The six Expedition 50 crew members from France, Russia and the United States are heading into the final holidays of the year with a muscle study and Earth observations today. The astronauts also checked out fluids and combustion science gear and practiced an emergency escape drill. French astronaut Thomas Pesquet measured his muscle and tendon …
The final work platform for NASA’s Space Launch System arrived Dec. 13 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The second half of the A-level platforms, A north, was transported to the center by heavy-lift truck from Tillett Heavy Hauling in Titusville, Florida, and delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) staging area. The …
Lighting Effects Meter Reading: The crew set up and configured the Light Meter hardware and took readings in the Node 1 and Crew Quarters (CQ). The Node 1 light is the legacy General Luminaire Assembly (GLA), while the CQ light has been upgraded to the newly installed Solid State Lighting Assemblies (SSLAs). The Lighting Effects …
Several of the umbilicals that will support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket atop the mobile launcher were transported from the Launch Equipment Test Facility to the Mobile Launcher Yard and staging area at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They will be prepped for installation on the mobile launcher. The …
Medical Consumables Tracker (MCT) Installation: The crew installed the HTV-6 delivered MCT hardware in the Crew Health Care System (CHeCS) Resupply Stowage Rack (RSR). MCT uses Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) codes to track medicines and medical supplies on board the ISS. Ground managers will be able to track which medical supplies are being used, and how …
Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: When trying to power up the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) Control Unit 2 (SACU2) the sequence aborted with the same signature as yesterday. When swapping Bus channels, the power up sequence completed. It was decided to call off the RapidScat activity and perform troubleshooting instead to better understand the …
External and internal cargo is currently being unloaded from Japan’s sixth H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-6) to visit the International Space Station. The Expedition 50 commander also talked to students on Earth today and helped the rest of the crew with space research and orbital lab maintenance. Commander Shane Kimbrough continued unpacking gear and fresh food …
Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Last night, the Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the MSS and maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to extract the External Platform (EP) from the HTV-6 Unpressurized Logistics Carrier (ULC) and install it on the Payload and ORU Accommodation (POA). Initially the SSRMS would not mode to Operational …
Robotic officers in Mission Control, Houston maneuvered the Canadarm2 robotic arm overnight to extract a pallet from the newly-arrived Japanese HTV-6 cargo ship containing new batteries for the station’s power supply. The batteries will replace older batteries on the starboard truss through a series of robotic operations and spacewalks planned through mid-January. The hatch to …
HII Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-6 Capture/Berthing: This morning, the crew captured HTV-6 at 4:37 am CST using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). Following capture, Robotics Ground Controllers used the SSRMS to maneuver the HTV-6 into position to support the inspection of the HTV-6 Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) and maneuver the HTV-6 to the …
