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NASA TV Broadcasts Friday Arrival of U.S. Resupply Ship to Station

A Northrop Grumman cargo ship carrying about 7,600 pounds of science and research investigations, supplies, and hardware is set to arrive to the International Space Station early Friday morning. The uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft launched at 4:46 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 17 on an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

When Cygnus, dubbed the S.S. Roger Chaffee, arrives to the space station on Friday, April 19, Expedition 59 Flight Engineer Anne McClain will use the space station’s robotic arm to take hold of the spacecraft at about 5:30 a.m. Fellow crew member David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will assist McClain. NASA astronaut Nick Hague will monitor Cygnus systems during its approach for capture. After Cygnus’ capture, ground controllers will command the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Unity module for a three-month stay.

Live coverage will begin on NASA TV at 4 a.m. and return to the air at 7 a.m. for installation coverage. Watch at www.nasa.gov/live

Learn more about space 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 Prepares for Arrival of Science-Packed Cargo Ship

The Cygnus space freighter is on orbit today and refining its approach to the International Space Station following its launch from Virginia Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Expedition 59 crew is juggling a variety of science and maintenance activities today before Friday morning’s space shipment arrives.

Astronaut Anne McClain, with Flight Engineer David Saint-Jacques as her back up, will capture Cygnus with the Canadarm2 robotic arm around 5:30 a.m. Friday. Ground controllers will take over afterward and remotely install Cygnus to the Unity module where it will stay until the end of July.

Cygnus is packed with about 7,600 pounds of science, supplies and crew hardware to replenish the orbital lab. Among its science payloads are mice, free-flying robots and a host of other experiments and research gear. The astronauts set up hardware today that will house the rodents and enable research into how the immune system responds to microgravity. The crew will also test the ability of tiny, autonomous robots to provide assistance with routine space chores and lab monitoring.

Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch started Thursday collecting and spinning blood and urine samples for ongoing human research. McClain checked out cables for the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace while Saint-Jacques installed sample plates on a specialized microscope called the Light Microscopy Module.

Commander Oleg Kononenko and fellow cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin worked throughout the day on Russian life support maintenance.  Ovchinin also researched enzyme behavior in space and photographed plants for a botany investigation.

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Mark Garcia

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U.S. Resupply Ship Poised for Launch as Crew Studies Life Science

The U.S. Cygnus resupply ship from Northrop Grumman is encapsulated atop the Antares rocket and standing at its launch pad in Virginia. The Expedition 59 crew is training for its capture at the end of the week in the midst of ongoing life science aboard the International Space Station.

Cygnus will blast off Wednesday at 4:46 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. It will deliver about 7,600 pounds of science, supplies and hardware to the orbital residents. Flight Engineer Anne McClain, with astronaut David Saint-Jacques backing her up, will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture Cygnus Friday about 5:30 a.m.

The duo continued sharpening their robotics skills today as they practiced Friday’s Cygnus capture maneuvers and techniques on a computer. NASA TV will broadcast the space freighter’s launch and capture activities live.

McClain started the day setting up a mouse habitat that will house rodents to gain insight into the immune system’s response to long-term spaceflight. Saint-Jacques set up the 360° camera in Tranquility module for more virtual reality filming of crew life on the station.

Flight Engineer Christina Koch started Tuesday collecting and spinning her blood samples in a centrifuge for the Myotones muscle study. She then joined NASA astronaut Nick Hague for body measurements and ultrasound scans to research how microgravity impacts the biochemical properties of muscles.

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Mark Garcia

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Cygnus Spaceship at Launch Pad as Crew Trains for Delivery Mission

The next U.S. spaceship to deliver goods to the International Space Station rolled out to its launch pad in Virginia today. The Expedition 59 crew is training to capture the U.S. space freighter while also filming a virtual reality experience aboard the orbital lab.

Northrop Grumman is poised to launch its Cygnus resupply ship atop an Antares rocket Wednesday at 4:46 p.m. EDT. It will blast off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on a day-and-a-half long delivery trip to the station’s Unity module.

Astronauts Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques will be waiting for Cygnus’ arrival Friday morning from inside the cupola. McClain will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture Cygnus about 5:30 a.m. as Saint-Jacques backs her up. Robotics controllers will take over shortly after and remotely install the Cygnus to Unity’s Earth-facing point about two hours later.

The duo, supported by NASA astronaut Nick Hague, continued reviewing procedures and practicing robotics maneuvers today as Cygnus counts down to its Wednesday launch. NASA TV will broadcast the launch and capture activities live.

More virtual reality filming continued today and has been ongoing for several months now inside the orbital complex. The crew has been filming a 360° experience depicting life on the station for future viewing by audiences on Earth.

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Mark Garcia

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More Brain and Breath Studies Top Research on Station Today

The Expedition 59 crew continued more brain and breath research aboard the International Space Station today. Along with a variety of other life science activities, the crew also filmed a virtual reality experience inside the station.

NASA is planning longer human missions, farther out in space and having a safe spacecraft atmosphere to breathe in is vitally important. Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Anne McClain spent most of Thursday helping doctors understand what exacerbates and how to alleviate the inflammation of an astronaut’s airways. The duo worked in the Quest airlock measuring and sampling their breath at a reduced air pressure.

Astronaut Christina Koch carried on today with more brain research then closed out the neuroscientific experiment. She worked with human research gear including the Cardiolab Portable Doppler and the Continuous Blood Pressure Device. The instruments measure blood pressure waveforms in the arteries and blood flow velocity to the brain. The data will help doctors understand how the brain regulates blood flow in microgravity.

Koch later videotaped herself in virtual reality for a film depicting life on the station. David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency set up the 360° camera inside the Unity module that links the station’s U.S. segment with the Russian segment. Saint-Jacques later collected his urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Alexey Ovchinin also explored an array of space phenomena today for the Roscosmos science program. The duo researched cardiovascular activity and enzyme reactions to give doctors better insight into crew health. The cosmonauts also photographed Earth landmarks to help predict catastrophes and studied how space crews relate to mission controllers on the ground.

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Mark Garcia

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