NanoRack CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) #13 Deploy: Today three NRCSD #13 deployers were individually ground commanded by JAXA to deploy from the International Space Station (ISS). Due to the configuration of single- and double-wide deployers, NRCSD #13 has a total five deployers (silos 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8). There are no deployers for silos 2, 4, …
An experimental module attached to the International Space Station is being prepared for upcoming cargo operations. Tiny research satellites were also ejected from the orbital lab while a pair of Expedition 53 crew members scanned their leg muscles today. BEAM, officially called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, is being outfitted this week for future stowage …
NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) #13: Installation: This morning, the JEM A/L inner hatch was opened and the slide table was extended to the JPM side. The crew then installed the NRCSD #13 deployer onto the Multipurpose Experiment Platform (MPEP). The slide table was retracted from the JPM side and the inner hatch was closed. The …
Marrow: Upon wakeup, a 52S crewmember conducted breath and ambient air sample collections for the Marrow investigation, which looks at the effect of microgravity on bone marrow. It is believed that microgravity, like long-duration bed rest on Earth, has a negative effect on the bone marrow and the blood cells that are produced in the …
Expedition 53 checked out a specialized microscope and worked on the International Space Station’s toilet today. More supplies and hardware are also being offloaded from the newly-arrived Cygnus cargo craft. Commander Randy Bresnik opened up the Fluids Integrated Rack this morning to take a look at its Light Microscopy Module (LMM), an advanced space …
Probiotics Operations: The crew completed the second half of the second sampling phase that began on GMT 316 with fecal sample collections. Today’s activities included saliva sample collections, a questionnaire, and a capsule intake. This sampling phase was the second of four sampling phases for the JAXA Probiotic experiment. Some species of harmful bacteria such …
The Expedition 53 astronauts are continuing to unload several thousand pounds of space cargo from the new Cygnus resupply ship that arrived Tuesday morning. Some of the new science cargo contains a bacteria that curiously loses its harmful properties in microgravity and CubeSats that will be deployed in Earth orbit. The Cygnus is now installed …
Orbital 8 (OA-8) Capture/Berthing: Monday night, Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to inspect the Node 1 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM). They then maneuvered the SSRMS to the Cygnus high hover position in preparation for Cygnus capture. Early this morning, the crew monitored the Cygnus approach from the Cupola …
The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship was bolted into place on the International Space Station’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 7:15 a.m. EST. The spacecraft will spend about three weeks attached to the space station before departing in early December. After it leaves the station, the uncrewed spacecraft will deploy several CubeSats before …
At 5:04 a.m., Expedition 53 Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) and Randy Bresnik of NASA successfully captured Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft using the International Space Station’s robotic arm. Robotic ground controllers will position Cygnus for installation to the orbiting laboratory’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module. NASA Television coverage of …
