Orion performed the second return trajectory correction burn on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 10:43 a.m. CST, using the auxiliary thrusters and increasing the spacecraft’s velocity by 1.16 mph (1.71 feet per second). Shortly after acquiring signal with the Deep Space Network’s Canberra ground station at 12:41 a.m. CST, Orion experienced an issue with a …
Orion re-entered the lunar sphere of influence at 4:45 p.m. CST Saturday, Dec. 3, making the Moon the main gravitational force acting on the spacecraft. Entry into the lunar sphere of entry occurred when the spacecraft was about 39,993 miles from the lunar surface. It will exit the lunar sphere of influence for a final …
Expedition 68 Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio of NASA concluded their spacewalk at 2:21 p.m. EST after 7 hours and 5 minutes. Cassada and Rubio completed their major objectives for today to install an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) and disconnect a cable to ensure the 1B channel can be reactivated. …
Expedition 68 Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio of NASA began a spacewalk at 7:16 a.m. EST to install an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA) to augment power generation for the 3A power channel on the station’s starboard truss structure. In addition to installing an iROSA, the spacewalkers will disconnect a cable …
NASA Television coverage of today’s spacewalk with NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio is now underway and is also available on the NASA app, the space station blog and the agency’s website. The crew members of Expedition 68 are preparing to exit the International Space Station‘s Quest airlock for a spacewalk expected to begin about …
After departing distant retrograde orbit the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 1, Orion completed a planned trajectory correction burn to fine-tune its course toward the Moon. The five-second burn occurred at 9:54 p.m. CST Thursday, and changed the spacecraft’s velocity by about 0.3 mph or less than half a foot per second. Dec. 2, teams collected additional …
Payloads: JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer-23 (J-SSOD-23): Crewmembers observed the J-SSOD-23 deployed satellites. J-SSOD-23 CubeSat deployment mission launched to the ISS aboard the NG-18 Cargo Vehicle. The CubeSats planned deployables are: PearlAfricaSat-1 (1U), Science, Technology, and Innovation Office of the President (Uganda); TAKA (2U) Kyushu Institute of Technology (Japan); ZIMSAT-1 (1U), Zimbabwe National Geospatial and …
The cosmos’ annual gift to sky watchers, the Geminids Meteor shower, will peak on Dec. 13-14 this year. During peak activity and perfect weather conditions, which are rare, the Geminids produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing. However, this year a waning gibbous moon will make it harder to view most of the shower, …
Two astronauts are preparing to exit the International Space Station on Saturday to install a new roll-out solar array. Their Expedition 68 crewmates assisted the duo on Friday while continuing an array of advanced space science and orbital lab maintenance. NASA Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio spent Friday checking their batteries, tools, and …
Orion has left its distant lunar orbit and is on its return journey home. The spacecraft successfully completed the distant retrograde departure burn at 3:53 p.m. CST, firing its main engine for 1 minute 45 seconds to set the spacecraft on course for a close lunar flyby before its return home. The burn changed Orion’s …
