International Space Station

Video Of The Day: Cmdr Chris Hadfield & “Space Oddity”

Krypton Radio, Music, Sci / Tech, Space Sciences, Video Of the Day No Responses »

May 132013

David Bowie’s Space Oddity is one of the modern classics of geek pop, but it’s never actually been performed on location in space – until now. Chris Hadfield has done a cover of it to mark his return to Planet Earth today aboard the Soyuz landing craft, but rewrites the lyrics a bit so that the ending isn’t so much of a downer. He really is a good singer, and does the song justice – and watching that guitar floating gracefully down the interior of one of the modules of the pressurized habitat aboard the Internation Space Station gives us chills.

And naturally, you’ll hear this version on Krypton Radio at any time during our broadcast days if you tune in to listen.

Enjoy.

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Video Of The Day: One Last Song Before Planetfall

Events, Sci / Tech, Space Sciences, Television, Video Of the Day No Responses »

May 082013

For his last downlink before returning to Earth, CSA Astronaut Chris Hadfield performed I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing) with hundreds of students at the Ontario Science Centre and nearly a million people, mostly students from coast-to-coast Canada and around the world, performing the song in unison from their location. CSA Astronaut Jeremy Hansen was present at the history-making Music Monday event at the Science Centre and moderated a Q&A with students and Commander Hadfield.

I.S.S (Is Someone Singing) is a song co-written by Hadfield and the Barenaked Ladies’ front man Ed Robertson. (Credit: CSA /NASA)

We had to post this – we sang along, and not without tears in our eyes.

Enjoy. And, safe journey home, Commander Hadfield.

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Video Of The Day: Chris Hadfield & The Chieftains – ‘Moondance’

Krypton Radio No Responses »

Mar 122013

Chris Hadfield is one lucky guy. If you can call unyieldingly and unfailingly shaping your own destiny every day of your life being “lucky”. Today’s offering is one the now famous Canadian-born astronaut and International Space Station commander. He performs “Moondance” with the Chieftains via a live video link from the space station’s observation dome, called the “cupola”, offering one of the most amazing views any human could ever hope to see – the Earth, from space.

Enjoy the space music.

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Video Of The Day: Watch The Premiere Of ‘I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing?)’

Music, Sci / Tech, Space Sciences, Video Of the Day No Responses »

Feb 092013

We’re one of the world’s leading sci-fi radio stations, so this one’s a natural for Video of the Day. And wait till you see what we’re offering up this time.

It’s the premiere performance of a song called I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing?) by International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield and lead singer for Bare Naked Ladies, Ed Robertson. This performance is not the first space jam, as there have been musicians aboard the ISS before Hadfield who performed over communication downlinks from the station. However, not very many songs have been written in space and then performed from there, and to Chris Hadfield’s credit, this new one from the album he’s working on (Songs from Space) is pretty darned good.

Actually, it’s chillingly beautiful.

Watch the video as astronaut Chris Hadfield, from aboard the International Space Station, performs “I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)” with Ed Robertson, the rest of the Barenaked Ladies and the Wexford Gleeks from Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, who were all at the CBC studios in Toronto.

The song, which was written by Hadfield and Robertson in partnership with Music Monday, CBC Music and the Canadian Space Agency, explores what it’s like to look down on the Earth from outer space. It will also be the official song for the 2013 edition of Music Monday, which takes place on May 6.

David Bowie may have paid tribute to the great unknown with songs like “Starman” and “Space Oddity,” and Rush, a favourite of Hadfield’s, penned an entire space-rock opera, 2112, but how will they compare to a song written in space, by an actual astronaut?

Listen for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments. And if you want to sing and play along, simply download the lyrics and join in!

Enjoy. And, you’re welcome.

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Video Of The Day: ‘Jewel In The Night’ From The International Space Station

Music, Sci / Tech, Space Sciences, Video Of the Day No Responses »

Dec 272012

You know that song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, right? The twelve days the song is talking about are between Christmas Day and January 6, which is the day the three wise men supposedly finally showed up.

So it’s technically still Christmas. I know, I know, just go with it. Because it gives us an excuse to present the first song ever recorded in space under zero gravity. Jewel in the Night was written by Dave Hadfield and performed in orbit aboard the International Space Station by his brother Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian commander of the station. It’s the first of many the astronaut hopes to record while circling the planet over the next five months, eventually laying down tracks for an entire album recorded in zero gravity.

Hadfield posted the track online for download and streaming on Christmas Eve.

The guitar he played was a Larrivee P-01 Parlor guitar built in British Columbia and sent up to the Space Station more than ten years ago. Playing guitar in zero gravity is a challenge, since gravity normally helps you with the placement of your hands on the guitar’s frets. It’s almost like learning to play all over again.

Hadfield says playing music helps him maintain his emotional connection with home and family on Earth while he’s in space on the long missions.

Enjoy.

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SpaceX ‘Dragon’ First Cargo Flight Begins With Successful Launch

Sci / Tech, Space Sciences No Responses »

Oct 082012

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A privately built rocket lit up the night sky over Florida Sunday (Oct. 7) to kick off the first-ever cargo delivery trip to the International Space Station by a robotic, American-made spacecraft.

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the commercial spaceflight firm SpaceX, roared into space atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from a launch pad here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, beginning a three-day flight to the space station. Liftoff occurred at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT). This is just the first mission, but you could say it’s the most important one, because it’s the first time the craft has been used to deliver cargo to the orbiting science platform. Each flight costs NASA a bit under $1.6 billion. This flight, being the first mission, is dubbed SpaceX CRS-1 and is expected to arrive at the orbiting lab on Wednesday morning (Oct. 10). The CRS in the flight designation stands for “Commercial Resupply Services”, essentially identifying it as a cargo ship.

NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini said Dragon’s ability to launch supplies to the station and return cargo back to Earth is a cornerstone of boosting scientific research on the orbiting laboratory, as well as its day-to-day maintenance. “Not to be overdramatic, but it’s critical to the International Space Station,” Suffredini said during the countdown to launch.

Sunday night’s launch was nearly flawless. One of the Falcon 9 rocket nine engines apparently shut down unexpectedly during the ascent – in this video you might see bits of something in the rocket flare, an indication that something didn’t go quite right – but the booster’s eight other engines compensated for the glitch and delivered the Dragon spacecraft into its intended orbit. It’s designed to do exactly that, so distributing the responsibility for safe delivery across several engines was all part of the plan.

Breaking News: SpaceX’s Dragon Docking In Progress

Sci / Tech, Space Sciences, Special Reports No Responses »

May 252012

The Dragon cargo capsule safely launched last Tuesday has gone through its sensor and control tests in a flyby yesterday, coming within 1.5 miles (about 2.5 km) of the International Space Station permitting the crew aboard the ISS to check to make sure they could take control of the craft if they needed to. This morning the capsule has maneuvered close enough to the station to allow it to be snagged by the station’s external robotic arm, and visual inspection of the docking interface has shown no damage to the nut holes, O-rings and docking surfaces due to potential damage from micrometereorites – meaning that if they attempt to dock the capsule to the station, they don’t expect anything bad to happen. The solar panels to keep the capsule powered up are currently deployed, and the actual docking procedure connecting the two craft will happen sometime around 2:30 in the afternoon U.S. Central Time.

The station and its visitor are orbiting the Earth once every 92 minutes.

As soon as they’re finished setting up the docking sequence, the Dragon capsule will dock with the ISS, and make history. Hatch opening activities are planned for Saturday.

That it takes so long to dock a visiting craft compared to the few seconds it takes in the movies for fictional craft to do this reminds us of exactly how dangerous all this is – come in too fast, and you risk permanently damaging both craft. These are fragile vehicles, and they’re not bumper cars up there. There is zero margin for error.

SpaceX is still hard at work on the version of the capsule that will carry up to seven crew at a time, so this version is the cargo ship. It can carry about 7.5 tons of cargo going up, and about half that for the return trip.

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Update:

As of 17:02 UTC, the Dragon capsule is successfully berthed to the International Space Station. We can all exhale now. The staff and crew of Krypton Radio congratulates SpaceX and NASA on this momentous occasion.

SpaceX’s Dragon Lifts Off Safely

Sci / Tech, Space Sciences No Responses »

May 222012

The SpaceX Dragon, mounted to a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared into space from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the Dragon capsule to orbit at 3:44 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. The launch is the company’s second demonstration test flight for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, Program. This flight is an unmanned one – the Dragon capsule is being used in its cargo configuration. The craft has been launched into orbit an exciting start to the mission that will make SpaceX the first commercial company in history to attempt to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station — something only a handful of governments have ever accomplished.

During the flight, there will be a series of check-out procedures to test and prove Dragon’s systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station.

This is a far cry from the spacecraft of old – and isn’t it strange to be able to say that and mean it?

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