Change of Command Ceremony: Today, the ISS Crew participated in a Change of Command Ceremony. During this ceremony Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly handed over command of the ISS to Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra. Kelly, Volkov, and Kornienko will be returning to earth tomorrow evening onboard Soyuz 44. Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training …
Scott Kelly Hands Over Station Command to Tim Kopra
At 3:15 p.m. EST, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra assumed command of the International Space Station from astronaut Scott Kelly of NASA in a traditional Change of Command ceremony. Expedition 47 will officially begin under Kopra’s command when the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov undocks from the space station …
A Grim Visit to a Marine Mammal Hospital
While I was in San Francisco in the fall of 2015, I headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to take a tour of The Marine Mammal Center, a nonprofit veterinary research hospital in Sausalito, California. I had heard that a blob of unusually warm water off the Pacific coast had taken a toll on marine […]
Final Full Day in Orbit for Volkov and Year In Space Crew
International Space Station Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko, who have been living in space since March of last year, are spending their last full day in orbit today. The duo are returning home Tuesday evening with Soyuz Commander Sergey Volkov who will lead the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft back to Earth. Kelly will …
Where’s My Data? Keeping Track of New Horizons’ Treasure of Information
Last summer’s historic flyby of Pluto and its moons generated a wealth of science data, capturing this new world which had never before been explored. Thousands of high resolution images, spectra and particle data were recorded on the spacecraft’s two solid state recorders as the spacecraft flew by its targets. It was a fast flyby, …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/26/16
Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS)-II: Kopra completed flame tests for the BASS-II investigation. BASS-II examines the burning and extinction characteristics of a wide variety of fuel samples in microgravity. The results of the BASS-II experiment will be used in the development of strategies for flammability screening of materials to be used in spacecraft as …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/25/16
Airway Monitoring: Kopra and Peake completed a European Space Agency (ESA) Airway Monitoring session which began this morning when the crewmembers assembled a Lithium Hydroxide (LIOH) canister and portable fan assembly to prepare for carbon dioxide removal in the US Airlock. Subsequently, Nitric Oxide (NO) measurements were taken of both crewmembers at nominal and reduced …
Crew Explores Breathing Risks of Long-Term Space Mission
A pair of astronauts is exploring breathing risks during long term space missions today while a trio of crew members is packing a Soyuz spacecraft for the return home. NASA astronaut and two-time space station resident Tim Kopra joined first-time British astronaut for the Airway Monitoring experiment. That study explores the risk of breathing in …
Test Versions of Space Launch System Booster Segments Arrive at Kennedy Space Center
Two pathfinders, or test versions, of solid rocket booster segments for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The booster segments were transported from Promontory, Utah, for pathfinder operations at the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) to prepare for Exploration Mission-1. The boosters, which are inert, …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/24/16
Water Process Assembly (WPA) Status: Following yesterday’s WPA Catalytic Reactor replacement, the WPA successfully completed a process cycle and is working nominally. In addition, the crew returned Treadmill 2 (T2) and Water Recovery System (WRS)-1 Racks back to their nominal configuration. Airway Monitoring: Peake completed setup of a camera and hardware for Airway Monitoring …