Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Expedition 74 Continues After Crew-11 Returns to Earth

Three Expedition 74 crew members continue to reside aboard the International Space Station now following the return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission on Thursday. The orbiting trio will conduct research and maintenance while awaiting the arrival of four new crewmates planned in February.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are back on Earth completing 167 days in space. The Crew-11 quartet returned in a SpaceX Dragon back to Earth for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of California just ten-and-a-half-hours after undocking from the station’s Harmony module.

Meanwhile, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams along with station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev are on the orbital outpost and will stay in space until summer. The trio arrived on Thanksgiving Day last year aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft beginning an eight-month space research mission.

Williams spent Friday inside the Quest airlock deconfiguring a pair of spacesuits set up for last week’s spacewalk before it was postponed. He cleaned and flushed the suits’ internal water-cooling loops that regulate a spacewalker’s body temperature. Next, he powered down and inspected the suits, then uninstalled suit hardware, components, and batteries.

Mikaev installed Earth observation hardware and programmed it to photograph African landmarks from Namibia’s Namib Desert to Kenya’s Nabiyotum Crater on the southern tip of Lake Turkana. Kud-Sverchkov serviced the Elektron oxygen generator inside the Zvezda service module then documented the location of hardware stowed throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

Back on Earth, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members are looking ahead to next month when they are targeted to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard a Dragon crew spacecraft and join Expedition 74. Crew-12 will be commanded by Jessica Meir and piloted by Jack Hathaway, both NASA astronauts, with Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos serving as mission specialists. NASA, SpaceX, and international partners are working to advance the launch of Crew-12, which is currently slated for Sunday, Feb. 15, following the early departure of Crew-11.

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’s SpaceX Crew-11 Dragon Splashdown at 3:41 a.m. EST

At 3:41 a.m. EST, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California.  

This completes a stay in space of 167 days for the four-person crew. The mission returned to Earth earlier than originally planned as teams monitored a medical concern with a crew member living and working aboard the orbital laboratory. The crew member is stable.  

Teams aboard the recovery ship, including two fast boats, are securing the SpaceX Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck with the astronauts inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will egress the spacecraft.  

NASA previously announced all four crew members will be transported to a local hospital for additional evaluation, taking advantage of medical resources on Earth to provide the best care possible. 

Following a planned overnight hospital stay, the crew will return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will reunite with their families and undergo standard post-flight reconditioning and evaluations. Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member. 

NASA will host a post-splashdown media conference at 5:45 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel, with the following participants:   

• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman 

• Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate 

Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @NASASpaceOps and @space_station on X, as well as the International Space Station’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

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Jason Costa

SpaceX Dragon Completes Deorbit Burn

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov has completed its deorbit burn as expected ahead of splashdown. 

Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Dragon is moving approximately 350 mph. Less than a minute later, at about 6,000 feet in altitude, the main parachutes deploy while the spacecraft is moving approximately 120 mph. 

Watch NASA’s live coverage on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel until crew recovery is complete. 

Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @NASASpaceOps and @space_station on X, as well as the International Space Station’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

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Jason Costa

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Preparing for Splashdown

Live coverage is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel as NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, are about an hour away from splashing down aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.  

The deorbit burn is scheduled to begin at 2:51 a.m. EST. Splashdown remains on schedule for approximately 3:41 a.m. Weather conditions remain favorable and are “go” at the primary splashdown site off the coast of San Diego, California. 

On Jan. 8, NASA decided to return Crew-11 earlier than originally planned as teams monitored a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the International Space Station. The crew member is stable. 

Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media. 

Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @NASASpaceOps and @space_station on X, as well as the International Space Station’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

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Jason Costa

Dragon Undocks from Station, Heads for Splashdown

At 5:20 p.m. EST, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission undocked from the International Space Station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Following coverage of undocking, NASA’s return coverage continues with real-time audio-only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. The audio-only feed includes astronaut conversations with mission control and live external video from the orbiting laboratory.

Live return coverage will resume at 2:15 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel until Dragon splashes down at approximately 3:41 a.m. off the coast of California and crew members are safely recovered. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

The mission is returning home earlier than originally planned as teams monitored a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory. The crew member is stable.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

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Mark A. Garcia