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Tuesday was packed with more spacewalk preparations along with ongoing microgravity research aboard the International Space Station. The six-member Expedition 61 crew also conducted emergency response training and cargo transfers from a Japanese cargo craft. NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Christina Koch are going out on their second spacewalk together Friday at 7:50 a.m. EDT. …

by Kerry Whittaker, Chief Scientist aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans / KINGDOM OF TONGA / On September 27th the SSV Robert C. Seamans departed Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, bound for Earth’s newest landmass, located in the Kingdom of Tonga. The ship is a Sea Education Association student sailing and oceanographic vessel with 40 …

NASA and Northrop Grumman will hold a mission briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 8, in preparation for the launch of NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite. Tune in to NASA TV and the agency’s website to watch the mission briefing live. The Northrop Grumman …

US P6 Battery Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Operations:  Today, the ground teams and the USOS crew participated in an EVA Debrief conference to discuss any technical issues from the previously completed P6 Battery EVA#1 (US EVA#56) on Sunday October 6, which was the first of five planned P6 Solar Array battery upgrade EVAs.  The crew also …

Two NASA spacewalkers are conducting routine post-spacewalk activities today after a 7 hour, 1 minute spacewalk Sunday prior to another excursion outside the International Space Station this Friday. Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan underwent a routine series of post-spacewalk health checks today with Commander Luca Parmitano assisting the astronauts. Koch and …

NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer – or ICON – satellite is scheduled to launch Wednesday, Oct. 9, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ICON will be air-launched from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, carried by the company’s L-1011 aircraft, Stargazer. Launch is currently scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EDT. Weather officials from the U.S. …

US P6 Battery Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #1:  Today, FE-3 and FE-9 performed a 7 hr 1 min space walk out to the P6 truss. This was the first of five planned ExtraVehicular Activities (EVAs) that will upgrade the existing the P6 2B power channel nickel hydrogen (NiH2) batteries with new Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries.  Integrated Electronics …

Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan of NASA concluded their spacewalk at 2:40 p.m. EDT. During the seven-hour and one minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts began the replacement of nickel-hydrogen batteries with newer, more powerful lithium-ion batteries on the far end of the station’s port truss. Astronauts also were able to accomplish get-ahead tasks, including …

Two NASA astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power this morning at 7:39 a.m. EDT. Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan  of NASA are kicking off the first in a series of five spacewalks dedicated to replacing batteries on the far end of the station’s port truss. The existing nickel-hydrogen batteries will be upgraded with newer, …

The six-member Expedition 61 crew officially began Thursday morning after the departure of two Expedition 60 crewmates and a visiting astronaut. The current residents aboard the International Space Station now turn their attention to a series of spacewalks that begins Sunday. NASA astronaut Nick Hague is returning to Houston after completing a 203-day mission aboard …