Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Expedition 65 Crew Preps for Science-Packed Cargo Dragon

New science, supplies and solar arrays are packed inside the SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle as it orbits toward the International Space Station. Two cosmonauts are also cleaning up following a successful spacewalk early Wednesday.

Five Expedition 65 astronauts are relaxing today, but will be on duty Saturday unpacking time-sensitive science experiments from the new Cargo Dragon resupply ship. NASA Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will be monitoring Dragon during its rendezvous and approach on Saturday until its automated docking about 5 a.m. EDT. NASA TV begins its live coverage at 3:30 a.m.

Afterward, the duo will join Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Pesquet and Commander Akihiko Hoshide transferring cargo from the U.S. space freighter into the station. They will focus first on installing and activating new experiments researching rodents, microbes, sea life and plants.

Space biology studies help scientists understand how microgravity impacts a variety of life forms. This leads to new insights and developments that improve human health, innovate Earth industries and commercialize space.

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are cleaning up today following a seven-hour and 19-minute spacewalk on Wednesday to ready the station’s Russian segment for a new module. The duo spent Friday servicing their Orlan spacesuit components and stowing their spacewalking tools.

The spacewalkers worked early Wednesday to deconfigure the Pirs docking compartment which will undock from the Zvezda service module after 20 years later this summer. This will open up Zvezda’s Earth-facing port for the arrival of Russia’s Nauka multipurpose laboratory module planned to arrive shortly after Pirs’ departure.

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Mark Garcia

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Cosmonauts Finish Spacewalk to Ready Station for New Module

Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos have completed a spacewalk lasting seven hours and 19 minutes.

The two cosmonauts opened the hatch to the Poisk docking compartment airlock to begin the spacewalk at 1:53 a.m. EDT. They re-entered the airlock and closed the hatch at 9:12 a.m.

During the spacewalk, the duo disconnected the external mechanical links between Pirs and the space station, relocated spacewalk hardware including a telescoping crane, and reconfigured antennas to prepare the Pirs module for undocking and disposal. Additionally, the cosmonauts replaced a fluid flow regulator panel on the nearby Zarya module, jettisoned the old panel as planned, and replaced biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules.

Pirs will be replaced by the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module, named “Nauka,” which is Russian for “science.” The undocking of Pirs is scheduled for this summer, about two days after Nauka launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This was the first spacewalk for both cosmonauts and the 238th spacewalk overall in support of International Space Station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. It also marks the sixth spacewalk of 2021.

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

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Mark Garcia

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Cosmonauts Exit Station and Begin Spacewalk

Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos began a spacewalk when they opened the hatch of the Poisk docking compartment airlock of the International Space Station at 1:53 a.m. EDT.

Novitskiy is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1) and is wearing a Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Dubrov is wearing a spacesuit with blue stripes as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2).

Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Views from a camera on Novitskiy’s helmet are designated with the number 20, and Dubrov’s is labeled with the number 18.

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

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Mark Garcia

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NASA TV Broadcasts Russian Spacewalk at Station Early Wednesday

Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos are scheduled to depart the International Space Station Wednesday for a spacewalk to continue preparing the Pirs docking compartment airlock for undocking and disposal later this year.

The duo will exit the space station’s Poisk docking compartment about 1:20 a.m. EDT tomorrow, signifying the start of their spacewalk, which is expected to last about six and a half hours. NASA will begin its live coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 1 a.m.

The cosmonauts also plan to replace a fluid flow regulator on the nearby Zarya module and replace biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules.

This will be the 238th spacewalk overall in support of International Space Station assembly, and the first spacewalk for both Novitskiy and Dubrov, who arrived at the space station in April aboard the Soyuz MS-18 crew ship.

Novitskiy, who is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear a Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Dubrov will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2).

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

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Mark Garcia

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Crew Focusing on Russian Spacewalk, U.S. Cargo Mission This Week

Two cosmonauts will exit the International Space Station early Wednesday to begin the first spacewalk of the Expedition 65 mission. Meanwhile, the next SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission to resupply the orbital lab is counting down to its launch on Thursday.

Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are sleeping in Tuesday ahead of six-and-a-half hour spacewalk set to begin Wednesday at 1:20 a.m. EDT. The duo will exit the Poisk module in Orlan spacesuits and ready the Pirs docking compartment for its undocking and disposal later this year. Pirs will be replaced a couple of days after its departure by the new Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

The first-time spacewalkers will also replace hardware and install science experiments on the station’s Russian segment. NASA TV begins its live coverage of the spacewalk activities at 1 a.m.

On Thursday, SpaceX will launch its upgraded SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle to the space station at 1:29 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center. It will automatically dock Saturday at 5 a.m. to the Harmony module’s space-facing international docking adapter (IDA). NASA TV is broadcasting both mission events live.

The Cargo Dragon will deliver about 7,300 pounds of science, supplies and hardware to replenish the seven-member crew. This includes the first of three pairs of new solar arrays that will be installed on an upcoming spacewalk to augment the orbital lab’s power system.

NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough prepared for the Cargo Dragon’s arrival with 3D computer training today. They will be monitoring Dragon early Saturday ensuring it safely approaches the station during its automated rendezvous and docking.

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Mark Garcia

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