Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Exercise Research and Computer Upgrades Keep Crew Busy on Tuesday

The Expedition 73 crew members explored how exercise in space affects the body, conducted an eye exam, and continued upgrading computer networking gear aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents also transferred emergency gear into the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft, maintained life support equipment, and continued unpacking a Progress resupply ship.

Astronauts exercise daily for two hours aboard the orbital outpost to counteract accelerated muscle and bone loss caused by the lack of gravity. Researchers monitor crew members during their workouts to keep crews healthy and design effective workout plans for long duration space missions.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman participated in the exercise portion of the CIPHER suite of 14 human research studies working out on the advanced resistive exercise device and pedaling on the station’s exercise cycle for insights into her heart health. After her workout, she wore a sensor-packed Bio-Monitor headband and vest from the Canadian Space Agency beginning a 48-hour session measuring her health data. Doctors will be observing how her cardiovascular health is adjusting to microgravity and comparing it to physical data collected from other astronauts before, during, and after a spaceflight.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke led an eye exam and operated medical imaging gear that Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) peered into as personnel on the ground monitored in real time. Doctors are studying how microgravity affects the eye structure including the lens, retina, and optic nerve to understand potential vision issues during space missions and after the return to Earth.

Earlier, Yui was back inside the Kibo laboratory module on his second of replacing computer networking hardware. The ethernet hub upgrades will transmit data quicker and more efficiently throughout the orbital outpost.

Fincke and Cardman also joined NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim inside the SpaceX Dragon configuring the spacecraft for standard emergency preparations. The trio outfitted the vehicle with emergency documents, pressure indicators, and seat components in the unlikely event a crew would need to evacuate the orbital outpost.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov spent his shift installing a vacuum pressure gauge in the Nauka science module and servicing environmental control and life support systems in the station’s Roscosmos segment. Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky was back inside the Progress 93 resupply ship unpacking some of the nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies it delivered on Sept. 13. Afterward, Zubritsky jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill while wearing chest electrodes that measured his cardiac activity for a physical fitness test. Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov began his shift in Zvezda analyzing and testing the module’s power supply system before turning his attention to ongoing Earth observations photographing natural and man-made conditions on the seas, rivers, and mountainous areas.

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

Crew Studies Cardiac Health and Unpacks Cygnus, Progress Spacecraft

Expedition 73 kicked off the week with ultrasound scans for cardiac research and unloading new science experiments delivered last week aboard the Cygnus XL cargo craft. Spacesuit work and computer networking maintenance rounded out the day aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Mike Fincke and Jonny Kim joined each other on Monday in the Columbus laboratory module to continue learning how living and working in space affects cardiovascular health. Fincke led the biomedical investigation scanning Kim’s chest with the Ultrasound 2 device to identify signs of space-caused plaque buildup or accelerated aging-like symptoms in the arteries. Kim also wore sensors that measured his cardiac activity during the scans for the CIPHER human research investigation. Doctors collect the health data from astronauts before, during, and after a spaceflight and compare it to data collected from other astronauts to gain clearer insights into crew health.

Earlier in the day, the duo partnered with NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman unpacking some of the 11,000 pounds of new science and supplies delivered last week aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL resupply ship. A pair of portable science freezers containing research samples were removed from Cygnus and installed in an EXPRESS science rack ahead of upcoming experiment work. Cardman also installed new cloud computing hardware in the Destiny laboratory module then relocated air monitors from Destiny to the Tranquility module.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) spent his shift inside the Kibo laboratory module installing new computer networking gear. The ethernet hub upgrades will transmit data quicker and more efficiently throughout the orbital outpost.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos worked on an Orlan spacesuit in the Poisk module ahead of spacewalks planned for later this year. The three-time lab resident installed a variety of components inside the suit including a battery pack and a backup oxygen tank then conducted leak and pressure checks.

Flight Engineers Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov worked together throughout Monday unloading some of the nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies delivered aboard the Progress 93 cargo craft on Sept. 13. The duo also split up with Zubritsky working on the Roscosmos ventilation system and Platonov photographing landmarks in the Caspian Sea and the Amazon Delta.

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, Northrop Grumman Collaboration Ensures Resupply Mission Success

The crew aboard the International Space Station continue to unpack more than 11,000 pounds of critical spares, food and supplies delivered Sept. 18 by a Cygnus XL commercial resupply mission.  The arrival of the Cygnus XL to the space station was delayed by one day, due to changes in the rendezvous planning resulting from the main spacecraft engine shutting down early on two burns on Sept. 16.

Northrop Grumman’s engineering and operations, in close coordination with NASA, immediately began to evaluate the Cygnus XL engine burn and worked very closely with the agency to develop a new burn plan. The Northrop Grumman team soon discovered a conservative safeguard in the spacecraft software settings that triggered an early warning and safe shutdown of the engine. Teams adjusted the burn durations and resumed a new series of rendezvous burns to continue Cygnus XL’s approach toward the space station.

All subsequent burns were executed perfectly, allowing for the safe delivery of the spacecraft with no impact to station operations.

“NASA’s workforce remains strong and dedicated to safely working alongside our partners to ensure mission success. Commercial partnerships we pioneered in low Earth orbit are moving farther into the solar system with NASA, including at the Moon and Mars,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “I’m incredibly proud of our joint mission teams who demonstrated their toughness and competence to solve issues when they arose – these values will propel America forward in our Golden Age of innovation and exploration.”

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 crew member Jonny Kim, currently living and working aboard the space station, echoed that sentiment and embraced the newly devised plan to welcome Cygnus XL’s arrival.

“A big congratulations to the NASA and Cygnus teams for a successful Cygnus launch, rendezvous, and capture. Adapting and overcoming unforeseen challenges is something we do at NASA and I’m very proud to be a part of this team,” said NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. Cygnus will remain at the space station until spring when it departs the orbiting laboratory at which point it will dispose of several thousand pounds of debris through its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where it will harmlessly burn up.

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

Cygnus XL Cargo Craft Installed on Station’s Unity Module

Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL spacecraft has been installed to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 23, or Northrop Grumman CRS-23.

Filled with more than 11,000 pounds of research and supplies, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft, carried on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched at 6:11 p.m. EDT on Sept. 14, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will be the first flight of the Cygnus XL, the larger, more cargo-capable version of the company’s solar-powered spacecraft.

Cygnus will remain at the space station until spring when it departs the orbiting laboratory at which point it will dispose of several thousand pounds of debris through its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where it will harmlessly burn up.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @NASASpaceOps and @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Robotic Arm Maneuvering Cygnus for Station Installation

NASA’s coverage is underway for the installation of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft to the International Space Station on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

At 7:24 a.m. EDT, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, with NASA astronaut Zena Cardman acting as backup, captured the Cygnus XL spacecraft using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The spacecraft is carrying more than 11,000 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory. It launched at 6:11 p.m. EDT on Sept. 14 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Cygnus XL will remain at the space station until March 2026, when it will depart and dispose of several thousand pounds of trash by burning up during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @NASASpaceOps and @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. 

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Mark A. Garcia