Archivo de la etiqueta: spacestation

Busy Crew Assists Each Other for Space Science and Lab Upkeep

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew conducted a wide variety of experimental work on Tuesday including more life science and physics research and installing new science hardware. The maintenance duties aboard the International Space Station included lab stowage work and orbital plumbing tasks.

The station astronauts split their day assisting each other on a host of space research and lab upkeep on Tuesday. NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg began his day swapping samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a space manufacturing study with help from UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi.

Afterward, Hoburg moved on to support NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen as he loaded the NanoRacks External Platform inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock to place science experiments in the harsh environment of outer space. Alneyadi wrapped up his day in the Tranquility module replacing components in the station’s bathroom, also known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment.

Hoburg would finally end his day in the Quest airlock installing a new overhead stowage platform. Bowen and Alneyadi started the work first removing and transferring the old stowage platform. The platform replacement work increases the equipment stowage volume inside Quest.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio also worked in Quest at the beginning of the day installing a battery charger and new components that power the spacesuits to sustain astronauts during spacewalks. Rubio ended his day inside Kibo consolidating and stowing hardware making room for upcoming activities planned inside the lab module from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

Heart research was on the Roscosmos work schedule for Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev as he attached sensors to himself for a study measuring his cardiac performance in microgravity. Commander Sergey Prokopyev installed and configured hardware to image Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in the ultraviolet wavelength. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin started his day checking for leaks between the ISS Progress 84 cargo craft and the Poisk module. In the afternoon, Petelin swapped cargo between Poisk and the Zarya module to accommodate the next Soyuz crew to visit the station in mid-September.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark Garcia

Crew Studies Life Science to Improve Health on Earth and in Space

Life science to benefit humans on Earth and in space was the top research priority aboard the International Space Station on Monday. The Expedition 69 crew also worked on housekeeping tasks and cargo craft duties to start the workweek.

Research in microgravity reveals new phenomena that would be impossible to discover or observe in Earth’s gravity environment. The unique insights help scientists and doctors promote innovations and develop advanced therapies benefitting humans living on and off the Earth.

Two astronauts partnered together on Monday investigating how to produce stem cells in space using the Life Science Glovebox inside the Kibo laboratory module. Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked in the glovebox servicing stem cell samples that give rise to blood and immune cells with the potential to improve blood disease and cancer therapies on Earth. The StemCellEX-H Pathfinder biotechnology study may expand commercial and research opportunities in space as well as patient remedies on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen wore a specialized vest and headband that monitored his cardiac activity and blood pressure while pedaling on an exercise cycle. The Bio-Monitor wearable sensors are being tested for their ability record astronaut health data without impeding normal activities. Bowen wore the biomedical gear as he exercised for the Cardiobreath cardiovascular and respiratory experiment that seeks to improve crew health.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg spent his day mostly on maintenance work with some time set aside for a space manufacturing study. He worked throughout the day unpacking hardware stowed in the Quest airlock so he could prepare it for the installation of a new overhead stowage platform. After lunchtime, Hoburg swapped graphene aerogel samples in the Microgravity Science Glovebox to learn how to manufacture a superior, more uniform structure in weightlessness. The SUBSA-μgGA physics study seeks to benefit Earth and space industries for better power storage, environmental protection, and chemical sensing.

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin tested hardware that can remotely control an approaching or departing spacecraft from the Zvezda service module. The duo activated the telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, and evaluated its operation with the docked ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft. The 83P is due to end its six-month stay at the orbital lab on Sunday. It will be replaced on Aug. 24 when the ISS Progress 85 resupply ship docks to Zvezda’s rear port two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev had the day off on Monday spending time on personal activities and his daily two-hour workout. After lunch, Fedyaev spent about a half-hour checking life support gear in the Nauka science module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark Garcia

Crops and Manufacturing Studies as Station Orbits Higher

Botany and physics topped the research schedule as spacewalk cleanup duties continued aboard the International Space Station on Friday. The Expedition 69 crew also focused on life support maintenance as a U.S. cargo craft fired it engines to boost the orbital outpost.

Sustaining crews independently of cargo missions and taking advantage of microgravity for better manufacturing techniques are key targets for NASA’s and its international partners research programs. Friday’s science specifically looked at growing crops in space and advancing manufacturing techniques.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio set up seed bags for the Plant Habitat-03B study to understand how characteristics of plants grown in space change from one generation to the next. Results may inform ways to grow repeated generations of space crops to support future crewed missions. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi worked in the Microgravity Science Glovebox servicing samples to learn how to manufacture superior graphene aerogel in microgravity. The SUBSA-μgGA physics study seeks to benefit Earth and space industries for better power storage, environmental protection, and chemical sensing.

The duo also assisted NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg who worked throughout Friday swapping life support gear in the Tranquility module. A failed heat exchanger was removed and a new one was installed then connected to new low temperature loop hoses. NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen aided his crewmates on Friday photographing Alneyadi’s research work and helping Hoburg during his life support maintenance. Bowen later removed sensors that measured his blood pressure and downloaded the data to doctors on the ground.

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin continued cleaning their spacesuits and stowing tools and accessories following Wednesday’s spacewalk to install orbital debris shields and relocate a portable workstation. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev assisted with the spacewalk cleanup work finalizing operations with the European robotic arm and stowing medical kits on Friday.

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft’s delta velocity thruster fired at 10:35 a.m. EDT Friday for 22 minutes, 48 seconds in a reboost of the International Space Station. The planned maneuver was designed to further refine the phasing for the Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo spacecraft launch on Tuesday, Aug. 22, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and its docking to the station Thursday, Aug. 24. It was one of two scheduled reboosts to target the proper trajectory for the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 launch and two-orbit rendezvous to the orbiting complex on Sept. 15, as well as the Soyuz MS-23 undocking and landing on Sept. 27.

The reboost also continued the certification of the use of Cygnus as a second spacecraft currently capable of conducting such a maneuver. The Cygnus reboost increased the station’s altitude by 3/10 of a mile at apogee and 2.8 miles at perigee and put the space station in an orbit of 262.5 x 257.6 statute miles.

Crew members who will soon fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission will enter quarantine Friday in one of the major milestones before they head to the launch site in Florida to start their mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted to launch Crew-7 no earlier than 3:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 25 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark Garcia

Following Science, Spacewalk Cleanup a Planned Cygnus Boost Approaches

The Expedition 69 crew is continuing to unpack a U.S. cargo craft before it fires engines to reboost the International Space Station on Friday. The orbital residents are also continuing their science and maintenance activities while cleaning up the day after a spacewalk.

NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen continued unpacking some of the several tons of science and supplies still packed inside the Cygnus space freighter on Thursday. Cygnus will also fire it engines on Friday reboosting the orbital outpost. This will raise the station to the correct altitude for the upcoming arrival of a Roscosmos cargo craft in two weeks. The station will also be in the proper phasing for a Soyuz crew swap mission planned in mid- to late September.

Rubio also opened up the Combustion Integrated Rack to troubleshoot the computer electronics inside. Bowen monitored his blood pressure throughout the day and swapped samples in the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a space manufacturing study.

NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg spent his day on inflight maintenance as he replaced charcoal filters in the Harmony module and loaded new software on a tablet computer. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi organized food bags, helped Rubio unload the Cygnus cargo craft, then finally replaced window scratch panes in the cupola.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are cleaning their Orlan spacesuits and stowing spacewalking gear following Wednesday’s spacewalk. The duo spent six hours and 35 minutes in the vacuum of space installing orbital debris shields and relocating a portable workstation on the Roscosmos segment of the space station.

Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev is returning the European robotic arm (ERA) to its stowage configuration on the Nauka science module.  Fedyaev commanded the ERA during Wednesday’s spacewalk moving the workstation from the Rassvet module to Nauka and testing its ability to maneuver a spacewalker with Prokopyev attached for the first time.

The Roscosmos trio got a late start on Thursday after sleeping in following a good night’s rest. During their cleanup activities, Prokopyev and Petelin also called down to mission controllers to discuss the previous day’s spacewalk activities.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark Garcia

Cosmonauts Finish Spacewalk Installing Shields and Relocating Hardware

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 5:19 p.m. EDT after 6 hours and 35 minutes.

Prokopyev and Petelin attached three debris shields to the Rassvet module and tested the sturdiness of a work platform affixed to the end of the European robotic arm attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

This was the eighth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the sixth for Petelin. It was the tenth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 267th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark Garcia