Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Maintenance Tasks Continue Into Friday for Crew

Orbital maintenance and upkeep occupied Friday’s schedule aboard the International Space Station as the two crews went back to work following a day off on Thursday to observe the Independence Day holiday.

In preparation for the future installation of new exercise equipment, Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick and Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams worked together throughout the day inside the Columbus module to swap out an empty rack that previously housed retired exercise gear.

Afterward, Dominick and Williams moved into the Tranquility module to reinstall the toilet system after the pressure control pump motor was replaced on Wednesday. Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Mike Barratt focused on additional orbital plumbing tasks, including a fluid transfer from the wastewater processing system and a manual fill of the water recovery system.

In the Kibo Laboratory, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps spent a majority of the day recording a video survey of hardware that enables data communications between space and Earth. The video was then downlinked to ground teams for analysis. After lunch, Epps analyzed water samples that were collected on Wednesday to assess for microbial growth.

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson kicked off her day by loading new software onto the Surface Avatar program which allows crew members to remotely control robots on Earth and investigate how haptic controls, user interfaces, and virtual reality could command surface-bound robots from long distances. Dyson was then joined by cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub to complete on-orbit emergency training.

Kononenko and Chub also completed hearing assessments on Friday, then loaded trash and discarded gear inside Progress 87, which is slated to undock from the orbiting laboratory in mid-August. Their crewmate, Alexander Grebenkin, worked maintenance on the water recovery system then completed some computer work in the Nauka module.

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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Mark Garcia

Crew Observes Earth’s Nighttime Atmosphere, Conducts Station Maintenance

The Expedition 71 and Boeing Crew Flight Test crews had a light duty day on Wednesday, focusing on Earth observations and station upkeep.

While soaring 250 miles above our home planet, the International Space Station passes into orbital nighttime roughly every 45 minutes. During these night periods, crew members can observe events in Earth’s atmosphere that are otherwise difficult to capture during daylight. In the morning, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps entered the cupola to set up equipment for the Thor-Davis investigation. She then used the high-speed Davis Camera to observe and capture thunderstorms in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The camera, specially designed to track electrical activity at up to 100,000 frames per second, could be used during future missions to record processes in severe electrical storms.

In the Japanese Experiment Module, NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson spent most of the morning relocating the Internal Ball Camera before reactivating the hardware at its new docking station. Afterward, she audited emergency medical kits and hardware.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick spent most of the day in the Tranquility module to remove and replace a ventilation fan, while his crewmate, Mike Barratt, worked in the Columbus module to clear out hardware and stowage in preparation for the future installation of new exercise equipment.

Starliner Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams teamed up on Wednesday to continue work on the wastewater processing system, removing and replacing a failed pressure control pump motor.

In the Roscosmos segment, Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub began the day prepping and donning a watch that will record their movement, physical activity, and sleep over the next 36 hours. The duo then prepped for some routine flight simulation training while their crewmate, Alexander Grebenkin, observed Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet.

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 updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Routine Health Assessments and Cargo Ops Top Tuesday’s Schedule

Hearing assessments, eye exams, and cargo ops topped Tuesday’s schedule aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 71 and Boeing Crew Flight Test crews also scheduled in some time to connect with students back on Earth and prepare for upcoming mission activities.

As part of regularly scheduled exams in low Earth orbit, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson all completed hearing assessments throughout the day. Epps prepped for upcoming Thor-Davis activities—an investigation that observes thunderstorms in Earth’s upper atmosphere—and reconfigured the EarthKam for future operations.

Dominick connected with students from St. Luke’s College in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during an Amateur Radio call, giving them an opportunity to ask questions about living and working in microgravity as the space station orbited overhead.

Barratt and Dyson teamed up in the afternoon to deconfigure spacesuit components after a water leak in Dyson’s service and cooling umbilical unit forced an early end to a spacewalk on Monday, June 24. The next spacewalk outside of the orbiting laboratory, with Dyson and Barratt, is scheduled for July 29.

Later in the evening, Barratt received an eye exam, guided by Epps, to help researchers better understand how microgravity affects vision. Meanwhile, Dyson was joined by Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore to load trash and discarded gear inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft. Cygnus is scheduled to be released from the Unity module later this month for disposal over the South Pacific Ocean, ending its five-and-a-half month stay at the orbiting lab.

Crew Flight Test Pilot Suni Williams spent a majority of the day on Starliner operations then assessed the air flow of the pump filter attached to the Advanced Plant Habitat. At the end of the day, Williams was joined by all eight of her crewmates for a conference with ground teams.

All three cosmonauts in microgravity donned acoustic monitors throughout the day to capture sound measurements around the station. In the Zvezda Service Module, Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub tested a 3D printer to assess its ability to manufacture space hardware, then later inspected and photographed panels and cable routes of a Roscosmos physics experiment that examines neutron radiation.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin continued hose replacement work on the water processing system, then studied the glow of Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet. Meanwhile, Commander Oleg Kononenko began loading trash and discarded gear inside Progress 87, which is slated to undock from the orbiting laboratory in August.

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 updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Station Orbiting Higher; Routine Upkeep for Crew

A jam-packed day of orbital upkeep kept the International Space Station residents busy on Monday. The Expedition 71 and Boeing Crew Flight Test crews worked an array of maintenance and cleaning tasks after taking a weekend off.

NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick kicked off the day by loading trash and discarded gear inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, which will be released from the Unity module by robotics ground controllers this month for disposal over the South Pacific Ocean. Later in the afternoon, the duo was joined by NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt to organize and relocate station gear and dispose of trash in portions of the orbital outpost.

Earlier, Epps conducted an Amateur Radio session with students from the Moroccan School of Engineering Sciences in Casablanca, Morocco. Afterward, she and Barratt worked inside the Destiny module to clean portions of the air duct system and replace fasteners on some of the panels that house the duct work. Barratt then moved on to inspect and photograph headset extension cables and audio gear for ground teams to analyze.

Starliner’s Commander and Pilot, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, spent the morning in the Permanent Multipurpose Module, organizing stowage and tidying up. Wilmore then moved into the Japanese Experiment Module to disassemble an empty NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer in preparation of upcoming NanoRacks missions.

Later on, Wilmore prepped and viewed samples for Moon Microscope, a demonstration that allows flight surgeons on Earth to diagnose illnesses and could provide diagnostic capabilities for crews on future missions to the Moon and Mars. Meanwhile, Williams conducted some routine orbital plumbing, then audited U.S. stowage items housed inside the Zarya module.

The next spacewalk outside the orbiting complex is scheduled for July 29 with Dyson and Barratt. This change allows teams on the ground to continue to troubleshoot and understand the water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit that forced an early end to a spacewalk on Monday, June 24.

In the Roscosmos segment, three cosmonauts continued orbital upkeep tasks. Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub teamed up to inventory headsets and audio equipment crews use to talk with ground teams. Afterward, Chub completed some routine cleaning in the Zvezda Service Module. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin replaced a few hoses on the Roscosmos water processing system, then charged the tablets the crew uses to complete and track daily tasks.

The space station is orbiting a bit higher today after the Progress 87 cargo craft fired its thrusters for 9 minutes and 10 seconds on Saturday, June 29. This orbital reboost sets up the correct phasing for the launch and rendezvous of Progress 89 slated for arrival mid-August.

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 updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Crews Wrap Week; Managers Provide Starliner, Spacewalk, and Cargo Updates

The Expedition 71 crew members packed a U.S. cargo craft, cleaned up the International Space Station, studied futuristic piloting techniques, and conducted eye exams on Friday. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts spent the end of their workweek reconfiguring a space botany facility.

Robotics controllers are scheduled to detach the Cygnus space freighter from the Unity module on July 12 and release it into Earth orbit for disposal over the South Pacific Ocean ending a five-and-a-half-month mission at the orbital lab. NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick spent most of Friday loading trash and discarded gear inside the Cygnus with assistance from fellow NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Tracy C. Dyson. Cygnus was captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Feb. 1 with over 8,200 pounds of science experiments and crew supplies.

At the end of the day, Epps operated standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist’s office on Earth and peered into Dyson’s eyes. She examined Dyson’s cornea, retina, and lens to help flight surgeons understand and counteract microgravity’s effect on crew vision.

Earlier, Dyson collected and stowed excess space station hardware for disposal. Epps spent her morning inside the Kibo laboratory module troubleshooting an airflow sensor then reorganizing the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) module for upcoming cargo operations.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Barratt started his day routing cables and reprogramming communications systems inside the Columbus laboratory module. In the afternoon, he stowed hardware and components used earlier in the week for advanced orbital plumbing in the Tranquility module’s bathroom. Afterward, Barratt refilled supply kits in Columbus’ two Human Research Facility racks with biomedical gear including sample tubes and needles.

Starliner’s Commander and Pilot, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, partnered together inside Kibo on Friday for space botany work. The duo removed the Plant Habitat growth chamber from Kibo’s EXPRESS rack, replaced its camera and carbon dioxide sensors, then reinstalled the research device. The Plant Habitat has enabled the growth of small crops of lettuce, tomatoes, and more in microgravity for both research and consumption.

NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner’s propulsion system performance before returning to Earth from the orbiting lab. NASA and Boeing leaders participated in a media teleconference today to discuss Starliner and station operations.

NASA is now targeting the end of July for the next spacewalk outside the space station. This change allows teams on the ground to continue to troubleshoot and understand the water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit that forced an early end to a spacewalk on Monday, June 24.

Working in the Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub started his day practicing planetary spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques future crew members may use. Afterward, he conducted two sessions of an investigation exploring ways to create new materials on the lunar surface. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin worked throughout the day inventorying medical kits and cleaning fans inside the Rassvet module. Finally, Station Commander Oleg Kononenko replaced thermal components inside Roscosmos’ life support hardware.

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/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Mark Garcia