* Astronomy

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RE: International Space Station

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A first for fish in space

The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has sent an aquarium to the International Space Station.
No, this isn't a veiled attempt at turning the ISS into some kind of swanky bachelor pad, but rather an experiment that will study the effects of microgravity on marine life.
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Cargo Ship Undocks From Space Station

The Progress 47 uncrewed cargo ship, emptied of supplies and filled with trash for disposal, undocked from the International Space Station. Russian flight controllers tested a new automated rendezvous system, known as Kurs-NA, to perform the manoeuvre more safely and efficiently.

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Soyuz will carry 3 home from ISS

A Russian cosmonaut and astronauts from the United States and Europe are scheduled to return to Earth early Sunday, marking the end of a six-month tour on the International Space Station.
With Oleg Kononenko at the controls, a Soyuz spacecraft will depart the station at 04:48 UT Sunday with NASA's Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency onboard. The three are scheduled to begin an atmospheric re-entry at 07:19 UT and then land on the central steppes of Kazakhstan at 08:14 UT.
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ISS to Build Up Meteorite Defences

Russian cosmonauts will conduct a space walk in August during which they will install additional anti-meteorite panels on the International Space Station (ISS), cosmonaut Yury Malanchenko said on Friday.
Malanchenko, his U.S. and Japanese colleagues, Sunita Williams and Hoshide Akihiko, are scheduled to depart for a space mission on July 15.
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Meteor strike on ISS is reminder of cosmic hazard

Everyone knows what a pain it is when you get a chip on your car's windshield from a bit of flying grit. But on Earth it is usually fairly easy to call someone in to repair it.
NASA are currently evaluating a similar spot of damage to one of the viewing windows on the International Space Station to see if that needs to be replaced.
The chip that left a visible scar on the outer pane was caused by a tiny meteoroid or scrap of space debris travelling many times faster than a bullet. It hit one of seven panes in the orbiting outpost's European-built Cupola - the space equivalent to a conservatory.
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US space companies prepare for space station docking

Two US rocket companies are readying the first private space missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
SpaceX and Orbital both have multi-billion dollar Nasa contracts to supply cargo to the station, filling the void left by the retirement last year of the space shuttle.
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Orbital debris safely passes International Space Station

A small piece of Cosmos 2251 satellite debris safely passed by the International Space Station at 06:38 UT, Saturday March 24 allowing the six Expedition 30 crew members onboard the orbiting complex to exit their Soyuz spacecraft and resume normal activities.

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Space junk threatens station astronauts

A discarded chunk of a Russian rocket is forcing six space station astronauts to seek shelter in escape capsules early Saturday.
NASA spokesman Rob Navias says the space junk will barely be close enough to be a threat.
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Russian cosmonauts on spacewalk for meteorite shield experiments

Two Russian cosmonauts began a six-hour spacewalk Thursday, February 16 to work on the International Space Station's (ISS) meteorite shields and perform experiments, according to the Interfax news agency.
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