Just like a holiday gift, today was the day to open up the Super Pressure Balloon box. Yesterday, the balloon was placed on the trailer and the trailer was then parked inside the integration building. The box was inspected for any shipping damage – none was found. After reviewing the procedures and making sure all …
Our March 17, 2016, Image of the Day offered a satellite perspective on how sand mining has changed the coastline of Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. The photographs below provide a view of sand mining from the ground. James Burnham, an ecologist with the University of Wisconsin and the International Crane Foundation, […]
NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility technicians began processing a super pressure balloon Thursday, March 17, in preparations for launch from Wanaka, New Zealand, on a long-duration flight. The team is working to be flight ready by April 1. While the first step seemed simple enough—placing the shipping crate containing the balloon on a flatbed trailer—with …
Ocular Health (OH) Cardiac Operations: With operator assistance and remote guidance from the OH ground team, Kopra and Peake administered blood pressure measurements and ultrasound scanning activities which support the Health Maintenance System (HMS) eye ultrasound exam. Crew members’ bodies change in a variety of ways during space flight, and some experience impaired vision. Tests …
Fourteen years ago, a rocket launched a pair of satellites known as the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. Though just 487 kilograms (1,074 pounds) each, the satellites have produced out-sized scientific advances. As we noted in 2012, few hydrologists believed the satellites would be able to detect—no less […]
The Soyuz rocket that will carry three new crew members to the International Space Station Friday evening stands ready for launch in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, the orbiting trio awaiting reinforcements is busy with medical science and preparations for upcoming cargo missions. High winds at the Baikonur Cosmodrome delayed the raising of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft into …
NASA’s scientific balloon experts are back in Wanaka, New Zealand, prepping for the fourth flight of an 18.8 million-cubic-foot (532,000 cubic-meter) balloon, with the ambitious goal of achieving an ultra-long-duration flight of up to 100 days at mid-latitudes. Launch of the pumpkin-shaped, football stadium-size balloon is scheduled for sometime after April 1, 2016, from Wanaka …
Ocular Health (OH), Fundoscope: Kopra and Peake continued with OH and Fundoscope operations which are ongoing this week. Dose Tracker: Kopra and Peake completed entries for medication tracking early this morning. This investigation documents the medication usage of crew members before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including …
A pair of spaceships is getting ready for launch to the International Space Station in less than a week. A Soyuz rocket will launch three new Expedition 47 crew members Friday evening from Kazakhstan. A few days later Orbital ATK will launch its Cygnus cargo ship from Florida and deliver new science, spacewalk gear and …
Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) Gylcerol/Water Fill: Kopra completed a science run of the OASIS Gylcerol/Water Fill activity by filling the Inkjet droplet device with glycerol/water for the final experiment protocol on each sample container and will exchange the hard drive for continued operations. OASIS studies the unique behavior of liquid …
