Microgravity research is ramping up aboard the International Space Station with brand new science payloads and an expanded Expedition 60 crew. July will see one more mission going up to the orbiting lab as a Russian cargo craft counts down to a Wednesday launch and docking. The Cell Science-02 experiment is underway on the station …
72 Progress (72P) Undock: 72P undocked from the Docking Compartment (DC) 1 port today at 5:44 AM CT. The deorbit burn occurred at 8:50 AM CT followed by atmospheric entry and destruction. Biofabrication Facility (BFF): The crew installed the test print cassette into the BFF in preparation for today’s test print. Using 3D biological printers …
A new U.S. space freighter is open for business today after delivering its payload to the International Space Station on Saturday. Meanwhile, a Russian resupply rocket is processing for another space delivery mission on Wednesday that will take less than three and a half hours after launch. NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague opened Dragon’s hatch …
SpX-18 Capture, Berthing and Ingress: The Dragon vehicle was successfully captured at 8:12 AM CT yesterday. The robotic ground controllers then maneuvered the SSRMS to inspect the Dragon Passive CBM sealing surface and installed/berthed Dragon on the Node 2 Nadir CBM at 11:23 AM CT. The crew also completed vestibule pressurization, leak check and vestibule …
While the International Space Station was traveling more than 260 miles over southern Chile, astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA grappled Dragon at 9:11 a.m. EDT using the space station’s robotic arm Canadarm2. Ground controllers will now send commands to begin the robotic installation of the spacecraft on bottom of the station’s Harmony …
Two days after its launch from Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was installed on the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 12:01 p.m. EDT. The 18th contracted commercial resupply mission from SpaceX (CRS-18) delivers more than 5,000 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory. A key …
Rodent Research-17 (RR-17): The crew installed Rodent Habitats in the Lab rack in preparation for upcoming RR-17 operations following SpX-18 arrival. RR-17 uses younger and older mice as model organisms to evaluate the physiological, cellular and molecular effects of the spaceflight environment. Some responses to spaceflight in humans and model organisms such as mice resemble …
The SpaceX Dragon space freighter is on its way to the International Space Station following a Thursday launch from Florida. The six-member Expedition 60 crew will be waiting for the commercial cargo craft’s arrival Saturday morning. Dragon will rendezvous with the station Saturday morning reaching a point about 10 meters from the station. Flight Engineer …
Dragon’s solar arrays have deployed and the spacecraft is safely in orbit following a launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:01 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying more than 5,000 pounds of research, hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the …
SpaceX (SpX)-18 Launch Status: Following yesterday’s launch postponement due to unfavorable weather conditions, SpX-18 launched successfully today at 5:01 PM CT from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40. Dragon capture and berthing are scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 27. SpX-18 Dragon will deliver ~1680 kg of pressurized cargo and ~530 kg of unpressurized cargo to …