Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Progress 96 Cargo Spacecraft Docks to Station to Resupply Crew

The Roscosmos Progress 96 spacecraft docked to the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 9:44 a.m. EDT Saturday.  

The spacecraft is delivering about three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 75 crew and will remain at the space station for about five months before departing for a planned destructive re-entry that will dispose of trash.  

It launched at 9:33 a.m. (6:33 p.m. Baikonur time) on Sept. 16 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 

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

Progress 96 Cargo Spacecraft Approaching Station for Docking

NASA is streaming live rendezvous and docking coverage as the Roscosmos Progress 96 cargo spacecraft makes its way to the International Space Station. Watch online at:  https://www.nasa.gov/live

The unpiloted spacecraft is on track for its planned 9:46 a.m. EDT autonomous docking to the Poisk module’s space-facing port. It launched at 9:33 a.m. (6:33 p.m. Baikonur time) on Sept. 16 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 

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

Week Ends With Soldering, Lunar Simulations, and Cargo Mission Preps

Expedition 75 wrapped up its week completing a lead-free soldering experiment, simulating a lunar landing, and exercising for research, among other advanced science activities. The International Space Station residents are also preparing for the arrival of a cargo mission and continuing housekeeping duties.

NASA flight engineer Anil Menon conducted the last run of the MIYOKA investigation that uses a lead-free soldering technique to demonstrate the safe manufacturing and repairing of electronics in microgravity. He worked in the Harmony module to solder components on a circuit board that will be returned to Earth and compared to identical ground-soldered samples. Afterward, NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway placed the cooled-down soldering iron, the completed circuit board, and experiment tools in storage containers then cleaned Harmony’s maintenance work area returning it to its normal configuration.

Menon and Hathway also joined each other in the cupola and carefully cleaned its seven windows. The duo used gentle wiping techniques and specialized materials to prevent scratches on the windows then taped up gaps between the panes to prevent dust buildup.

Station commander Jessica Meir began her day in the cupola for a lunar landing simulation. Working with hand controllers, a laptop computer, and audio signals, Meir practiced a lunar descent while adjusting speed and controlling orientation. The Manual Piloting study may help researchers understand how microgravity can affect cognitive function potentially leading to disorientation while operating a spacecraft. At the end of her shift, she partnered with Menon for ultrasonic inspections inside the Zarya module.

Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) began her shift working out on the new European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D). The E4D’s controller software tracked her performance helping researchers evaluate its effectiveness for use on future long-duration missions. She later downloaded biomedical data collected from her smart watch to a computer tablet then held a conference with doctors on the ground for the RelaxPro experiment that seeks to reduce crew stress and improve sleep quality.

Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev worked throughout Friday in the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment inspecting and cleaning laptop computers, power supply units, and ventilation systems.

A Progress 96 cargo spacecraft from Roscosmos is orbiting Earth toward the International Space Station for a docking on Saturday. Flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina will be on duty monitoring Progress during its automated rendezvous and docking to Poisk module scheduled for 9:46 a.m. EDT. After about two hours of leak and pressure checks, Dubrov and Kikina will open the spacecraft’s hatch to begin unpacking nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies. Live coverage begins at 9 a.m. on NASA+ and a variety of other platforms. Learn where to watch online: https://www.nasa.gov/live

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

NASA, SpaceX Continue Crew‑13 Prep as Crew Enters Quarantine

The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission entered quarantine late Thursday at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Mission preparations continue as NASA and SpaceX target an early October launch to the International Space Station.

As part of routine prelaunch quarantine, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov will limit in‑person contact. Most interactions will occur remotely, and family members and selected mission-related personnel must undergo medical screening before meeting with the crew. This practice, begun during NASA’s Apollo Program, reduces the risk of preflight illnesses and prevents symptoms from developing during flight.

Before quarantine, the crew completed preflight training at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, and performed a Crew Equipment Interface Test at the company’s facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. During the daylong exercise, the crew members put on their spacesuits, entered the Dragon spacecraft, conducted suit leak checks, and verified good seat fit. They also familiarized themselves with the spacecraft’s interior, completed communications checks, and listened to the Dragon’s fans and pumps to prepare for sounds they will hear during flight. 

Once aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-13 will join the space station’s Expedition 75. During its mission, the crew will conduct a variety of science experiments aimed at advancing research and technology for missions to the Moon and Mars and improving life back on Earth.

Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @NASASpaceOps and @space_station on X, as well as the International Space Station’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. 

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Jason Costa

Crew Works Soldering, Cardiac Research, Virtual Reality and Prepares for Cargo Mission

Circuit board soldering, spacesuit maintenance, and cargo mission operations topped the schedule for the Expedition 75 crew aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The orbital residents also worked on cardiac research, virtual reality tests, and housekeeping tasks throughout the day.

Longer space missions farther away from Earth will require crews to be more self-sufficient and less dependent on cargo missions and ground support. As a result, NASA flight engineer Anil Menon has been working on the MIYOKA experiment this week to demonstrate the safe manufacturing and repairing of electronics in microgravity. Menon has been using a lead-free soldering technique to solder components on a circuit board that will be returned to Earth and compared to identical ground-soldered samples. Results may inform future crews travelling to the Moon, Mars, and beyond reducing reliance on costly resupply missions.

Spacesuits have been occupying the crew following a busy period of four spacewalks that took place over a monthlong period. Station commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Jack Hathaway of NASA took turns in the Quest airlock cleaning, inspecting, and checking the functionality of spacesuit cooling systems to ensure their readiness for future spacewalks. Meir commented about her most recent spacewalk when she rode the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Sept. 1 during a news conference on Wednesday, “I felt like I was just there levitating above the Earth. I think that was the biggest eureka moment for me.”

Hathaway also joined up with flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) in the cupola, configuring cleaning tools, and preparing its seven windows overlooking the Earth for an upcoming deep-cleaning session. Adenot began her shift listening to a relaxing narrative then filling out a questionnaire, both on a computer tablet, for the RelaxPro investigation that seeks to reduce stress and improve sleep for astronauts. She wrapped up her shift exercising on the Tranquility module’s advanced resistive exercise device as experts on the ground monitored in real time to learn how to improve workouts in weightlessness.

Roscosmos flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina are preparing for the arrival of 2.8 tons of food, fuel, and supplies packed aboard the Progress 96 cargo spacecraft that launched from Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Dubrov and Kikina tested the Zvezda service module’s tele-operated robotic unit, or TORU, in advance of Progress 96 docking automatically to the Poisk module at 9:46 a.m. EDT on Saturday. The TORU would be used to remotely control a Roscosmos spacecraft in the unlikely event its automated rendezvous and docking system failed.

The cosmonaut pair also took turns wearing arm, wrist, and finger cuffs measuring their blood pressure to document microgravity’s effect on the microcirculatory system. Finally, the duo wore virtual reality headsets and a special body-worn control device to simulate manipulating robots aboard the space station for the Teledroid investigation.

Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his shift servicing laptop computers in the Nauka science module and transferring water between tanks in Zvezda.

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