Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Roscosmos Progress 91 Undocked from Space Station 

The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 91 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 11:45 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, backing away from the station for a deorbit maneuver and destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.  

 The spacecraft launched on Feb. 27 on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the crew aboard the International Space Station. After a two-day in-orbit journey, the spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory on March 1 and automatically docked to the aft port of the station’s Zvezda module. 

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

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Joshua A. Finch

Station Gets Ready for Two Cargo Missions Launching Days Apart

The Progress 93 cargo craft from Roscosmos rolled out to its launch pad today at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan where will launch at 11:54 a.m. EDT on Thursday to the International Space Station. Progress 93, carrying 2.8 tons of food, fuel, and supplies to resupply the Expedition 73 crew, will arrive at the orbital outpost and automatically dock to the Zvezda service module’s aft port at 1:27 p.m. on Saturday. NASA+ will begin its live launch broadcast at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday followed by docking coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, trained on Monday for this weekend’s approach and rendezvous of the Progress 93 resupply ship. The duo practiced on a computer the maneuvers they would use to remotely control the approaching cargo craft in the unlikely event it would be unable to complete its automated docking sequence with Zvezda.

Before Progress 93 launches, the Progress 91 cargo craft will undock from the orbital outpost at 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday vacating the same Zvezda port the new resupply ship will dock to four days later. The Progress 91, filled with trash and obsolete gear, will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean several hours later for a fiery, but safe demise completing a six-and-a-half-month mission.

Next on the launch schedule is NASA’s Northrop Grumman’s commercial resupply services 23 mission featuring the Cygnus XL cargo craft, counting down to a liftoff atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:11 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Cygnus XL will deliver over 11,000 pounds of new gear, including advanced science experiments to promote health on Earth and in space, when it is captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 6:35 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Canadarm2 will remotely install Cygnus to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port for six months of cargo activities.

Meanwhile back on the space station, Expedition 73 began its week focusing on how the human body and plants change in microgravity to not only protect crews in space but keep humans healthy on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineers Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module at the beginning of their shift on Monday to understand how living in weightlessness affects a crew member’s sense of balance and orientation. Fincke operated software, with assistance from doctors on the ground, that sent visual signals Cardman responded to while wearing virtual reality goggles. Researchers will use the data to track structural changes a crew member’s vestibular system, or sensory system, may experience while living in space.

Afterward, Fincke led eye exams with NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim looking for potential space-caused changes to eye structure and vision. Fincke operated the medical hardware and software that sent flashes, or light patterns, to electrodes Kim wore around his eyes testing his retinal response. Next, Kim peered into eye imaging hardware as doctors on the ground monitored in real time for more insight into how spaceflight affects the retina, cornea, and optic nerve. Both the eye tests and the balance study were part of the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations tracking space-influenced changes to the human body possibly advancing health in space and on Earth.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) explored space botany in the Kibo laboratory module on Monday to learn how to grow plants in space and eventually the Moon and Mars. For the first part of the Plant Cell Division experiment, Yui processed tobacco plant cell samples with a chemical agent for preservation then installed the samples inside the Cell Biology Experiment Facility for incubation and later analysis with a microscope. He will conduct the second part of the experiment on Wednesday processing algae samples to understand cell division in space promoting advanced agricultural techniques on and off the Earth.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov participated in a pair of human research studies on Monday continuing the ongoing effort to understand and counteract the effects of microgravity on a crew member’s body. Platonov first attached sensors to his neck measuring the volume as he rapidly exhaled for a respiratory study. After that, he attached a new set of sensors and electrodes measuring his cardiac activity as he jogged on Zvezda’s treadmill for a regularly scheduled fitness evaluation.

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

Space Biomedical Research Wraps Week as Station Gears Up for Two Cargo Missions

Space-based production of human tissues and preventing space-caused head and eye pressure were the main research topics at the end of the week for the Expedition 73 crew. The International Space Station is also gearing up for a pair cargo missions this month supplying the orbital residents with food, fuel, science experiments, and more.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft delivered bioprinted liver tissues to the orbital outpost on Aug. 25 to help researchers understand how microgravity affects the formation of blood vessels in engineered tissue. Flight Engineers Zena Cardman of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency took turns on Friday processing the bioprinted tissue samples for placement inside an artificial gravity-generating research device. Researchers are monitoring how the tissues progress and develop over several weeks in weightlessness to gain new health insights. Result may lead to advanced treatments protecting astronauts on long-duration spaceflights and improve bioprinting techniques for patient therapies on Earth.

A common symptom of living in space is called “puffy face” where an astronaut’s face appears swollen and redder. This results from blood pooling toward an astronaut’s head potentially leading to eye structure and vision changes. NASA Flight Engineers Mike Fincke and Jonny Kim joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module and tested a specialized thigh cuff that may counteract the fluid shifts in weightlessness and reduce pressure on a crew member’s head and eyes. Fincke wore the thigh cuff as Kim measured his blood pressure and scanned his veins with the Ultrasound 2 device while chest electrodes collected cardiac data. A variety of other space station medical tools and techniques are used throughout the investigation to understand how an astronaut’s eyes, heart, and blood vessels respond to the thigh cuff.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov wrapped up a 24-hour session wearing sensors measuring his blood pressure and heart rate. Doctors were monitoring his cardiac activity as he worked, exercised, then slept for their ongoing biomedical research in microgravity.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky set up the TORU, or tele-robotically operated rendezvous unit, simulator they will train on soon inside the Zvezda service module. The duo will practice remote-controlled spacecraft rendezvous techniques on the TORU simulator in the unlikely event an approaching Roscosmos spacecraft is unable to dock to the orbital outpost on its own. The training comes ahead of the launch of the Progress 93 cargo craft scheduled for 11:54 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 11 to deliver about three tons of cargo to the Expedition 73 crew two days later.

One day after the Progress 93 docks to Zvezda’s aft port, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo craft will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:11 p.m. on Sept. 14 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Cygnus XL, carrying over 11,000 pounds of new science and supplies, will orbit Earth for two-and-a-half days before it catches up to the space station where the Canadarm2 robotic arm will capture it then install it on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

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, Partners Adjust Next Cygnus Resupply Launch

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are accelerating the next commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station to maximize launch opportunities following an assessment of mission readiness. NASA now is targeting no earlier than 6:11 p.m. EDT, Sunday, Sept. 14, for the launch of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The Cygnus XL spacecraft will deliver more than 11,000 pounds of science, research, and supplies* to the orbital complex, including materials to produce semiconductor crystals in space and equipment to develop improvements for cryogenic fuel tanks. The spacecraft also will deliver a specialized UV light system to prevent biofilm growth and supplies to produce pharmaceutical crystals that could treat cancer and other diseases.NASA is targeting arrival of the Cygnus XL spacecraft and its installation aboard the space station on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For almost 25 years, people have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

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 Exercise and Physics Research Advancing Earth and Space Health

Exercise research and space physics took precedence aboard the International Space Station while a pair of Expedition 73 crew members enjoyed an off-duty day. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew also focused on maintaining science hardware and inventorying lab gear.

The main purpose of research on the orbital outpost is discovering new phenomena impossible to achieve in Earth’s gravity environment. The new unique insights help provide advanced treatments for both Earthbound and space-caused ailments and may lead to commercial and industrial innovations benefitting households and promoting business and space communities.

The lack of gravity aboard a spacecraft affects an astronaut’s body leading to accelerated muscle and bone loss among other symptoms. One way to counteract the microgravity-influenced effects is through daily two-hour workouts on specialized equipment which also benefit a crew member’s cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Beginning his day with the Cardiobreath exercise study, NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke wore a sensor-packed headband and vest measuring his health data while he pedaled on the Destiny laboratory module’s exercise cycle. The data will be downlinked to Earth helping doctors plan fitness programs to protect astronaut health on long-term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. After his lunch period, Fincke turned his attention to a physics study investigating pharmaceutical manufacturing and 3D printing techniques in space. He set up the Colloidal Solids research hardware inside Destiny’s Microgravity Science Glovebox that may advance human health on and off the Earth.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) focused on servicing an array of experimental hardware throughout the orbital lab on Thursday. He first replaced moisture-absorbing cassettes inside an artificial gravity-generating biology research device. Next, he analyzed station water samples for hazardous chemicals then tested a new device that measures the quality of the station’s atmosphere to protect crew health. Yui also inspected the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device that is testing smaller, more advanced workout gear for future spaceflights beyond low Earth orbit.

NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman took a well-deserved break on Thursday following several days of unpacking the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft and installing new science experiments aboard the station. One new experiment they activated and began working on is looking at how microgravity affects bone stem cell samples to learn how to protect an astronaut’s skeletal system in space and treat aging conditions and bone diseases on Earth.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov kicked off a 24-hour session wearing sensors for an experiment measuring how microgravity affects his heart rate and blood pressure during his daily activities and through his sleep shift. Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky partnered together throughout the day inventorying a variety of Roscosmos lab gear including safety equipment, spacesuit components, and interior lighting 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