![\"757Z4290.NEF\"](\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss072e645464\/iss072e645464~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>Docked spacecraft operations were the main focus at the International Space Station<\/a> on Thursday with crew departure training, cargo packing, and an orbital reboost also taking place. The Expedition 72<\/a> crew also worked on science hardware activating a free-flying robotic assistant and preparing for a fire safety experiment.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-9<\/a> members which includes NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov joined each other on Wednesday for a refresher session and practiced on a computer the procedures for reentering the Earth\u2019s atmosphere aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft. The quartet is planned to undock from the space station about a week after NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-10<\/a> mission arrives carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain<\/a>, Nichole Ayers<\/a>, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Takuya Onishi. Crew-10\u2019s four crew members are targeted to launch no earlier than March 12 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n Hague and Gorbunov also trained to use a new tool that measures airflow velocity from vents aboard the station. Williams replaced ammonia leak emergency response procedures with new safety manuals delivered on Aug. 6, 2024<\/a> aboard the Cygnus space freighter. Wilmore swapped fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack<\/a> to prepare for a spacecraft fire safety study that explores how flames spread in microgravity<\/a>.<\/p>\n NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit was back on robotics duty on Wednesday powering up an Astrobee robotic free-flyer for the Astrobee-Zero Robotics<\/a> student competition to program the toaster-sized device to make a variety of maneuvers. Winning students had their algorithms uploaded to Astrobee testing its ability to autonomously detect and move objects within a time limit aboard the Kibo laboratory module<\/a>.<\/p>\n The space station is orbiting higher after the Progress 89 cargo craft<\/a>, which is docked to the rear port of Zvezda service module<\/a>, fired its thrusters for over 22 minutes on Wednesday night. The reboost places the station at the correct altitude to receive the new Progress 91 craft after it launches on Feb. 27 then docks on March 1.<\/p>\n Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner packed the Progress 89 with trash and discarded hardware in preparation for cargo craft\u2019s undocking on Feb. 25. Ovchinin also prepared the Progress 89 for its departure removing air ducts and checking its hatch. Vagner moved on and serviced Zvezda\u2019s oxygen generator while Gorbunov photographed the condition of stowage areas in the Zarya module<\/a>. Following the Progress 89\u2019s departure, Zvezda\u2019s rear port will be vacated where the Progress 91 will dock beginning a six-month cargo mission.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following the <\/em>space station blog<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>@space_station<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>@ISS_Research<\/em><\/a> on X, as well as the <\/em>ISS Facebook<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>ISS Instagram<\/em><\/a> accounts.<\/em><\/p>\n Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: <\/em>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/subscribe<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark A. Garcia <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Docked spacecraft operations were the main focus at the International Space Station on Thursday with crew departure training, cargo packing, and an orbital reboost also taking place. The Expedition 72 crew also worked on science hardware activating a free-flying robotic assistant and preparing for a fire safety experiment. Continue reading