International Space Station Operations Update, Crew Continues Normal Activities
Earlier today, Feb. 11, the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 cargo spacecraft docked automatically to the aft end of the Zvezda service module at the International Space Station. The rendezvous and docking operations were conducted with no issues.
Meanwhile, engineers at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow recorded a depressurization in the unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo ship’s coolant loop, which is docked to the space-facing Poisk module at the station. Progress 82, which arrived to the space station in October 2022, is scheduled to undock Friday, Feb. 17, filled with trash and will be deorbited over the Pacific Ocean.
The reason for the loss of coolant in the Progress 82 spacecraft is being investigated. The hatches between the Progress 82 and the station are open, and temperatures and pressures aboard the station are all normal. The crew, which was informed of the cooling loop leak, is in no danger and continuing with normal space station operations.
NASA specialists are assisting their Russian counterparts in the troubleshooting of the Progress 82 coolant leak. Officials are monitoring all International Space Station systems and are not tracking any other issues.
Feb. 11, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the Cygnus space freighter, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance, and Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 crew ship and the Progress 82 and 83 resupply ships.
An uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s aft port of the Zvezda service module at 3:45 a.m. EST. The spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.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 68 crew.
The ISS Progress 82 cargo craft is pictured shortly after docking to the space station in October of 2022.
NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The uncrewed Progress 83 launched on a Soyuz rocket at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Crew Studies Brain, Digestion System and Waits for Saturday Space Delivery
NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio sets up the new Particle Vibration experiment inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox on Feb. 3, 2023. The physics study will investigate how particles organize themselves in fluids possibly advancing manufacturing techniques and providing new insights on astrophysics.
The International Space Station will see a new cargo mission arrive early Saturday, replenishing the Expedition 68 crew. While they wait, the orbital residents continued exploring how microgravity affects the brain and the digestive system while maintaining orbital lab systems.
The ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft continues its orbital trek to deliver nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the station’s residents. The resupply ship from Roscosmos will automatically dock to the Zvezda service module’s rear port at 3:49 a.m. EST on Saturday. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on-duty to monitor the automated approach and rendezvous of the 83P. Afterward, the duo will wait for the pressure to equalize between the cargo craft and the station before opening the hatches and transferring the six-month supply of cargo.
Prokopyev and Petelin called down to mission controllers on Friday and discussed preparations for the arrival of the 83P. The cosmonaut pair also reviewed operations for Zvezda’s telerobotically operated rendezvous system, or TORU, in the unlikely event the cargo craft would need to be remotely controlled from inside the station for a docking.
Human research dominated this week’s science operations as the crewmates have been studying how living in space impacts blood pressure and digestion. Flight Engineer Nicole Mann of NASA on Friday morning wore a head probe and attached sensors to her chest to measure her blood flow and learn how the brain regulates blood pressure in weightlessness. During the afternoon, she joined fellow NASA astronaut Josh Cassada for another investigation that observes the cardiorespiratory system while exercising on the station. Both studies have the potential to promote healthier humans on Earth and in space.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Anna Kikina joined Petelin once again Friday morning using biomedical monitoring equipment to observe how their digestion system behaves when eating a meal in space. After breakfast, the duo placed electrodes on themselves and conducted ultrasound scans of their gastrointestinal system for insights into the effects of microgravity on the human body.
Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) worked on a variety of orbital maintenance tasks. Rubio continued working in the Tranquility module replacing components in the station’s bathroom, also known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment. He later swapped metallic samples inside the Materials Science Laboratory to gain new insights into the development of metal alloys. Wakata worked in the Kibo laboratory module disassembling orbital plumbing gear before moving on to the Quest airlock and configuring batteries.
Biomedical Science, Space Plumbing as Crew Waits for Cargo Delivery
The waxing gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth’s horizon from the International Space Station.
The Expedition 68 crew is looking forward to a delivery mission that will arrive at the International Space Station this weekend. Meanwhile, space science and orbital plumbing took up the orbital residents’ day as well as more cleanup work following last week’s spacewalk.
Nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, is on its way to replenish the seven residents living aboard the orbital outpost. The ISS Progress 83 (83P) resupply ship launched at 1:15 a.m. EST on Thursday and is orbiting Earth racing toward the space station. The 83P will automatically dock to the Zvezda module’s rear port at 3:49 a.m. on Saturday beginning a six-month stay at the station. NASA TV will cover the space freighter’s arrival live on the agency’s app and website.
NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada began his day with brain research attaching sensors to his head and chest to measure his blood flow for the Cerebral Autoregulation investigation. The research takes place inside the Kibo laboratory module and explores how the brain regulates blood pressure in weightlessness.
Astronauts Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) kicked off their day collecting blood and urine samples for processing and stowage. The duo, with Cassada, then took turns cleaning cooling loops inside a pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits. Cassada also serviced the emergency jetpacks that spacewalkers would use to maneuver back to the station in the unlikely event they became untethered from the station.
Wakata also worked a couple of hours inside the Kibo lab removing the water recovery system from inside the module’s multipurpose small payload rack. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio spent a good portion of his day replacing components in the Waste and Hygiene Compartment, the station’s bathroom, located inside the Tranquility module. Rubio then ended his work day tending to tomato plants growing inside the Veggie space botany facility located in the Columbus laboratory module.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Anna Kikina continued researching how microgravity affects the digestive system. The duo placed electrodes on themselves and conducted ultrasound scans of their gastrointestinal system shortly after breakfast. Station Commander Sergey Prokopyev spent some time inside the Columbus lab configuring video hardware that records how clouds of highly charged particles, or plasma crystals, behave in microgravity. He then spent the rest of the afternoon in the Zvezda service module working on maintenance activities.
