The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that will carry NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer to the International Space Station is now at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. The capsule, named Endurance by the crew, arrived at the launch complex …
Payloads: Muscle Tone in Space (Myotones): The crew located and marked measurement points on the body, performed an experiment session with the Myotones device, and performed the Myotones ultrasound scans. Myotones investigation observes the biochemical properties of muscles (e.g. muscle tone, stiffness, elasticity) during long-term exposure spaceflight environment. Results from this investigation can provide a …
Media is invited to view the launch of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), the first satellite mission dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources. IXPE is scheduled to launch Dec. 9, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. It …
Life science and spacewalk preparations are just part of the busy schedule aboard the International Space Station today. The seven-member Expedition 66 crew is also gearing up for a Russian cargo mission and a commercial crew swap taking place over the next two weeks. NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur joined Commander Thomas Pesquet of ESA …
NASA’s newest X-ray astronomy mission, Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), is scheduled to launch Dec. 9, 2021. IXPE will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy. IXPE will study changes in the polarization of …
NASA and SpaceX managers are gathered at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they have started the Crew-3 mission’s Flight Readiness Review (FRR). The review primarily focuses on the preparedness of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, the International Space Station, and its international partners to support the flight and certification of flight readiness. NASA …
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft successfully transitioned to cruise mode Oct. 20, which is the standard configuration for flight. The following day, the instrument pointing platform was deployed after temporarily being postponed earlier in the week. Both events were normal and raised no concerns. The spacecraft remains stable, power positive, with all other subsystems working, with the …
Payloads: Food Physiology: The crew participated in a diet briefing with the ground experiment team. The Integrated Impact of Diet on Human Immune Response, the Gut Microbiota, and Nutritional Status During Adaptation to Spaceflight (Food Physiology) experiment is designed to characterize the key effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional …
The Expedition 66 crew will have a restful weekend before stepping up preparations next week for an intense period of Russian resupply ship and SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle activities. However, the International Space Station residents are wrapping up the work week with a host of maintenance activities. NASA Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Mark Vande …
The uncrewed Russian Progress 78 spacecraft automatically docked to the International Space Station’s Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module at 12:21 a.m. EDT Friday after undocking from the station’s Poisk module Wednesday night. The relocation positions Progress 78 to conduct leak checks of the Nauka module’s propellent lines before they are used with the new module’s thrusters …
