Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Station Readies for Upcoming SpaceX Crew Swap, Keeps Up Space Research

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the Crew-10 mission aboard the Dragon crew spacecraft to the International Space Station stands at its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida today. Crew-10 is counting down to its liftoff targeted for 7:48 p.m. EDT on Wednesday with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. For an on-time launch, the Crew-10 foursome would dock to the orbital outpost at 6 a.m. on Thursday and begin their long-duration mission as Expedition 72 flight engineers.

Following the arrival of the new crewmates and after a handover period, four orbital residents will return to Earth aboard another Dragon crew spacecraft ending the Crew-9 mission. NASA astronaut Nick Hague will command Dragon from undocking to its splashdown carrying NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The quartet has spent the last couple of weeks packing cargo and personal items inside Dragon as well as training on procedures for the upcoming departure.

As crew swap activities are underway, advanced space science and lab maintenance continued aboard the orbital outpost on Monday. Hague once again strapped electrodes to his legs that sent electrical signals from a control unit to stimulate his muscles. Results may improve muscle function, shorten workout sessions, and lead to lighter exercise equipment offsetting space-caused muscle atrophy. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit stowed research gear and checked out other components that supported the Cell Gravisensing experiment observing how cells respond to microgravity helping scientists develop additional ways to treat muscle and bone loss in space and on Earth.

Williams and Wilmore spent Monday on station upkeep while also gearing up for the end of their mission. Williams rerouted and reconnected power and data lines in the Columbus laboratory module while Wilmore tested wireless gear inside the Unity module. Next, the duo set up standard emergency hardware in preparation for Crew-10’s arrival then continued packing for their upcoming departure.

Gorbunov joined his fellow cosmonauts station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner and continued unpacking the Progress 91 cargo craft and updated computer documentation required after the arrival of a new spacecraft. Ovchinin and Vagner then entered the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module and performed a fit test with their launch and entry suits.

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 A. Garcia

Station Swaps Commanders and Keeps Up Research Before Crew Swap

Expedition 72 changed commanders today as a new crew prepares to launch to the International Space Station and four orbital residents get ready to return to Earth. Meanwhile, human research, fluid physics, and spacesuits wrapped up the end of the week aboard the orbital outpost.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams handed over command of the space station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin during the change of command ceremony today. Williams remarked during the event, “Just wanted to say thank you to everybody around the world, all the control centers, friends and family who are out there, all our trainers, all of the folks who have gotten us ready to come here and fly in space.”

Williams now turns her attention to her return to Earth with fellow crewmates Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore from NASA and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The homebound SpaceX Crew-9 members will wait for the launch and arrival of the SpaceX Crew-10 mission targeted for March 12 and 13 before returning to Earth after a handover period.

The Crew-10 members Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers of NASA, Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos will officially become Expedition 72 crew members when they open the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft hatch and enter the orbiting lab. Ovchinin will stay in space until mid-April with Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos.

Advanced microgravity science continued on Friday as the astronauts and cosmonauts studied the effects of exercising in space, space-caused bone loss, futuristic piloting techniques, and more at the end of the week.

Hague began his day collecting his blood samples for processing and later analysis. The specimens will be examined as part of a study exploring bone loss during space missions and bone recovery after returning to Earth’s gravity. Next, Hague pedaled on an exercise cycle while attached to electrodes and sensors measuring how weightlessness affects his aerobic fitness.

Pettit installed physics research hardware inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox to observe how fluids behave in weightlessness. The experiment gear located in the Destiny laboratory module will explore using temperature fields to separate viruses from biological fluids and promote disease detection and space materials development.

Wilmore spent most of his day swapping radio gear on a pair of spacesuits in the Quest airlock before packing his personal items ahead of his upcoming departure. Williams took a test measuring how living in space affects her cognitive abilities, inspected the Harmony module’s forward hatch, then replaced orbital plumbing components in the Tranquility module.

Gorbunov tried on a specialized suit, with assistance from Vagner, that may prevent fluids from accumulating in a crew member’s upper body caused by living in weightlessness. The lower body negative pressure suit is being tested for its ability to pull fluid from the upper body counteracting space-caused head and eye pressure. Ovchinin spent his day on science exploring how future crews may pilot spacecraft and robots, blood circulation in microgravity, and hybrid life support systems.

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 A. Garcia

Station Preps for Command Change, Conducts Heart and Bone Research

The Expedition 72 crew will change commanders on Friday as four crewmates prepare for their return to Earth. Meanwhile, the International Space Station residents continued their ongoing human research activities while unpacking supplies from a new cargo craft.

Station Preps for Command Change, Conducts Heart and Bone Research

NASA astronaut and station Commander Suni Williams will hand over leadership of the orbital outpost to Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin during a change of command ceremony at 1:55 p.m. EST on Friday. NASA+ will broadcast the event with all seven crew members as Williams and Ovchinin give remarks before turning their attention to crew swap activities.

Williams will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft with NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov ending the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. The homebound quartet will leave the space station a few days after the SpaceX Crew-10 mission launches next week. Ovchinin will stay aboard the station with Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos until mid-April.

The Crew-9 foursome spent the second half of their shift on Thursday continuing preparations for a return to Earth by practicing Dragon undocking and deorbit procedures on a computer. All four crewmates also called down to Earth and discussed return operations with mission controllers. Williams and Wilmore wrapped up their day familiarizing themselves with Dragon systems.

The SpaceX Crew-10 mission is targeted to launch aboard the Dragon crew spacecraft at 7:48 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 12, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers will command and pilot the Crew-10 mission with Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos serving as Mission Specialists. Crew-10 is targeted to dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 13.

The orbital residents spent Thursday keeping up their space biology activities filling in researchers with the latest data on how a crew member’s body adapts to weightlessness. Hague spent the first half of his shift in the Columbus laboratory module module scanning his chest with an ultrasound device as doctors on Earth monitored in real time. The doctors were examining possible changes in Hague’s arteries and veins to gain insights into an astronaut’s cardiovascular health while living and working in space. Pettit charged science hardware that monitors space-caused bone loss for a study observing an astronaut’s bone health before, during, and after a space mission.

Ovchinin and Vagner were back on cargo duty unloading more food, fuel, and supplies delivered aboard the Progress 91 cargo craft on March 1. Vagner also measured his blood pressure for an investigation exploring how microgravity affects a crew member’s blood flow and blood cells.

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 A. Garcia

Crew Works Vein Scans and Muscle Stimulation Prior to Upcoming Departure

Vein scans and muscle stimulation were the primary research activities aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday to learn how to keep crews healthy in space. The Expedition 72 crewmates also continued preparing for an upcoming crew departure while unpacking a cargo craft.

NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit partnered throughout the day on space biology experiments providing doctors insights on how their bodies are adapting to weightlessness. Doctors use the data to continuously improve crew training and develop countermeasures to help astronauts maintain their strength and fitness during long-duration space missions.

The duo first performed vein scans in the Columbus laboratory module using the Ultrasound 2 device. Hague operated the biomedical hardware with remote guidance from doctors on the ground who were peering at Pettit’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins. Next, Pettit assisted Hague as a control unit sent signals to electrodes that stimulated Hague’s leg muscles including the quadriceps and triceps. Electrical muscle stimulation may improve muscle function, shorten workout sessions, and lead to lighter exercise equipment offsetting space-caused muscle atrophy.

Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, focused on housekeeping duties cleaning ventilation systems and checking electrical hardware inside the Harmony module’s crew quarters. Williams also set up temporary crew quarters in the Columbus module to house the SpaceX Crew-10 members targeted to arrive next week. Wilmore loaded new software on a science laptop computer in the Kibo laboratory module.

At the end of the day, Hague, Williams, and Wilmore joined Roscosmos Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov inside the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft and continued training and coordinated their roles before their forthcoming return to Earth. After the Crew-10 mission arrives, the homebound quartet will board Dragon a few days later, undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port, and splash down off the coast of Florida ending the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Earlier, Gorbunov set up imaging hardware to observe Earth’s nighttime atmospheric glow in near-ultraviolet wavelengths and began packing for his ride back to Earth. His fellow cosmonauts, Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner were back inside the Progress 91 cargo craft unloading supplies to replenish the Expedition 72 crew.

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 A. Garcia

Departing Crew Talks to Journalists, Keeps Up Human Research and Lab Maintenance

Crew departure preparations and cargo unloading topped the schedule for the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents also kept up their human research activities ensuring crews stay healthy while living in space.

Three NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut joined each other on Tuesday and practiced the procedures they will use when they depart the orbital outpost in mid-March. Nick Hague will command the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft with Mission Specialists Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Aleksandr Gorbunov during the ride back to Earth. They used Dragon computer tablets and reviewed the steps they will use when Dragon backs away from the orbital outpost and reenters Earth’s atmosphere for a splashdown off the coast of Florida. Hague and Gorbunov have been at the station since Sept. 29, 2024. Williams and Wilmore arrived at the orbital outpost on June 6.

Williams and Wilmore, along with Hague, called down to Mission Control today and discussed their upcoming departure with journalists on the ground. Hague stated at the beginning of the pre-departure news conference, “Here in a few short days Crew-10 is going to arrive. And we are going to hand the baton to Crew-10 and we are going to return to Earth at the end of a successful long-duration mission aboard the space station.”

Their replacements, the SpaceX Crew-10 members, are targeted to launch on March 12. The next Dragon spacecraft will carry Commander Anne McClain and Pilot Nichole Ayers, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos. The new quartet will join Expedition 72 before becoming the Expedition 73 crew in mid-April.

Advanced space research continued apace as the orbital residents helped scientists on the ground understand how weightlessness affects the human body. Hague was back on exercise research working out on the advanced resistive exercise device, which mimics free weights on Earth, and pedaling on an exercise cycle as a sensor-packed vest and headband recorded his health data. Pettit set up a microscope and a science laptop computer in the Kibo laboratory module to learn how cells sense gravity and possibly treat space-caused muscle atrophy and osteoporosis.

Williams and Wilmore focused on housekeeping throughout Tuesday. Williams packed trash and discarded gear inside the Cygnus space freighter before setting up a camera to photograph the Moon illuminated by sunshine reflected from Earth. Wilmore swapped out a water resupply tank in the Destiny laboratory module then reorganized cargo stowed in the Columbus laboratory module.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner continued unloading some of the nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies that arrived inside the Progress 91 cargo craft on March 1. The duo also joined Gorbunov and participated in a test for a study to improve how international crews communicate with mission controllers from around the world.

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 A. Garcia