Blogs

Vascular Blood Collection Operations:  Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg performed a blood sample collection by self-phlebotomy.  The blood sample was then spun in the Refrigerated Centrifuge followed by inserting the sample into the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI).  This is Nyberg’s final blood draw, completing her in-flight Vascular sessions. This Canadian Space …

Cygnus Departure: Today, the Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) in the Hot Backup configuration and re-rigidized Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Latching End Effector (LEE)-A which was grappled to Cygnus.   Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg and FE-5 Parmitano demated Cygnus from the Node 2 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) …

Just so you know – there was a very bright event over Southwest on Saturday, October 19 at 8:16 PM local time. The fireball was picked up New Mexico State University meteor camera. It looks to be a grazing fireball. “ We are uncertain of the origin of the fireball at this time. However, this …

Cygnus Preparation for Unberth and Release: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins, FE-5 Parmitano and FE-6 Nyberg configured Cygnus and Node 2 vestibule today in preparation for unberth scheduled tomorrow, Tuesday October 22nd at 0545am CDT. The Cygnus hatch was closed earlier this morning followed by the removal of power, data, and air revitalization system (ARS) jumpers. …

Blood Pressure Regulation (BP Reg) Experiment:  Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano set up hardware to support the leg cuff and rebreathing protocol for the Canadian Space Agency BP Reg experiment.  He then performed the experiment protocol on himself.  BP Reg tests the efficacy of an in-flight manipulation of arterial blood pressure as an indicator of post-flight …

Cygnus Onboard Training Sessions:  Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano and FE-6 Nyberg have taken part in onboard training sessions to gain proficiency on the Cygnus departure profile, procedures, and the crew interfaces for monitoring and commanding Cygnus. Unberth from ISS is scheduled for 05:00am CDT Tuesday, 22 October. Spinal Ultrasound Scan Operations: Nyberg performed her third and …

Ocular Health (OH) Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT):   Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg and FE-3 Hopkins set up associated Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Infrared (IR) hardware and took turns as Crew Medical Officer (CMO) and subject, performing the eye examination portion of OCT Functional Checkout with the ground experts providing remote guidance.  The OCT testing will be used …

Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE)-3 Experiment:  Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano conducted the 2nd of the new series of 12 InSPACE-3 runs. This new series uses the same test parameter settings as previous runs but with an increase in the duration from 2 hours to between 4.5 and 6 hours.  This …

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Mobility Unit (EMU) Loop Scrub: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins conducted periodic maintenance of the Airlock (A/L) cooling loop system. This included a partial feedwater tank dump/fill on EMU 3005 and a water recharge of EMU 3010 to make up for water used during Water Line Vent Tube Assembly (WLVTA) Removal and Replacement …

Body Measures:  Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins with operator assistance from FE-6 Nyberg, set up cameras and cabin video, performed body marker instrumentation, and collected calibration and body pose photos and circumference measurements.  It is anticipated that body measurements will change due to microgravity and fluid shifts. The goal of this study is to gather preliminary …