Dragon Nears Launch as Crew Works Biomedical Science and Spacewalk Preps
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a cargo-packed Dragon spacecraft atop, stands ready to launch to the International Space Station at 6:05 p.m. EDT today, weather permitting, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Watch NASA’s live launch coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel.
The uncrewed Dragon, packed with about 6,500 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and lab hardware for the Expedition 74 crew, will approach the orbital outpost for an automated docking to the Harmony module’s forward port at 7:05 a.m. on Sunday. Flight engineers Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) will be on duty Sunday morning monitoring Dragon during its approach and rendezvous with the space station.
Hathaway and Adenot joined NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir midday on Friday and had a brief science conference with researchers on the ground. The trio discussed the numerous experiments taking place aboard the orbiting lab and how the research benefits humans living on and off the Earth. At the beginning of his shift, Hathaway finalized the installation of new science module in the Cold Atom Lab quantum physics research facility. Adenot recorded a pair of video messages for ESA, her home space agency, targeting international scientists and French students.
NASA flight engineer Chris Williams spent his day on lab maintenance first inspecting and cleaning hatch seals. Williams wrapped up his shift checking out the operation of the Ultrasound 3 biomedical device and its components, including computer cables and probes.
Mier followed up Williams’ inspection work by installing hatch seal covers to protect them from damage and stains. She also staged cargo that will be packed inside the Dragon after its arrival for return to Earth next month.
Station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergey Mikaev, both from Roscosmos, took turns at the beginning of their shift wearing heart sensors and testing their arm strength for a standard fitness assessment. Next, the duo worked on a pair of Orlan spacesuits ensuring their components were properly installed, checking their functionality, and staging them inside the Poisk module’s airlock.
Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his shift on a pair of human research studies exploring how microgravity affects a crew member’s blood flow and orientation. For his first experiment, Fedyaev wore arm, wrist, and finger cuffs that measured his blood pressure. The biomedical data helps doctors monitor how living in space affects blood flow, clot prevention, and inflammation responses. Next, he wore a virtual reality headset then responded to computerized stimuli as electrodes measured his brain activity and eye movement tracking his sense of direction, movement, and position in weightlessness.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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Mark A. Garcia
