Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Station Crew Gets Ready for Russian and U.S. Cargo Missions

The Expedition 66 crew is getting ready for a pair of cargo missions launching from Kazakhstan and the United States next week. The Progress and Cygnus resupply ships will be delivering several tons of food, fuel, and supplies to replenish the seven astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station.

Russia’s ISS Progress 80 cargo craft will roll out this weekend at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome and begin counting down to its lift off on Feb. 14 at 11:25 p.m. EST. The Progress 80 will orbit the Earth for just over two days before automatically docking to the Poisk module on Feb. 17 at 2:06 a.m. with nearly three tons of cargo.

Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov trained today on a computer for the Progress 80’s arrival. The duo from Roscosmos will be at the controls of the tele-operated robotic unit, or TORU, in the Zvezda service module monitoring the cargo craft’s approach and rendezvous. In the unlikely event the Progress 80 is unable to dock on its own, the cosmonauts will be able to use the TORU and manually guide the vehicle to a docking on Poisk.

The next cargo craft to visit the station will be Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter after it launches from Virginia on Feb. 19 at 12:40 p.m. The Cygnus will arrive at the station on Feb. 21 where it will be captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 4:35 a.m. and installed to the Unity module a few hours later.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron joined each other Friday and reviewed robotics procedures necessary to capture Cygnus after it reaches a distance of about 10 meters from the station. Chari will be in the cupola commanding the Canadarm2 to reach out and grapple Cygnus while Barron backs him up and monitors vehicle systems. Ground controllers will take over afterward and remotely guide the robotic arm with Cygnus in its grip and install the U.S. cargo craft to Unity’s Earth-facing port where it will stay for three months.

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

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Mark Garcia

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Human Research Exploring How Astronauts Adapt to Long-Term Spaceflight

A host of human research activities dominated Thursday’s research schedule aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 66 crew members explored how living in microgravity affects sense of orientation, visual function, and the spine.

At the beginning of the day, NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron gathered again in the Columbus laboratory module for the GRIP study. The duo took turns strapping themselves in a specialized seat for the second time this week gripping a control device in response to dynamic events to explore how microgravity affects an astronaut’s sense of motion and orientation. They will have one more session on Friday for the experiment that may inform the design of future spacecraft interfaces.

Chari later spent the afternoon on a series of spinal exams with Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency). The astronauts swapped roles as crew medical officer marking their lower, or lumbar spinal section. Then with remote guidance from doctors on the ground, the duo took turns scanning each other’s lumbar spinal section with the Ultrasound 2 device for insights into how the skeletal system adapts to weightlessness.

Matthias first started the day with NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn conducting biology research inside the Kibo laboratory module. The duo performed operations using the Life Science Glovebox investigating how spaceflight affects visual function by examining changes in the vascular system of the retina and tissue remodeling.

Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei, who is on his way to breaking the NASA astronaut single spaceflight record, spent Thursday configuring hardware to support a pair of fire safety experiments. He was inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module setting up the Combustion Integrated Rack to support upcoming operations for the SoFIE, or Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction, studies.

Working in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment, Commander Anton Shkaplerov studied advanced ways to detect Earth landmarks for photography sessions. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov worked throughout the day installing components and setting up crew cabins inside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Gripping Research on Station as Cargo Missions Near Launch

Wednesday’s main research aboard the International Space Station is exploring how astronauts manipulate objects and move around in weightlessness. The Expedition 66 crew is also getting ready for a pair of resupply missions due to launch next week.

Grabbing an object and moving around is different in space than on Earth. Scientists are studying how astronauts adjust to the microgravity environment with possible implications for spacecraft interfaces designed for future missions to planets, moons, or asteroids. NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron took turns and strapped themselves into a specialized seat in the Columbus laboratory module for the GRIP study on Wednesday. The duo then performed a series of movements while gripping a control device helping researchers understand how astronauts respond to different dynamic events.

Astronaut Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) began packing up gear for disposal on the next U.S. Cygnus space freighter to visit the space station. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft is due to launch Feb. 19 from Virginia and arrive at the orbital lab two days later for a robotic capture and installation to the Unity module. NASA TV will broadcast both events live on the agency’s website and the NASA app.

NASA Flight Engineers Thomas Marshburn and Mark Vande Hei spent Wednesday mostly on lab maintenance tasks. Marshburn worked on plumbing duties in the Tranquility module swapping components inside the Waste and Hygiene Compartment, the orbiting lab’s bathroom. Vande Hei set up life support system tanks for remote draining by ground teams, refilled plant water bags, and finally serviced a biology research device that can generate artificial gravity.

Russia’s next cargo mission is due to blast off from Kazakhstan on Feb. 14 at 11:25 p.m. EST and autonomously dock to the Poisk module just over two days later. The ISS Progress 80 cargo craft from Roscosmos will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to replenish the station crew.

Commander Anton Shkaplerov worked inside the current cargo craft docked to the station transferring fluids into the ISS Progress 79. The four-time station veteran also assisted Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov as he explored how to maximize a workout in microgravity.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Station Boosts Orbit for March Crew Swap

The International Space Station is orbiting slightly higher today placing it in position for a crew swap taking place in March. Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 66 crew participated in life science and physics research and a variety of robotics activities.

Russia’s ISS Progress 79 cargo craft, docked to the aft end of the Zvezda service module, fired its engines early Tuesday morning for two minutes and 22 seconds. The orbital maneuver boosted the station’s orbit by six-tenths of a mile in preparation for the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship arriving in mid-March as well as the Soyuz MS-19 trio departing on March 30. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will be returning to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship completing a NASA single spaceflight record-breaking mission of 355 days.

Today’s science schedule aboard the orbiting lab covered a wide variety of subjects exploring phenomena benefitting astronauts in space and humans on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn configured the Combustion Integrated Rack to begin operations for a pair of studies exploring fire growth in microgravity. Marshburn also took a robotics test for the Behavioral Core Measures investigating how living in space affects crew stress, performance, and behavior. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer watered and photographed plants growing for the Veggie PONDS space agriculture study.

NASA astronaut Kayla Barron set up an Astrobee robotic assistant to collect visual data and create a localization map inside the Harmony module. She also joined fellow NASA Flight Engineer Raja Chari and reviewed spacewalk responsibilities and configured spacewalk tools. Vande Hei swapped samples and cleaned the inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, a research device that enables the observation of thermophysical properties at high temperatures.

In the station’s Russian segment, Commander Anton Shkaplerov joined Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov and studied how the heart and circulation system adapt to weightlessness . The duo from Roscosmos also partnered together on cargo activities and air repressurization activities inside the Progress 79 vehicle.

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Mark Garcia

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Space Psychology and Ultrasonic Exploration Begin Week on Station

The Expedition 66 crew kicked off the week today exploring how living in space affects psychology and ways to manipulate objects with sound. The residents aboard the International Space Station also serviced U.S. spacesuits and worked on an artificial gravity-generating incubator.

NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari took turns participating in a robotics test for the Behavioral Core Measures experiment on Monday. The monthly sessions investigate how living in a confined space in microgravity affects crew stress, performance, and behavior.

Barron then joined ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer and practiced measuring fluid pressure in the eye. She also photographed cotton cell samples growing for the Plant Habitat-05 space agriculture study. Maurer and Chari partnered together on Monday afternoon resizing a pair of U.S. spacesuits.

Maurer started his day on the Ultrasonic Tweezers study using acoustics to manipulate objects remotely and without physical contact. Vande Hei assisted the German astronaut during the experiment that explores using ultrasonics to trap and isolate objects to study samples and avoid contamination on planetary surfaces.

NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn worked throughout Monday on science hardware ensuring critical research operations run smoothly in weightlessness. The three-time station visitor installed and serviced components inside the Cell Biology Experiment Facility, an incubator with an artificial gravity generator. He finally swapped drying agents, or desiccants, inside science freezers that preserve research samples.

Vande Hei joined Roscosmos Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov in the station’s Russian segment for more wireless gear maintenance. Commander Anton Shkaplerov set up hardware that will monitor how natural and man-made events on Earth affect the upper atmosphere.

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Mark Garcia

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