ISS Resupply mission delayed

ISS Resupply mission delayed

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Discussion

MartG

Original Poster:

21,238 posts

211 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
quotequote all
The Japanese resupply mission to the ISS due to launch 22:32 GMT tomorrow has been delayed by a typhoon at the tracking station on Guam. No new date has yet been announced.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/09/09/jaxa-postpon...


Simpo Two

87,086 posts

272 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
quotequote all
How much food, oxygen etc does the ISS keep in stock for these things, launch failures etc?

Can they return to Earth at will if/when supplies run out?

Beati Dogu

9,193 posts

146 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
quotequote all
There's oxygen and water recycling on the ISS and they'll have supplies stored for such eventualities.

It's not unusual for supply missions to be delayed a few days by weather at the launch site, or technical issues. Some don't make it at all, like SpaceX's CRS-7 mission, which disintegrated a couple of minutes after launch in 2015. The Russian resupply mission prior to this, Progress M-27M, managed to get into orbit, but went into a tailspin and crashed back to Earth. The ISS went from 17th April to 5th July without resupply as a result.

As for the crew, there's currently 6 people onboard. There's a couple of Soyuz attached to the ISS, which can be used to evacuate 3 people each back to Earth if necessary. It's one of these has some drill damage in it, but it's not in the really important part, the re-entry capsule (unless drunken Boris the construction worker had some fun there too).

Simpo Two

87,086 posts

272 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
quotequote all
Thanks. So all they need is a way to turn poo back into food and they can stay indefinitely!

Potatos anyone?

Beati Dogu

9,193 posts

146 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
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liquid waste certainly gets recycled. They already science the st out of it.;)

Simpo Two

87,086 posts

272 months

Sunday 9th September 2018
quotequote all
Beati Dogu said:
liquid waste certainly gets recycled. They already science the st out of it.;)
'Science' now a verb! ...he she or it scienced...

Filtering pee is easy; sieving st needs biology.

Eric Mc

122,856 posts

272 months

Monday 10th September 2018
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Blame Mark Watney for converting "science" to a verb.

Dr G

15,402 posts

249 months

Monday 10th September 2018
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Depsite being a grumpy old bd on such matters I don't actually have a problem with that entering popular usage!