The ‘Cupola Views Pattern’ based on retired NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg’s experience in the … [+]
Pattern designed by Karen Nyberg and Sarah Ruiz
For those of us wishing our office had an orbiting view on Earth, now we can simulate that experience with a quilting pattern.
Retired NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg released a set of special fabrics and a quilting pattern that, when put together, are meant to represent the view from the International Space Station. Nyberg, a lifelong quilter and creative, is now working on artistic ventures in her retirement.
Called “Cupola Views”, the pattern shows Nyberg’s interpretation of what the world below looked like as she gazed out the 360-degree Cupola window available on the orbiting complex.
“I kind of felt like I needed to share this,” Nyberg said in a video released on Robert Kaufman Fabrics, the company hosting the fabrics and the pattern. “I was so fortunate to be one of such a few number of people who are lucky enough to go to space, and see it, that I wanted to share as much as I could.”
A real-life view of what Earth looks like from the Cupola. In this case, you get some bonus … [+]
NASA
The Cupola has some practical functions besides gazing at the view. For astronauts, it’s a respite area that allows them to relax amid long days that are sometimes scheduled in five-minute increments. It also has a lot of cameras floating nearby so that astronauts can capture fast-changing phenomena on Earth, like hurricanes, storms or flood surges, helping first responders make good decisions.
Space station berthings are also assisted by the Cupola. Since astronauts can see 360 degrees around the immediate area, this allows them to make good decisions about how to direct one of the space station’s robotic arms — the Canadarm2 — to capture space station cargo spacecraft. It’s essential to get this right so that astronauts receive food, experiments and vital living supplies to keep going in space.
Nyberg has direct experience with such cargo spacecraft herself, as this NASA photo from 2013 shows. You can see her making preparations to release the Japanese “Kounotori” H2 Transfer Vehicle-4 from Canadarm2. This line of cargo spacecraft is now retired, but the space station still receives shipments from Russia (Progress), SpaceX (Dragon) and Northrop Grumman (Orion).
Notably, the space station has had a handful of people on board who were non-professional astronauts. A recent example was the first Axiom Space mission, which had three paying commercial astronauts on board along with a retired NASA astronaut (Michael López-Alegría) in command. They did get some limited access to NASA facilities while in space, under an agreement between Axiom and the agency. The Ax-1 crew departed the space station on Sunday (April 24) on the first of what Axiom hopes is many commercial missions to perform research in space.
