Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Astronauts Relax with Light Science Before Dragon Cargo Mission Arrives

Four of the seven Expedition 72 crew members aboard the International Space Station had a light duty day on Monday awaiting a space delivery due to arrive Tuesday morning. However, there was still time aboard the orbital outpost for a heart health study, DNA research, spacesuit work, and more.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo spacecraft atop is at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida counting down to a lift off at 9:29 p.m. EST today. Dragon is packed with over 6,000 pounds of science, supplies, and hardware to replenish the lab residents. NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore will be on duty monitoring Dragon’s automated rendezvous and docking scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday. Afterward, station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Don Pettit, both NASA astronauts, will join the duo and begin unloading critical research samples and hardware to begin exploring the solar wind, radiation tolerance in plants, and more aboard the orbital outpost.

Watch Dragon’s launch and docking live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

The NASA quartet mostly had an off-duty day on Monday following Sunday morning’s short ride aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft to different space station docking port. Hague commanded Williams, Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov inside Dragon as it undocked from the Harmony module’s forward port at 6:35 a.m. then redocked to Harmony’s adjacent space-facing port at 7:25 a.m. opening it up for Tuesday’s Dragon cargo delivery. Pettit remained inside the space station monitoring the crew’s automated relocation maneuver aboard the Dragon crew spacecraft.

However, Hague spent about an hour on Monday gathering hardware that will measure his heart and breathing activity during an upcoming exercise session for the Cardiobreath human research study. Wilmore had a quick task setting up a student-designed DNA experiment that will explore the genetic risks, including cancer, of living and working in space. Williams was on spacesuit duty during the second part of her day inspecting the spacewalking gear for leaks. Pettit spent a few moments logging his daily meals in a space health app for the EveryWear technology demonstration.

Gorbunov had a full schedule aboard the station on Monday operating a variety of Earth observation gear imaging the nighttime atmosphere and landmarks on the ground in different wavelengths. Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin inventoried personal cosmonaut items then worked on ventilation systems in the Nauka science module. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner charged video camera batteries then stowed trash and other discarded items inside the Progress 88 resupply ship before its departure later this month.

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

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Mark Garcia

SpaceX Dragon Redocks to Station Before Next Cargo Mission

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, with Expedition 72 crew members NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, autonomously redocked with the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at 7:25 a.m. EST.

The port relocation frees up Harmony’s forward-facing port for the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than 9:29 p.m., Monday, Nov. 4. This was the fifth port relocation of a Dragon spacecraft with crew aboard following previous moves during the Crew-1, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8 missions.

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

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Mark Garcia

SpaceX Dragon Undocks for Short Ride to New Port

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, with Expedition 72 crew members NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, undocked from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at 6:35 a.m. EST, to autonomously redock with the module’s space-facing port.

Redocking is planned at 7:18 a.m. NASA coverage continues live on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

This is the fifth port relocation of a Dragon spacecraft with crew aboard following previous moves during the Crew-1, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8 missions.

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

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Mark Garcia

Week Wraps with Dragon Preps and Life Science

Four Expedition 72 crew members are preparing take a short ride to a different International Space Station port this weekend to make way for an upcoming cargo mission. In the meantime, the orbital residents wrapped up the workweek with life science experiments and lab maintenance.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov reviewed procedures on Friday for the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft’s relocation maneuver scheduled to begin at 6:35 a.m. EST on Sunday when they undock from the Harmony module’s forward port. They will be joined inside Freedom by station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, as they redock to Harmony’s space-facing port at 7:18 a.m. Hague and Gorbunov launched as SpaceX Crew-9 members to the orbital outpost on Sept. 28 aboard Dragon Freedom. However, they will return to Earth in February next year bringing home Williams and Wilmore.

Harmony’s vacated forward port will await the arrival of the next Dragon cargo mission set to launch at 9:29 p.m. on Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon will dock to Harmony at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday delivering nearly 6,000 pounds of new science experiments and station supplies. Hague and Wilmore will be on duty monitoring Dragon’s arrival

NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit joined the four Dragon crewmates at the end of Friday’s shift and called down to mission controllers to discuss Sunday’s Dragon relocation. Pettit will be on duty Sunday inside the space station monitoring Dragon as it completes its automated relocation maneuver.

Pettit earlier joined Hague drawing their blood samples, spinning them in a centrifuge, then stowing the specimens in a science freezer for preservation and later analysis. Pettit later removed components from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility preparing the research device for new experiments being delivered aboard the next Dragon cargo mission. Hague spent the rest of Friday reviewing procedures to command Dragon during Sunday’s relocation maneuver.

Williams and Wilmore started their Friday shift on orbital maintenance. Williams replaced filters on the Tranquility module’s water recycling system as Wilmore installed an instrumentation box on the advanced resistive exercise device. The duo later trained for the two upcoming Dragon missions rounding out the day.

In the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab, Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner assisted Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin with maintenance activities in the aft end of the Zvezda service module. Earlier, Ovchinin explored spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques future crew members might use on planetary missions. Gorbunov started his day closing operations for an experiment that images Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet wavelengths before joining Hague for Dragon relocation procedure reviews.

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

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Mark Garcia

Crew Preps for Dragon Missions While Staying Busy with Space Research

The Expedition 72 crew is getting ready for a pair of missions next week to relocate a Dragon spacecraft to a new port then receive a new Dragon cargo delivery. The seven International Space Station residents also continued a host of space biology studies while maintaining the upkeep of the orbital lab on Thursday.

NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague will command the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft this weekend taking NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on a short ride to a new port. The quartet will undock from the Harmony module’s forward port at 6:35 a.m. EST on Sunday inside Freedom then relocate to Harmony’s adjacent space-facing port at 7:18 a.m.

The relocation maneuver opens up Harmony’s forward port for the next Dragon cargo mission due to launch at 9:29 p.m. on Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon, carrying nearly 6,000 pounds of new science experiments and crew supplies, will arrive at the orbital outpost for an automated docking to Harmony’s forward port at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday. Hague, Williams, and Wilmore joined NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and called down to mission controllers on Thursday and discussed the upcoming cargo operations. Hague and Wilmore also will be on duty Tuesday morning monitoring Dragon’s approach and docking.

The NASA quartet along with the three Roscosmos cosmonauts aboard the orbital outpost still kept up their critical research responsibilities informing ways to continuously improve human health of space crews and humans on Earth.

Hague began his day exploring the cardiovascular risk of living in space by attaching electrodes to his chest, scanning his arteries with an ultrasound device, then measuring his blood pressure. Pettit attached filters to a unique incubator located in the Kibo laboratory module that can generate artificial gravity. Afterward, Pettit imaged Hague’s retina, cornea, and optic nerve using standard medical imaging gear found in a doctor’s office.

Expedition 72 Commander Williams removed components from inside the Spectrum biology imaging device that captures fluorescent imagery of biological samples to track space-caused physiological changes. Station Flight Engineer Wilmore opened up BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, and entered the cargo stowage module replacing particle filters and swabbed surfaces to collect potential microbe samples for analysis.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner continued their weeklong maintenance and inspection tasks in the aft end of the Zvezda service module. The duo also took turns attaching electrodes to themselves recording their heart activity and measuring their blood pressure. Flight Engineer Aleksandr swapped out a lens on a student-controlled Earth observation camera then serviced gas supply valves for the Plasma Kristall-4 space physics investigation.

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

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Mark Garcia