Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

NASA Television will provide live launch coverage of a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft carrying almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 63 crew aboard the International Space Station. Watch live on NASA TV and the agency’s website beginning at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

The Progress 75 spacecraft is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:51 p.m. EDT (6:51 a.m. Saturday, April 25, Baikonur time).

The spacecraft is expected to dock to the Earth-facing port of the Zvezda Service Module on the station’s Russian segment at 1:12 a.m. Saturday, April 25. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 12:30 a.m.

Progress 75 will remain docked at the station for more than seven months, departing in December for its deorbit into Earth’s atmosphere.

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The three-member Expedition 63 crew focused on biomedical research today helping scientists understand how living in space affects the human body. Meanwhile, a resupply ship is nearing its launch to the International Space Station ahead of global cargo and Commercial Crew missions planned for May.

NASA Commander Chris Cassidy began Thursday with a health exam that included temperature and blood pressure checks as well as pulse and respiratory rate measurements. In the afternoon, the three-time space visitor moved to physics research and explored techniques future astronauts may use to develop advanced building materials in space.

Human research is also an important part of the Russian science agenda aboard the orbiting lab. The two cosmonauts, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, collected and stowed their blood, saliva and hair samples today for a pair of biology studies. The two experiments are looking at how spaceflight impacts a crewmember’s immune system and metabolism.

Russia is also readying its Progress 75 (75P) resupply ship for liftoff on Friday from Kazakhstan at 9:51 p.m. EDT. The 75P is at the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome packed with nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies. The 75th Progress cargo craft to visit the station will take a three-and-a-half hour delivery trip to the aft docking port of the Zvezda service module.

May’s mission schedule will see a U.S. cargo craft depart the station on the 11th and a Japanese resupply ship launch on the 20th for a robotic capture and installation on the 25th. The first mission on a U.S. crew vehicle since 2011 is set for launch on May 27. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Doug Hurley will lift off from Florida aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle and join the Expedition 63 crew one day later.

A Russian space freighter has rolled out to its launch pad ready to resupply the International Space Station this weekend. Meanwhile, the Expedition 63 crew is ramping up its preparations for the first Commercial Crew mission and more cargo activities planned for May.

Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA is looking forward to welcoming a pair of fellow NASA astronauts aboard the station at the end of May. Commercial Crew astronauts Robert Behnken and Doug Hurley are preparing for their launch aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship scheduled for May 27 at 4:23 p.m. The first crew to launch from U.S. soil since 2011 will dock one day later to the station and join Expedition 63 for a months-long mission.

The crew aboard the orbiting lab is also due to receive its first space delivery on Saturday at 1:12 a.m. EDT. Russia’s Progress 75 (75P) cargo craft will carry several tons of crew supplies and station hardware and automatically dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module. The 75P will lift off on Friday at 9:51 p.m. from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the short three-and-a-half hour flight to the station.

Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner are training for Saturday morning’s automated arrival of the 75P. The duo practiced remotely-controlled emergency rendezvous and docking techniques in the unlikely event the 75P wouldn’t be able to approach and dock to the station on its own.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft is being readied to end its stay attached to the station’s Unity module on May 11. Cassidy and Ivanishin packed trash and discarded gear inside Cygnus today for a fiery disposal in the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean.

Finally, the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is targeting May 20 for the launch of its ninth cargo mission to the station. JAXA’s HTV (H-II Transfer Vehicle) cargo craft, nicknamed Kounotori, would take a five-day trip before being captured and installed to the station with the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA continued working on a variety of science hardware throughout the International Space Station today. His two crewmates worked in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment on their complement of science and maintenance.

Cassidy started Tuesday in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module setting up a small satellite deployer. CubeSats are installed into the device, which is then loaded into Kibo’s airlock. Then the deployer is positioned in the vacuum of space to eject the tiny shoebox-sized satellites into Earth orbit.

In the afternoon, Cassidy moved over to the U.S. Destiny laboratory module and swapped computer parts inside the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF). The FCF consists of two refrigerator-sized research racks enabling safe observations of the behavior of fluids and flames in microgravity. Scientists use the data to design advanced fuel transfer systems and increase fire safety.

Russian Flight Engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner logged their meals today to understand how spaceflight affects a crewmember’s nutrition and metabolism. The duo then worked throughout the day on life support maintenance while continuing to get used to life onboard the station.

Russia’s next cargo craft to resupply the station is completing final processing and assembly at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Progress 75 (75P) space freighter packed with several tons of food, fuel and supplies is due to launch on Friday at 9:51 p.m. EDT. The 75P will make a two-orbit, three-and-a-half hour trip and automatically dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module.

The three-member Expedition 63 crew is beginning its first full workweek and kicking off science aboard the International Space Station. More space traffic continues this week, as Russia gets ready to launch its next Progress resupply ship late Friday.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy is on his third spaceflight and is in command of the orbiting lab. His two crewmates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, will be with Cassidy until October.

Cassidy worked Monday on physics research checking out the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. The experiment facility heats samples to ultra-high temperatures to observe thermophysical properties difficult to measure in Earth’s gravity.

Ivanishin and Vagner are getting ready for the arrival of a new space shipment due to arrive on Saturday at 1:23 a.m. EDT aboard the Progress 75 (75P) resupply ship. The 75P will launch Friday at 9:51 p.m. and take two orbits around the Earth before automatically docking to the rear port of the Zvezda service module. The duo tested a device on Monday that can remotely maneuver the 75P to a docking if necessary.

The two cosmonauts also collaborated on a variety of Russian space research throughout Monday. The pair looked at microgravity’s effect on pain sensitivity and bone tissue. During the afternoon, they explored how future space travelers may pilot spacecraft on planetary missions.

NASA and SpaceX announced May 27 for the first launch of humans from the United States since 2011. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Doug Hurley will lift off at 4:23 p.m. from Florida aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft and test its systems. They will join the Expedition 63 crew a day later after docking to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.