While telescope alignment continues, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is still in cooldown mode. MIRI, which will be the coldest of Webb’s four instruments, is the only instrument that will be actively cooled by a cryogenic refrigerator, or cryocooler. This cryocooler uses helium gas to carry heat from MIRI’s optics and detectors out to the warm …
Following arrival of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis I at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, teams have connected numerous ground support equipment elements to the rocket and spacecraft, including electrical, fuel environmental control system ducts, and cryogenic propellant lines. Teams successfully powered …
Payloads: Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF): Six Plant Experiment Units were retrieved from the CBEF Incubator Unit (IU) Micro-G Sample Tray. Four Plant Experiment Units were then installed into the CBEF IU 1G Centrifuge. CBEF, a JAXA sub-rack facility, is an incubator with an artificial gravity generator. CBEF is housed in the Saibo (living cell) …
Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) concluded their spacewalk at 3:26 p.m. EDT after 6 hours and 54 minutes in preparation for upcoming solar array installation. Maurer and Chari completed their major objective for today to install hoses on a Radiator Beam Valve Module that routes …
Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) began a spacewalk at 8:32 a.m. EDT to install hoses on a Radiator Beam Valve Module to support temperature regulation on the International Space Station. Chari, designated extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), is wearing a suit with red stripes. Maurer, designated …
NASA Television coverage of today’s spacewalk with NASA astronaut Raja Chari and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer is now underway and also is available on the NASA app, the Space Station blog and the agency’s website. The crew members of Expedition 66 are preparing to exit the International Space Station‘s Quest airlock for a spacewalk expected to …
Payloads: Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF): Six Plant Experiment Units were installed in the CBEF Micro-G Sample Tray. CBEF is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) subrack facility; it is an incubator with an artificial gravity generator. CBEF is housed in the Saibo (living cell) Experiment Rack with the Clean Bench (CB). Rodent Research Facility: …
NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, a joint effort with the Italian Space Agency, has returned data that no other spacecraft has obtained before from a few extreme cosmic objects. Launched in December 2021, IXPE has detected polarized X-rays from three of its first six targets. Polarized X-rays carry unique details about where the …
Mission managers have given the go for two astronauts to exit the International Space Station on Wednesday for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. Meanwhile, three Expedition 66 crew members are getting ready for their return to Earth at the end of the month. Flight Engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) …
Payloads: Acoustic Diagnostics: The crew participated in an Acoustic Diagnostics session. This activity captures both sound level data every second as well as an audio recording for the duration of the measurement. The crew then completed a questionnaire. The Acoustic Upgraded Diagnostics In-Orbit (AUDIO) (Acoustic Diagnostics) investigation tests the hearing of ISS crew members before, …
