Resupply Ship Docks to Station Completing Space Delivery
The Progress 70 cargo craft approaches the Zvezda service module’s rear port for a docking to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV
An uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 87 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s aft port of the Zvezda service module at 1:06 a.m. EST, as the orbiting laboratory was 260 miles over the south Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket at 10:25 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 14 (8:25 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 70 crew.
Resupply Ship Approaching Station for Docking Live on NASA TV
The Progress 86 resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station for a docking on Dec. 3, 2023.
NASA+, NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The uncrewed Progress 87 launched on a Soyuz rocket at 10:25 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 14 (8:25 a.m. Baikonur time Thursday, Feb. 15) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Stem Cell Research Continues, Crew Preps for Cargo Arrival
NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara works on a bone cell study inside the Life Science Glovebox located inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. O’Hara was working on the Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-A investigation that may provide a better understanding of space-caused bone loss and aging-related bone conditions on Earth.
Stem cell research carried into Friday as the Expedition 70 crew members worked to wrap up an experiment that began earlier in the week. As science continued aboard the International Space Station, a cargo craft is currently in orbit preparing to approach the orbiting laboratory for an automatic docking scheduled for the early morning hours Saturday.
Two cosmonauts, Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, are gearing up to be on duty monitoring the automated docking of the Progress 87 cargo craft, which launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:25 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 14. Loaded with nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, Progress is scheduled to dock to the station at 1:12 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17. Kononenko and Chub spent Friday preparing for the upcoming cargo delivery by reviewing telerobotically operated rendezvous unit (TORU) procedures, which allows them to remotely control an arriving spacecraft in the unlikely event it could not automatically dock.
In the Kibo Laboratory, another day of stem cell research was underway for four orbital residents. Throughout the morning, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, with assistance from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa, processed samples inside the Life Sciences Glovebox for the Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-A (MABL-A) investigation. The duo carried out the experiment to help scientists assess the effects of microgravity on bone marrow stem cells, which may provide a better understanding of space-caused bone loss and aging-related bone conditions on Earth.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, with assistance from ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen, then took over the work with MABL-A, sampling additional stem cells throughout the afternoon.
O’Hara also spent some time conducting maintenance in the Bishop Airlock. Furukawa removed old and installed new CO2 units in Kibo’s gas supply equipment, Moghbeli conducted some orbital plumbing, and Mogensen analyzed some bacteria samples that were collected earlier in the week.
In the Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov ran a distillation cycle on the water processing unit. Later on, he conducted an experiment to analyze Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet.
Stem Cell Science and Human Research Studies Ahead of Cargo Arrival
The seven-member Expedition 70 crew gathers for a dinner time portrait inside the International Space Station’s Unity module. In the front row from left are, Flight Engineers Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos, Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, and Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). In the back row are, Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency), NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara, and Roscosmos Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.
A cargo craft loaded with nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies is currently in orbit heading to the International Space Station, targeting early Saturday for docking. As the Expedition 70 crew members await the arrival of Progress 87, stem cell science, heart rate data collection and eye exam activities topped their research schedule on Thursday.
Progress 87 successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:25 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 14. On Saturday, Feb. 17, the cargo craft will automatically dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module at 1:12 a.m., with cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub on duty to monitor the spacecraft’s arrival.
Aboard station, four orbital residents spent most of the day on the Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Microgravity Induced Bone Loss (MABL-A) investigation. MABL-A—delivered aboard Northrop Grumman’s 20th Commercial Resupply Mission—assesses the effects of microgravity on bone marrow stem cells. In the morning, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara collected BioCell samples inside the habitat with assistance from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furkawa. In the afternoon, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli took over the BioCell sampling work with assistance from ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen.
Mogensen also spent part of the day photographing Plant-Microbe Interactions in Space (APEX-10) petri plates—another investigation that launched aboard Northrop Grumman’s 20th resupply mission—to examine whether beneficial microbes can mitigate some of the negative effects the space environment can have on plant growth and development.
In the afternoon, O’Hara conducted an array of activities for the CIPHER investigation, including the collection of heart rate data and completing an eye exam. CIPHER, or Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research, is an all-encompassing, total-body approach that examines how humans adapt to spaceflight.
In the Roscosmos segment, Chub worked with Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov to film an educational video that demonstrates the capabilities of Roscosmos scientific hardware aboard station. Meanwhile, Kononenko conducted some routine maintenance in Zarya module. Near the end of the day, Borisov examined the Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet for an ongoing investigation aboard the orbital lab.
The Progress 87 cargo craft launches to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Feb. 14, 2024. Credit: NASA TV
The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 87 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 10:25 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 14 (8:25 a.m. Baikonur time Thursday, Feb. 15) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit, and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned, on its way to meet up with the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 70 crew members.
Progress will dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module two days later at 1:12 a.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 17. Live coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 12:30 a.m. Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the space station.
