Blogs

Photography of the Juno Spacecraft: Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano set up a camera in the MRM2 port window for automated photography of the transit of the Juno spacecraft during its closest and final approach to Earth on its way to Jupiter. The Juno spacecraft launched aboard an Atlas V-551 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on …

Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE)-3 Experiment:  Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg conducted the last of the planned 42 InSPACE-3 runs for this experiment series.  She then conducted the first of new additional series of 12 runs, which will use the same test parameter settings as previous runs but with an increase …

ENERGY (Astronaut’s Energy Requirements for Long-Term Space Flight):  Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano continued his 10 day session of ESA’s ENERGY experiment with this sixth day of activities.  He ate a preselected diet, logged all food and drink consumed, and measured his intake and output of liquids and solids.  A loss in astronauts’ body mass is …

Ocular Health (OH):  Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins completed a series of activities performed over the last three days in support of the Ocular Health payload, satisfying his flight day 10 session. With FE-5 Parmitano supporting as the Crew Medical Officer, ocular and cardiac ultrasound scans and blood pressure measurements were taken of Hopkins.  In-flight data …

Ocular Health (OH) Fundoscope:  Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins continued his series of three day activities in support of the Ocular Health payload, completing his flight day 10 session. FE-5 Parmitano, supporting as the Crew Medical Officer, completed a Fundoscope eye examination of Hopkins after administering drops for pupil dilation.  The Ocular Health protocol calls for …

Reconfiguration of the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) for the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Flame Extinguishment (FLEX)-2 Experiment:  Today Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg reconfigured and replaced hardware in the MDCA to support operation of the FLEX-2 experiment.  FLEX-2 is the second experiment on the ISS which uses small droplets of fuel to study the special …

ENERGY (Astronaut’s Energy Requirements for Long-Term Space Flight):  Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano began his diet protocol for a 10 day session of ESA’s ENERGY experiment.  He also positioned an armband monitor on his right triceps, where it will be worn for the entire 10 day period.  A loss in astronauts’ body mass is a common …

Cygnus Status:  Following the completion of the Node 2 Vestibule outfitting activities yesterday, Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano and FE-6 Nyberg opened the Cygnus Hatch at 03:10am CDT today. The crew has since ingressed, photo documented cargo configuration, and started cargo transfer operations. Emergency Procedure Review:  All six crewmembers took part in an onboard training session …

Cygnus Rendezvous, Capture, and Berth: On Saturday, Cygnus successfully completed an early Relative Global Positioning System (RGPS) PROX checkout and demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to rely on RGPS for targeting of the coelliptic transfer and approach initiation maneuvers.   Phasing burns ADV1-3 were all completed nominally enabling successful demonstration of the Autonomous REA Maneuver objective, which …

Soyuz (36S): Launch and Docking: Flight Engineer (FE)-1 Kotov, FE-2 Ryazanskiy, and FE-3 Hopkins launched on 36S from the Baikonur, Kazahkstan Cosmodrome at 3:58pm CDT, 25 September.  36S performed a nominal four-orbit rendezvous then docked to the Mini-Research Module (MRM)-2 port at 9:45pm CDT, returning the ISS to a full 6-crew complement.  Following hatch opening …