SpaceX CRS-26: Scrubbed; NASA, SpaceX Now Targeting Nov. 26 for Launch
Due to poor weather conditions in the area along Florida’s Space Coast for today’s planned launch of SpaceX’s 26th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX and NASA now are targeting liftoff for 2:20 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 26, from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch coverage will begin at 2 p.m. EST on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.
A launch Saturday would lead to docking Sunday, Nov. 27, for the Dragon to deliver important research, crew supplies and hardware to the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory. Docking coverage will begin at 6 a.m. with the spacecraft planned to arrive at the space station around 7:30 a.m.
Crew Preparing for Spacewalks as Cargo Dragon Launch Nears
Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are pictured conducting a six-hour and 25-minute spacewalk in their Orlan spacesuits on Nov. 17, 2022.
The Expedition 68 crew continues gearing up for more spacewalks at the International Space Station before the end of the year. Meanwhile, a U.S. cargo craft is counting down to its launch this week to resupply the seven-member crew living aboard the orbiting lab.
Two astronauts and two cosmonauts are preparing for five spacewalks to be conducted outside the space station in less than two months. One set of spacewalks is augmenting the station’s power generation system. The other set of spacewalks is deploying a radiator and installing an airlock on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio prepared the station for new roll-out solar arrays during a spacewalk on Nov. 15 after assembling a mounting bracket on the station’s starboard truss structure. The roll-out solar arrays are due to be installed on the new mounting bracket on Nov. 29 by a pair of spacewalkers soon to be named by mission managers. On Monday, Flight Engineers Nicole Mann and Koichi Wakata reviewed the robotics procedures necessary to support the successful installation of the solar arrays
The roll-out solar arrays are packed inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon is scheduled to lift off atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 3:54 p.m. EST on Tuesday and arrive at the station for an automated docking at 5:57 a.m. on Wednesday. Dragon is also delivering new space agriculture and biotechnology studies, as well as food, fuel, and crew supplies. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, begins its launch coverage at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and docking coverage at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
After Dragon is docked to the Harmony module’s forward port, robotics controllers on the ground will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach and remove the roll-out solar arrays from Dragon’s unpressurized trunk. The controllers will then remotely guide the Canadarm2 to stage the roll-out solar arrays on truss structure attachment points. From there the spacewalkers will access the solar arrays to begin the upcoming installation work.
Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin spent Monday setting up the Poisk airlock, organizing tools, and studying procedures for their second spacewalk together planned to begin at 6:15 a.m. on Friday. The duo, with assistance from European robotic arm operator Anna Kikina, will relocate a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module. The Roscosmos spacewalkers prepared the radiator for its relocation during a spacewalk on Nov. 17.
Station Awaits One Dragon, Five Spacewalks Before End of Year
Astronaut Nicole Mann (center) assists astronauts Josh Cassada (left) and Frank Rubio (right), suited up in their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU), or spacesuits, before starting a spacewalk on Nov. 15, 2022.
The International Space Station is due to welcome a U.S. cargo craft after it launches from Florida next week. In the meantime, the Expedition 68 crew is staying focused on completing five more spacewalks for assembly and installation work before the end of the year.
The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is due to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:54 p.m. EST on Tuesday and take a daylong trip to the orbiting lab. It will automatically dock to the forward port on the station’s Harmony module at 5:57 a.m. on Wednesday. Dragon is delivering new space agriculture and biotechnology studies, as well as the next pair of rollout solar arrays to augment the station’s power generation system. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, begins its launch coverage at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and docking coverage at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
After Dragon completes is delivery mission to the space station, robotics controllers on the ground will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to extract two rollout solar arrays from inside the U.S. space freighter’s trunk. The remotely controlled Canadarm2 will then stage the rollout solar arrays on truss segment attachment points to be retrieved on a pair of spacewalks planned for Nov. 29 and Dec. 3. Two yet-to-be-named Expedition 68 astronauts will remove the rollout solar arrays from their attachment points then install them at the base of the two main solar arrays on both the port and starboard truss segments.
NASA Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann trained Friday on a computer for Dragon’s automated arrival on Monday. The duo studied approach and docking procedures and reviewed the upcoming cargo unpacking activities. The astronauts were joined at the end of the day by Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for a conference with NASA and SpaceX mission controllers.
The duo has three more spacewalks to complete before the end of the year with the next excursion set for Friday, Nov. 25. The Roscosmos spacewalkers, with assistance from the European Robotic Arm (ERA) controlled by Flight Engineer Anna Kikina, will move the radiator from Rassvet to Nauka and make electrical and hydraulic connections. The next two Russian spacewalks, on Dec. 6 and 21, will see Rassvet’s airlock transferred and installed to Nauka using the ERA, then the deployment of the newly relocated radiator attached to Nauka.
Cosmonauts Finish Spacewalk for Work on Science Module
Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work on the outside of the Rassvet module on Nov. 17, 2022, during the first of four Russian maintenance spacewalks planned before the end of the year. Credit: NASA TV
This was the third spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the first for Petelin. It was the tenth spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 255th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
The duo is preparing a radiator on Rassvet for its move to Nauka.
Prokopyev is wearing a Russian spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing a Russian suit with blue stripes. This is the third spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the first for Petelin. It is the tenth spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 255th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
