su-geek writes: "BBC is reporting that the Russians are looking into the feasibility of a commercial space station. The Station would be used to promote space tourism and would help pay for future supply missions to the ISS." I think they should get into the business of crashing space stations into the Pacific, and bringing tourists on boats to watch the fireworks.

An anonymous submitter - anonymous because of the database crash that wiped out several hours of data today, sigh - sent in this tale about the duties of a physicist during World War II.

CodingFrenzy writes: "If you're over 18 and living in Germany, Switzerland or Austria (thats all in Europe) you can submit your best Mindstorm based Robot to a competition to fly to the ISS (this link in German). Choose any design you want: cleaning windows, space-ballet, etc. Include a gravity generator and you might even be able to use those wheels. Pack it into fur and give them a space-pet. What the heck, there's enough junk in space already..." If you win, let us know, we'll send you a t-shirt. :)

Guinnessy writes: "According to Toni Feder on Physics Today, scrounging used equipment is worthwhile if you can avoid the pitfalls of wasting time and compromising scientific goals. Feder interviews experimenters who have dug up everything from dewars to nuclear reactors."

Michael Wallis writes: "Just saw a story on AllNews.ru (in English) announcing South African Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth is in training to be the second space tourist. This just two days after the head of the Russian space program said in Quebec that there would be no more tourists to ISS until 2006. Guess Mark will just fly a Soyez to orbit for a few days."

Dada writes: "The crews of the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station successfully installed the 'Quest' airlock to the ISS. The Canadian-built space station arm actually worked!"

zardor writes: "According to a spacehab news release, the LEGO company shipped a few bricks up to the station for the cosmonauts to play with. (US astronauts were probably not allowed to play since they can't "engage in commercial activities"). From the news release: "The LEGO Company flew an experiment designed to help students learn about weight and mass. Space Media's STARS Academy global education program developed this experiment, and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education contributed educational materials for it. In this first-ever toy-based experiment on the ISS, cosmonauts attached a LEGO Life on Mars Red Planet Protector toy set to a mass measurement device and determined the oscillation frequency of the toy in the device in order to gauge its mass in space. Cosmonauts videotaped the experiment for educational uses. The LEGO payload also included a promotional banner, which cosmonauts unfurled and photographed in space, and 300 toy ``alien'' figures. Most of the figures will be awarded to winners of the LEGO ``Life on Mars Survival Challenge National Building Contest'' for children aged 5-12. Its a shame they flew the bricks down, otherwise they could have used them to repair that broken CanadaArm 2."

Matthew Moyle-Croft writes "On the ISS the Astronauts have been hard at work building a kitchen table away from the prying eyes of mission control."

mitd writes: "ISS Mission STS-100-6A will leave be leaving Thursday carrying the new Canadarm2 and Chris Hadfield who will become the first Canadian to walk in space. Chris gave an interview on CBC radio (MP3) . He talks about the new features of the Canadarm2 including its ability to walk around the ISS and do very delicate work that previously only astronauts could do." And MP3 interviews are a nice idea, too, versus streaming.

mzac writes: "The amateur radio abord the ISS is now activated and is digipeating packet radio. With a simple 5W handheld and a 3/4 wave 2 meter antenna, the signal can be received quite easily. Anyone who doesn't have a amateur radio license but does have a scanner can probably also receive the signals with a handheld scanner and the stock antenna. Using satellite tracking software and NTP software to sync your computer's clock is a good way of knowing when the ISS will pass over." (Read more.)

FortKnox writes: "Just when you thought you heard the end of it, Russian engineers unveiled plans for the Mir2. Fortunately, the Russian government has no plans to put this on the agenda. Why can't we all just build the ISS like good little countries??" Taking the Russian space budget into account, this seems unlikely to occur any time soon. But it's nice to dream...

We've gotten several submissions of this Wired story about life on space station Alpha. The story was written from these logs (which we linked to a few days ago) kept by the commander of the most recent ISS mission. So, let me recommend the logs once again - like the Wired reporter, I found them fascinating reading. For instance, the commander describes losing a washer because everyone's hands were full and they couldn't grab it - obviously letting go of dozens of washers to grab one, in zero-gravity, would not be a good idea - and they can't just "put them down" somewhere.

automandc writes "NASA has posted the Mission Logs kept by Commander William Shepard (slightly redacted). Among other interesting things is an insider's view of the computing infrastructure of the station. (For instance, he complains of running out of 'laptop desks' because they have 9 laptops running and want to add two more). He asks for a Windows boot CD, and gripes about a russian Cosmonaut's familiarity with "that other" OS. All in all, a very interesting read for ISS buffs. (Note, they are in reverse chronological order)."

ParticleGirl asks: "Dennis Tito's flight to the ISS is scheduled for the same time that the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)'s robotic arm is supposed to be installed. Speaking for the CSA, Marc Garneau did an interview with Space.com. Now that Canada has come out against Tito going into space, it'll be interesting to see what kind of a compromise will be reached. Until now, this has been a sort-of standoff between Russia and the United States, but now other countries are entering the fray. Should this dude have access to the space station just because he's got the cash? He did work for NASA, and he seems to be intelligent and capable. On the other hand, he's not a trained astronaut and could plausibly be a liability if there is some sort of emergency. Will this be our first extra-orbital international incident?" While the article at Space.Com downplays any possibility of such an occurence, I can see reasons for both sides, here: Russia should be able to run their own space program, without any interference from the US, however Tito's presence on the ISS affects more than Russian interests. If the issue is a matter of training, however, I'm sure that Tito will need to pass some form of certification for space travel. Another thing to remember: the Russians have been at this space-travel thing longer than the US has. As always, feel free to share your thoughts on this issue.

Midnight Thunder writes "There is an article over at the BBC stating that an NASA is refusing to allow a Russian-backed US businessman onto ISS. Maybe the 'I' doesn't stand for international?" The article suggests NASA would let him go if he had more training, which means he'll be up there eventually...

hey! writes "This just in at space.com -- new details of the Bush NASA budget. It looks like the Pluto-Kuiper express has been cancelled -- possibly our last chance for centuries to get a closeup look at Pluto's atmosphere. As Jupiter moves out of position for gravity assist and Pluto moves further from the Sun it's atmosphere will begin to freeze. My favorite line in the report -- ISS will get increased "consistent with a strategy of constraining space station cost growth." OK, they're talking about being pound wise and penny foolish, but you can't pass up an Orwellian straight line like that."

Gothmolly asks: "There are a growing number of Managed Security Providers (MSP) out there. Basically, these guys drop a firewall in your company, then manage it remotely. Defendnet also offers VPN and (I hear) in-line Anti-Virus solutions. Places like MyCIO and ISS basically do the same thing. How does one evaluate the capabilities of a Managed Security Provider?"

Fervent writes "I think most of us don't totally realize what dangerous and costly things our astronauts have to do. Saturday morning the ISS (International Space Station) will be connected to the bus-sized science lab. The mission is so dangerous, that there is only 2 inches on either side of the shuttle doors to maneuver the lab out. So costly that NASA literally couldn't build a spare, so this is only a one shot deal. They either get it right or they go home hanging their heads. CNN has the article on this particularly tricky maneuver."

delorean writes "The Shuttle Atlantis lifted off last night on a spectacular evening launch. It had to be the most beautiful launch I've seen, even if it was only by TV. Check out this pic of the boosters rockets falling away. The Shuttle is carrying the Destiny Laboratory for the International Space Station, the most expensive piece of equipment for the multi-national effort. Once the Destiny is hooked up and online the control of the ISS will switch over to a special Mission Control center in Houston instead of Russia. Get the incredible statistics about the assembly here. Read the Mission goal, Realtime Tracking of the Shuttle and ISS here and catch Sightings here."

Dahamma writes "I saw on Voodoo Extreme that NASA has modeled a "Virtual International Space Station" in Unrealty, an architectural modeling package using the Unreal engine. Download is already a little slow, though, and I can't imagine a /. post will help that..."