The ISS Progress 83 cargo craft ascends to Earth orbit after launching on time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV
The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) 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 68 crew members.
Progress will dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module two days later, on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:49 a.m. EST. Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 3 a.m.
Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the space station.
NASA TV Broadcasts Launch of Station Resupply Mission
The ISS Progress 81 resupply ship is pictured 266 miles above the Pacific Ocean after undocking from the space station’s Zvezda service module on Feb. 7, 2023.
NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the launch of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The uncrewed Progress 83 is scheduled to lift off on a Soyuz rocket at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress will dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module two days later, on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:49 a.m. EST.
Resupply Rocket Ready for Launch, Crew Works Science and Plumbing
Astronaut Koichi Wakata is pictured during his second spacewalk on Feb. 2, 2023, installing hardware to enable the future installation of the orbiting lab’s next roll-out solar array.
A new cargo mission stands ready to launch early Thursday and dock to the International Space Station two days later. Meanwhile, the Expedition 68 crew switched roles between space scientists and orbital plumbers on Wednesday promoting advanced knowledge and maintaining life support systems.
A rocket packed with about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, is ready to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and resupply the crew. The ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft will blast off at 1:15 a.m. EST on Thursday for a two-day trek to the orbital outpost. The 83P will orbit Earth 34 times before catching up to the space station and docking automatically at 3:49 a.m. on Saturday to the Zvezda service module’s rear port. NASA TV will cover both events live on the agency’s app and website.
Brain research was on the science schedule on Wednesday as NASA Flight Engineer Nicole Mann explored how it regulates blood pressure in weightlessness. She set up medical monitoring hardware inside the Kibo laboratory module to learn how the brain manages blood flow with potential benefits for humans living on Earth and in space.
Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) worked throughout Wednesday processing his blood and urine samples using the Human Research Facility. He spun the blood samples in a centrifuge then collected the biomedical samples and stowed them in a science freezer for later analysis.
From performing advanced space research to working on orbital plumbing, the well-trained astronauts and cosmonauts also ensure their orbital home and workplace remains in tip-top shape. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio was back inside the Tranquility module inspecting a new toilet for a test of its operations before it sees use in the Orion crew ship on the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada spent his day carefully inspecting module hatch seals and cleaning smoke detectors inside the Unity module.
The three Expedition 68 cosmonauts spent their day servicing a variety of life support components and conducting human research. Roscosmos Commander Sergey Prokopyev charged batteries in a carbon dioxide monitor and downloaded its data for review on the ground. Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Anna Kikina partnered together for ultrasound scans of the gastrointestinal tract to understand how microgravity affects the digestive system. The cosmonaut trio also split its day working electronics maintenance and plumbing tasks.
All seven crew members gathered together after lunch time and practiced their emergency response skills using computer tablets for guidance. The septet familiarized themselves with procedures for reacting to unlikely contingencies such as a depressurization event, a chemical leak, or a fire. The orbital residents also located emergency equipment and coordinated communications with mission controllers from around the world.
Station Science Picks Up on Tuesday as Resupply Mission Nears
The ISS Progress 81 resupply ship is pictured 266 miles above the Pacific Ocean after undocking from the space station’s Zvezda service module.
The seven-member Expedition 68 crew was back on its full complement of microgravity research on Tuesday. The orbital residents also saw a trash-filled cargo craft depart the International Space Station early in the morning.
It was a science-packed day aboard the orbital outpost with the four astronauts and three cosmonauts exploring the behavior of fuels in space, high-temperature physics, and cardiac research. The space scientists also turned their attention to more mundane orbital plumbing work and household maintenance tasks.
NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio installed new research hardware inside the Columbus laboratory module to observe how fuels behave to optimize satellite performance in space. He also activated a new toilet in the Tranquility module and verified its performance enabling its use for a crew operations test.
Working in the Kibo laboratory module, Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) swapped samples from inside a specialized research furnace. The high-temperature physics device uses electrostatic levitation techniques to explore the thermophysical properties of materials exposed to temperatures above 2,000 degrees Celsius. He later collected his blood and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and future analysis.
NASA Flight Engineers Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada began their day with biomedical research collecting body samples for the long-running Standard Measures study that monitors astronaut health. The duo later practiced on a computer the procedures they would use for the return back to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship, currently targeted for early March.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Anna Kikina partnered together during the morning for a study that explores how the human heart adapts to long-term weightlessness. Afterward, Petelin configured hardware that observes Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in the ultraviolet wavelength. Kikina removed sensors from herself after monitoring her heart’s electrical activity and blood pressure for 24 hours.
Roscosmos Commander Sergey Prokopyev woke up early and pointed his camera out a window in the Zvezda service module to photograph the departing ISS Progress 81 (81P) cargo craft. The 81P undocked from Zvezda’s rear port at 11:56 p.m. EST on Monday for a safe demise above the Pacific Ocean just over two hours later completing an eight-month resupply mission.
The 81P will be replaced by the ISS Progress 83 (83P) resupply ship after it launches on Thursday at 1:15 a.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The 83P will automatically dock to the same port vacated by the 81P at 3:49 a.m. EST on Saturday for a six-month stay.
Astronauts Relax as Cosmonauts Prep for Cargo Mission
Astronaut Nicole Mann points the camera toward herself and takes a “space-selfie” with her helmet’s visor up during a spacewalk on Feb. 2, 2023.
Four Expedition 68 crew members are off-duty today following last week’s spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation system. The rest of the crew is getting ready for a cargo mission due to arrive this week while continuing its ongoing cardiac research.
Four astronauts are relaxing today after a successful spacewalk on Thursday and all the preparations leading up to it. Flight Engineers Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spent six hours and 41 minutes in the vacuum of space during the Feb. 2 excursion. The duo completed the installation of a modification kit on the station’s starboard truss structure readying the orbital outpost for its next roll-out solar array.
The spacewalkers were assisted in the days leading up to last week’s spacewalk by NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada. The two spacewalking assistants helped Mann and Wakata in and out of their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, reviewed the mod kit installation procedures with them, and monitored the spacewalking job from inside the station.
A cargo swap is planned for this week when the trash-filled ISS Progress 81 (81P) resupply ship undocks from the Zvezda service module’s rear port on Monday night. Next, the ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft will launch at 1:15 a.m. EST on Wednesday then dock automatically at 3:47 a.m. on Friday to the Zvezda port vacated by the 81P.
Roscosmos Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin prepared on Monday for the weekend arrival of the 83P. The cosmonaut duo practiced on a computer for the unlikely event they would need to use the telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, and manually guide the resupply ship to a docking.
Flight Engineer Anna Kikina attached sensors to herself on Monday morning for a 24-hour cardiac monitoring session without interfering with her normal work schedule. The electrodes not only recorded her heart’s electrical activity but also her blood pressure. Kikina then spent the rest of Monday on ventilation and communication maintenance tasks.
