DLR Portal - ISS

In search of antimatter

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0200

The first results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) have been released. This space 'camera' has recorded 20 billion cosmic particles in the first 18 months of operation – yet that is just a small step.

Studying human skin in space – Soyuz mission takes SKIN B to the ISS

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:40:00 +0100

Human skin is an organ with many functions; it regulates, among other things, the water balance and temperature of the body, it prevents the entry of pathogens, protects the body from ultraviolet radiation and serves as a sensory organ. But how does it react to the harsh conditions of space? Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) are seeking answers to these questions with the SKIN B experiment, funded by DLR Space Administration. The experiment started its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:43 CET on 28 March 2013, carried by the Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft with the crew of ISS Expedition 35.

New 'room' for the ISS - ATV-3 now docked

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:40:00 +0200

Rendezvousing at 28,000 kilometres per hour at an altitude of about 380 kilometres is hardly routine – even for experienced spaceflight engineers and astronauts, which is why applause broke out in the European Space Agency (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Control Centre in Toulouse when the third European space transporter, 'Edoardo Amaldi', docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 00:31 CEST (22:31 UTC) on 29 March 2012.

Successful launch of ATV-3 'Edoardo Amaldi'

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:50:00 +0100

It is a freighter, storage facility and propulsion system all in one - and an important link between the astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) and their base on Earth. The third European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space transporter was launched on 23 March 2012 at 05:34 CET (01:34 local time) on board an Ariane 5ES rocket, from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

DLR ROKVISS robotic arm returns from space

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:10:00 +0200

The ROKVISS (Robotic Components Verification on the ISS) technology experiment developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has returned to Earth after six years in space.

German astronaut Alexander Gerst to fly to the ISS in 2014

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:10:00 +0200

On 18 September 2011, German ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was nominated for his first mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Gerst will visit humankind's largest outpost in space for a long–term mission lasting from May to November.

Thirty years of the space shuttle - launch of Atlantis marks the end of the US Space Shuttle Programme

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:30:00 +0200

The successful launch of the US Space Shuttle Atlantis en route to the International Space Station (ISS) marked the beginning of the final space shuttle mission and the end of the 30-year era of US space shuttle flights. Atlantis lifted off from its launch site, Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Friday, 8 July 2011 at 11:29 local time (17:29 CEST).

ATV-2: re-entry over the south Pacific

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:30:00 +0200

Loaded with waste material, the second European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-2), Johannes Kepler, entered Earth's atmosphere shortly after performing its second de-orbit engine firing at 22:04 CEST on 21 June 2011 and burned up over the south Pacific. After more than four months in space, ATV Johannes Kepler undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 16:51 CEST on 20 June 2011. On board was a Re-entry Break-up Recorder, a special flight data recorder designed to log the mechanical stresses on the ATV during break-up and radio the data to the ground station via satellite.

Searching for dark matter and antimatter

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:30:00 +0200

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) will be located outside the International Space Station (ISS) and will use its various detectors to seek cosmic radiation in space. On 29 April 2011, at 21:47 CET (19:47 UTC), the AMS will be launched on board the space shuttle Endeavour from Cape Canaveral (Florida), en route to the ISS. The project, supported by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), will involve 500 scientists from 16 countries. The main scientific target is to find evidence for the presence of dark matter and antimatter.

Back from space: bacteria's survival skills tested on the International Space Station

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 +0200

Resistant spores of bacillus subtilis have spent 22 months in the 'EXPOSE-R' test container outside the International Space Station (ISS). For the first time during a long-duration mission, they were mixed with artificial meteorite dust and exposed to the harsh conditions of outer space. Scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are now determining precisely how many of these spores have survived their stay in space. If it turns out that the meteorite dust was able to shield the spores from the hostile space environment, microorganisms may be capable of surviving in meteorites for long periods of time and travelling from one planet to another.