The Expedition 57 crew said farewell to a Japanese resupply ship Wednesday and is getting ready to welcome U.S. and Russian space freighters in less than two weeks. The trio practiced International Space Station emergency procedures this week then went on to space research and robotics training. The U.S. company Northrop Grumman is getting its …
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Departure: This morning, the crew finished closing out the Node 2 vestibule by demating all umbilicals and depressurizing the vestibule between HTV-7 and Node 2 in preparation for the unberth. Commands were sent to the release Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) bolts prior to unberth. Robotic Flight Controllers then maneuvered HTV-7 to …
Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), with back-up support from NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, used the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release a Japanese cargo spacecraft at 11:51 a.m. EST. At the time of release, the space station was flying 254 miles over the northern Pacific Ocean. Earlier, ground …
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Low Temperature Protein Crystal Growth (JAXA LT PCG): The crew retrieved JAXA LT PCG samples from the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER)1 unit and stowed them in the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Capsule Carrier. The goal of the JAXA LT PCG experiment is to produce high quality protein …
Japan’s seventh resupply ship to the International Space Station is packed and readied for departure Wednesday morning. However, the Japanese cargo ship, H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7), has one more delivery mission before it burns up safely over the Pacific Ocean. Station skipper Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm …
Plant Habitat: Today, the crew wrapped plant samples into foil packs and placed them into Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI)-3 and the Plant Habitat facility was cleaned. Plant Habitat is a fully automated facility conducting plant bioscience research on the ISS. The space environment is stressful for all living organisms. Understanding how plants …
A pair of Expedition 57 astronauts trained for the release of a Japanese resupply ship Wednesday after a 41-day mission at the International Space Station. Japan’s seventh cargo ship, H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7), has one more mission though after it departs the orbital lab. If all goes as planned, astronaut Alexander Gerst of ESA (European …
Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-7 (ACE-T7) Sample Configuration: The crew configured LMM (Light Microscopy Module) for the ACE-T-7 science run. The ACE-T-7 module was processed prior to this increment, and this run will allow investigators to observe the structures following longer-term evolution. The experiment involves the design and assembly of complex three-dimensional structures from small particles suspended …
Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) Burst Disc Removal: The crew removed the burst discs from the argon and checked gas manifolds in the CIR Gas Chromatography (GC) system. These burst discs are considered redundant with the pressure relief valves in the system and issues with the helium burst disc have occurred in the past. Following this …
NASA is working closely with its International Space Station partner Roscosmos to move forward on crew launch plans. Roscosmos plans to launch the Progress 71 resupply mission on Nov. 16, and is targeting the launch of the Expedition 58 crew including NASA astronaut Anne McClain for Dec. 3, pending the outcome of the flight readiness …
