Soyuz Crew Ship Undocks for Short Ride to New Port
The Soyuz MS-23 crew ship slowly backs away from the station carrying three Expedition 69 crewmates to a new docking port. Credit: NASA TV
The Soyuz MS-23, with Expedition 69 crew members Frank Rubio of NASA, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin aboard, has undocked from the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the complex, and is on its way to redock to the Prichal module on the Earth-facing side of the outpost.
Redocking is planned for 5:23 a.m. airing live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
This will be the 26th spacecraft relocation in station history. The move will make room for the arrival of the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 84 cargo spacecraft later this year and frees the Poisk airlock for the upcoming Roscosmos spacewalks in April and May.
Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin are scheduled to return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft upon undocking Sept. 27.
Three Crew Members Relocating Soyuz to New Station Port
The passengerless Soyuz MS-23 crew ship arrives at the space station for an automated docking to the Poisk module on Feb. 25, 2023. Credit: NASA TV
NASA TV coverage is underway as three crew members aboard the International Space Station take a short trip inside the Soyuz MS-23 to relocate the spacecraft from one docking port to another.
Undocking is scheduled at 4:45 a.m. EDT with redocking planned at 5:23 a.m. Relocation activities will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
The Soyuz MS-23, with Expedition 69 crew members Frank Rubio of NASA, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin aboard, will undock from the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the complex, and redock to the Prichal module on the Earth-facing side of the outpost.
Prokopyev, the Soyuz commander, will manually fly the spacecraft away from Poisk for its redocking to Prichal. He will be strapped into the descent module of the Soyuz with Petelin seated to his left and Rubio to his right.
This will be the 26th spacecraft relocation in station history. The move will make room for the arrival of the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 84 cargo spacecraft later this year and frees the Poisk airlock for the upcoming Roscosmos spacewalks in April and May.
Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin are scheduled to return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft upon undocking Sept. 27.
Expedition 69 Trio Preps for Soyuz Ride Around Station
(From left) NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will take a short ride around the space station inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship.
Three Expedition 69 crew members had a short day on Wednesday and went to sleep early ahead of the relocation of their Soyuz crew ship on Thursday morning. The rest of the International Space Station crew had its hands full throughout the day conducting biology research and packing a cargo craft.
Two Roscosmos cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut will take a short ride around the space station inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship relocating it from the Poisk module to the Prichal docking module early Thursday. Commander Sergey Prokopyev will guide the MS-23 to its new docking port flanked by flight engineers Dmitri Petelin and Frank Rubio. The relocation opens up Poisk’s airlock for future Roscosmos spacewalks in Orlan spacesuits and frees its docking port for the upcoming ISS Progress 84 resupply mission.
The Soyuz vehicle with the three crewmates will undock from Poisk’s space-facing port at 4:45 a.m. EDT on Thursday, maneuver behind and under the space station, then dock to Prichal’s Earth-facing port at 5:23 a.m. After leak and pressure checks are performed, the trio will reenter the orbiting lab, and go to bed early before continuing their space research mission on Friday. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, begins its live coverage at 4:15 a.m. on Thursday.
A U.S. space freighter is being packed with cargo ahead of its departure and return to Earth later this month. Rubio and Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) have begun loading the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft with completed science experiments and used station hardware for retrieval and analysis by scientists and engineers on the ground. Dragon docked to the orbiting lab on March 16 packed with 6,200 pounds of research gear, crew supplies, and other cargo to replenish the station crew.
NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg spent their day on biology research to understand how the human body changes in space. Hundreds of investigations have taken place aboard the orbital outpost since Expedition One to gain increasing knowledge about how humans adapt to long-term weightlessness and learn more effective ways to counteract space-caused symptoms.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev participated in a pair of heart studies and a crew behavior experiment on Wednesday. The first-time space flyer first completed a 24-hour session that monitored his heart activity and blood pressure. Afterward, he attached sensors to himself for another study observing his blood circulation. In the afternoon, Fedyaev submitted his answers to a questionnaire to learn how international crews and mission controllers from around the world communicate. Fedyaev will also be up early on Thursday assisting and monitoring his crewmates during their Soyuz relocation maneuver.
Crew Health Checks, Space Physics Top Tuesday Research Schedule
Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi receives a haircut from astronaut Frank Rubio aboard the space station with a hair trimmer containing a suction device collecting loose hair.
Human research activities dominated the Expedition 69 crew’s schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday with ultrasound scans, vision checks, and hearing exams. Space physics also rounded out the science schedule while the orbital residents also continued ongoing cargo and maintenance operations.
Living long-term in weightlessness is suspected of increasing cardiovascular health risks such as aging-like symptoms in blood vessels observed in astronauts on previous missions. Researchers regularly evaluate the health of station crew members to gain insights into space-caused and Earth-bound heart conditions. NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen contributed to that research on Tuesday attaching electrodes to himself and marking his neck, leg, and heart veins for the Vascular Echo investigation. He then scanned his veins using an ultrasound device and measured his blood pressure with inputs from doctors on the ground.
Bowen then swapped roles as Crew Medical Officer with flight engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos for eye checks during the afternoon. The trio took turns imaging the eyes of fellow crewmates Woody Hoburg of NASA, Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos using standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist’s office on Earth. Additionally, Prokopyev, who is also commander of the orbiting lab, and Petelin participated in a hearing test to evaluate the condition of their ear drums.
Space physics is also a key research topic as scientists and engineers learn how Earth-created materials react to the microgravity environment under a variety of conditions. Observations may advance the design and safety of spacecraft and space habitats as well as improve a host of ground-based industries and products.
Rubio and Hoburg worked on a pair of different physics experiments on Tuesday, one exploring extreme temperatures and the other foams and emulsions. Rubio serviced samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, a research device that safely investigates the thermophysical properties of high temperature phenomena using a containerless, levitation technique. Hoburg studied the dispersion of bubbles and droplets in liquids for the Foams and Emulsions experiment using a specialized microscope that uses fluorescence imagery analysis.
Alneyadi focused mainly on cargo work continuing to offload some of the 6,200 pounds of new science experiments, crew supplies, and station hardware delivered March 16 aboard the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev worked on life support maintenance before supporting Petelin during a cardiac research study.
NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg shows off a fresh orange, recently delivered aboard the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship, flying in microgravity aboard the station.
Three Expedition 69 crew members are training to take a short ride around the International Space Station and move their Soyuz crew ship to another docking port later this week. The rest of the orbital residents focused on pharmaceutical studies, space physics, and biology research at the beginning of the week.
NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio joined Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev on Monday and practiced on a computer the procedures to relocate the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship to a new docking port. The trio will enter the MS-23 and undock from the Poisk module 4:42 a.m. EDT on Thursday and maneuver to the Prichal docking module about 38 minutes later.
Petelin and Prokopyev, station flight engineer and commander respectively, also readied the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module, to which Prichal is attached, for the upcoming Soyuz relocation. Rubio finished his day working on orbital plumbing tasks and analyzing water samples for microbes.
The station’s other four residents spent Monday on a variety of microgravity research learning how to stay healthy on long-term space missions while also benefitting humans on Earth. The weightless environment of the space station offers unique insights impossible in Earth’s gravity potentially offering advanced solutions benefitting humans on and off the Earth.
NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen attached breathing gear and sensors to himself then pedaled on the station’s exercise cycle at the beginning of his day. Doctors use the data from the exercise session to evaluate an astronaut’s aerobic fitness during a space mission. In the afternoon, Bowen then serviced samples for a study exploring using microbes to produce food and pharmaceuticals in different gravity levels.
NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg spent his Monday morning tending to a life science study to understand how the human body adapts to weightlessness. Afterward, he and Bowen partnered up for more cargo work in the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. Hoburg then scanned the eyes of Bowen at the end of the day using standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist’s office on Earth.
UAE (United Arab Emirates) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi focused his science activities on the Foam and Emulsions physics experiment that may lead to newer, more advanced space research and expanded commercial opportunities in space. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev began his day photographing wildfires on Earth before spending the rest of his shift on ventilation maintenance inside Nauka and the Zvezda service module.
