Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Crew Works Biology, Spacesuits; Awaits Spacecraft Arrival

Space biology research and spacesuit work filled the Expedition 71 crew’s schedule at the end of the week. In the meantime, the International Space Station is gearing up for two spacecraft scheduled to arrive with new cargo and a new crew this weekend.

Eye scans were on the crew’s medical list on Friday as researchers on the ground monitored to learn how living long-term in weightlessness affects vision. Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson led the checks just before lunch time, scanning each other’s eyes and the eyes of fellow astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt using the Ultrasound 2 device. At the end of the day, Dominick peered into a medical imaging device operated by Epps to gain views of his retina, cornea, and optic nerve.

Dominick started his morning wearing a vest and a headband packed with sensors recording his health data. He then pedaled on an exercise cycle as the wearable bio-monitors measured his cardiovascular and respiratory activity. Doctors will use the results to learn how the beating heart and breathing affects a crew member’s blood pressure in microgravity and protect crew health on long-term space missions.

Before the vision exams began, Dyson and Barratt partnered together in the Quest airlock and swapped spacesuit components. All four astronauts also took turns throughout the day studying spacewalk procedures and Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers on a computer. The crew is getting ready for a trio of spacewalks scheduled to take place in June for maintenance and science on the orbital outpost. NASA will announce the spacewalk details soon in a media advisory and a televised news conference.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub also took part in Friday’s vision exams with Kononenko operating the Ultrasound 2 and scanning Chub’s eyes. The duo also called down to Roscosmos mission controllers and discussed preparations for the arrival of three tons of cargo aboard the Progress 88 resupply ship. The Progress 88 is in its second day in space and is due to automatically dock to the Poisk module at 7:47 a.m. EDT on Saturday.

Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin wore a sensor-packed cap and explored future spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques on a computer. Insights from the Pilot-T investigation may inform crew training techniques for planetary missions.

Just a few hours after the Progress 88 docks to Poisk, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is planned to lift off atop the Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. Mission managers have given the “go” for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on Boeing’s Crew Flight Test to launch aboard Starliner at 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Starliner will take a daylong trip around Earth before docking to the Harmony module’s forward port at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

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

Spacewalk Preps as Station Waits for Weekend Cargo and Crew Missions

The Expedition 71 crew continues gearing up for a trio of spacewalks while a cargo craft packed with food, fuel, and supplies orbits Earth headed toward the International Space Station. Back on Earth, two astronauts are counting down to their launch to the orbital lab aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Three NASA astronauts spent Thursday checking out a spacesuit ahead of a series of spacewalks planned to take place in June. Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson began her day in the Quest airlock powering up one spacesuit and checking out its life support and communications components. Afterward, she installed batteries on the suit’s jetpack, a safety device that a spacewalker would use to maneuver back to the space station in the unlikely event they became untethered from the orbital outpost.

Dyson was assisted by fellow crew members Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps during the spacesuit checks. The duo also reviewed standard spacewalk procedures such as suiting up, exiting and entering Quest, safety steps, and communication protocols. NASA will announce the upcoming spacewalks for maintenance and science soon in a media advisory and a televised news conference.

NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick started his day printing the spacewalk procedures his crewmates would later review. Next, he gathered emergency hardware and prepared the gear in advance of the arrival of two new crewmates planned to arrive on Sunday. Afterward, Dominick inspected and cleaned module hatches then set up wearable biomedical gear to monitor an astronaut’s heart activity.

Meanwhile, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are at Kennedy Space Center in Florida preparing for their launch to the space station set for 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The duo will lift off for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test inside Starliner atop the Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. The experienced crew will take a daylong ride to the space station and dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

NASA TV will broadcast the mission live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Launch and docking coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

In the Roscosmos segment of the station, cosmonaut Nikolai Chub continued researching the ability to 3D print tools in microgravity. Expedition 71 Commander Oleg Kononenko completed his 24-hour heart and blood pressure monitoring session then conducted a photographic inspection of windows inside the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin also spent his shift inside Zvezda performing routine maintenance on the module’s air conditioning system.

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

Progress Cargo Craft Launches, En Route to Station

The unpiloted Progress 88 spacecraft is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following a launch at 5:43 a.m. EDT (2:43 p.m. Baikonur time) May 30, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock to the space-facing port of orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 7:47 a.m. Saturday, June 1. NASA coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

The spacecraft will deliver about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the space station.

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

Progress Resupply Cargo Craft Launching Live on NASA TV

NASA’s live launch coverage is underway on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

The unpiloted Progress 88 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 5:43 a.m. EDT (2:43 p.m. Baikonur time) May 30, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Roscosmos spacecraft will liftoff carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 71 crew aboard the International Space Station.

After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock to the space-facing port of orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 7:47 a.m. Saturday, June 1. NASA coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

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

NASA, Mission Partners ‘Go’ for Crew Flight Test Launch

NASA and Boeing teams polled “go” to proceed with plans to launch the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station at 12:25 p.m. EDT Saturday, June 1. During a Delta-Agency Flight Test Readiness Review Wednesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, leaders from NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) verified launch readiness, including all systems, facilities, and teams supporting the test flight.

A backup launch opportunity is available on Sunday, June 2, with additional launch windows on Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Kennedy on May 28, and will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until Saturday’s launch. The crew previously quarantined in Houston while mission teams worked to resolve various items with the rocket and spacecraft since scrubbing an initial launch attempt on May 6.

Next up, NASA leaders, along with Boeing and ULA partners, will hold a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, May 31, at Kennedy’s press auditorium.

Liftoff of the Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft will occur from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Crew Flight Test will send Wilmore and Williams to the orbiting laboratory for about a week before returning to Earth aboard the reusable crew capsule, which will make a parachute- and- airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes