Uncategorized – Space Station

Station Awaits Cygnus Cargo Delivery During Science, Hardware Duties

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft launches atop a SpaceX 9 Falcon rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024.

A U.S. cargo craft packed with 8,200 pounds of science and supplies is orbiting Earth today heading toward the International Space Station for a Tuesday morning cargo delivery. Meanwhile, the orbital residents started the work week with their normal complement of microgravity research and standard lab maintenance tasks.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:02 a.m. EDT on Sunday from Florida. The cargo craft is loaded with a range of new experiments to investigate liquid and gas flows, centripetal force, DNA repair mechanisms, cellular expansion, and more. The weightless environment of the orbital outpost allows investigators to explore phenomena and gain insights not possible in Earth’s gravity conditions.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps will be on duty Tuesday morning as Cygnus nears the space station during its automated approach and rendezvous. Dominick will be at the controls of the robotics workstation ready to command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and grapple Cygnus. Epps will be at Dominick’s side backing him up as the spacecraft completes its slow and methodical space delivery. The two Cygnus teammates had a light-duty day on Monday and went to bed early to get a fresh start and prepare for the spacecraft’s early arrival. After Cygnus is captured, robotics controllers on the ground will take over and remotely command the Canadarm2 and guide Cygnus to a berthing on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

The Cygnus spacecraft has completed two delta velocity burns, and it remains on track for a capture by the space station’s robotic arm slated for 3:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The Cygnus spacecraft is in a safe trajectory, and all other systems are operating normally.

Shortly after launch on Sunday, the spacecraft performed as designed by cancelling a scheduled engine burn due to a slightly low initial pressure reading flagged by the Cygnus onboard detection system. Engineers at Northrop Grumman’s mission control center in Dulles, Virginia evaluated the pressure reading, confirmed it was acceptable and re-worked the burn plan to arrive at the space station on the originally planned schedule.

NASA will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival beginning at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website. Additional updates will be posted as needed.

The rest of the Expedition 71 and NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test crews spent Monday on an array of physics and biology studies, as well as hardware cleanup and life support duties.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt participated in eye checks on Monday for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research experiments. Dyson peered into the eyes of Barratt using standard medical imaging hardware found on Earth with real-time assistance from flight surgeons on the ground. Doctors are exploring how living in space affects eye structure and function. Dyson also stowed spacesuit components in the Quest airlock. Barratt reorganized the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) to make room for the new Cygnus cargo then replaced fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack.

Boeing Starliner Pilot Suni Williams from NASA assisted Barratt inside the PMM before working throughout the day on orbital plumbing tasks. Starliner Commander Butch Wilmore, also from NASA, installed a light meter in the Veggie space botany facility, obtained light measurements, then adjusted the light settings inside the plant research device. The duo called down to Boeing flight controllers at the end of the day and discussed mission updates.

The three Roscosmos cosmonauts had their day full as the trio tested a pressure suit and serviced life support gear. Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin evaluated the lower body negative pressure suit and its ability to reverse the space-caused upward flow of body fluids in space crew members. The specialized suit may also help crews adapt faster to the return to Earth’s gravity. The duo then split up and serviced life support and ventilation systems in the Nauka science module. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub also worked in Nauka photographing plumbing components before replacing air flow sensors and inspecting video hardware throughout the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA’s Northrop Grumman Cygnus Completes Solar Arrays Deployment

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft completed the deployment of its two solar arrays at 2:21 p.m. EDT after launching at 11:02 a.m. Aug. 4 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station for NASA.

Shortly after launch, the spacecraft missed its first burn slated for 11:44 a.m. due to a late entry to burn sequencing. Known as the targeted altitude burn, or TB1, it was rescheduled for 12:34 p.m., but aborted the maneuver shortly after the engine ignited due to a slightly low initial pressure state. There is no indication the engine itself has any problem at this time.

Cygnus is at a safe altitude, and Northrop Grumman engineers are working a new burn and trajectory plan. The team aims to achieve the spacecraft’s original capture time on station, which is currently slated for 3:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

If all remains on track, NASA will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival beginning at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website. Additional updates will be posted as needed.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm at approximately 3:10 a.m., and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission for NASA.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA Collins xEVAS Update

The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during its departure and flyaround on Nov. 8, 2021.

In 2022 and 2023, NASA awarded Collins Aerospace two task orders under the agency’s xEVAS (Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services) contract. The first task order was to deliver a next generation spacesuit and spacewalking system for potential use on the International Space Station with a base value of $97.2 million. The second task order was to advance additional spacesuit capabilities with a base value of $5 million.

After a thorough evaluation, NASA and Collins Aerospace have mutually agreed to descope the existing task orders on the Collins Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services contract. This descope includes ending the International Space Station suit demonstration, which was targeted for 2026. No further work will be performed on the task orders. This action was agreed upon after Collins recognized its development timeline would not support the space station’s schedule and NASA’s mission objectives.

This change to the xEVAS contract has no impact on NASA’s spacewalking capabilities on the space station. Collins will continue to support NASA’s EMU (Extravehicular Activity Mobility Unit) spacesuit and is committed to supporting space station’s ongoing spacewalking capabilities through the existing Extravehicular Space Operations Contract.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Cargo, Science, and Spacewalk Preps Fill Station’s Day

The first rays of an orbital sunrise reflect off the International Space Station's roll-out solar arrays that overshadow and augment the orbital outpost's main solar arrays. — The first rays of an orbital sunrise reflect off the International Space Station’s roll-out solar arrays that overshadow and augment the orbital outpost’s main solar arrays.

Six NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station had a day filled with cargo packing, orbital plumbing, and a spacewalk conference. The orbital outpost’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos spent their day testing a 3D printer, collecting microbial air samples, and servicing life support gear.

Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps worked throughout Wednesday packing trash and discarded cargo inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo space freighter. Cygnus is targeted to complete a five-and-a-half-month mission in mid-July and depart the station’s Unity module before descending into Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery, but safe disposal above the South Pacific Ocean.

In the midst of the cargo work, Dominick videotaped the location of station hardware stowed in the starboard side of the Columbus laboratory module. Epps swapped sample cartridges inside the Materials Science Laboratory, a research furnace that safely exposes metals, alloys, polymers, and other materials to high temperatures to discover new applications for Earth and space industries. Dyson and Barratt continued spacesuit and tool configurations in the Quest airlock.

At the end of the workday, the four NASA astronauts gathered in the Destiny laboratory module for a video conference with mission controllers on the ground. The quartet called down to the NASA engineers and discussed procedures and readiness for an upcoming spacewalk.

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams started their morning with exercise sessions before organizing cargo packed inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module. The duo then spent the afternoon working to remove and replace a failed pressure control and pump assembly module that is part of the Tranquility module’s bathroom, or waste and hygiene compartment.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko from Roscosmos spent all day Wednesday testing a 3D printer and its ability to manufacture space hardware on demand. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub spent half his day servicing plumbing hardware in the Nauka science module before working out on the advanced resistive exercise device and jogging on a treadmill during the afternoon. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin’s list of duties included collecting more microbial air samples for analysis and maintaining electronics systems.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Spacewalks Rescheduled Before Station Boosts Orbit

The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour during its departure and flyaround on Nov. 8, 2021.

The Expedition 71 crew members are relaxing today following the delay of Thursday’s spacewalk. Mission planners rescheduled the spacewalk for June 24 when two spacewalkers will remove faulty radio hardware and swab station surfaces for microorganisms. A second spacewalk to remove and replace a gyroscope assembly, relocate an antenna, and prepare for future Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer upgrades is planned for July 2. Meanwhile, the two Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts from NASA continued vehicle testing.

NASA and Boeing will discuss Starliner’s mission and departure from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test in a pre-departure media teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 18. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have previously visited the orbital outpost, called down to Boeing mission controllers on Friday and discussed their upcoming departure. Afterward, the duo entered Starliner and reviewed the spacecraft’s flight operations and procedures.

Roscosmos’ Progress 87 resupply ship, docked to the Zvezda service module, will fire its engines late Friday night boosting the space station’s orbit. The reboost maneuvers occur regularly restoring the orbiting lab’s altitude as it degrades over time due to Earth’s gravity and atmospheric drag.

The three cosmonauts working aboard the space station stayed busy on Friday with their standard complement of space research and life support maintenance duties. Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub wrapped their work shift with eye scans using a medical imaging device looking at the retina, optic nerve, and cornea. Flight Engineer Alexander worked throughout the day on computer maintenance, vent cleaning, and orbital plumbing.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Expedition 71 Resumes Science, Maintenance After Starliner Scrub

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft atop the Atlas V rocket from ULA (United Launch Alliance) is pictured on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky — Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop the Atlas V rocket from ULA (United Launch Alliance) is pictured on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

The Expedition 71 crew is now targeting no earlier than Saturday, May 11, to welcome two astronauts who are due to launch the day prior to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. In the meantime, the orbital septet resumed their normal activities on Tuesday researching a variety of space phenomena and maintaining lab systems.

A technical issue prevented the May 6 launch attempt of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop the Atlas V rocket from ULA (United Launch Alliance) to the space station. Starliner Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams, both NASA astronauts, safely exited Starliner on Monday night and returned to their crew quarters at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

NASA, Boeing, and ULA are now targeting the launch of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test for no earlier than Friday, May 10, pending resolution of the technical issue. Teams are analyzing data to determine whether to replace a pressure regulation valve on the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage. Mission managers provided an update during a press conference at Kennedy.

Back on orbit, the four astronauts and three cosmonauts adjusted their shifts and continued studying life science and space physics. The seven outpost residents also serviced life support systems and lab hardware ensuring the station remains in tip-top shape.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick first partnered together on Tuesday for neck, shoulder, and leg vein scans with the Ultrasound 2 device. Next, the duo spent the afternoon transferring cargo in and out of the Cygnus space freighter attached to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

Astronauts Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps, both NASA flight engineers, spent a portion of their day swapping out life support and orbital plumbing gear inside the Harmony and Tranquility modules. Barratt then set up research hardware in the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Transparent Alloys physics investigation. Epps inspected and serviced multipurpose research hardware that can host many different space experiments.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko from Roscosmos started his day monitoring carbon dioxide levels and swapping electronics gear before jogging on a treadmill for a regularly scheduled fitness test in the afternoon. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub installed gear that will monitor the condition of surfaces affected by the external microgravity environment on the outside of the space station, and Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin worked in the Nauka science module on orbital plumbing duties.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Scrubbed

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen on the launch pad of Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Monday, May 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance scrubbed the launch opportunity on Monday, May 6 for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station due to a faulty oxygen relief valve observation on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Centaur second stage.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams exited the Starliner spacecraft at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and will return to astronaut crew quarters.

NASA’s coverage continues on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Key Launch Milestones

In less than four hours, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are set to lift off at 10:34 p.m. EDT aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Here is a look at some key milestones leading up to tonight’s launch:

Time Event (All times approximate)
6:26 p.m. Flight crew begins suit-up operations
7:04 p.m. Crew walkout from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building
7:14 p.m. Crew departs, travels to Space Launch Complex-41
7:39 p.m. Crew arrives at pad, ascends tower, enters white room, and enters Starliner capsule separately
8:57 p.m. Crew inside Starliner capsule complete
9:24 p.m. Hatch closure and leak checks
9:32 p.m. Hatch closure complete
9:44 p.m. Configure White Room for launch
10:09 p.m. Clear for launch check
10:23 p.m. Crew access arm retracts
10:34 p.m. Liftoff!
10:35 p.m. ULA rocket reaches MaxQ
10:40 p.m. Atlas V booster separates
10:48 p.m. Boeing Starliner separates
11:05 p.m. Orbital insertion burn

Starliner will autonomously dock to the station on Wednesday, May 8, and remain at the orbital laboratory for about a week. Although Starliner is designed to dock autonomously, the astronauts aboard the spacecraft will demonstrate manual control processes and capabilities before the spacecraft makes its automated final approach.

Stay tuned for more updates on this blog as the countdown to launch continues.

Expedition 71 Prepares to Welcome Boeing’s Starliner Crew

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft sits atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. — Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft sits atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

It was a light duty day aboard the International Space Station for four Expedition 71 astronauts as they await the launch and arrival of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test. The orbital outpost’s three cosmonauts had their day full as they kept up lab maintenance and researched a variety of microgravity phenomena.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt kicked off Monday morning with a series of biomedical tests to help doctors understand how living in space affects the human body. Dyson first collected her saliva samples then stowed them in a science freezer for later analysis. Afterward, she drew her blood then processed those samples with assistance from Barratt before spinning them in a centrifuge then stowing them in a science freezer.

Next, Barratt joined NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick and set up in-ear sensors that will monitor an astronaut’s sleep patterns in space. Researchers will record the data and compare it to a crew member’s sleep patterns on Earth before and after a space mission. The Sleep in Orbit investigation will help doctors learn how sleep differs on and off the Earth and promote an astronaut’s cognitive well-being.

All three astronauts then joined NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps, who had the entire day off, and relaxed the rest of their shift while also conducting in their daily exercise sessions.

The quartet will work half-a-day on Tuesday then go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep before the arrival of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The Commercial Crew duo is scheduled to launch aboard Starliner atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket at 10:34 p.m. EDT today from Florida. Starliner is due to dock to the orbital lab’s forward port on the Harmony module at 12:46 a.m. on Wednesday. Watch live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Mission coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Roscosmos’ three cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin had a full day on Monday tending to ongoing research and ensuring the upkeep of the space station. Kononenko spent his shift servicing life support gear and science hardware. Chub cleaned airducts in the Nauka science module then photographed the condition of windows in the Zvezda service module. Grebenkin worked throughout the day on orbital plumbing duties and computer maintenance while also studying how international crews and controllers con improve communications.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Return of the GEDI: Space Station Instrument Returns to Forest Monitoring

That’s no moon, that’s a space station!

The return of NASA’s GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) is underway, as the agency’s very own “lightsaber” will soon be back to measuring forests in three dimensions after it was reinstalled on the International Space Station April 22.

Measuring distances with similar principles as sonar, a lidar instrument uses light instead of sound. Rather than working on a forest moon in a galaxy far, far away, the instrument works much closer to home: measuring Earth’s forest structure including the height of the canopy, density of vegetation, and the distribution of branches and leaves.

As an instrument of the light side, GEDI is readying for its second mission aboard the space station.

After completing its extended mission in March 2023, a robotic arm was used to move GEDI temporarily to an exterior storage site on the space station for hibernation. Soon after reinstallation, teams began testing it for any forms of hibernation sickness and expect it will begin gathering data again this summer.

The force is strong with this one

Scientists used GEDI data to map Earth’s biomass and track how forests respond to climate change and land use impacts. Data from GEDI has helped to measure the height of forests across the globe in greater detail than ever before, and also to quantify the impact of protected areas on carbon sequestration.

Learn more about NASA’s GEDI master: https://nasa.gov/GEDI