Then and Now: Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins talks to Apollo 11 and Artemis 1 Launch Teams in Firing Room 1 at Kennedy Space Center.
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The International Space Station is set to receive a few more crewmembers on Saturday followed by a new docking port next Tuesday. Meanwhile, the orbiting Expedition 60 residents serviced a multitude of science hardware today while maintaining communication and life support systems.
The Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft that will launch three new residents to the station on Saturday is being processed at its facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Astronauts Drew Morgan and Luca Parmitano and cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov inspected their spacecraft during a walk-through today. The trio will blast off Saturday at 12:28 p.m. EDT and take a six-and-a-half hour trip to their new home in space.
Another spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship, is being readied for its liftoff Sunday at 7:35 p.m. from Florida. It will arrive at the station Tuesday for its capture at 11 a.m. by NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch with the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
After Dragon’s installation to the Unity module, the crew will unload brand new science gear for advanced biology research to improve human health. Robotics controllers will detach the new International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3) from the back of Dragon and position it on the space-facing side of the Harmony module in preparation for its installation during a future spacewalk. The IDA-3 is another docking port supporting future commercial crew missions with Boeing and SpaceX crew vehicles.
Koch stowed and relocated a pair of biology and botany facilities today. She powered down several rodent habitats and packed them up for return on the Dragon space freighter. Koch then relocated the Veggie botany facility to the Columbus laboratory module after last week’s lettuce harvest in the Unity module.
Hague and Koch started the day with body measurements for the Myotones muscle study to benefit rehabilitation treatments for astronauts and Earthlings. Hague then set up and inspected a fluorescence microscope that can observe cellular changes in microgravity.
Commander Alexey Ovchinin set up a video camera in the Zvezda service module to record the arrival of his new crewmates on Saturday. He later checked air and temperature sensors and swapped out air filters on the Russian side of the orbital lab.
Mark Garcia
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NASA is offering new opportunities, in addition to those announced July 2, for America to celebrate with the agency the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon mission and look to the future of exploration on the Moon and Mars.
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At 9:32 a.m. EDT, July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched from Florida on a mission to the Moon.
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Two rockets will be rolling out to their launch pads this week in Kazakhstan and Florida to blastoff to the International Space Station. The orbiting Expedition 60 trio will be welcoming three new crewmates Saturday and receive more science experiments and crew supplies next Tuesday, July 23.
First-time space flyer Andrew Morgan of NASA is joining veteran station residents Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos for a ride to the station on Saturday. They will launch aboard the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12:28 p.m. EDT for a six-and-a-half hour trip to their new home in space. Their mission comes 50 years to the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped on the Moon.
The SpaceX Dragon space freighter is launching from Kennedy Space Center at 7:35 p.m. on Sunday for its 18th contracted mission to resupply the orbiting lab. The reusable cargo craft is delivering a variety of research gear supporting future space missions and healthier humans. NASA TV is broadcasting live the launch and arrival of both missions to the station.
Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch continue training today for the robotic capture of Dragon when it arrives early next Tuesday. Hague will command the Canadarm2 to reach out and grapple Dragon around 7 a.m. while Koch backs him up. Morgan will monitor telemetry during the spacecraft’s approach and rendezvous.
Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin spent the day on cleaning and maintenance duties on the Russian side of the space station. The veteran cosmonaut also inventoried medical equipment, medicines and dentistry gear.
Mark Garcia
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