The first piece of the Orion spacecraft’s pressure vessel for Artemis III – the mission that will land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024 – has arrived at NASA. The cone panel that will house the windows astronauts will use to view the Moon was designed by Orion’s lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, and manufactured …
Payloads Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor (SCRAM): The crew removed the MCA (Major Constituent Analyzer) plug from the SCRAM and powered it up. The MCA plug is used to protect the SCRAM’s sensor when the unit is powered off. SCRAM demonstrates the capabilities of a small, reliable, portable gas chromatograph mass spectrometer instrument aboard the ISS to …
The Expedition 63 crew ended its stay isolated in the Russian segment of the International Space Station this morning after an extended leak test. Mission Control also deployed remote teams to maintain 24/7 support for the station and its crew as Hurricane Laura approaches the Texas Gulf Coast. Commander Chris Cassidy started the day reopening the hatches to the U.S. segment …
The three Expedition 63 crew members will spend another day inside the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Mission controllers are continuing their leak detection work today to collect more data. All of the orbiting lab’s hatches will remain closed until Tuesday morning to give ground specialists additional time to collect data and monitor pressure readings in each module. The rate is still well …
Payloads ISS HAM: The crew participated in an ISS HAM contact with Information and Technologies Branch, Department of Education-Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Some of the questions asked included if the crew ever has any arguments, what it’s like to go on a spacewalk for the first time, and what brought Chris Cassidy from being …
Payloads RADI-N2 (Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons): The crew retrieved the 8 neutron bubble detectors and pouches and handed them over to the Russian crew for processing. The objective of this Canadian Space Agency investigation is to better characterize the ISS neutron environment, define the risk posed to the crew members’ health, and provide the data …
Payloads Astrobee: The crew powered off the Astrobee free flyers and placed temp stowed items back in their original positions in the JEM module. Astrobee is made up of three free-flying, cube-shaped robots which are designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in microgravity to assist astronauts with routine chores, …
The three Expedition 63 crew members living aboard the International Space Station will spend the weekend inside the orbiting lab’s Russian segment. Commander Chris Cassidy and his crewmates Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin will stay in the Zvezda service module from Friday night into Monday morning. The station’s atmosphere is maintained at pressure comfortable for …
By Mara Johnson-Groh NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Late on August 16, 2020, the Sun released a burst of light and energy known as a solar flare. This B1-class solar flare – the second smallest class of flare – peaked at 1:26p.m. EDT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory observes the Aug. 16, 2020, B-class flare at …
The launch team for Artemis I is back in the firing room at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for more practice. The team conducted a simulation on the procedures for cryogenic loading, or fueling the Space Launch System rocket with super cold propellants. During simulations potential problems are introduced to the team to test the application …
