Koichi Wakata, Japan’s first astronaut on long duration missions to the International Space Station, has admitted that he wore the same underwear for two months straight.

Despite this, he has escaped being severely beaten by fellow astronauts. Thanks to science!

Wakata has been wearing special underwear and other clothing designed for JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Called “J-Ware,” the clothes are specially treated to control odor, absorb water, provide insulation, and dry quickly.

Koichi Wakata aboard the ISS. Not shown, magical underpants. Image Credit: NASA.

While New Frontier News has nothing but respect for any who slip the surly bonds of Earth and punch the face of God, we feel it is our duty to report that Wakata was only scheduled to wear the underwear for two weeks, not the two months he ended up wearing them.

The technologically advanced wearable space toilet proposed by JAXA. This probably isn't as gross as it looks.

The success of “J-Ware” confirms JAXA as an international leader in the area of outer space underpants. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was also behind the design and development of a radical new toilet meant to be worn by astronauts around the clock. The next-generation of the combination space toilet/high-tech underpants may also be able to eliminate sound and odor.

Thank you Japan. You continue to outdo yourself.

Buzz Aldrin, coolest astronaut ever. Doesn't he look like he could beat Chuck Norris to death simply by thinking about it? Image Credit: NASA.

Astronauts are cool. Every single one. Even Lisa Nowak (the crazy one who drove cross-country in a diaper) is cool. They’re cool even when you ignore the fact that they’ve been to space. A science nerd who is also a crack athlete can’t help being cool.

Some are cooler than others, of course. Julie Payette is cooler than Anousheh Ansari. Sergey Volkov is cooler than Gerhard Thiele. But when it comes to sheer unstoppable coolness, Buzz Aldrin takes the cake, launches it into an Aldrin Cycler orbit, and then punches it in the face.

Buzz Aldrin has so many serious, real accomplishments that it would be hard to pick out the most significant. So instead we took the lazy route and are using the dumbest examples available to illustrate that Buzz Aldrin is made of 100 per cent win on the molecular level.

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Private company SpaceX has successfully delivered its first payload into orbit. It was the second successful launch for the company, which aims to reduce the cost of reaching orbit by a factor of ten.

The launch took place Monday from Omelek in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. The two-stage Falcon 1 rocket carried RazakSAT, a Malaysian satellite that will be used to monitor natural resources.

Later this year, SpaceX plans to make the maiden flight of its larger Falcon 9 vehicle, which has been tapped to carry cargo to the International Space Station starting in 2010.

Stormy weather conditions may delay the launch of space shuttle Endeavour, currently scheduled for liftoff on Saturday, July 11. This comes on the heels of two delays last month caused by a hydrogen gas leak. A similar problem delayed the launch of space shuttle Discovery in March.

The 16-day mission will feature a number of  spacewalks intended to complete construction of the International Space Station’s “porch.” The new addition is officially known as Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility. It will be a platform attached to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. The “porch” will allow for experiments to be exposed to the unique environment of outer space.

Endeavour’s crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Julie Payette.

Payette will join Robert Thirsk, also of the CSA. This marks the first time that two Canadian astronauts have been in space at the same time.

The shuttle-ISS combo will house a total of 13 crew members for the duration of the mission, a record number.

NASA aims to launch seven further shuttle missions before the aging fleet is finally retired in 2010.

NASA’s immediate future will likely have an emphasis on Earth science, using the International Space Station for research and development, and making space exploration more of an entrepreneurial venture. Those were the main themes touched on during the Senate confirmation hearing of Charles Bolden, President Obama’s nominee for NASA chief.

When discussing space entrepreneurship, Bolden used the example of a friend who is using venture capital for research into a rocket engine that could take people to Mars in roughly 39 days. He also noted that government cannot fund everything that needs to be done in connection with space exploration and development.

Bolden was nominated for the position in May of 2009. A retired U.S. Marine Corps major general and former NASA astronaut who has flown on four shuttle missions, he also said that NASA needs to inspire a new generation to help replace an aging workforce.

“Floating in the windows of the Shuttle, speeding across its great desert at 4 – 5 miles per second, I saw the beauty of the Middle East, appearing peaceful and serene in spite of the Earthly reality of violence in the region,” said Bolden during his senate confirmation hearing.  “From my window perch, I viewed with sadness the majestic Amazon Rain Forest, considered by many to be the model of serenity and peace, yet devastated by deforestation, leaving the area and its people facing some of the greatest environmental challenges of our day. l now dream of a day when any American can launch into the vastness of outer space and see the magnificence and grandeur of our home planet, Earth, as I have been blessed to do. I’m convinced this will inspire them to be more concerned for our environment and to strive to put an end to man’s inhumanity to man.”