Archivos de la categoría ISS News

NASA TV Broadcasts Russian Spacewalk at Station Early Wednesday

Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos are scheduled to depart the International Space Station Wednesday for a spacewalk to continue preparing the Pirs docking compartment airlock for undocking and disposal later this year.

The duo will exit the space station’s Poisk docking compartment about 1:20 a.m. EDT tomorrow, signifying the start of their spacewalk, which is expected to last about six and a half hours. NASA will begin its live coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 1 a.m.

The cosmonauts also plan to replace a fluid flow regulator on the nearby Zarya module and replace biological and material science samples on the exterior of the Russian modules.

This will be the 238th spacewalk overall in support of International Space Station assembly, and the first spacewalk for both Novitskiy and Dubrov, who arrived at the space station in April aboard the Soyuz MS-18 crew ship.

Novitskiy, who is designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear a Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Dubrov will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes as extravehicular crew member 2 (EV2).

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark Garcia

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Crew Focusing on Russian Spacewalk, U.S. Cargo Mission This Week

Two cosmonauts will exit the International Space Station early Wednesday to begin the first spacewalk of the Expedition 65 mission. Meanwhile, the next SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission to resupply the orbital lab is counting down to its launch on Thursday.

Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are sleeping in Tuesday ahead of six-and-a-half hour spacewalk set to begin Wednesday at 1:20 a.m. EDT. The duo will exit the Poisk module in Orlan spacesuits and ready the Pirs docking compartment for its undocking and disposal later this year. Pirs will be replaced a couple of days after its departure by the new Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

The first-time spacewalkers will also replace hardware and install science experiments on the station’s Russian segment. NASA TV begins its live coverage of the spacewalk activities at 1 a.m.

On Thursday, SpaceX will launch its upgraded SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle to the space station at 1:29 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center. It will automatically dock Saturday at 5 a.m. to the Harmony module’s space-facing international docking adapter (IDA). NASA TV is broadcasting both mission events live.

The Cargo Dragon will deliver about 7,300 pounds of science, supplies and hardware to replenish the seven-member crew. This includes the first of three pairs of new solar arrays that will be installed on an upcoming spacewalk to augment the orbital lab’s power system.

NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough prepared for the Cargo Dragon’s arrival with 3D computer training today. They will be monitoring Dragon early Saturday ensuring it safely approaches the station during its automated rendezvous and docking.

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Mark Garcia

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Biology on Station Ahead of Spacewalk, Cargo Dragon Mission

Human research and space botany kept the Expedition 65 crew busy today. The International Space Station residents also stayed focused on next week’s spacewalk and packed a U.S. cargo craft.

Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Thomas Pesquet worked throughout Thursday scanning their leg, foot, arm, neck and lower back muscles with an ultrasound device. The duo performed the scans before and after working out on the advanced resistive exercise device. The long-running Myotones experiment, ongoing since 2011, measures how space affects muscle tone, stiffness and elasticity.

Commander Akihiko Hoshide installed an incubator inside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module for upcoming research for the Kidney Cell-02 study. The biology study could lead to improved treatments for kidney stones and osteoporosis for humans living on and off the Earth. The three-time station visitor then joined NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Mark Vande Hei packing the U.S. Cygnus space freighter ahead of its departure at the end of June.

Vande Hei and Kimbrough also took turns during the day contributing to a space agriculture study that started in October of last year. The Plant Water Management explores hydroponics in microgravity and may also improve watering systems on Earth.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov partnered together Thursday morning pedaling on an exercise bike to evaluate their cardiovascular function. The duo then spent the rest of the day configuring Orlan spacesuits for a spacewalk scheduled on June 2 to service Russian hardware and install science experiments.

The very next day SpaceX will launch its upgraded Cargo Dragon vehicle from Kennedy Space Center to the station at 1:29 p.m. EDT. It will automatically dock on June 5 at 5 a.m. to the Harmony module’s space-facing international docking adapter carrying about 7,300 pounds of science, supplies and hardware. Dragon is also carrying the first set of new solar arrays that will be installed on upcoming spacewalk to augment the orbital lab’s power system.

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Mark Garcia

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Hydroponics, Virtual Reality on Station Impacting Future Missions

Botany and human research were the main research themes aboard the International Space Station today. Meanwhile, the Expedition 65 crew is also staying focused on spacewalk preparations and orbital lab maintenance.

Space agriculture is key to sustaining human spaceflight as NASA and its international partners plan future missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Today, Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Pesquet joined together for the Plant Water Management study to learn how to operate hydroponics in microgravity. The duo set up and configured hardware for the botany study that may also improve watering systems on Earth.

Pesquet also partnered with NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur for an investigation observing how microgravity affects an astronaut’s ability to control robotics and spacecraft. The Pilote experiment uses virtual reality gear and tests a crew member’s aptitude when maneuvering a computer-generated robotic arm toward a target. Results may influence the design of workstations and interfaces for future spacecraft and space habitats.

Blood sample collections started the day for NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough and Commander Akihiko Hoshide. Kimbrough, with assistance from Vande Hei, then spent the rest of Wednesday continuing to configure the station’s newest toilet inside the Tranquility module. Hoshide set up the Astrobee robotic assistants for an upcoming student competition then swapped samples for a semiconductor crystal physics study.

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are getting ready for their first career spacewalks set to begin June 2 at 1:20 a.m. EDT. The duo continued readying their spacewalking tools, communications gear and Orlan spacesuits today. The pair will exit the Poisk module and spend about six-and-a-half hours servicing Russian hardware and installing science experiments.

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Mark Garcia

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Ultrasound Scans, Emergency Drill amid Spacewalk Preps Today

Tuesday aboard the International Space Station was packed with human research activities helping doctors understand how the Expedition 65 crew is adapting to microgravity. Meanwhile, preparations are ramping up for a Russian spacewalk scheduled for next week.

Four astronauts took turns during the afternoon using the Ultrasound 2 device for artery scans. NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur kicked off the biomedical investigation today and scanned Commander Akihiko Hoshide’s neck, clavicle, shoulder and leg arteries in the Columbus laboratory module. Next up, astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough took turns as they participated in the ultrasound scanning activities.

McArthur started her day swapping fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack before readying a science freezer for a new animal-microbe study due to be delivered on the next SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission. Kimbrough also spent some time setting up Plant Water Management hardware inside the Harmony module for ongoing botany research.

The Celestial Immunity study is still under way aboard the orbital lab as researchers compare donor cells recently launched to the station with those harvested on Earth. NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei serviced the cell samples inside the Life Science Glovebox possibly helping scientists develop new vaccines and drugs for diseases on Earth.

Four members of the Expedition 65 crew, who rode to the station aboard the Space Crew Dragon Endeavour, also joined up for an emergency drill before lunch today. Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet and Hoshide practiced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), reviewed medical hardware, and rehearsed communication and coordination procedures.

The sixth spacewalk of the year is set for June 2. Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov will open the hatch to the Poisk module at 1:20 a.m. EDT  and exit into the vacuum of space wearing their Orlan spacesuits. NASA TV will begin its live coverage at 1 a.m. of the six-and-a-half hour spacewalk for Russian hardware maintenance and science experiment installations.

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Mark Garcia

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