Monthly Archives: August 2013

Scenes from life in space: part 2

Posted on August 28, 2013 by raffaella

Pavel Expedition 36 commander Pavel Vinogradov is a very experienced cosmonaut who always has a friendly smile on his face. Every time he sees me – our paths normally cross 2 or 3 times a day – he tries to … Continue reading →

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Scenes from life in space

Posted on August 23, 2013 by raffaella

Saturday Today Karen and Chris have been busy all morning, first with monitoring the approach of HTV-Kounotori 4 – the “White Stork” that brings us Japanese supplies, experiments and materials – then with its capture, performed with grace and skill … Continue reading →

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EVA 23: exploring the frontier

Posted on August 20, 2013 by raffaella

My eyes are closed as I listen to Chris counting down the atmospheric pressure inside the airlock – it’s close to zero now. But I’m not tired – quite the reverse! I feel fully charged, as if electricity and not … Continue reading →

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Message in a bottle

Posted on August 13, 2013 by julien

One of the parameters of the Station’s orbit around the Earth is the beta angle, which determines the direction from which the Sun’s rays will hit us. We don’t usually bother too much about this parameter because it doesn’t affect … Continue reading →

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Night Flight (with apologies to De Saint-Exupery)

Posted on August 6, 2013 by raffaella

It’s Monday evening, and after a really busy day on the Station, exhaustion is setting in – even at zero G. After dinner, I’m overcome by lethargy. I see the same thought written on the faces of my fellow travellers, … Continue reading →

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HTV-4 and a reminder that working in space is not like working on the ground…

Posted on August 5, 2013 by raffaella

ESA Mission Director Roland Luettgens gives an update of the latest activities and tells us about the challenges of working in space. We had a very busy week last week because sometimes things do not work out as planned. We … Continue reading →

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All in a week’s work

Posted on August 1, 2013 by raffaella

After the excitement of the two EVAs, we got back into our routine work, if you can call it that. This week’s ‘menu’ has featured a lot of science and maintenance. The arrival of Progress 52 on 27 July brought … Continue reading →

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