The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, with the Crew-8 quartet aboard, is pictured approaching the International Space Station on March 5, 2024.
NASA’s live coverage continues as four crew members aboard the International Space Station take a short trip inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to relocate from one docking port to another.
Following an initial, unexpected slow decrease in cabin pressure, delaying undocking, SpaceX determined that the cabin pressure trend is understood and nominal. Undocking is now scheduled for 8:55 a.m. EDT with redocking planned at 9:38 a.m. Relocation activities will continue to air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Expedition 71 crew members NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, will undock from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module, and autonomously redock with the module’s space-facing port.
As the 28th spacecraft relocation in station history, the move makes room for the arrival of the uncrewed SpaceX Dragon carrying cargo to station as part of the company’s 31st commercial resupply services mission for NASA, targeted to launch in August.
Dragon Spacecraft Relocating to New Port on NASA TV
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, with the Crew-8 quartet aboard, is pictured approaching the International Space Station on March 5, 2024.
NASA’s live coverage is underway as four crew members aboard the International Space Station take a short trip inside their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to relocate from one docking port to another.
Relocation activities will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Expedition 71 crew members NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, will undock from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module, and autonomously redock with the module’s space-facing port.
As the 28th spacecraft relocation in station history, the move makes room for the arrival of the uncrewed SpaceX Dragon carrying cargo to station as part of the company’s 31st commercial resupply services mission for NASA, targeted to launch in August.
‘We are Ready,’ NASA, Boeing Crew Counts Down to Historical Launch
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams participate in a virtual media engagement event from inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Photo credit: NASA
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams held a virtual question and answer session with media on May 1, from inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of their launch to the space station.
“We’ve been through training and we have our fingerprints on every single procedure that exists for this spacecraft,” said Wilmore. “We’re fully trained in all aspects of Starliner.”
Wilmore and Williams have quarantined inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building since they arrived at the Florida spaceport April 25.
The Operations and Checkout Building dates back to the Apollo program and was used for missions under the Space Shuttle Program. Located on the third floor, the crew quarters consists of 23 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The area also includes the suitup room, where teams help astronauts into their spacesuits before they exit the building and enter a vehicle to take them to the launch pad.
Wilmore and Williams will be the first to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.
“We feel very safe and very comfortable when this spacecraft flies,” said Williams. “This is where we’re supposed to be.”
After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.
Launch is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Watch a replay of the question and answer session here.
Crew Readies for Dragon Relocation, Works Robotics and Connects with Students on Earth
The SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after the hatch opened to the station on March 5, 2024. From left are, Alexander Grebenkin, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Matthew Dominick.
Mission preparations are underway aboard the International Space Station as a spacecraft relocation on Thursday will make room for a crew arrival next week. The Expedition 71 crew spent Wednesday reviewing mission procedures, conducting robotics activities, and connecting with students on Earth.
Four crew members will suit up Thursday, May 2 and enter the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to relocate it to a new port as the countdown to NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test continues. NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps, as well as cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos, will undock from the forward port of the Harmony module at 7:45 a.m. EDT and take a short ride aboard Dragon before redocking to the zenith port of Harmony around 8:28 a.m.
The quartet spent Wednesday morning reviewing procedures for Dragon’s relocation and was later joined by NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson—who will be monitoring the maneuver—to hold a conference with ground teams. In preparation for the move, Epps also cleaned and inspected the health of Dragon’s capture and docking system, then later reorganized supplies within the spacecraft.
After tomorrow’s relocation, Harmony’s forward port will be available, making room for the arrival of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft next week. Starliner, scheduled to launch at 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6, will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the orbiting laboratory, with docking scheduled for around 12:46 a.m. Wednesday, May 8. The duo will spend about a week aboard station to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA certifies the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbital complex as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
As the crew arrival nears, Dyson, Dominick, and Barratt held a conference with ground teams in the afternoon to go over Starliner procedures, including rendezvous, docking, and departure.
The orbital septet also scheduled in some time for robotics, space-to-ground operations, and maintenance on Wednesday. Dyson powered on Astrobee, the station’s free-flying robots, and performed a Zero Robotics tech demonstration, which allows students on Earth to write software to control the robots.
Dominick connected with students in North Carolina through an ISS Ham Radio session, answering questions about living and working in space. Meanwhile, Epps recalibrated ethernet cable connections in the crew quarters and Barratt conducted some routine orbital plumbing.
In the Roscosmos segment, station Commander Oleg Kononenko ran an experiment that studies the glow of Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub investigated the behavior of various liquid phases exposed to different temperatures and vibrations in the microgravity environment.
On-Orbit Training and Health Research Occupy Schedule on Tuesday
Expedition 71 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Mike Barratt tests portable breathing gear aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module.
A suite of on-orbit training topped Tuesday’s schedule aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 71 crew gets ready for a spacecraft relocation on Thursday and a crew arrival next week. Four crew members also spent some time conducting ongoing health research to help scientists on Earth better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body.
In the morning, NASA Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps assisted one another with ultrasound scans of veins in their necks, shoulders, clavicles, and back of the knees. The duo was then joined by their other Crew-8 crewmates, Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick of NASA and Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos, to review procedures and complete training for the upcoming relocation of their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
The quartet will suit up Thursday, May 2 and enter Dragon for an undocking from the forward port of the Harmony module at 7:45 a.m. EDT. They will then take a short ride aboard Dragon before redocking to the zenith port of Harmony around 8:28 a.m.
This relocation will make room for the Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, scheduled to launch Monday, May 6 at 10:34 p.m. Starliner will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the station for a docking around 12:48 a.m. Wednesday, May 8. The duo will join the Expedition 71 crew in low Earth orbit for about a week before returning home.
After lunch, the Crew-8 cadre was joined by astronaut Tracy C. Dyson of NASA, space station Commander Oleg Kononenko, and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos to complete a fire training session in the event an emergency were to occur aboard station. The septet then spent some time discussing the training and holding a conference with ground teams.
In the evening, Dominick set up tomography hardware and assisted Dyson with an eye exam. Dyson then shut down and stowed the hardware, wrapping up a round of health exams for the week.
On Earth, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, which spent about a month docked to the orbiting laboratory, splashed down off the coast of Florida at 1:38 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, returning more than 4,100 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments back to researchers.
