The uncrewed Russian Progress 80 launched on a Soyuz rocket at 11:25 p.m. EST (9:25 a.m. on Feb. 15 Baikonur time) on Monday, Feb. 14, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Russian Cargo Craft Nears Station, U.S. Space Freighter at Launch Pad
Russia’s Progress 76 resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station in July of 2020.
A Russian resupply ship is targeting the International Space Station for a cargo delivery early Thursday. While two cosmonauts get ready to support the cargo craft’s arrival, the rest of the Expedition 66 crew juggled lab maintenance, space research, and robotics training ahead of a U.S. cargo mission due to launch on Saturday.
Nearly three-and-a-half tons of food, fuel, and supplies are racing toward the orbiting lab today aboard the ISS Progress 80 resupply ship from Roscosmos. Station Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov will be monitoring the cargo craft’s automated approach on Thursday when it docks to the Poisk module at 2:06 a.m. EST. The duo continued training today on the tele-robotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, preparing for the unlikely event the Progress 80 would need to be manually docked.
Another cargo craft rolled out to its launch pad on Tuesday at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The U.S. Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman is loaded with over 8,300 pounds of station hardware and new science experiments. It will launch atop an Antares rocket on Saturday at 12:40 p.m. and reach the station for a capture with the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Monday at 4:35 a.m.
NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron trained today for the capture activities on the robotics workstation and will be on duty Monday monitoring Cygnus’ approach and rendezvous. Controllers on the ground will take over robotics duties after Cygnus is captured and remotely install the U.S. cargo craft to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port where it will stay for just over three months.
The station’s other three astronauts focused on ongoing equipment servicing and microgravity science in the midst of this week’s cargo activities. NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Marshburn wrapped up the cooling component work on the COLBERT treadmill in the Tranquility module. Marshburn also set up an Astrobee robotic free-flyer with a smart phone video guidance sensor being tested remotely by controllers on Earth. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer swapped hardware inside the waste and hygiene compartment, the station’s restroom, before computer operations on human research gear.
Vein, Eye Scans as Russian Cargo Mission Orbits Toward Station
From left, NASA’s Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Mark Vande Hei pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module.
Vein scans and hardware maintenance kept the Expedition 66 crew busy on Tuesday aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Russia’s 80th space station cargo mission is orbiting Earth and on schedule to arrive at the orbiting lab early Thursday.
Three astronauts were scheduled on Tuesday afternoon for a series of vein and eye scans with doctors on the ground monitoring in real time. The station trio from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) gathered inside the Columbus laboratory module and used the Ultrasound 2 device to image each other’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins. NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Marshburn kicked off the biomedical work Tuesday afternoon. German astronaut Matthias Maurer joined them afterward wrapping up the vein and eye examinations. Doctors uses the data to understand how living in microgravity affects the human body.
Marshburn and Maurer had joined each other earlier in the day for maintenance on the COLBERT treadmill in the Tranquility module. Maurer began the work before lunchtime repairing cooling components on the exercise device. Marshburn followed up in the afternoon temporarily stowing the workout gear ahead of more work planned for the 11-year-old treadmill.
NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari split their day working on satellite hardware and life support gear. Barron spent Tuesday morning in the Kibo laboratory module uninstalling the small satellite orbital deployer. Its most recent deployment was a series of scientific and educational CubeSats delivered on the last SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission. Chari spent part of his day removing air and flushing the station’s water recovery system.
Nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies aboard the ISS Progress 80 cargo craft successfully reached orbit late Monday after its liftoff from Kazakhstan on Monday at 11:25 p.m. EST. Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov will be on duty monitoring the Russian resupply ship when it automatically docks to the Poisk module on Thursday at 2:06 a.m. EST.
Shkaplerov cleaned Poisk on Tuesday morning making space to begin cargo transfers after the Progress 80’s arrival. The station commander from Roscosmos later joined Dubrov for an ongoing study that explores ways to pilot future spacecraft and robots on planetary missions.
Russian Cargo Craft Blasts off to Resupply Station
Russia’s Progress 80 resupply ship blasted off on Feb. 14 at 11:25 p.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV.
The uncrewed Russian Progress 80 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 11:25 p.m. EST (9:25 a.m. on Feb. 15 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 66 crew members.
After making 34 orbits of Earth on its journey, Progress will dock to the station’s Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Russian segment at 2:06 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 17. Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 1:30 a.m.
Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station. The Russian space agency Roscosmos will determine a departure date for Progress 80.
Russian Cargo Craft Launching to Station Live on NASA TV
Russia’s Progress 80 space freighter is seen prior to launch in Baikonur. It will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 66 crew. Credit: Roscosmos.
The uncrewed Russian Progress 80 is scheduled to lift off on a Soyuz rocket at 11:25 p.m. EST (9:25 a.m. on Feb. 15 Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a 34-orbit journey to the microgravity laboratory.
