Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Soyuz MS-14 Bearing Russian Cargo Safely Back on Earth

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft bearing Russian gear and supplies is safely back on Earth after parachuting to a landing in south-central Kazakhstan at 5:32 p.m. EDT (3:32am Kazakhstan time on Saturday, Sept. 7).  Landing occurred about 87 miles southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan. Roscosmos personnel are on-site and have recovered the vehicle for postflight analysis.

Earlier, at 2:14 p.m., while flying about 260 miles above the border between northeastern China and southeastern Russia, the unpiloted vehicle undocked and departed from the International Space Station’s aft-facing port of the Zvezda service module for the short voyage home.

The uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Aug. 21, carrying 1,450 pounds of cargo to replenish the Expedition 60 crew residing at the orbital outpost. Part of its payload included a humanoid robot that was tested aboard the space station before being loaded back for its return trip. The MS-14’s flight also helped to validate the spacecraft’s compatibility for a revamped Soyuz booster rocket, which will be used to transport crews beginning spring 2020.

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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Norah Moran

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Uncrewed Soyuz Undocked from Space Station

While flying about 260 miles above the border between northeastern China and southeastern Russia, an uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft undocked and departed from the International Space Station at 2:14 p.m. EDT.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft was attached to the station’s aft-facing port of the Zvezda service module for a two-week stay as part of its test flight. The Soyuz delivered 1,450 pounds of cargo to the Expedition 60 crew currently residing on the orbital outpost. Part of the cargo was a humanoid robot that was used for tests before being loaded back inside the Soyuz for its return to Earth.

The Soyuz will land back on Earth in south-central Kazakhstan at 5:34 p.m. (3:34 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Sept. 7), where Russian personnel will be standing by to recover the spacecraft for postflight analysis. NASA TV will not provide live coverage of landing. The mission’s completion will be reported on social media and the agency’s website.

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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Norah Moran

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NASA TV to Air Undocking of Uncrewed Soyuz

Beginning at 1:45 p.m. EDT Friday, NASA Television and the agency’s website will air the undocking and departure from the International Space Station of an uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz MS-14  is scheduled to undock from the station’s aft-facing Zvezda module at 2:14 p.m.

The uncrewed Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Aug. 21 on a test flight to validate the spacecraft’s compatibility with a Soyuz 2.1a booster rocket. The spacecraft arrived and docked to the station on Monday Aug. 26. The upgraded Soyuz spacecraft and the Soyuz booster will be used to transport crews to the International Space Station beginning in spring 2020.

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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Norah Moran

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Expedition 60 Studies the Keys to Survive and Thrive in Space

As the week near its close, the crew of Expedition 60 caught up on maintenance activities while also continuing science investigations integral for the future of space exploration to destinations further into the solar system. 

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano performed servicing to the EXPRESS Rack located in the Columbus lab of the International Space Station. The EXPRESS Rack is instrumental in supporting science experiments, providing structural interfaces for power, data, cooling water and more to facilitate investigations in microgravity. 

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan continued examinations for Fluid Shifts, conducting remotely guided ultrasounds to track the movement of fluids within the body. Spread out over several weeks, the various measurements investigate if long-duration spaceflight can cause severe and lasting physical damage to an astronaut’s eyes. Aboard the orbiting laboratory, a Lower Body Negative Pressure device is being evaluated as a possible intervention for any harmful effects. 

Flight Engineer Christina Koch, meanwhile, spent time on Rodent Research habitat cleaning and feeding protocols. Such experiments, as a byproduct of learning how microgravity affects animals, provides relevant insight to human space exploration, basic biology and knowledge that can positively impact human health on Earth. 

Crew members performed scheduled maintenance on the Space Moss investigation — a plant-growth experiment attached to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility incubator. Moss, tiny plants without roots, need only a small area to thrive, and thus have potential in space far beyond low-Earth orbit, like on future Moon or Martian bases. 

The countdown is on for cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Alexey Ovchinin, who will wrap up packing the Soyuz MS-14 with gear before the spaceship returns to Earth Friday, Sept. 6. Viewers can watch NASA Television as it follows the undocking of the unpiloted vehicle, which begins at 1:45 p.m. EDT for a scheduled undocking at 2:14 p.m. The vehicle is anticipated to land at 5:34 p.m. in Kazakhstan, but with no NASA TV coverage. 

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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Catherine Williams

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Flurry of Science Investigations Preface Friday’s Soyuz Departure

As cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori ready for their Sept. 25 launch aboard a Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, tomorrow they will pause in their mission preparations for the ceremonial laying of the flowers at the Kremlin Wall. On Sept. 10, the same day the H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) is scheduled to take off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan for the International Space Station, the new crew will depart for the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan. 

Meanwhile, Expedition 60 crew members balanced their workload between preparing for upcoming vehicle activities from and to the space station and investigations that will give scientists deeper insight into the human body in space … and on Earth.  

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan performed eye exams in support of Fluid Shifts, which studies how fluid movement — from the lower body to the upper body, in or out of cells and blood vessels — can impact changes in vision and eye structures for astronauts, as well as uncomfortable cranial pressure during spaceflight. Morgan, along with crewmate Christina Koch of NASA, are also reviewing rendezvous and capture training for HTV-8, which will be robotically maneuvered to attach to the Harmony module in just over a week.  

Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) worked with the Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) investigation, completing cell sample transfers. BEST evaluates the feasibility of sequencing to identify unknown microbial organisms living aboard the orbiting laboratory. One added benefit, too, is the experiment furthers research in understanding how humans, plants and microbes adapt to microgravity.  

Housekeeping continued as cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Alexey Ovchinin added more cargo to the Soyuz MS-14 for a return to Earth, sans crew, Friday, Sept. 6. 

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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Catherine Williams

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