Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (JEMAL) Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) #1-2 Operations: Following the JEM Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) Small Fine Arm (SFA) retrieval and detachment of 14 ExHAM #1 samples from the Handhold Experiment Platform last week, today the new samples were installed. ExHAM #1-2 is the first return and sample exchange …
Space Research Ongoing as New Trio Awaits Launch
Three Expedition 48 crew members are orbiting Earth awaiting the addition of a new trio preparing to join them next month on the International Space Station. As the new crew gets ready to head to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad on Friday, the orbiting crew is conducting advanced science and maintaining the orbital lab systems. …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 06/22/16
Cygnus Re-entry: Cygnus re-entry burn was completed today at 7:45 AM CDT following unberth last Tuesday, June 14. The NRCSD-E deployment planned for yesterday succeeded in deploying four of five LEMUR satellites. Several additional attempts were made to deploy the final satellite, but were not successful. Orbital-ATK has confirmed via imagery that the deployer’s doors …
Astronaut Works Spacesuits as Cygnus Burns Up for Science
Commander Jeff Williams continued the ongoing maintenance on U.S. spacesuits throughout the workday on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Cygnus cargo craft from Orbital ATK re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere completing one final experiment. Williams scrubbed cooling loops and collected water samples from inside U.S. spacesuits ahead of a pair of spacewalks planned for later this year. The …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 06/21/16
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer- External (NRCSD-E) Operations: Following Cygnus unberth last week, today NRCSD-E conducted post departure satellite deployments prior to Cygnus re-entry tomorrow, June 22. This set of cubesats includes 3 deployment silos containing a total of 5 LEMUR satellites. Two out of three silos (four out of five satellites) were successfully deployed. The Orbital …
Last Day in Space for Cygnus as Crew Practices Emergency
A cargo ship that was released last week from the International Space Station will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday. Back inside the orbital lab, the crew practiced emergency procedures after a light day of science and maintenance. The Orbital ATK Cygnus space freighter is spending its last day in space today. Cygnus has been busy conducting …
OSIRIS-REx Processed for Asteroid Sample Return Mission
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are underway to launch a mission to an asteroid that may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of water and organic molecules found on Earth. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security–Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft arrived at the spaceport from …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 06/20/16
Direct Current To Direct Current (DDCU) LA1A Trip: Last Thursday, DDCU LA1A tripped off due to a ~40 amp overcurrent. Parallel DDCU LA4A was already off for Battery 4A conditioning. A Failure Investigation Team (FIT) recommended the crew perform troubleshooting steps including rotation of the rack and visual inspection of the DDCUs, wire harnesses, and …
ABoVE: Burned boreal forests — Come along to measure carbon
As part of our field work to measure carbon emissions in burned areas, we often have to hike through an obstacle course of fallen trees to reach our research sites. I took some video with a GoPro to give a sense of what this is like, as well as how we extract soil to take […]
Expedition 48 Begins and Awaits Three New Crew Members
Expedition 48 officially began Saturday morning with Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin continuing their stay aboard the International Space Station. They await the addition of three new crew members who will launch July 6 for a two-day ride to their new home in space. Expedition 47 completed 186 days …