The Webb mission operations team has extended the first of the sunshield’s two “arms” – the port (left side) mid-boom. The critical step of the port mid-boom deployment was scheduled to begin earlier in the day. However, the team paused work to confirm that the sunshield cover had fully rolled up as the final preparatory …
Payloads: Cytoskeleton: Today, the crew installed Cytoskeleton Experiment Containers into the Biolab Incubator. In vitro cultures of mammalian cells react specifically to microgravity, but there is no solid scientific evidence available about how and why. The Involvement of Rho family GTPases in gravity perception and reaction (Cytoskeleton) investigation attempts to acquire new information about the …
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced today the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to extend International Space Station (ISS) operations through 2030, and to work with our international partners in Europe (ESA, European Space Agency), Japan (JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Canada (CSA, Canadian Space Agency), and Russia (State Space Corporation Roscosmos) to enable continuation of the groundbreaking research being conducted in this …
Payloads: 4BCO2 (Four Bed CO2) Scrubber: A crewmember performed sampling of CO2 effluent from the Four Bed CO2 Scrubber. 4BCO2Scrubber demonstrates a technology for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere on a spacecraft. The technology is based on the current system in use on the ISS with mechanical upgrades in absorption beds, heater elements, …
Webb’s engineers have released and rolled up the sunshield covers that protected the thin layers of Webb’s sunshield during launch. After the team electrically activated release devices to release the covers, they executed commands to roll the covers up into a holding position, exposing Webb’s sunshield membranes to space for the first time. The deployment, …
Shortly after 9 a.m. EST today, the Webb team completed deployment of the observatory’s aft momentum flap. In a process that took about eight minutes, engineers released the flap’s hold-down devices, and a spring brought the flap into its final position. The aft momentum flap helps minimize the fuel engineers will need to use throughout …
With Webb’s first major structural deployments completed and the observatory’s Deployable Tower Assembly extended, we are taking a step back to learn more about Webb’s sunshield. Observatory Project Scientist Michael McElwain, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, provided these thoughts: “The Webb telescope and science instruments are ready to enter the shade, never again to …
This afternoon, the Webb team successfully extended the observatory’s Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA), creating critical distance between the two halves of the spacecraft. The DTA extended about 48 inches (1.22 meters), putting room between the upper section of the observatory, which houses the mirrors and scientific instruments, and the spacecraft bus, which holds the electronics …
Payloads: Ring Sheared Drop: Ring Sheared Drop hardware was removed and stowed. The Ring Sheared Drop investigation examines the formation and flow of amyloids without the complications associated with the solid walls of a container, because in microgravity, surface tension provides containment of the liquid. Amyloids – fibrous, extracellular protein deposits found in organs and …
The astronauts and cosmonauts of Expedition 66 worked throughout Wednesday on U.S. and Russian spacesuits. The orbital residents will also end 2021 working on life science and cargo operations aboard the International Space Station. Among the 6,500 pounds of cargo delivered aboard the SpaceX Cargo Dragon on Dec. 22 were a U.S. spacesuit and other …
