佛曼於台灣時間今天清晨四時三十四分展開太空漫步，較預定時間提早了四十九分鐘，他們將為這支感知衍架連結上電纜，以利在衍架裝妥於國際太空站後，在太空極端環境中發揮保護功能。

這個「軌道器衍架感知系統」在底端裝置了照相機與雷射，可以在太空梭靠泊太空站時，檢查太空梭防護層是否有任務損害，以免太空梭重返地球時發生問題。

二零零三年哥倫比亞號太空梭重返地球大氣層時，由於隔熱層出現裂縫，導致太空梭燒毀，七名太空人殉職。

感知衍架其實是太空梭機械手臂的延伸，在一般狀況下可於每次任務後收回到太空梭貨艙，並帶回地球；但下一趟發現者號太空梭任務時，將帶來日本太空實驗室三大部分中的第二部分組件，因此沒有空間放置衍架。

因此，當下一趟發現者號太空梭抵達國際站時，太空人將把這一趟太空梭任務固定好的感知衍架拆下來，執行防護外層檢查後，再帶回地球。

被取名為「Kibo」日本太空實驗室分為三部分，第一部分組件在這一趟奮進號太空梭任務進行安裝。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080323/sc_afp/usjapanspaceiss_080323041406
US astronauts successfully complete fifth spacewalk

by Alice Ritchie
2 hours, 44 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Two astronauts from the US shuttle Endeavour successfully completed a fifth and final spacewalk of their mission late Saturday, stepping into the void to attach a 50-foot sensory boom to the outside of the International Space Station.
 
Mission specialists Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman began their spacewalk at 4:34 pm EDT (2034 GMT), 49 minutes ahead of schedule and ended it at 9:36 pm (0236 GMT Sunday).

It was the last such trip before Endeavour's seven-man crew heads back to Earth next week.

Mission Control in Houston, Texas, immediately declared the six-hour walk a success.

"All I can say is thanks," one of the spacewalk managers radioed to astronauts. "You guys are fantastic ... It just turned out very well."

The walkers successfully stowed away the Orbitor Boom Sensor System (OBSS), a thick rod fitted with a camera and laser which is used to check for damage to a shuttle's protective skin.

The OBSS made its maiden trip in 2005 on the first flight following the Columbia disaster in 2003, when a crack in the shuttle's heat shield caused the craft to explode while re-entering Earth, killing the seven crew members on board.

An extension of the shuttle's robotic arm, the OBSS would normally return at the end of each mission.

But the next flight, by the shuttle Discovery, will bring to the ISS the second of three parts of Japan's space laboratory Kibo -- the first of which was installed during the current mission -- and will have no room for the boom.

Discovery's crew will detach the OBSS from the space station when they arrive, use it to inspect their shuttle and then bring it home.

On Saturday's spacewalk, the ISS' robotic arm grabbed hold of the boom to allow Behnken and Foreman to attach the cable that will power its sensors and protect it from the elements.

The robot arm then handed the boom over to the astronauts, who stowed it on a truss on the space station, guided by fellow crew member Rick Linnehan from inside the ISS-Endeavour complex.

The spacewalkers also successfully installed an experiment on the outside of the European Space Agency's laboratory, which the astronauts had failed to complete during the third spacewalk on March 17.

Endeavour, whose mission at the ISS is the longest ever, is scheduled to undock on Monday and return to Earth on Wednesday.

The mission's main tasks were to install the first part of the Japanese Kibo lab, which will join similar facilities from the United States, Russia and the EU, whose Colombus lab was delivered to the ISS in February.

It has also assembled the Canadian-made Dextre robot, which is designed to undertake maintenance operations on the space station that until now required a human touch, and reduce the need for risky spacewalks.

The robot's human-like upper torso swivels at the waist, and its arms were designed with seven joints to provide it with maximum versatility. Umbilical connectors provide power and data connectivity.

NASA wants to complete construction of the ISS by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired.

http://1-apple.com.tw/apple/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Article&Sec_ID=7&ShowDate=20080323&NewsType=twapple&Loc=TP&Art_ID=30381471
蘋果日報2008年3月23日

太空扔回力鏢 照樣會飛回來

【李寧怡╱綜合外電報導】搭乘美國奮進號太空梭升空，正在國際太空站執行任務的日本太空人土井隆雄，周二在結束第八天工作後，拿出回力鏢來丟擲。在這項空前實驗中，土井隆雄證實回力鏢即使在太空無重力狀態下，也會像在地球上一樣，朝丟擲者飛回來。這項結果出乎許多人的預料。

未如預期向上飛
53歲的土井隆雄是應同鄉的回力鏢好手井靖弘請託，在太空中進行這項實驗。井靖弘是2006年世界回力鏢錦標賽冠軍得主，他將親手製作的紙製回力鏢交給土井隆雄，請他在太空中丟擲。照片顯示，土井是以垂直方式丟擲回力鏢，最後回力鏢幾乎循著像在地球上一樣的軌跡，回到他手中。

日本《每日新聞》報導，土井告訴妻子：「回力鏢就像在地球上一樣飛，我真的很驚訝，也很激動。」過去一般人均認為，回力鏢須藉由地心引力才能回到丟擲者手中，連井靖弘事前也認為，回力鏢在太空中會向上飛。

過去太空人曾在國際太空站進行各種實驗。2006年，俄羅斯太空人杜林（Mikhail Tyurin）在以時速28000公里高速環繞地球的太空站上，用6號鐵桿擊出一顆高爾夫球，預計這顆球要飛三年才會在大氣中燒毀。

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200803/20080321950538.html
日本太空人：太空中玩迴力鏢也會飛回來
法新社╱彭木芳 2008-03-21 22:35     

 
 
（法新社東京二十一日電）在一項前所未有的實驗中，日本太空人土井隆雄在太空中丟擲一枚迴力鏢，並證實它會飛回來，就跟在地球上一樣。

日本宇宙航空開發機構發言人今天表示，土井隆雄三月十八日利用空閒時間，在國際太空站「丟擲一枚迴力鏢，並且親眼看它飛回來」。

土井接受世界迴力鏢錦標賽冠軍得主（木母）井靖弘請托，丟擲迴力鏢測試。

「每日新聞」引述這位現年五十三歲的太空人從太空站告訴妻子說：「看到它飛行的情形就像在地球一樣，讓我非常驚訝和激動。」

日本宇宙航空開發機構表示，稍後可能會公布這項測試的錄影帶。

土井在三月十一日搭乘美國「奮進號」太空梭升空，成功運送日本實驗室的第一組器材到國際太空站。 

http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/mar/19/today-int1.htm
自由時報2008年3月19日

機械人裝「眼」 國際太空站如虎添翼
〔編譯魏國金／綜合佛州卡納維爾角外電報導〕美國奮進號太空梭兩名太空人，十七日晚間展開七小時的太空漫步任務，為國際太空站的新精密雙臂機器人Dextre安裝充作眼睛的攝錄影機與一條器械帶。

這是奮進號太空人在國際太空站進行的第三度太空漫步，每次任務都是為了組裝Dextre，太空人上次漂浮於太空站外，Dextre獲得了雙臂，這次機器人腰部多了兩具攝影機與一些工具。目前機器人已完成裝置三類器械，以及一座大型平台，可以支撐比如電池的大型物件。

執行太空站外部維修

正式名稱為「特殊用途靈敏操縱器」的Dextre配備照明、攝錄裝備與一個工作平台、四個器械支架，它由太空站內的太空人所控制，主要功能在執行太空站外部的維修任務，目前拆除、更換太空站外小型零件的工作端賴太空人，換言之，Dextre將可大幅減少太空人在太空漫步時所冒的風險與時間，而使其有更多的時間留在站內從事科學研究。

Dextre高三．六米、兩隻手臂分別長三．三米，其上肢藉由腰部的樞軸轉動，每隻手臂皆有七個關節，同時間只有一個手臂可以活動，以避免彼此衝撞，另一隻不動的手臂則提供穩定度，其接收的第一道指令就是固定在太空站的穩定點上。每個手臂的頂端都有「手」，稱之為器械更換裝置的「手」由平口收縮鉗構成，使它得以夾住酬載或器械。

Dextre 造價61億

造價逾兩億美元（台幣六十一億七千萬餘元）的Dextre為加拿大太空總署（ＣＳＡ）所提供，該單位指出，具備觸感的Dextre，藉由感應酬載的力與動作，而能靈敏的執行任務，它也能自動緩和酬載的運動，以確保酬載的操作順當。

Dextre即是靈敏的（dexterous）的縮寫，它可以裝置於「加拿大機器臂２」（Canadarm2）的末端，或者獨立架在移動式工作平台「行動基地系統」（ＭＢＳ）運作。

Dextre可提起五百九十公斤重物，也可精確處理螺栓等細物。其下肢配備有一對數位彩色攝錄機，讓太空人與地面工程師可以監督任務的執行。