Astronauts

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are tending to their veggie garden, where they are growing lettuce, radishes, and now mustard greens and pak choi. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins has taken a lead role in the care and cultivation of the vegetables being grown on the space station in a number of experiments. He harvested the second crop of radishes grown in space , which the crew ate and enjoyed over the new year. He has also worked on two new experiments, one of which was involved the first transplant of a crop in space. When certain plants are lagging behind in their growth, they are rearranged to make the most of the nutrients available in a delicate procedure. Another experiment involved the first planting of lettuce seeds in orbit. Normally, seeds are planted into a nutrient medium on the ground before being sent to the ISS. But the development of a new seed film allows the astronauts to plant crops themselves. Hopkins recently disused the importance of … [Read more...] about ISS astronauts tend to their zero-gravity veggie garden

The second orbital test flight of the Boeing Starliner has been delayed again. The Starliner is designed to ferry astronauts between the Earth and the International Space Station (ISS) and will perform its uncrewed test flight next month. The Starliner test flight was already delayed last month . Originally scheduled for this month, the test flight is now planned for April. NASA says this delay is due to both the recent winter storms in Houston and the need to replace avionics boxes, causing a delay of two weeks. There is also a need to coordinate with the schedule of the ISS, as there is be both a Soyuz launch and a Crew Dragon mission scheduled for the station in April. “Boeing and NASA have worked extremely hard to support an early-April launch but we need to assess alternatives to ensure NASA’s safety work can be accomplished. NASA and Boeing know we fly together,” said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in a … [Read more...] about Boeing Starliner test flight delayed once again