US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 25 Prep: The USOS crew is scheduled for a half-duty day today in advance of tomorrow’s EVA. FE-3 Hopkins and FE-5 Mastracchio continued their preparation for the second Pump Module (PM) Remove and Replace (R&R) EVA, scheduled for Tuesday, December 23. The crew has terminated the battery charging, configured the tools …
December Puzzler Answer: The Gulf Stream
Every month we offer a puzzling satellite image here on Earth Matters. Every month someone seems to figure it out quickly. So in December 2013, we threw down the gauntlet. For the first time, we put a false-color image—this swirl of purple and pink—into play. A week later, we have received many thoughtful responses but no […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/22/13
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize: Following yesterday’s EVA, the feed water switch on EMU 3010 was inadvertently switched on for 2-3 seconds. EMU suit 3010 has been declared no-go until proper drying can be performed due to concerns of water entering the sublimator. Today, FE-3 Hopkins and FE-5 Mastracchio resized their suits such …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/21/13
USOS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #24: Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Mastracchio and FE-3 Hopkins successfully completed a 5 hour and 28 minute EVA. The crew was able to remove the degraded pump module, install the PM jumper and stow the degraded PM on the Payload ORU Accommodation (POA). FE-6 Wakata provided Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/20/13
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) preparation: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins, FE-5 Mastracchio, and FE-6 Wakata performed a final tool gather and audit needed for tomorrow’s planned EVA. The crew also reviewed procedures associated with the Ammonia decontamination protocol, EVA timelines, and a briefing package for Long Duration Tie Down Tether (LDTDT) configuration. EVA #24 hatch open is …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/19/13
External Thermal Control System (ETCS) Loop A Status: All Interface Heat Exchangers (IFHXs) are still bypassed and isolated from ETCS Loop A, resulting in half of the loads in the Node 2, JEM and Columbus modules to remain powered off. Extravehicular (EVA) Preparations: In preparation for Saturday’s planned EVA, Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Mastracchio completed pre-EVA …
Bright Fireball Event over Tennessee
A bright fireball event occurred on Dec. 17 at 8:20:40 PM CST. It started out 52 miles above I-24 just south of Manchester, TN and moved to the northwest at 50,000 mph. The all sky camera lost track of it at an altitude of 23 miles just to the northwest of Shelbyville. Below is a …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/18/13
External Thermal Control System (ETCS) Loop A Status: Following yesterday’s S1-1 MDM software patch, Flight Controllers continued to perform characterization tests on ETCS Loop A to regain fine temperature control of ETCS loop A. The Node 2 Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) IFHX is still isolated from ETCS Loop A, resulting in half of the loads …
A Tanegashima Thanksgiving
The kitchen of the Sun Pearl hotel doesn’t have an oven. Most Japanese kitchen’s don’t, in fact, but Saturday morning, Nov. 30, the borrowed kitchen was in full swing. Cody Buell, systems administrator for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission’s team in Japan, chopped mushrooms that would go into the stuffing that Courtney Buell was stirring […]
Quieres interpretar imágenes de satélite como los expertos?
Las imágenes de satélite son como los mapas: están llenas de información útil e interesante, siempre y cuando tengas una clave. Éstas nos pueden mostrar cuánto ha cambiado una ciudad, cuán bien están creciendo nuestros cultivos, dónde arde un fuego o cuando se acerca una tormenta. Para revelar la riqueza de información en una imagen […]