Blogs

Launch preparations for NASA’s Lucy spacecraft are well underway at an Astrotech Space Operations processing facility in Titusville, Florida. The spacecraft arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on July 30, 2021, and shortly after its arrival, was transported to Astrotech’s facility nearby to undergo prelaunch processing. The latest milestone occurred on Sept. 9, when …

Payloads Eklosion: The crew participated in an Eklosion experiment session by observing the flower, taking photos, and reading some of the messages included with the experiment. They also gently shook the capsule to determine the quantity of water remaining. The Eklosion investigation utilizes a vase, inspired by the VEGGIE plant growth facility, specially designed for …

A variety of robotics work took place today aboard the International Space Station to teach students programming skills and ready a science module for a new robotic arm. The Expedition 65 crew also conducted vein scans and continued cleaning up after Sunday’s spacewalk. Commander Akihiko Hoshide began Wednesday in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) …

NASA and United Launch Alliance currently are reviewing the launch date for the Landsat 9 spacecraft scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Attaching the spacecraft to the Atlas V rocket has been delayed due to out-of-tolerance high winds for the operation and conflicts with other customers using the Western Range. The …

Payloads Biofilms: Following the end of the experiment session, the crew removed the 24 Experiment Containers (ECs) from the Kubik 5 and Kubik 6 facilities.  The goal of the Biofilm Inhibition On Flight Equipment and On Board the ISS Using Microbiologically Lethal Metal Surfaces (ESA-Biofilms) investigation is to compare how biofilms are formed in low …

Two International Space Station crew members have had their stay onboard the orbiting lab extended to nearly a year. Meanwhile, space biology and life support maintenance kept the Expedition 65 crew busy on Tuesday. With the plans for Russian spaceflight participants to visit the space station as part of the Soyuz MS-19 crew in October …

Payloads 4-Bed CO2 scrubber:  The crew reviewed the big picture words and procedures for the installation planned later this week.  The Four Bed CO2 Scrubber 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 International Space Station (ISS) with …

The Expedition 65 crew is back on microgravity research aboard the International Space Station today after kicking off September with three spacewalks in less than two weeks. International astronauts Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet relaxed Monday morning following their six-hour and 54-minute spacewalk on Sunday to install a modification kit on the station’s Port-4 (P4) …

Astronauts Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) have concluded the first spacewalk conducted by two international partner astronauts out of the International Space Station’s Quest airlock at 3:09 p.m. EDT, after 6 hours and 54 minutes. Hoshide and Pesquet successfully assembled and attached a …

Astronauts Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) have begun the first International Space Station spacewalk conducted by two international partner astronauts out of the station’s Quest airlock. The spacewalkers switched their spacesuits to battery power at 8:15 a.m. EDT to begin the spacewalk, which …