SpaceX-6(SpX-6) Status: Dragon has successfully completed several burns today on its way to station. Cristoforetti and Virts are scheduled to capture Dragon tomorrow morning at approximately 06:00 CDT. Space Aging and Nematode Muscle Familiarization: Kelly reviewed overview messages on 2 JAXA experiments currently onboard SpX-6. Both experiments will study the impacts of the zero-gravity environment …
Crew Gets Ready for New Dragon and New Science
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is less than a day away from arriving at the International Space Station. The Expedition 43 crew is getting ready for its arrival and five-week stay at the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module. Read more about the SpaceX CRS-6 mission. Commander Terry Virts set up hardware inside Harmony …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/15/15
The Effect of Long-Term Microgravity Exposure on Cardiac Autonomic Function (Biological Rhythms): Kelly set up and donned a Holter Electrocardiogram (ECG). He will record his ECG data for 48 hours, synching and downlinking the data between 21 and 24 hours after starting. Biological Rhythms studies the effects of long-term microgravity exposure on heart function by …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/14/15
SpaceX (SpX-6) Launch: Dragon successfully launched today at 3:10 PM CDT. Capture is planned for Friday April 17th at ~6:00 AM CDT. European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) Rotor Based Life Support System (RBLSS) and Water Reservoir Removal: Cristoforetti successfully removed all four EMCS RBLSS Modules and two Water Reservoirs and packed them for return on …
Ready, Set, Go!
After many long days of waiting, we got an update yesterday that our helicopters would be down until April 16. We have had bad luck so far with delays – mechanical difficulties and bad weather. The team’s morale sunk to an all-time low with this news. We had been anxiously awaiting a call each […]
Dragon Reaches Space, Headed for Friday Station Rendezvous
The Dragon spacecraft has separated from its second stage and achieved its preliminary orbit. Dragon’s solar arrays have deployed and will provide 5 kilowatts of power to the spacecraft as it begins a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the International Space Station. At 7 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 17, the Dragon …
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Lifts Off to Station
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 4:10 p.m. EDT and is climbing toward its preliminary orbit en route to the International Space Station. At the time of launch, the International Space Station was traveling at an altitude of 257 miles over the Great Australian Bight, south of Western Australia. The spacecraft’s two tons of supplies, …
SpaceX Countdown is Progressing Smoothly
NASA television coverage for today’s scheduled launch of the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station has begun and can be seen at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv. Countdown is progressing smoothly toward a scheduled lift off at 4:10:41 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The …
SpaceX Preps for Second Launch Opportunity
SpaceX will attempt another launch today at 4:10 p.m. EDT after a weather violation within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, forced mission controllers to scrub Monday’s launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon space freighter to the International Space Station. Live coverage on NASA TV begins …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/13/15
Russian Cosmonautics Day: Today was a crew holiday in honor of Russian Cosmonautics Day. SpaceX (SpX)-6 Launch: The Dragon vehicle launch for today was scrubbed due to a weather violation. The next launch opportunity will be Tuesday April 14, 2015 at 03:10 PM CDT, with a Dragon capture on Friday April 17th. Today the USOS …