Dragon Cargo Craft Approaches Station Live on NASA TV
The SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station on June 5, 2021.
A SpaceX Dragon is on track to arrive at the International Space Station, Tuesday, June 6, with an expected docking of the cargo spacecraft about 5:50 a.m. EDT. Live coverage is underway on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
When it arrives to the space station, Dragon will dock to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
The uncrewed SpaceX Dragon successfully launched on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 11:47 a.m. on June 5, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying more than 7,000 pounds of research, hardware, and supplies to the International Space Station.
Spacewalk Preps, Science Work as Dragon Counts Down to Launch
Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi sets up hardware for a protein crystal growth experiment on May 30, 2023, that may shorten the development cycle for new drugs.
Spacesuits and science filled the Expedition 69 schedule at the end of the workweek aboard the International Space Station. Back on Earth, a cargo-filled U.S. resupply ship is counting down to its launch to replenish the residents living on the orbital outpost.
NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are preparing for a June 9 spacewalk to install one of two new roll-out solar arrays on the space station’s starboard-side truss structure. The duo spent Friday morning configuring their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, and readying their spacewalk tools inside the Quest airlock. Hoburg then joined NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio in the afternoon for a fit check of his EMU.
The crew also continued its ongoing microgravity research to improve health on Earth and in space. Bowen set up blood samples in a centrifuge before stowing them in a science freezer to learn how spaceflight affects cellular immune functions. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi pedaled on an exercise while attached to sensors monitoring his breathing and blood pressure for the Cardiobreath astronaut health study. Rubio swapped out protein crystal samples in the Kibo laboratory module for a study advancing biochemistry research in space.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev worked together on Friday for a human research study that investigates how microgravity affects the digestion process. Commander Sergey Prokopyev studied how micro-particles such as electrons, ions, and neutral gases, interact and turn into plasma crystals when exposed to electrical charges.
The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is counting down to launch at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with two new roll-out solar arrays packed inside its unpressurized trunk. Mission managers polled the station and Dragon teams on Thursday and reported all systems are go for launch to the orbiting lab. However, weather forecasters on Friday announced conditions at the launch pad are 70% no-go with scattered thunderstorms predicted for both Saturday and Sunday launch attempts.
For now, Dragon’s automated rendezvous and docking the Harmony module’s space-facing port is scheduled for 5:36 a.m. on Monday. Two days after that the Canadarm2 robotic arm will extract the roll-out solar arrays from Dragon’s trunk and stage them on a pallet attached to the starboard truss. The two spacewalkers will then be able to retrieve the solar arrays and begin the installation work.
A pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), also known as spacesuits, are pictured inside the space station’s Quest airlock where spacewalks are staged by astronauts wearing the EMUs.
A Dragon cargo craft is counting down to its liftoff to the International Space Station on Saturday as two NASA astronauts get ready for next week’s spacewalk. Meanwhile, the Expedition 69 crew is keeping up with its human research, robotics, and lab maintenance activities.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo craft atop has rolled out to its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is expected to lift off at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday carrying Dragon to Earth orbit. Dragon will then conduct an automated flight to the orbital outpost where it will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:36 a.m. on Monday.
Dragon is carrying two new roll-out solar arrays that will be extracted from its unpressurized trunk about two days after its docking then staged on a pallet attached to the station’s starboard-side truss structure. Packed inside the U.S. cargo craft are several tons of new experiments, food, supplies, and hardware to replenish the crew members. NASA TV begins its live launch coverage at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday on the agency’s app and website. The live docking broadcast starts at 4 a.m. on Monday.
NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are planning to go on a spacewalk on June 9 and install one of the new Dragon-delivered solar arrays on the starboard truss. The duo have been reviewing spacewalk procedures and configuring their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, they will use next week during their excursion. Another spacewalk is scheduled for June 15 to install the second roll-out solar array packed inside Dragon.
Today, along with the ongoing spacewalk preparations, the pair had time set aside for some science and cargo activities. Bowen spent the morning servicing blood samples for the Immunity Assay experiment to explore how spaceflight affects cellular immune functions. Hoburg worked on an Astrobee robotic free-flying assistant then reviewed operations for the upcoming Dragon resupply mission.
Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), who have been assisting with the spacewalk preparations, also had a variety of science tasks booked on Thursday’s schedule. Rubio installed research hardware inside the Combustion Integrated Rack for a space fire safety study. Alneyadi is in the middle of a 48-hour period of wearing a Bio-Monitor vest and headband that is monitoring his cardiovascular system while performing normal crew activities.
Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin once again partnered together and continued installing upgraded data cables inside the Zvezda service module. Prokopyev also attached sensors to himself for a physical fitness evaluation on the station’s treadmill. Petelin unpacked and stowed cargo from inside the ISS Progress 84 space freighter. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day practicing European robotic arm maneuvering techniques from inside the Nauka science module.
Station Crew Focuses on Spacewalks, Cargo Mission After Ax-2
Astronaut Stephen Bowen is pictured exiting the space station’s Quest airlock and beginning a spacewalk on April 28, 2023.
The seven Expedition 69 crew members are turning their attention to a pair of spacewalks and a cargo mission after saying goodbye to their Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) guests on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a pair of experiments onboard the International Space Station on Wednesday looked at monitoring health and 3D printing.
The four astronauts and three cosmonauts that comprise Expedition 69 are resuming their standard mission activities today following the departure of four Ax-2 astronauts. Next up in June for the orbital residents are a pair of spacewalks to upgrade the station’s power generation system and a commercial resupply mission.
Mission managers will preview the upcoming power upgrade spacewalks during a news conference live on NASA TV at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The first spacewalk will begin at 9:15 a.m. on June 9 with NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg. The duo will exit the Quest airlock in their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, and install a new roll-out solar array on the orbital lab’s starboard-side truss segment. The second spacewalk will take place on June 15 with a duo going back out in EMUs and installing another roll-out solar array on the starboard truss.
Bowen and Hoburg started Wednesday morning reviewing their spacewalk activities and cleaning spacesuit cooling loops. The pair then joined Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) in the afternoon for spacewalk training. The quartet logged into a computer and practiced the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support the solar array installation work planned for next Friday.
Both roll-out solar arrays are packed inside the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft that is counting down to liftoff at 12:35 p.m. on Saturday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Dragon will arrive at the station for an automated docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:36 a.m. on Monday. The new solar arrays will be extracted from Dragon’s trunk with the Canadarm2 two days before the first spacewalk begins and staged on a pallet attached to the starboard truss. Dragon is also carrying new experiments, food, supplies, and hardware to replenish the station crew.
Microgravity science is still continuing onboard the station while the crew gets ready for the upcoming cargo mission and spacewalks. Alneyadi put on the Bio-Monitor vest and headband at the end of the day testing their ability to monitor an astronaut’s health while minimally interfering with crew activities. Commander Sergey Prokopyev worked on a 3D printer to demonstrate printing tools and parts in space reducing the crew’s reliance on cargo missions for hardware.
Prokopyev also partnered with Roscosmos Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin installing upgraded data cables in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day on ventilation and electronics maintenance.
Ax-2 Astronauts Undock from Station Inside Dragon Freedom
May 30, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crew ship and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 and 84 resupply ships.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:05 a.m. EDT to complete the second all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2).
Dragon is slowly maneuvering away from the orbital laboratory into an orbital track that will return the astronaut crew and its cargo safely to Earth, targeting a splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, targeted about 11:04 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 30.
Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will complete 9 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. The SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 300 pounds of science and supplies, including NASA experiments and hardware.
Joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams end and NASA coverage of the mission concludes when the spacecraft exits the area of the space station, approximately 30 minutes after undocking.
Axiom Space leads independent mission operations for Ax-2 and will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown.
