By Grace Callahan /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA’APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ Hello from the newest land mass on earth! I’m Grace, and today was my first day on Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai. (I spent yesterday on the ship, helping to ensure that our anchor wouldn’t slip and allow us to be blown out to sea.) After breakfast …
Due to weather in the area, NASA and Northrop Grumman have decided to move the Pegasus XL and ICON launch 24-hours to October 10 at 9:30 p.m., with takeoff of the Stargazer L-1011 at 8:32 p.m. NASA’s live broadcast will begin tomorrow at 9:15 p.m. on www.nasa.gov/live. The teams are not working any issues. The …
Four of the six Expedition 61 crewmembers are relaxing today before ramping up final preparations for Friday’s spacewalk. The two cosmonauts maintained their normal schedule of Russian science and maintenance activities. NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Christina Koch have cleared their schedule for a well-deserved rest day and are taking it easy aboard the International …
by Frank Wenninger and Michael Tirone /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA’APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ As we labored down into the zodiac with our gear and rations, the ocean splashed violently around us. Those with hats cowered under the power of the southeasterly winds, and those in the front surrendered to the incessant spraying of the ocean. The …
NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite is set to launch from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket – carried by the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft – on Wednesday, Oct. 9, from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Once Stargazer is airborne and has reached the right altitude and location, …
P6 Battery Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #2 (USOS EVA#57) Preparations: Today, the ISS crew was involved with several different preparation activities for the upcoming EVA on Friday, October 11. The crew completed the EVA tool configuration activity. In addition, the crew completed recharging the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) feedwater tanks with iodinated water from a Contingency …
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 …
