Another Station Night Pass for Skywatchers in the Eastern United States

Another Station Night Pass for Skywatchers in the Eastern United States

United States East Coast
The well-lit United States east coast from Virginia to Rhode Island is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited above the Atlantic Ocean.

Get ready for another International Space Station pass tonight if you live in the eastern United States. Conditions look good for skywatching on a clear night from Florida to Maine. Also, visit https://spotthestation.nasa.gov and find sighting opportunities for your hometown.

Check out U.S. sighting times below…

Saturday May 18, 2019

9:25 p.m. EDT
Tampa, Fla.
Atlanta, Ga.
Savannah, Ga.
Charleston, S.C.

9:26 p.m. EDT
Washington, D.C.
Raleigh, N.C.
Richmond, Va.

9:27 p.m. EDT
Baltimore, Md.
Philadelphia, Pa.
New York City

9:28 p.m. EDT
Boston, Mass.

9:29 p.m. EDT
Portland, Maine

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Mark Garcia

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Watch the Space Station Fly Over Your Home Town

Watch the Space Station Fly Over Your Home Town

The Gulf and eastern coasts of the United States
The Gulf and eastern coasts of the United States feature prominently in this well-lit nighttime view of North America.

The International Space Station will cross over the United States this weekend from the Gulf Coast to the North Atlantic. Skywatchers along the station’s orbital track from New Orleans, La., to Portland, Maine, can see the orbital lab Friday and Saturday night. More sighting times for these and other American cities are below…

Friday May 17, 2019

9:14 p.m. CDT
Baton Rouge, La.
New Orleans, La.

10:15 p.m. EDT
Huntsville, Ala.
Tampa, Fla.
Atlanta, Ga.
Memphis, Tenn.

10:16 p.m. EDT
Louisville, Ky.
Cincinnati, Ohio

10:17 p.m. EDT
Washington, D.C.
Columbus, Ohio
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Burlington, Vt.
Charleston, W. Va.

10:18 p.m. EDT
Baltimore, Md.
Philadelphia, Pa.
New York City

10:19 p.m. EDT
Boston, Mass.
Portland, Maine

Saturday May 18, 2019

9:25 p.m. EDT
Tampa, Fla.
Atlanta, Ga.
Savannah, Ga.
Charleston, S.C.

9:26 p.m. EDT
Washington, D.C.
Raleigh, N.C.
Richmond, Va.

9:27 p.m. EDT
Baltimore, Md.
Philadelphia, Pa.
New York City

9:28 p.m. EDT
Boston, Mass.

9:29 p.m. EDT
Portland, Maine

Visit https://spotthestation.nasa.gov and find sighting opportunities for your hometown.

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Mark Garcia

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Multitude of Space Biology Research as Crew Looks to Next Spacewalk

Multitude of Space Biology Research as Crew Looks to Next Spacewalk

The Canadarm2 robotic arm with its robotic hand also known as Dextre
The Canadarm2 robotic arm with its robotic hand, also known as Dextre, attached for fine-tuned robotics work extends across the frame as the International Space Station orbited 256 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is pictured at right berthed to the Harmony module.

Four Expedition 59 astronauts spent Friday investigating a multitude of space biology phenomena while two cosmonauts continued preparing for an upcoming spacewalk. International Space Station hardware is also ready for return to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship.

The crew is exploring how space impacts a variety of microscopic physiological processes today to get humans ready to go to the Moon in 2024. DNA, pathogens and microalgae as well as their benefits and risks to astronauts are just some of the microbiological systems scientists are studying in space.

The Bio-Analyzer is a new device from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) being tested aboard the space station for its ability to process and analyze biological samples quickly. CSA astronaut David Saint-Jacques added his blood samples to the biomedical device today so doctors could check his biomarkers from the ground.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch studied a pair of yeast strains today using the miniPCR hardware for the Genes In Space-6 study. The experiment is exploring how space radiation damages DNA and how the cell repair mechanism works in microgravity. Koch later tended to plants grown inside the Veggie PONDS botany facility.

More research into why pathogens become more virulent in space continued today as Flight Engineer Nick Hague processed culture samples for the microbiology study. Hague also checked on microalgae sample packs that may serve as a dietary supplement for future astronauts.

Hague also configured a variety of space biology hardware, both large and small, ensuring critical research operations continue successfully on the orbital lab. He first worked on a pair of refrigerator-sized Human Research Facility racks before checking out the shoebox-sized TangoLab-1 facility that enables a variety of tissue, cell and botany investigations.

Anne McClain of NASA turned her attention Friday to old hardware disconnected during a spacewalk earlier this year. She will retrieve a failed Battery Charge Discharge Unit (BCDU) resting outside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock and bring it inside the station. The Canadarm2’s robotic hand, known as Dextre, removed the BCDU early Thursday from a truss structure logistics carrier and placed it outside Kibo. The BCDU will be packed aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft for analysis after it returns to Earth June 3.

Two cosmonauts are getting ready for the fourth station spacewalk this year scheduled to take place May 29. Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin tagged up with Russian spacewalk specialists on the ground today for assistance setting up their Orlan spacesuits. The duo will remove experiments, sample station surfaces and jettison obsolete hardware during their six-hour excursion.

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Mark Garcia

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Texas Students to Speak with NASA Astronaut on International Space Station

Texas Students to Speak with NASA Astronaut on International Space Station

 

Students in Texas will have an opportunity next week to speak with a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

 

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NASA Breaking News

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