Good morning, and welcome to launch day for NASA’s Lucy spacecraft. The first space mission to explore a diverse population of small bodies known as the Jupiter Trojan asteroids will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Launch is targeted …
Workhorse Rocket to Launch Lucy to Trojan Asteroids
The rocket standing ready on the pad with NASA’s Lucy spacecraft at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, is a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 configuration. It is the workhorse of the Atlas V fleet, delivering about half of all Atlas V missions to date. The 401 designation …
NASA, Boeing to Provide Update on Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2
NASA and Boeing will hold a joint teleconference at 2:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 19, to update media on the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Teams will discuss work on the oxidizer isolation valve issue that was discovered ahead of the planned uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station in August. Participants in …
Crew Work and Station Attitude Update Before Soyuz Crew Departure
Three Russian inhabitants of the International Space Station are preparing to depart for Earth on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the rest of the Expedition 65 crew worked on a variety of life science activities as well as important orbital plumbing duties on Friday. Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 crew ship will return to Earth just after midnight Eastern …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/15/2021
Payloads: Bio-Monitor: A crewmember removed and stowed the Bio-Monitor hardware. Bio-Monitor is a Canadian onboard instrument that serves as a platform for scientific experiments on the ISS. The instrument performs on-orbit monitoring of crew member physiological parameters, with wearable sensors that only minimally interfere with crew member daily activities. European Physiology Modules (EPM): A crewmember …
Weather Looks Good, Lucy on Track for Launch Oct. 16
Launch of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket with NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is on track for Oct. 16, 2021 at 5:34 a.m. EDT, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s premier multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch. …
Orion ‘Powerhouse’ for Artemis II Arrives at Kennedy
Built by teams at ESA (European Space Agency) and aerospace corporation Airbus, the European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Oct. 14, aboard the Russian Antonov aircraft. This service module will be used for Artemis II, the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion. Service …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/14/2021
Payloads: Behavioral Core Measures: A crewmember completed a ROBoT-r research session. The Standardized Behavioral Measures for Detecting Behavioral Health Risks during Exploration Missions (Behavioral Core Measures) experiment initially examined a suite of measurements to reliably assess the risk of adverse cognitive or behavioral conditions and psychiatric disorders during long-duration spaceflight, and evaluated the feasibility of …
Russian Trio Nears Departure, Rest of Crew Busy with Research, Lab Upkeep
A veteran cosmonaut will soon lead two Russian spaceflight participants on a ride through Earth’s atmosphere to a parachuted landing in Kazakhstan this weekend. Meanwhile, the rest of the Expedition 65 crew stayed focused on a multitude of science, cargo, and maintenance activities throughout Thursday. Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy will complete his third station mission …
Launch Readiness Review Completed for NASA’s Lucy Mission
Teams gathered to hear presentations from key mission managers as part of an in-depth assessment on the launch readiness of the ULA Atlas V 401 rocket, mission operations, support functions, and the readiness of the Lucy team to support the launch. After the launch director polled each partner, it was determined that Lucy was ready …