Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

The next U.S. cargo mission is now targeting Friday for its launch to replenish the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 62 crew is continuing the upkeep of orbital lab systems.

Mission managers are waiting for the weather to clear up at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia so they can launch the Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman. Cygnus is now targeted to lift off Friday at 3:43 p.m. EST atop an Antares rocket.

Cygnus will arrive at the space station on Sunday packed with new science experiments, crew supplies and station hardware. NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan will be in the cupola commanding the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture Cygnus at 5:11 a.m. Robotics controllers will then take over and remotely command the Canadarm2 to install Cygnus to the Unity module where it will stay for three months.

NASA TV will cover all the launch, capture and installation activities live. View the NASA TV schedule here.

Morgan started his day replacing components inside an oxygen generator in the Tranquility module. Afterward, he serviced the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device that enables astronauts to maintain muscle strength during long-term space missions.

Jessica Meir of NASA worked throughout the day in Europe’s Columbus laboratory module. She was shifting cargo to access an area behind the Human Research Facility-2 rack. Once there, she installed cables that link to the Bartomoleo external payload facility on the outside of Columbus.

Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos began Tuesday transferring water from a docked Progress 74 cargo craft to a station tank. Skripochka, who is on his third station flight, then spent the afternoon cleaning cooling loops on a pair of Russian Orlan spacesuits.

The three-member Expedition 62 crew is getting ready for a resupply mission scheduled to launch to the International Space Station no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 13, at 4:06 p.m. EST due to an unfavorable weather forecast in the next few days and the time required to address a ground support issue. The crewmates from the United States and Russia also ran advanced space science experiments while maintaining orbital lab systems.

NASA Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir split their time today between robotics training and microgravity research. The two U.S. astronauts used a computer to practice the techniques they will use to capture the Cygnus space freighter Saturday, Feb. 15.

Morgan will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and grapple Cygnus. Meir will back him up and monitor the Cygnus’ approach and rendezvous. Ground controllers will take over the Canadarm2 after Cygnus’ capture and remotely install the cargo craft to the Unity module.

Morgan started his day sequencing DNA for the Genes in Space-6 experiment. The experiment places microbial samples inside the hand-held Biomolecule Sequencer to demonstrate the feasibility of space-based DNA sequencing. Results could boost astrobiology research on not just the space station, but also future spacecraft and planetary bodies.

Meir also spent a portion of Monday researching how flames spread in space. She burned a variety of fabric and acrylic samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Confined Combustion study. The research will inform the design and development of fire safety products and procedures for humans on Earth and in space.

Commander Oleg Skripochka spent his day in the Russian segment of the station. The veteran cosmonaut primarily serviced life-support gear before checking components on the Progress 74 cargo craft and updating an inventory database.

Northrop Grumman’s launch attempt of the NG CRS-13 cargo mission to the International Space Station was scrubbed due to off-nominal data from ground support equipment. The launch team is assessing the situation. NASA’s Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston has informed the space station crew that Northrop Grumman will assess a launch attempt on Monday, however the weather forecast is not favorable. NASA and Northrop Grumman will provide additional information on NASA’s homepage as it becomes available.

Follow launch activities at the launch blog and @NASA_Wallops and learn more about space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

The latest weather forecast is 100% favorable for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Northrop Grumman’s 13th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. NASA’s commercial partner Northrop Grumman is scheduled to launch its Antares rocket carrying its Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station at 5:39 p.m. EST on Feb. 9.

Follow launch activities at the launch blog and @NASA_Wallops and learn more about space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) landed on Earth at 4:12 a.m. EST in Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan. The trio departed the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft at 12:50 a.m.

For Parmitano and Skvortsov, this landing completed a 201-day stay in space, 3,216 orbits of Earth and a journey of 85.2 million miles.

Koch’s first journey into space became a 328-day mission in which she orbited Earth 5,248 times, a journey of 139 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 291 trips to the Moon and back. She conducted and supported more than 210 investigations during Expeditions 59, 60, and 61, including as a research subject volunteer to provide scientists the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for human exploration of Mars.

One particular research project in which Koch participated is the Vertebral Strength investigation, which better defines the extent of spaceflight-induced bone and muscle degradation of the spine, and the associated risk for broken vertebrae. This timely endeavor is expected to provide insight into the development of future countermeasures, such as preventative medicine or exercise. These results also could provide recommendations for limiting the amount of force astronauts are subjected to during launch.

Koch lived in space with four fellow NASA astronauts and classmates: Anne McClain, Nick Hague, Andrew Morgan, and Jessica Meir as well as four Russian cosmonauts, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, ESA astronaut Parmitano, and visiting astronaut Hazzaa Ali Almansoori from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Watch Koch’s most memorable moments from her record-breaking mission at: https://go.nasa.gov/36E40MZ

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