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SCIENCETuesday 22 March 2016
Space station delivery rich in science and technology
MARCIA DUNN Cygnus cargo ship, once it The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft stack sits on the
AP Aerospace Writer leaves the space station in launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, March 21,
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. May and is a safe distance 2016.
(AP) — A space station away. Researchers want
supply ship is set to blast to understand how a fire Associated Press
off Tuesday night with a spreads in weightlessness —
commercial-quality 3-D how fast and how big does capsules, according to the anchor itself to avoid float- ers at Jet Propulsion Labo-
printer for astronaut as well it get? The goal is to im- company. ing away, given the ex- ratory in Pasadena, Califor-
as public use — for a price prove fire safety on future ceedingly low gravity. The nia, have based their new
— and the makings for a spacecraft. An electrical METEOR SHOWERS UP question is: Will the anchor mechanical spring-loaded
large-scale fire. igniter will be used to light a CLOSE stay put or yank free? Re- grippers on the thousands
Don’t worry: The blaze is for yard-long cotton-fiberglass searchers hope to better of tiny sticky hairs found on
scientific purposes only and sheet inside a box. The burn A new camera will provide understand the loose, grav- geckos’ feet.
won’t ignite until the un- should last 15 to 20 minutes, high-definition video of me- elly asteroid surface with a Five handheld grippers will
manned craft is clear of the with a pair of cameras re- teors entering Earth’s atmo- NASA experiment known as be tested on the space
International Space Station cording the flames and sphere. It should be ready Strata. They’ve pulverized station; one will remain
at mission’s end. NASA proj- sensors making measure- to go well before the Per- a hunk of meteorite dis- on board an entire year.
ect manager Gary Ruff said ments. A week or so later, seids meteor shower in Au- covered in Africa to simu- Researchers envision us-
this blaze will be second in the capsule will burn up as gust. Southwest Research late the surface material ing these so-called Gecko
size only to the 1997 fire on planned over the Pacific. Institute’s Michael Forten- found on airless asteroids; Grippers for robots’ hands
the Russian Mir space sta- The test is called Saffire, berry and his team want to 400 grams are on board. and feet, allowing them to
tion, which was caused by short for Spacecraft Fire Ex- analyze the chemical com- Silica glass shards also are crawl around the outside
a defective oxygen-gener- periment. position of incoming mete- making the trip, along with of a spacecraft to perform
ating canister. ors. This is the third attempt other materials stored in inspections or repairs. The
Orbital ATK’s capsule, 3-D SPACE PRINTS, ANY- to get the experiment to tubes, so researchers can reusable grippers can be
named Cygnus after the ONE? the space station; the first see how they move around turned on and off, and ad-
swan constellation, holds was destroyed in an Orbital in weightlessness. here to multiple surfaces,
nearly 8,000 pounds of sta- This new 3-D printer is an launch explosion in 2014, making them ideal for fu-
tion supplies for NASA. One- update to one launched to the second in a SpaceX GECKO GRIPPERS ture space station use, ac-
fourth of that is scientific the space station in 2014. launch accident last June. Some of nature’s best grip- cording to NASA scientist
research, including robotic Northern California-based pers can be found on the Pete Hasbrook.q
grippers inspired by the tiny, company Made In Space SLIP-SLIDING AWAY feet of geckos. Research-
sticky hair on geckos’ feet. says the new printer is big- A spacecraft landing on
An Atlas rocket provided ger and better. The first an asteroid will need to
by United Launch Alliance printer created items no
will provide the ride from bigger than an iPhone, this
Cape Canaveral Air Force new printer will churn out
Station. Excellent weather is items as big as an iPad mini.
forecast for the 11:05 p.m. It will be controlled from
launch. the ground, with minimal
A look at some of the ex- input from the astronauts.
periments bound for the The intention is to make 3-D
space station and its six- items as needed for real-
man crew: time use. But the company
___ also is leasing the printer for
groups interested in creat-
FIRE ON BOARD ing customized 3-D items in
NASA will deliberately set a space. Some of the items
fire inside the trash-packed will be returned to Earth
aboard SpaceX Dragon
