Archivo de la etiqueta: spacestation

Foods Launching on NASA’s SpaceX CRS-29 Mission

Hey, it’s not all science, technology, and research. The crew aboard the International Space Station also has to eat! Here is a list of foods launching on NASA’s SpaceX 29th Commercial Resupply Services mission:

• 1 fresh food kit, which will include citrus, apples, cherry tomatoes, and other items
• 2 cheese cold stowage kits, including Parmesan, Romano, cheddar, Asiago, and Gruyere
• 1 holiday bulk overwrap bag, including holiday treats such as chocolate, pumpkin spice cappuccino, rice cake, mochi, turkey, duck, quail, seafood, and cranberry sauce
• 1 shelf stable food kit, including pizza kits, hummus, salsa, and olives
• 99 bulk overwrap bags of standard menu and crew preferences

If that made you hungry, you have just enough time to grab a quick snack and then tune in to the live broadcast on NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website, starting at 8 p.m. EST.

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James Cawley

NASA’s SpaceX CRS-29: Countdown and Ascent Milestones

Here’s a full look at the countdown and ascent milestones for tonight’s launch, targeted for 8:28 EST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All times are approximate:

COUNTDOWN 

Hr/Min/Sec     Event

– 00:38:00             SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load

– 00:35:00             RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins

– 00:35:00             1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins

– 00:16:00             2nd stage LOX loading begins

– 00:07:00             Falcon 9 begins pre-launch engine chill

– 00:05:00             Dragon transitions to internal power

– 00:01:00             Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks

– 00:01:00             Propellant tanks pressurize for flight

– 00:00:45             SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch

– 00:00:03             Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence start

– 00:00:00             Falcon 9 liftoff

  LAUNCH, LANDING, AND DRAGON DEPLOYMENT

Hr/Min/Sec     Event

-00:01:12       Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)

-00:02:17       1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)

-00:02:21       1st and 2nd stages separate

-00:02:28       2nd stage engine starts

-00:02:34       Boostback Burn Starts

-00:03:28       Boostback Burn Ends

-00:06:10       1st stage entry burn starts

-00:06:22       1st stage entry burn ends

-00:07:19       1st stage landing burn starts

-00:07:36       1st stage landing

-00:08:33       2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)

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James Cawley

Crew Works Science, Maintenance Before Dragon Launches Tonight

A U.S. cargo craft is at its launch pad in Florida counting down to a liftoff tonight to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 70 crew spent the day working on robotics research, cell biology, and a fitness evaluation.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is due to blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 8:28 p.m. EDT today. It will carry several tons of science, supplies, and hardware to the orbital outpost and automatically dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 5:21 a.m. on Saturday. Watch the NASA+ streaming service at no cost on demand. The Dragon launch also will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli will be on duty Saturday morning overseeing Dragon’s automated approach and rendezvous maneuvers. The NASA duo spent Thursday afternoon with Commander Andreas Mogensen and Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa reviewing the new cargo manifest and the unloading operations they will perform after Dragon arrives and the hatches open.

Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) began his day in the Kibo laboratory module and worked there until the afternoon testing the operations of the Astrobee robotic helper. The robotics work was demonstrating how the toaster-sized free-flyer can use a small robotic arm and grasp handrails to maneuver throughout the space station.

Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) also worked inside Kibo setting up research hardware to study how cells sense gravity. Afterward, he assisted O’Hara and Moghbeli as they worked throughout Thursday cleaning and installing components inside the Tranquility module’s bathroom, formally known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov attached sensors to himself and jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill for a fitness evaluation during the morning. Afterward, he spent the rest of the day cleaning smoke detectors inside the Nauka science module.

Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko spent the morning on maintenance tasks inside Zvezda then prepared an experiment that records the vibrations the station experiences when a spacecraft docks or undocks. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub worked on life support and electronics maintenance and packed the Progress 84 resupply ship with trash and discarded gear.

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

Crew Works Eye, Earth Studies Day Before Dragon Launch

The Expedition 70 crew mainly focused Wednesday’s scientific research activities on the human eye and Earth observations while also continuing its life support maintenance tasks. The orbital residents will also welcome a cargo mission due to launch to the International Space Station this week.

Vision is a critical element contributing to the success of a spaceflight and doctors want to understand how living in space during a long-term mission affects the human eye. Researchers on the ground observe astronauts with a variety of instruments and experiments on the station collecting data for analysis. Insights may show what happens to the eye when continuously exposed to weightlessness and how an astronaut’s vision re-adjusts to gravity after returning to Earth.

One portion of the CIPHER suite of human research studies taking place on the orbital lab today is looking at space-caused structural and functional changes in the eye. Astronauts Loral O’Hara and Satoshi Furukawa joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module for the advanced biology study. The duo first attached electrodes around their eyes to measure their retinal activity in response to light stimuli. Next, O’Hara from NASA and Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) peered into medical imaging hardware for a closer look at their retinas. Finally, Furukawa imaged the eyes of Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) using the same medical gear found in an optometrist’s office on Earth.

O’Hara also partnered with Mogensen during the day configuring camera gear that will be installed outside the space station on a future date. O’Hara then cleaned spacesuit helmets and stowed spacewalking gear inside the Quest airlock. Mogensen brushed up on his Canadarm2 robotics skills training on a computer to maintain his proficiency when operating the 57.7-foot-long robotic arm.

NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli spent all day in the Tranquility module working on orbital plumbing tasks. She removed and replaced components on the water recovery system that is part of the bathroom, also known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment, located in Tranquility.

In the Roscosmos segment of the orbital outpost, the cosmonauts worked on a variety of Earth observation hardware supporting three different experiments. Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko set up a camera to monitor the effects of natural disasters and human-caused catastrophes on the ground. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub configured a different set of camera gear pointing it toward Earth to image upper atmosphere clouds and gain more climate data. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov swapped lenses on the EarthKAM camera remotely controlled by students to capture their own imagery of Earth landmarks.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft attached to the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is at the launch pad today at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Packed with several thousand pounds of new science experiments, crew supplies, and station hardware, Dragon is counting down to a liftoff at 8:28 p.m. EST on Thursday. It will arrive at the station on Saturday during its automated approach and rendezvous and dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 5:21 a.m. O’Hara and Moghbeli will be on duty monitoring Dragon’s arrival.

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Mark Garcia

Space Biology, 3D Printing Fill Crew’s Research Schedule

Human research and space manufacturing packed the science schedule aboard the International Space Station once again on Tuesday. The Expedition 70 crew also continued its post-spacewalk cleanup activities and cargo craft work.

Keeping crews healthy and in shape while living in the weightless environment of a spacecraft is a key priority for NASA and its international partners. Two space biology studies taking place today on the orbital lab are looking at how microgravity affects immunity and physical fitness as astronauts prepare for longer missions farther away from Earth.

Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) spent the morning moving back and forth between the Harmony module and the Columbus laboratory module processing blood samples. Mogensen retrieved sample tubes that had been incubated, placed them in a centrifuge for spinning, then stowed them in a science freezer for later analysis. The biomedical work is supporting the Immunity Assay experiment that is observing space-caused cellular stress and tissue damage and how it may impact human immunity.

Flight Engineers Satoshi Furukawa and Jasmin Moghbeli took turns today pedaling on an exercise cycle in the Destiny laboratory module for a fitness evaluation. During the first workout session, Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) activated the advanced cycle, attached sensors to himself, and wore breathing gear while pedaling for an hour. Moghbeli from NASA then followed him strapping herself onto the exercise cycle and pedaling as the instrumentation measured her aerobic capacity and oxygen uptake.

Moghbeli also joined up with fellow NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara cleaning spacesuit components and stowing tools following their first spacewalk together last week. The duo also worked on life support tasks including analyzing water samples for microbes, inspecting orbital plumbing components, and cleaning a carbon dioxide removal device.

3D printing research was underway again in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment as veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko activated the payload to demonstrate manufacturing tools and supplies in space to promote self-sufficient crews. First-time Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub packed trash and discarded gear in the Roscosmos Progress 84 cargo craft that is targeted to end its mission at the of November. Konstantin Borisov, also a first-time cosmonaut, wore a cap packed with sensors as he explored futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques to inform potential planetary missions.

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/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Mark Garcia