Engineers and technicians from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and contractor ViaSat Inc. are completing restoration of a launch communications site at the Ponce De Leon Inlet Tracking Annex. The facility is located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, 35 miles north of the spaceport. The annex will provide a crucial tracking capability following liftoff of the …
Sprint Ultrasound: Kelly performed his Flight Day 240 thigh and calf ultrasound scans today with assistance from Lindgren and guidance from the Sprint ground team. Ultrasound scans are used to evaluate spaceflight-induced changes in the muscle volume. The Sprint investigation evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, …
Crews and cargo shipments will be coming and going at the International Space Station during a busy December in space. Two resupply ships will arrive, one cargo craft will leave and an Expedition 45 trio will head home before an Expedition 46 trio replaces it. Commander Scott Kelly teamed up with Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren …
Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Troubleshooting: Kelly and Lindgren attempted to restore full functionality to the slide mechanism that allows the MSG work volume to be extended for crew access but were not successful. The MSG Ground Team is working with a ground unit to develop additional procedures for correcting the problem. The slide mechanism initially …
By Brian Walker November 19th — After the final cargo flight on November 17th, we finally had all our equipment and could prepare for installation. This wasn’t without some drama, as we initially received only four batteries and various pipes, but none of the actual instruments. After a few tense hours of emailing, we found […]
The next cargo mission to the International Space Station is set to launch Dec. 3 at 5:55 p.m. EST. The Orbital ATK Cygnus commercial cargo craft will arrive Dec. 6 when it will be grappled with the Canadarm2 and berthed to the Unity module. Commander Scott Kelly joined Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui …
Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The November 2015 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image shows, and why the scene is interesting. How to answer. Your answer can be a few […]
Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock Operations for Closeout of Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) #2: Yui opened the inner JEM Airlock hatch and then, with assistance from Lindgren, removed the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) from the Small Fine Arm (SFA) Airlock Attachment Mechanism (SAM) on the Slide Table and then removed the SAM from …
Today’s post is from Veronica Bray, a planetary scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson. She specializes in comparing the surfaces of planetary bodies across the solar system. I love looking at New Horizons’ images of Pluto! But I spend most of my time looking elsewhere. Why? Because comparing Pluto with other planetary …
The Project conducted a successfully System Acceptance Review / Pre-Ship Review on November 17, 2015. The instrument payload left NASA Langley Research Center at 8:07 PM Thursday, November 19 on a FedEx Custom Critical truck and was delivered to the NASA Kennedy Space Center on November 20, 2015 – just in time for Thanksgiving and […]
