Dec. 3, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew spacecraft, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter, the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship, and the Progress 85 and 86 resupply ships.
An uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 86 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 6:18 a.m. EST. The spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket at 4:25 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 1 (2:25 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 70 crew.
Live Coverage of Resupply Cargo Craft Docking Underway
The Progress 76 resupply ship is pictured approaching the station in July of 2020 packed with nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies.
NASA coverage is live for the docking of the Roscosmos Progress 86 cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Watch live coverage on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Coverage is also live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website.
The uncrewed spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket at 4:25 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 1 (2:25 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Watch Progress 86 dock live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Docking 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.
Crew Awaits Sunday Cargo Delivery, Works Bioprinting and DNA Extraction
The Roscosmos Progress 86 cargo craft ascends to Earth orbit after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV
A cargo craft is in orbit today on its way to the International Space Station following its Friday morning launch. Meanwhile, advanced space biology is underway aboard the orbital outpost to improve life on Earth and in space.
The Roscosmos 86 space freighter is in Earth orbit and racing toward the space station after launching at 4:25 a.m. EDT today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Progress 86 is on a two-day delivery mission carrying nearly 5,600 pounds of cargo to resupply the Expedition 70 crew. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will be on duty Sunday morning monitoring the cargo craft’s automated docking to the Poisk module planned for 6:14 a.m.
Both cosmonauts, including Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov, had a light-duty day at the end of the week. The trio spent Friday morning cleaning ventilation systems throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment then relaxed during the afternoon. Borisov will assist his cosmonaut coworkers on Sunday photographing the docking activities and deconfiguring docking gear after the vehicle’s arrival.
Bioprinting and DNA extraction were the main research activities on Friday as astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Satoshi Furukawa contributed to scientific knowledge advancing health for humans living on and off the Earth. Moghbeli from NASA kicked off her day in the Columbus laboratory module swapping cleaning syringes inside the BioFabrication Facility (BFF), a biological printer. Next, she removed a tissue cassette containing printed cardiac tissue samples from the BFF. The cassette was then installed into an advanced sample processor that can be configured for a variety of biological and physics investigations.
Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) spent Friday working in the Kibo laboratory module extracting DNA samples for the new uTitan investigation. He stowed those samples in a science freezer for later analysis to help researchers explore a method for automated nucleic acid extraction in microgravity. The method may inform DNA sample processing and sequencing techniques on spacecraft and remote locations on Earth.
NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara worked out in the Destiny laboratory module for an exercise study observing physical fitness in microgravity. She pedaled on an exercise cycle wearing breathing gear and sensors for the long-running study measuring a crew member’s aerobic and cardiovascular conditioning.
Commander Andreas Mogensen stowed the exercise cycle after O’Hara’s workout session and assisted Moghbeli as she serviced the printed cardiac tissue samples. Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) then spent the afternoon collecting microbe samples from station surfaces for incubation and analysis. O’Hara also worked in the afternoon collecting station air samples for microbial analysis.
Progress Launches, Cargo and Supplies Headed to Station
The Progress 86 cargo craft launches to the station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:25 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 1. Photo Credit: NASA TV
The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 86 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 4:25 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 1 (2:25 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit, and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned, on its way to meet up with the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 70 crew members.
Progress will dock to the station’s Poisk module on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 6:14 a.m. EST. Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 5:30 a.m.
Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the space station.
Watch Progress 86 dock live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Docking 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.
Robotics, Physics, and Biology as Crew Awaits Next Cargo Mission
Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli works on the BioFabrication Facility, a biological printer that is testing the printing of organ-like tissues in microgravity.
The Expedition 70 crew members turned their attention toward robotics and physics research today while continuing ongoing space biology studies. The orbital septet also will soon welcome a cargo craft due to launch to the International Space Station early Friday.
NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli turned on the Astrobee robotic free-flyers Thursday morning for a technology demonstration inside the Kibo laboratory module. In the afternoon, she installed components called CLINGERS on the Astrobees and monitored the cube-shaped robotic devices as they conducted docking maneuvers. The experiment seeks to prove new technology that may enable future satellites to rendezvous, dock, and undock autonomously.
Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa also worked in the Kibo lab swapping samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The high-temperature research facility allows safe observations of thermophysical properties such as density surface tension, and viscosity of materials difficult to achieve on Earth. Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) then worked in the afternoon setting up the new uTitan investigation in Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox to explore a method for extracting DNA samples in microgravity.
A variety of space biology investigations were also underway aboard the station seeking to improve life on Earth and in space. NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara kicked off her day configuring the Advanced Plant Habitat for an upcoming botany study to explore how the plant immune system is affected by spaceflight conditions. Commander Andreas Mogensen peered at brain cell-like samples in a microscope for the Cerebral Aging study seeking a deeper understanding of ageing processes and neurodegenerative conditions. Afterward, Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) printed cardiac cells using the BioFabrication Facility that is demonstrating printing organ-like tissues in microgravity.
Back on Earth at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Roscosmos Progress 86 resupply ship stands ready to launch to the orbital outpost at 4:25 a.m. on Friday. The Progress 86 will orbit Earth for two days before docking to the station’s Poisk module at 6:14 a.m. on Sunday. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will be on duty monitoring the resupply ship’s arrival and ready to unpack the nearly 5,600 pounds of cargo a few hours later.
Kononenko remained focus on research Thursday activating a 3D printer to learn how to print tools and supplies promoting self-sufficient crews in space. Chub studied how microgravity affects fluid systems then tested futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques on a computer. Cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov serviced ventilation systems in the Zvezda service module, loaded software on computer tablets, then wrapped up his shift deactivating Earth observation hardware.
