NASA revives communication with ISS following three-hour gap

NASA has finally restored its contact with the International Space Station after an equipment failure that lasted for almost three hours, leaving the mobile laboratory dependent without a direct link to its Mission Control center.

The space agency suddenly lost communication with the ISS at 9:45 a.m. ET (1445GMT), but fortunately, space station flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Control center in Houston were able to reestablish contact with the space station at 12:34 p.m. ET (17:34 GMT).

In a statement, NASA officials said: “Flight controllers were in the process of updating the station’s command and control software and were transitioning from the primary computer to the backup computer to complete the software load when the loss of communication occurred.

Reports from NASA officials said that the failure was caused by a main data relay system that malfunctioned, making the computer that controls the ISS’ critical functions switch to a backup. After the incident, the station was still not able to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay satellite network which serves as the outpost’s link to NASA’s Mission Control center on the ground.

The loss of communication occurred when flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were sending a software update to the International Space Station. Fortunately, NASA flight controllers were able to communicate with the spaceflyers aboard the space station even before the lines of communication were restored.

Once Mission Control made contact with the International Space Station through Russian ground stations, Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford reported on the health and status of the space station and its residents.

"Hey, just FYI, the station's still fine and straight, everybody is in good shape of course," said Ford in an audio released by NASA. "And nothing unexpected other than lots of caution warning tones, and of course we have no system in sight. We'll get that back to you as soon as we can."

Recommended additional reading: 

• ViewSat moves forward with global expansion following investing period

NASA selects Aerojet to develop Space Launch System Advanced Booster

Aerojet, a manufacturer of rocket and missile propulsion based in California, has been awarded by NASA to develop engineering demonstrations and risk reduction concepts that will be used for future advanced boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS).

As one of the companies contracted for a NASA Research Announcement (NRA), Aerojet is tasked to enhance affordability, reliability and performance of an advanced booster for a future version of the SLS heavy-lift spacecraft.

The Space Launch System’s vehicle will take NASA’s Orion rocket and other payloads farther than ever before. The 70-metric-ton version of SLS will use two five-segment solid rocket boosters identical to the boosters that aided in powering the space shuttle to orbit. The expected 130-metric-ton version needs an advanced booster with more thrust to evolve the current SLS.

Aerojet will work on improving technical maturation of a liquid oxygen and kerosene oxidizer-rich staged-combustion engine, as well as reducing any risk that may arise. To achieve this, the company will need to fabricate a representative full-scale 550,000-pound thrust class main injector and thrust chamber. Aerojet’s will also require preparation to conduct a series of tests measuring performance and demonstrating combustion stability.

Aside from Aerojet, other companies that were also contracted by NASA to develop the SLS advanced booster include ATK Launch Systems Inc., Dynetics Inc., and Northrop Grumman Corporation Aerospace Systems. These new initiatives will perform and analyze advanced booster concepts and hardware demonstrations during an approximate 30-month period.

You may also want to read: 

• Astrotech Space Operations wins task order contract from NASA to develop OCO-2 spacecraft