Heute entscheidet übrigens der US-Kongreß (in diesem Fall der Senat) darüber, ob der Betrieb der ISS über das bisher vorgesehene Raumstationenversenken im Pazifik im Jahr 2030 hinaus bis 2032 verlängert wird.
Zitat March 4, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In his opening statement at today’s Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee executive session, Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) detailed how the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 delivers critical funding and a clear strategic direction to ensure the United States —not China—leads the next era of space exploration.
"Good morning. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will come to order.
“Today we are considering two consequential reauthorization bills: the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 and the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026. ... “Let me touch on a few highlights of the NASA Authorization Act. The bill —
Directs NASA to create a permanent “moon base” so we can get there before the Chinese; Keeps American astronauts in space, extending the ISS through 2032 and requiring the launch of two independent commercial space stations before the ISS can be retired; Protects against disclosure of NASA tech secrets to Chinese spies; and Restores fiscal discipline while modernizing NASA’s workforce through public-private partnerships.
“Space is not just symbolic; it is strategic. The NASA Authorization Act ensures that America — not China — will lead the next era of exploration.
PS. Senator Jim Bridenstine, früherer NASA-Direktor und mittlerweile Abgeordneter, hatte in den Entwurf den Passus hineingeschrieben, ab dem kommenden Jahr sollte die US-Raumfahrtbehörde nicht mehr als 50% aller Aufträge "an eine einzelne Firma" vergeben dürfen, "um eine Monopolstellung auszuschließen." Das ist in der jetzt vorliegenden Fassung ersatzlos gestrichen worden. Irgendjemand hat den Zuständigen wohl leicht schonend erläutert, daß gut 9 von 10 Starts der NASA durch SpaceX durchgeführt werden, und selbst bei einer Aufstockung der Kapazitäten von ULA (United Launch Alliance) und Rocket Lab (andere Bewerber gibt es schlicht nicht, solange Blue Origin/New Glenn noch im Probebetrieb abreitet) eine solche Klausel bedeuten würde, daß die Zahl der Starts pro Jahr auf die Hälfte reduziert werden müßte - oder noch mehr, da SpaceX die Zahl in jedem bisherigen Jahr drastisch aufgestockt hat. Von den 193 Starts der USA in vergangenen Jahr hat SpaceX 165 durchgeführt. Macht 28 durch die Konkurrenz. Ich setz' die Zahlen für die Jahre 2018 bis 2025 mal her, um das etwas sinnfälliger zu machen: 2018: 18 2019: 13 2020: 26 2021: 31 2022: 61 2023: 98 2024: 134 2025: 165 2026 (bis einschließlich heute, 4.3.): 26
Sollte SpaceX mit der 50:50-Klausel darauf beschränkt werden, macht das pro Jahr 56. Nun startet SpaceX natürlich nicht nur für die NASA (der größte Posten sind die Starlink-Starts), aber eine solche Klausel würde den Aufbau der Starshield-Konstellation der US Armee drastisch torpedieren (seit Januar 2022 bisher 19 Starts; vorgesehen sind bis Ende 2027 480 Satelliten als gegen Feindeingriffe gesichertes Kommunikations-/Datentransfernetz). Da Bridenstine das aufgrund seines früheren Jobs wissen muß, kann es sich nur um eine Retourkutsche gegen den von Musk lancierten Nachfolger Jared Isaacman als Nachfolger auf dem Posten als NASA-Chef handeln, und angesichts der Situation in der Ukraine, vielleicht demnächst in Taiwan und dem Streßtest solcher Systeme seit dem Wochenende im Irak dürfte das gar nicht gut angekommen sein. PS. Fundstück.
Zitat Ozan Bellik@BellikOzan Bridenstine trying to saddle NASA with the rocket the DoD is grounding because of explodey boosters suggests that maybe he never had the agency's best interests at heart... 8:07 AM · Mar 4, 2026
Zitat The US Senate empowers NASA to fully engage in lunar space race
During a brief hearing on Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation spent only a few minutes “marking up” new legislation that provides guidance to NASA for its various initiatives, including the Artemis program to land humans on the Moon.
“Our bill authorizes critical funding for, and gives strategic direction to, the agency in line with the priorities of administrator Isaacman and the Trump administration,” said the committee’s chairman, Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas).
The duration of the hearing, however, seems to be the inverse of its significance.
Elements of the legislation, now branded as The NASA Authorization Act of 2026 (see full text), have undergone significant revisions since just last week. The sweeping changes follow NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman’s announcement on Friday that he was shuffling the Artemis program to ensure that the US space agency would beat China back to the Moon and establish a long-term presence at the lunar south pole. In large part, the Senate’s bill endorses Isaacman’s plan of action.
With the revised legislation, Cruz and the Senate committee have empowered Isaacman and NASA to make significant changes to the Artemis Program. The revised plan for the space agency will likely lead to more launches and a much greater emphasis on the lunar surface.
Among the key Artemis changes in the reauthorization legislation:
It notes the Space Launch System rocket “has not met” its intended flight rate and that the Exploration Upper Stage is “behind schedule and over budget.” It allows Isaacman to identify alternatives for a new upper stage and gives him a green light to “standardize” the SLS rocket to fly it more often. This effectively cancels future upgrades, as Isaacman sought. The legislation does not mention the Lunar Gateway. Notably, a version of this legislation authored just last week said a lunar orbiting Gateway was “critical” for future deep space exploration in section 206. Now that language is gone, replaced by a request for Isaacman to brief Congress on plans for a “lunar outpost” in 60 days. Later in the legislation, on page 34, it states, “The Administrator may repurpose, reprogram, reconfigure, or reassign existing programs, platforms, modules, or hardware originally developed for other programs.” Essentially, this allows Isaacman to use elements of the Lunar Gateway and a second mobile launch tower for other purposes.
The legislation contains a lot of other notable elements. For example, a provision championed by former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to cap the space agency’s ability to procure commercial launch services was stripped out. And the bill also extends the lifetime of the International Space Station until 2032 to give commercial space station providers more time to bring their private facilities online.
But the big picture here is that the US Senate has put out one of its most important pieces of spaceflight legislation in decades: Senators have instructed Isaacman to go fly the Artemis program with all due speed, to do so as he deems best, and to focus on building a Moon base rather than a space station in lunar orbit.
Wenn ich das richtig sehe, ist damit (zumindest auf absehbare Zeit) das Lunar Gateway, die Raumstation im langgestreckten Mondorbit als Zwischenstopp für den Abstieg zur Mondoberfläche erst einmal vom Tisch.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat von Morn im Beitrag #50 Dann wünsche ich einen guten Start in drei Wochen.
Zitat A Russian cargo spacecraft encountered a problem shortly after launching toward the International Space Station on Sunday morning (March 22), but it should be able to power through.
A Soyuz rocket topped with the robotic Progress 94 freighter lifted off from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday at 7:59 a.m. EDT (1159 GMT; 4:59 p.m. local Baikonur time).
The launch went well, but Progress 94 suffered an issue shortly after deploying from its rocket ride: One of the antennas it's supposed to use for automatic docking did not deploy, according to NASA.
"All other systems are operating as designed, and Progress will continue toward its planned docking at 9:34 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 22," agency officials said via X on Sunday. "Troubleshooting will continue and if the antenna cannot be deployed, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will manually pilot the spacecraft through a backup system for rendezvous and docking at the space station."
Progress 94 is carrying about 3 tons of food, propellant and other supplies to the astronauts currently living and working on board the International Space Station (ISS).
As NASA's update notes, the freighter is expected to dock with the station's Poisk module on Tuesday morning. Progress 94 will take the place of Progress 92, which undocked from Poisk on Monday (March 16).
Zitat NASA@NASA Following launch, one of the Progress spacecraft’s antennas used for automatic docking did not deploy as planned. All other systems are operating as designed, and Progress will continue toward its planned docking at 9:34 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 22. Troubleshooting will continue and if the antenna cannot be deployed, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will manually pilot the spacecraft through a backup system for rendezvous and docking at the space station. 1:42 PM · Mar 22, 2026
Zitat von Ulrich Elkmann im Beitrag #53...and if the antenna cannot be deployed, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will manually pilot the spacecraft through a backup system for rendezvous and docking at the space station.
Das wird schon gut gehen mit dem Andocken. Notfalls geht halt einer raus und schiebt. Russen können das.
Und morgen Abend versuchen die Bayern es zum zweiten Mal mit 'Spectrum', wenn ich recht informiert bin und die Ventile alle mitspielen. Möge es diesmal gelingen.
Gruß Morn <>< ______________________________________ Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it. Thomas Sowell
Zitat He suddenly couldn’t speak in space. NASA astronaut says his medical scare remains a mystery By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press
Updated: 20 minutes ago Published: 20 minutes ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The astronaut who prompted NASA’s first medical evacuation earlier this year said Friday that doctors still don’t know why he suddenly fell sick at the International Space Station.
Four-time space flier Mike Fincke said he was eating dinner on Jan. 7 after prepping for a spacewalk the next day when it happened. He couldn’t talk and remembers no pain, but his anxious crewmates jumped into action after seeing him in distress and requested help from flight surgeons on the ground.
“It was completely out of the blue. It was just amazingly quick,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press from Houston’s Johnson Space Center.
Fincke, 59, a retired Air Force colonel, said the episode lasted roughly 20 minutes and he felt fine afterward. He said he still does. He never experienced anything like that before or since.
Doctors have ruled out a heart attack and Fincke said he wasn’t choking, but everything else is still on the table and could be related to his 549 days of weightlessness. He was 5 ½ months into his latest space station stay when the problem struck like “a very, very fast lightning bolt.”
“My crewmates definitely saw that I was in distress,” he said, with all six gathering around him. “It was all hands on deck within just a matter of seconds.”
Fincke said he can’t provide any more details about his medical episode. The space agency wants to make sure that other astronauts do not feel that their medical privacy will be compromised if something happens to them, he said.
Zitat NASA astronaut medically evacuated from ISS says he lost ability to speak while in space
‘It was completely out of the blue. It was just amazingly quick,’ Fincke said of the medical crisis
Marcia Dunn - Friday 27 March 2026
Four-time space veteran Mike Fincke recounted the alarming incident, which occurred on January 7 as he was having dinner, preparing for a spacewalk scheduled for the following day.
He suddenly lost the ability to speak, experiencing no pain but visibly alarming his crewmates, who swiftly alerted flight surgeons on Earth.
...
Fincke noted that the space station's ultrasound machine proved invaluable during the emergency, and he has undergone extensive testing since his return to Earth. NASA is now reviewing other astronauts' medical records for any comparable incidents in space.
Zitat Ellie in Space 🚀💫@Ellieinspace Wow, so glad Mike is okay! We now know what the medical evacuation was for aboard the ISS. Mike Fincke experienced sudden and horrifying loss of speech for 20 minutes during a Crew-11 meal on the ISS, with no pain or other symptoms, leading to the first-ever medical evacuation and their early January return. Post-mission tests, including MRI, found no stroke, heart attack, or abnormalities, confirming a "false alarm" per Fincke, though the episode mirrors transient ischemic attacks documented in three NASA astronauts historically. 10:04 PM · Mar 27, 2026
Zitat Of 338 NASA astronauts selected, a total of nine CVA events (2.7%) were documented. All cases were Caucasian males with military and/or NASA high-performance aircraft training. Three astronauts suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), three suffered an ischemic stroke, and three suffered a life-ending stroke of unknown type (detail not provided on death certificates). All nine CVA occurrences were initial events; none were recurrent. The average age at the time of CVA event was 70 years (range: mid-40 to mid-80s). Common comorbidities encountered in the stroke cases were hyperlipidemia, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and carotid artery disease.
"CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENT INCIDENCE IN THE NASA ASTRONAUT POPULATION"
Zitat Bei der transitorischen ischämischen Attacke, kurz TIA, handelt es sich um eine in ihrer Symptomatik dem Schlaganfall ähnelnde, vorübergehende neurologische Störung, die auf eine fokale Ischämie im ZNS ohne in der Bildgebung nachweisbaren Infarkt zurückzuführen ist.
Nach älteren Definitionen wurde eine TIA daran fest gemacht, dass die neurologische Symptomatik nicht länger als 24 Stunden nachweisbar war, bei typischen Episoden weniger als 1 Stunde. Diese Festlegung wurde verlassen, weil in klinischen Studien bei bis zu 50 % der klassisch definierten TIAs im MRT eine Hirnläsion nachweisbar war.
Bei Rückbildung der Symptomatik innerhalb von 72 Stunden sprach man von einem prolongierten reversiblen ischämischen neurologischen Defizit (PRIND).
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