Recently in International Space Station Category

Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko, NASA Flight Engineer Don Petit and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers were launched on the Russian aboard their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft at 13:16 UTC (8:16 a.m. EST) Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Expedition 29 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov, NASA Flight Engineer Dan Burbank and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin launched on the Russian Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft on November 14, 2011, (November 13 in the United States) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a two-day journey to the International Space Station.

Expedition 29 has been given the green light for launch today at 11:13 p.m. EST to the International Space Station. Onboard the Soyuz spacecraft will be Commander Anton Shkaplerov, NASA Flight Engineer Dan Burbank and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin.

An unmanned Progress cargo ship loaded with 2.9 tons of supplies was successfully launched this morning. Bound for the International Space Station, it is the first launch attempt after the failure of a Soyuz rocket with another unmanned Progress last August.
With this successful launch, the way is clear for the launch of the next ISS three man crew November 14.

The International Space Station video update for October 24, 2011.

The The International Space Station orbit was boosted on Wednesday by approximately 3.2 kilometers in preparation for the next Soyuz Progress resupply mission.

In an article posted on Spaceflight Now Gilles Leclerc, Director General of Space Technologies at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) confirms that the International Space Station (ISS) partners have contacted Russia about purchasing an additional Soyuz spacecraft, potentially one new flight per year between 2013 and 2016. Currently an additional seat on a Soyuz costs $56 million based on the last contract signed by the U.S.

In today's Ottawa Citizen article "What does $100 billion buy?" they ask fair questions in "... how valuable this research in space has been, and does having a space station really add prestige, or industrial competence, or an innovative edge to a country?" with respect to how Canada benefits and humanity as a whole.

"The space station must impress us on a new level: Treating disease, or bringing new products or technology. Research continues on both fronts; today much of the technology research deals with materials, such as superconductors for the computer industry, which can be studied better in zero-gravity than on Earth."

Today in Tokyo the leaders of the space agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States met to discuss the future of the International Space Station (ISS). The space station is nearing completion and the group noted there are no technical constraints to continue operations beyond 2015 to 2020 and possibly 2028. Extending the lifespan of the station to 2028 is a matter of certifying the on-orbit elements, something the ISS partners are currently doing.

The US space program is scheduled to fly its last Space Shuttle mission late next year meaning Canada's astronauts will have to ride a Russian Soyuz rocket if they are to visit the International Space Station (ISS). The Russians have been charging space tourists $35 million US of late and will be charging the US space program $51 million US per flight starting in 2016 to fly on a Soyuz.