Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

NASA and SpaceX Target Friday for Dragon Undocking

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 12:05 p.m. EDT Friday, May 23, for the undocking of company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission from the International Space Station. Live coverage of Dragon spacecraft undocking and departure begins at 11:45 a.m. on NASA+. Mission teams will continue to review weather conditions off the coast of California ahead of Dragon’s departure from the orbital complex. 

After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, May 25, off the coast of California. NASA will post updates on the agency’s space station blog. There is no livestream video of the splashdown.

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

Dragon Undocking Adjusted to Friday as Space Science Continues

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft will wait one more day before departing the International Space Station as mission managers monitor weather conditions at its splashdown site off the coast of California. Meanwhile, the Expedition 73 crew eased its cargo loading activities and focused on ongoing microgravity research to improve health on and off the Earth.

Dragon will extend its stay at the orbital lab by 24 hours and shift its undocking time to 12:05 p.m. EDT on Friday. Support personnel are waiting for visibility conditions to improve at the splashdown site in order to safely retrieve Dragon after its parachute-assisted splashdown in the waters near California. NASA+ will begin is undocking coverage at 11:45 a.m.

NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim along with station Commander Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) continued loading Dragon with completed science experiments, time-critical research samples, and lab hardware before closing its hatch. Kim also installed spacecraft monitoring hardware in the cupola and Tranquility module that he will use when he supervises Dragon’s departure on Friday.

At the end of their shift on Thursday, Kim and McClain partnered together for a look at how the retina is affected by microgravity for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations. The duo first set up optical hardware for imaging the retina’s response to light. Kim then attached sensors around his eyes and forehead measuring his retinas’ light sensitivity. Afterward, Kim peered into medical imaging gear with assistance from McClain as ground doctors observed the back of his eye in real time to understand potential space-caused vision issues.

Ayers opened up the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox and installed a 3D imaging microscope also known as Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System, or ELVIS. She then tested viewing bacteria samples in the specialized microscope that could be used to monitor water quality and detect infectious organisms on spacecraft.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Zubritskiy wrapped up a 24-hour session monitoring his heart activity and blood pressure for a study monitoring a crew member’s cardiovascular system. Next, he assisted fellow cosmonaut Kirill Peskov as he pedaled on an exercise cycle for a regular physical fitness exam. Peskov then spent the rest of his day on computer networking and orbital plumbing maintenance. Veteran Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov deactivated ultraviolet atmospheric observation hardware then serviced the Elektron oxygen generator.

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

NASA, SpaceX Stand Down 24 Hours for Dragon Undocking

NASA and SpaceX are standing down from Thursday’s undocking opportunity of Dragon, filled with science, from the International Space Station. Mission teams will continue to review weather conditions off the coast of California, which currently are not favorable for splashdown operations, and set a new target opportunity for the return of SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

The next weather review is planned for 12 p.m. EDT, with the next available undocking opportunity on Friday, May 23. NASA will provide additional information on the next undocking opportunity as available.

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 Packs Dragon for Thursday Departure and Keeps Up Research

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is one day away from departing the International Space Station and the Expedition 73 crew members are finishing packing it with science and cargo. The orbital residents also continued their life science activities and lab maintenance duties on Wednesday.

Four station astronauts worked together throughout their day loading several tons of completed science experiments and station hardware inside Dragon. NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers kicked off their shift loading and securing a variety of cargo inside the spacecraft ahead of its departure and undocking planned for 12:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Toward the end of their shift, they removed portable science freezers containing research samples from station EXPRESS racks and installed them inside Dragon.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi spent the majority of his day assisting with the Dragon loading as the U.S. spacecraft nears the end of 30 days docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim, who will be on duty Thursday monitoring Dragon as it departs the station, also joined in on the cargo transfers. The four crew members will be back on cargo duty early Thursday loading time sensitive, critical research samples on Dragon for the ride back to Earth. NASA+ will begin its live broadcast of Dragon’s departure at 11:45 a.m. Thursday.

Numerous space science investigations continued on Wednesday exploring space agriculture and human research aboard the orbital outpost. Ayers, at the end of her shift, wrapped up a botany study in the Destiny laboratory module exploring if genetically modified tomato plants can grow with techniques other than photosynthesis. Kim activated a series of student-designed experiments investigating how microgravity affects different disease mechanisms possibly leading to new, more advanced therapies.

Veteran Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov completed a 24-hour session disconnecting sensors that measured his heart activity and blood pressure. Next, Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky attached sensors to himself and began his 24-hour heart and blood pressure monitoring session. Ryzhikov later set up Earth observation hardware to image the planet’s nighttime atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths. Zubritskiy also pointed a camera at Earth imaging Brazil, Italy, Mauritania across a wide range of wavelengths.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer and first-time space flyer Kirill Peskov was back inside the Nauka science module working on maintenance of the European robotic arm (ERA). Kirill checked the ERA’s computer interface, safety features, and electrical systems. Nauka and the ERA were launched aboard a Proton rocket on July 21, 2021. Nauka with the ERA attached autonomously docked a few days later to the Zvezda service module’s Earth-facing port on July 29.

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

Exercise Research, Growing Space Crops, and Science Packing Fill Day

Tuesday saw more space biology work aboard the International Space Station helping doctors learn how to protect health and preserve life in microgravity. The Expedition 73 residents also continued their cargo activities packing a U.S. and a Roscosmos cargo craft before their upcoming departures.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers kicked off her shift wearing a sensor-filled vest and headband that measured her physical parameters as she pedaled on an exercise cycle. She was working out for the Cardiobreath human research study that is exploring how an astronaut’s cardiovascular and respiratory systems adapt to weightlessness. The vest and headband are part of the Bio-Monitor medical hardware system developed by the Canadian Space Agency to comfortably monitor crew health as astronauts go about their daily activities. At the end of her day, Ayers photographed genetically engineered, extremely dwarf tomato plants being grown to test their ability to grow without photosynthesis and in confined spaces potentially supporting crop production on spacecraft.

Ayers also joined NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain and transferred frozen research samples into portable science freezers that will soon be packed inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. McCain also installed EXPRESS rack hardware that houses science experiments and more research samples inside Dragon. The U.S. cargo spacecraft is being readied to end its cargo mission and undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Dragon will parachute back to Earth the following day and return the completed science experiments and space station hardware for retrieval and analysis.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) started his day inside the Kibo laboratory module photographing microbe samples that decompose organic matter and packing them for stowage inside the homebound Dragon. Afterward, Onishi installed research hardware on a slide table and placed it inside Kibo’s airlock where it will soon be placed in the vacuum of space. Finally, the two-time station visitor collected space radiation-exposed biological samples for return and analysis back on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim joined his cosmonaut crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy and conducted an emergency drill, locating medical hardware and practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the orbiting lab’s weightless environment. The trio launched to the orbital outpost aboard the Soyuz MS-27 crew ship on April 8 from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome and docked to the Prichal module just over three hours later.

Kim earlier measured sound levels in the space station’s habitable segments then swapped neon gas bottles for argon gas bottles to support the Plasma Crystal-4 space physics study. Ryzhikov and Zubritskiy participated in a study exploring ways international crews and mission controllers can improve communications.

Ryzhikov also strapped on sensors at the beginning of his shift for a 24-hour session measuring his heart activity and blood pressure. Zubritskiy partnered with Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov and stowed cargo inside the Progress 90 resupply ship that has been docked to the Poisk module since Nov. 23. The Progress 90 is due to take out the trash end its seven-month mission in early July when it undocks from Poisk and reenters Earth’s atmosphere above the South Pacific Ocean for a fiery, but safe destruction.

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