Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Station Orbiting Higher; Routine Upkeep for Crew

A jam-packed day of orbital upkeep kept the International Space Station residents busy on Monday. The Expedition 71 and Boeing Crew Flight Test crews worked an array of maintenance and cleaning tasks after taking a weekend off.

NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick kicked off the day by loading trash and discarded gear inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, which will be released from the Unity module by robotics ground controllers this month for disposal over the South Pacific Ocean. Later in the afternoon, the duo was joined by NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt to organize and relocate station gear and dispose of trash in portions of the orbital outpost.

Earlier, Epps conducted an Amateur Radio session with students from the Moroccan School of Engineering Sciences in Casablanca, Morocco. Afterward, she and Barratt worked inside the Destiny module to clean portions of the air duct system and replace fasteners on some of the panels that house the duct work. Barratt then moved on to inspect and photograph headset extension cables and audio gear for ground teams to analyze.

Starliner’s Commander and Pilot, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, spent the morning in the Permanent Multipurpose Module, organizing stowage and tidying up. Wilmore then moved into the Japanese Experiment Module to disassemble an empty NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer in preparation of upcoming NanoRacks missions.

Later on, Wilmore prepped and viewed samples for Moon Microscope, a demonstration that allows flight surgeons on Earth to diagnose illnesses and could provide diagnostic capabilities for crews on future missions to the Moon and Mars. Meanwhile, Williams conducted some routine orbital plumbing, then audited U.S. stowage items housed inside the Zarya module.

The next spacewalk outside the orbiting complex is scheduled for July 29 with Dyson and Barratt. This change allows teams on the ground to continue to troubleshoot and understand the water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit that forced an early end to a spacewalk on Monday, June 24.

In the Roscosmos segment, three cosmonauts continued orbital upkeep tasks. Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub teamed up to inventory headsets and audio equipment crews use to talk with ground teams. Afterward, Chub completed some routine cleaning in the Zvezda Service Module. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin replaced a few hoses on the Roscosmos water processing system, then charged the tablets the crew uses to complete and track daily tasks.

The space station is orbiting a bit higher today after the Progress 87 cargo craft fired its thrusters for 9 minutes and 10 seconds on Saturday, June 29. This orbital reboost sets up the correct phasing for the launch and rendezvous of Progress 89 slated for arrival mid-August.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Crews Wrap Week; Managers Provide Starliner, Spacewalk, and Cargo Updates

The Expedition 71 crew members packed a U.S. cargo craft, cleaned up the International Space Station, studied futuristic piloting techniques, and conducted eye exams on Friday. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts spent the end of their workweek reconfiguring a space botany facility.

Robotics controllers are scheduled to detach the Cygnus space freighter from the Unity module on July 12 and release it into Earth orbit for disposal over the South Pacific Ocean ending a five-and-a-half-month mission at the orbital lab. NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick spent most of Friday loading trash and discarded gear inside the Cygnus with assistance from fellow NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Tracy C. Dyson. Cygnus was captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Feb. 1 with over 8,200 pounds of science experiments and crew supplies.

At the end of the day, Epps operated standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist’s office on Earth and peered into Dyson’s eyes. She examined Dyson’s cornea, retina, and lens to help flight surgeons understand and counteract microgravity’s effect on crew vision.

Earlier, Dyson collected and stowed excess space station hardware for disposal. Epps spent her morning inside the Kibo laboratory module troubleshooting an airflow sensor then reorganizing the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) module for upcoming cargo operations.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Barratt started his day routing cables and reprogramming communications systems inside the Columbus laboratory module. In the afternoon, he stowed hardware and components used earlier in the week for advanced orbital plumbing in the Tranquility module’s bathroom. Afterward, Barratt refilled supply kits in Columbus’ two Human Research Facility racks with biomedical gear including sample tubes and needles.

Starliner’s Commander and Pilot, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, partnered together inside Kibo on Friday for space botany work. The duo removed the Plant Habitat growth chamber from Kibo’s EXPRESS rack, replaced its camera and carbon dioxide sensors, then reinstalled the research device. The Plant Habitat has enabled the growth of small crops of lettuce, tomatoes, and more in microgravity for both research and consumption.

NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner’s propulsion system performance before returning to Earth from the orbiting lab. NASA and Boeing leaders participated in a media teleconference today to discuss Starliner and station operations.

NASA is now targeting the end of July for the next spacewalk outside the space station. This change allows teams on the ground to continue to troubleshoot and understand the water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit that forced an early end to a spacewalk on Monday, June 24.

Working in the Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub started his day practicing planetary spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques future crew members may use. Afterward, he conducted two sessions of an investigation exploring ways to create new materials on the lunar surface. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin worked throughout the day inventorying medical kits and cleaning fans inside the Rassvet module. Finally, Station Commander Oleg Kononenko replaced thermal components inside Roscosmos’ life support hardware.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

Ongoing Spacewalk Preps, Science, and Plumbing Keep Crews Busy

Preparations continue for the next spacewalk at the International Space Station planned for next week. In the meantime, the orbital residents are rebuilding advanced plumbing gear and servicing video and science hardware.

Beginning around 8:45 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 26 NASA instructed crews aboard the space station to shelter in their respective spacecraft as a standard precautionary measure after it was informed of a satellite break-up at an altitude near the station’s earlier Wednesday. Mission Control continued to monitor the path of the debris, and after about an hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the station resumed normal operations.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt began Thursday morning reviewing procedures for a spacewalk that will see hardware replacements and installations, preparations for future upgrades on science gear, and photographic inspections of station pipelines. After lunchtime, the two astronauts turned on a computer that visualized the upcoming spacewalk tasks using 3D graphics. NASA will release an advisory soon announcing the spacewalking details and NASA TV coverage times.

NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps had a busy day with spacesuit maintenance, computer updates, and orbital plumbing. Dominick then worked in the Quest airlock during the afternoon recharging spacesuit batteries and dumping and filling the suit water tanks. Epps swapped out a hard drive on a science laptop computer then replaced plumbing components in the Tranquility module’s bathroom, also called the water and hygiene compartment.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both from NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, were back on orbital plumbing duty Thursday. The Starliner Commander and Pilot spent the afternoon preparing the rebuilt pressure control and pump assembly motor for installation in Tranquility’s bathroom.

The orbital outpost’s three cosmonauts relaxed part of Thursday morning before going right into their standard science maintenance tasks. Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub first began outfitting cables on video cameras. Kononenko then replaced video systems hardware in the Zvezda service module as Chub studied ways to create new materials on the lunar surface. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin photographed microbe samples, dismantled a science cooler, then cleaned air ducts in the Nauka science module.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

NASA Collins xEVAS Update 

In 2022 and 2023, NASA awarded Collins Aerospace two task orders under the agency’s xEVAS (Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services) contract. The first task order was to deliver a next generation spacesuit and spacewalking system for potential use on the International Space Station with a base value of $97.2 million. The second task order was to advance additional spacesuit capabilities with a base value of $5 million.

After a thorough evaluation, NASA and Collins Aerospace have mutually agreed to descope the existing task orders on the Collins Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services contract. This descope includes ending the International Space Station suit demonstration, which was targeted for 2026. No further work will be performed on the task orders. This action was agreed upon after Collins recognized its development timeline would not support the space station’s schedule and NASA’s mission objectives.

This change to the xEVAS contract has no impact on NASA’s spacewalking capabilities on the space station. Collins will continue to support NASA’s EMU (Extravehicular Activity Mobility Unit) spacesuit and is committed to supporting space station’s ongoing spacewalking capabilities through the existing Extravehicular Space Operations Contract.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

Cargo, Science, and Spacewalk Preps Fill Station’s Day

Six NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station had a day filled with cargo packing, orbital plumbing, and a spacewalk conference. The orbital outpost’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos spent their day testing a 3D printer, collecting microbial air samples, and servicing life support gear.

Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps worked throughout Wednesday packing trash and discarded cargo inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo space freighter. Cygnus is targeted to complete a five-and-a-half-month mission in mid-July and depart the station’s Unity module before descending into Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery, but safe disposal above the South Pacific Ocean.

In the midst of the cargo work, Dominick videotaped the location of station hardware stowed in the starboard side of the Columbus laboratory module. Epps swapped sample cartridges inside the Materials Science Laboratory, a research furnace that safely exposes metals, alloys, polymers, and other materials to high temperatures to discover new applications for Earth and space industries. Dyson and Barratt continued spacesuit and tool configurations in the Quest airlock.

At the end of the workday, the four NASA astronauts gathered in the Destiny laboratory module for a video conference with mission controllers on the ground. The quartet called down to the NASA engineers and discussed procedures and readiness for an upcoming spacewalk.

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams started their morning with exercise sessions before organizing cargo packed inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module. The duo then spent the afternoon working to remove and replace a failed pressure control and pump assembly module that is part of the Tranquility module’s bathroom, or waste and hygiene compartment.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko from Roscosmos spent all day Wednesday testing a 3D printer and its ability to manufacture space hardware on demand. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub spent half his day servicing plumbing hardware in the Nauka science module before working out on the advanced resistive exercise device and jogging on a treadmill during the afternoon. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin’s list of duties included collecting more microbial air samples for analysis and maintaining electronics systems.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia