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    Space Station Stable After Earlier Unplanned MLM Thruster Firing

    July 29, 2021: International Space Station Configuration. Three spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Russia's Soyuz MS-18 crew ship and ISS Progress 78 resupply ship. The new Nauka Multipurpose Logistics Module (MLM) is now attached to the Zvezda service module's Earth-facing port.

    Following the docking of the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), named Nauka, to the International Space Station at 9:29 am EDT, Russian cosmonauts aboard the space station conducted leak checks between Nauka and the service module. At 12:45 pm, the flight control team noticed the unplanned firing of MLM thrusters that caused the station to move out of orientation. …

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    Starliner Rolls out to Launch Pad for Friday’s Planned Liftoff

    On July 29, 2021, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starliner will launch on the Atlas V for Boeing’s second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 is an important uncrewed mission designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the new system for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

    This morning, July 29, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket rolled out of the ULA Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida ahead of NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff …

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    New Module Successfully Docks to Space Station

    new module with solar panels flies near space station with Earth in background

    The uncrewed Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), named Nauka, the Russian word for “science,” arrived at the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module on the Earth-facing side of the Russian segment at 9:29 a.m. EDT, eight days after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.   Nauka will serve as a new science facility, docking port, and spacewalk …

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    Public Shares Zero-G Indicator Ideas for NASA’s Boeing Starliner Launch

    Expedition 65 prime crew member Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, holds up a toy cat that will be used in the Soyuz capsule to help indicate the start of weightlessness after leaving the Earth’s atmosphere.

    We asked our virtual guests what they would take with them as a zero-gravity indicator if they were launching on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on July 30 for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. More than 2,600 of you responded. Two large categories of items emerged: stuffed animals and balls. Nearly 10% of people suggested …

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    How to Watch “Nauka” Module dock to the Space Station on July 29

    Nauka module before launch

    NASA will provide live coverage of the automated docking of the uncrewed Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) to the International Space Station Thursday, July 29, beginning at 8:30 a.m.   Named Nauka, the Russian word for science, the 43-foot long, 23-ton module launched on July 21 and will serve as a new science facility, docking port, and spacewalk airlock for future …

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    Orion Points at the Moon with Launch Abort Tower

    Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and contractor Jacobs integrated the launch abort system (LAS) with the Orion spacecraft inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 23, 2021.

    Ahead of the Artemis I lunar-bound mission, teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center joined the launch abort tower to the Orion spacecraft on July 23. Working inside the spaceport’s Launch Abort System Facility, engineers and technicians with Exploration Ground Systems and primary contractor, Jacobs, lifted the system above the spacecraft and coupled it with the …

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    ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/28/2021

    Payloads Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF): The crew opened the ELF facility, exchanged the sample holder assembly, and attempted to replace one of the fixation fasteners. Due to access issues and time constraints, the fastener replacement will be deferred. JAXA’s ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt and solidify materials by container-less processing techniques …

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    Starliner Spacecraft Rollout Targeted for Thursday Morning

    The rollout of the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V launch vehicle is now targeted for Thursday, July 29 at 8 a.m. EDT. The delay is due to an internet service provider outage that could not be resolved before the onset of predicted weather exceeding operational constraints. The OFT-2 launch, planned for Friday, July 30, at …

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    Time Perception, Immersive Exercise, and Nanoparticles Rule the Day

    Expedition 65 Commander Akihiko Hoshide, pictured inside the Columbus laboratory module, wears virtual reality goggles for a time perception study.

    Wednesday’s activities aboard the International Space Station remained focused on science and maintenance. In preparation of Russia’s Multipurpose Laboratory Module docking to the outpost the following day, July 29, Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy located and gathered equipment to set up temporary ventilation for the 43-foot long, 23-ton module. Live coverage of tomorrow’s event begins at 8:30 a.m. EDT on NASA …

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    ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/27/2021

    Payloads Cell Science-04: The crew injected algae into the Cell Science-04 experiment bioreactors. The algae is used as a fuel source for the tardigrades in Cell Science-04. The tardigrade (aka “water bear”) is the model organism for studying biological survival under the most extreme environmental stress conditions on Earth and in space. The objective of …

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