Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

NASA, Boeing Modify Commercial Crew Contract

In 2014, NASA awarded a Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to Boeing to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station with its Starliner spacecraft. As part of its contract, Boeing was awarded up to six crewed flights to the orbital complex.

After a thorough evaluation, NASA and Boeing have mutually agreed to modify the contract. As part of the modification, the definitive order has been adjusted to four missions, with the remaining two available as options. The next Starliner flight, known as Starliner-1, will be used by NASA to deliver necessary cargo to the orbital laboratory and allow in-flight validation of the system upgrades implemented following the Crew Flight Test mission last year.  NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than April 2026 to fly the uncrewed Starliner-1 pending completion of rigorous test, certification, and mission readiness activities.  Following Starliner certification, and a successful Starliner-1 mission, Starliner will fly up to three crew rotations to the International Space Station. 

“NASA and Boeing are continuing to rigorously test the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “This modification allows NASA and Boeing to focus on safely certifying the system in 2026, execute Starliner’s first crew rotation when ready, and align our ongoing flight planning for future Starliner missions based on station’s operational needs through 2030.”

Certification of Boeing’s Starliner remains important to NASA’s goal of sustained human presence in low Earth orbit and dissimilar redundancy is essential to supporting the agency’s goals and international obligations.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

Week Wraps with Fluid Physics, Stem Cell Research as New Crew Preps Begin

Expedition 73 wrapped up the work week continuing to study fluid physics and stem cells, preparing for next week’s new crew arrival, and unpacking a U.S. cargo spacecraft. The International Space Station residents also serviced exercise gear, performed life support system troubleshooting, and analyzed the orbital outpost’s microbial environment.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman primarily spent her day on research first starting in the Destiny laboratory module and installing fluid samples inside a fluorescence microscope. Scientists on the ground will image the samples to observe how particles behave inside fluids. Results may inform commercial in-space manufacturing techniques and improve optical materials and pollution removal operations. Cardman then moved to the Kibo laboratory module and processed stem cells samples inside the Life Science Glovebox. Afterward, she stowed the samples in a portable science freezer for preservation and return to Earth for analysis. Scientists are exploring how microgravity affects the stem cells programmed to change into heart and brain cells that may lead to advanced treatments for cardiac and neurological disorders.

Cardman also assisted Flight Engineers Mike Fincke of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) as they continued transferring new science and supplies from inside the Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft. Cygnus XL arrived on Sept. 18 delivering over 11,000 pounds of cargo resupplying the orbital residents.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, supporting the company’s 23rd commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA, will be uninstalled from the Earth-facing port of the space station’s Unity module on Monday, Nov. 24. The cargo spacecraft will remain attached to the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm until Monday, Dec. 1, clearing the way for the arrival of the crewed Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on Thursday, Nov. 27. 

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and Roscosmos coordinated the spacecraft’s movement to prevent any unnecessary structural loads from being imparted on Cygnus XL and its solar arrays when the Soyuz spacecraft docks to the Rassvet module, which is the adjacent docking port. The maneuver will be conducted by the robotics officer in Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while agency astronauts Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman monitor from inside the orbital complex.

Cygnus XL will be reattached to the space station Dec. 1, and will remain there until no earlier than March 2026, when it is scheduled to depart and dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during its destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. 

Fincke then used a computer to test the performance of a pressure management device, gear that saves station air during visiting vehicle pressurization activities, inside the Unity module. Yui also assisted NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim in the Tranquility module correctly positioning and centering the COLBERT treadmill, tightening its bolts, and activating the exercise device for operations. Kim then drained recycle tanks and configured emergency breathing masks. Yui swapped batteries inside a wireless environmental monitor then joined Kim again at the end of their shift servicing a vacuum cleaner.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov began preparing for next week’s arrival of three new crew members aboard the Soyuz MS-28 crew spacecraft. Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky joined him rearranging cargo and making space inside the Rassvet module. The Soyuz MS-28 will dock to Rassvet on Nov. 27 carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Ryzhikov also began packing cargo inside the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft that will return him, Zubritsky, and Kim to Earth in early December. Zubritsky collected microbe samples swabbed from inside the station’s Roscosmos segment for analysis to protect crew health.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov focused on maintenance at the end of the week beginning his shift replacing components on the Zvezda service module’s toilet. Next, Platonov inspected the Zarya module to identify workspace before completing his shift working on the Nauka science module’s ventilation system.

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

Crew Works on Stem Cells, CubeSats; Prepares for Soyuz and Commercial Crew Launches

Stem cells and CubeSat installations were the main research focus aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 73 crew also collected microbe samples for analysis, configured Earth observation gear, and replaced hoses on a treadmill.

Also, NASA and SpaceX have been working to be ready as early as Feb. 15 for the next commercial crew rotation launch to the International Space Station. This change maximizes launch opportunities for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12, while also accommodating the Artemis II launch windows. As both missions advance toward launch and rely on resources and facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, this change helps deconflict operations.

NASA also set the agency’s coverage of NASA astronaut Chris Williams’ will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft to the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 27

Back on station, researchers are studying how to turn stem cells into brain and cardiac cells in microgravity. NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman serviced the stem cell samples for viewing inside a fluorescence microscope for the Stellar Stem Cells Mission 2 experiment. Doctors on the ground will observe how weightlessness affects the reprogrammed stem cells possibly leading to advances in regenerative medicine, drug testing, and space-based biomanufacturing.

Cardman also assisted NASA Flight Engineers Mike Fincke and Jonny Kim and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui who swapped thermal control system hoses on the COLBERT treadmill located inside the Tranquility module. The quartet worked throughout Thursday temporarily uninstalling the station’s bathroom, or waste and hygiene compartment, to access the life support hoses.

Earlier, Yui installed the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer on the multi-purpose experiment platform inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock. It will soon be placed outside the orbital outpost in the external microgravity environment. The Japanese robotic arm will grapple the CubeSat deployer then position it away from the orbiting lab to deploy a set of CubeSats into Earth orbit for private and public research.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, partnered together on Thursday and swabbed surfaces inside the Zarya module then placed the samples inside test tubes. The samples will be analyzed later to understand the microbial environment aboard the space station and protect crew health.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov began his day with orbital plumbing in the Nauka science module then set up a camera to capture time-lapse photography of the Earth. Platonov spent the end of his shift inside the Zvezda service module servicing the Elektron oxygen generator.

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

Station Orbiting Higher as Exercise Research and Maintenance Continue

The International Space Station is orbiting higher today after the Progress 93 cargo spacecraft, docked to the Zvezda service module’s aft port, fired its engines for over 14 minutes, 7 seconds at 8:04 a.m. EST on Wednesday. The reboost increased the space station’s altitude by 1 mile at apogee and 2.3 miles at perigee, leaving the station in an orbit of 265.5 x 255.9 statute miles. The orbital reboost places the station at the correct altitude for the arrival late next week of the Soyuz MS-28 crew spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev. The new trio will become part of the new Expedition 74 crew when NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky undock from the space station inside the Soyuz MS-27 crew spacecraft a few days later in early December.

Back on the orbital outpost, the Expedition 73 crew focused its science activities on exercise research and fluid physics, both benefitting humans living on and off the Earth. The space lab residents also maintained spacesuit and workout gear, reorganized cargo, and set up a sleep station to accommodate the visiting crew.

Kim began his shift jogging on the COLBERT treadmill and working out on the advanced resistive exercise device while wearing a sensor-packed vest and headband that tracked his cardiac activity for a second day. He also wore the Mobil-O-Graph that measured and recorded his blood pressure throughout Wednesday. Doctors are monitoring his health to understand how the cardiovascular system adapts to space and testing the effectiveness of portable biomedical devices in space.

Afterward, Kim installed and configured the crew alternate sleep accommodation inside the Columbus laboratory module that will temporarily house a new crew member after their arrival late next week. Expedition 73 will expand to 10 crew members for a few days after the Soyuz MS-28 mission arrives. Kim will then return to Earth with Ryzhikov and Zubritsky completing an eight-month space research mission as Expedition 74 begins.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke continued studying how particles behave inside fluids setting up samples inside a fluorescence microscope to be observed by scientists on the ground. Results may inform commercial in-space manufacturing techniques and improve optical materials and pollution removal operations. Fincke later replaced life support components on a spacesuit inside the Quest airlock.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman also worked on spacesuit components photographing and packing suit hardware for return to Earth next month inside the Soyuz MS-27. Cardman also joined Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and rearranged cargo packed inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module to create more stowage space. Yui spent most of his shift continuing to unload science and supplies delivered in September aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft.

Cardman then joined Kim and Fincke at the end of their shift on Wednesday and called down to mission controllers and discussed upcoming maintenance on the COLBERT treadmill. The complex work will require temporarily removing the station’s toilet in the Tranquility module to access thermal control system hoses connected to COLBERT for replacement.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky worked on a second station treadmill located inside Zvezda. The duo checked the tension and adjusted belts and shock absorber cords on the exercise device. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov spent his shift inside the Nauka science module servicing orbital plumbing and life support systems.

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

Heart Health, Stem Cells, and Physics Keep Crew Busy on Tuesday

Life science and physics topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday as the Expedition 73 crew studied heart health, stem cells, fluid physics, and spacecraft fire safety. The orbital residents also completed work on a spacesuit and inspected ventilation and electrical systems while continuing other scientific operations.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim kicked off his shift wearing a sensor-packed vest and headband that measured his cardiovascular data as he worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device then jogged on the COLBERT treadmill. Doctors will use the medical data to track Kim’s health in space, assess the value of portable health monitoring devices, and treat space-caused health conditions. Later, Kim processed stem cell samples for a study investigating how microgravity affects their conversion to cardiac or brain cells. Results may lead to personalized treatments for astronauts on future missions and advanced therapies for Earth-based conditions such as heart and neurological diseases.

Physics is a critical research subject aboard the orbital outpost since materials behave differently in weightlessness. Flight Engineers Mike Fincke of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) split their shift working on a pair of different physics studies, one looking at particles attach themselves to fluids and another observing how flames spread in space. Fincke set up research hardware inside a fluorescence microscope to observe particle-laden droplets potentially informing commercial in-space manufacturing techniques. Yui swapped sample hardware inside the Solid Combustion Experiment Module that enables safe observations of materials burning in weightlessness to improve fire safety on spacecraft.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman completed several days of spacesuit work and verified the successful installation of ventilation and cooling gear, conducted leak checks, and inspected suit hardware. Next, Cardman checked out the operations of the new Ultrasound 3 device, recently delivered aboard the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, used for crew heart and vein scans, as well as internal imaging of bones, organs, and issues.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, began their day with mental and physical assessments to understand how they are adjusting to the stresses of long-duration spaceflight. Next, the duo took turns wearing virtual reality googles and sensors while responding to visual signals to observe how their vision and sense of balance adjusts to microgravity.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov wrapped up an overnight Earth photography session uninstalling and stowing hardware that photographed landmarks on the ground in a wide variety of wavelengths. Platonov then spent the rest of his day servicing orbital plumbing and ventilation systems throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

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