By Emily B. Hite /NUKU’ALOFA, TONGA/ Under the moonlight of Friday, October 11, 2019, I eagerly trekked across Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) with a team from Sea Education Association (SEA) and NASA to complete one final mission: to measure temperatures around the perimeter of the volcano’s crater lake. To our delight, our thermal imaging …
By Natalia Chiapperi & Carlin Schildge /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA’APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ As we begin to wrap up our time here at HTHH, the data collection slowed down and we found some free time to enjoy the beauty and seclusion of the island. The day started late, with an 8:40 wake-up call, the latest we’ve …
P6 Battery Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #2 (US EVA #57): Today, the ISS crew completed EVA #2 with the crew lock egress occurring around 6:38 am CT. Today’s EVA focused on completing the P6 Solar Array Channel 2B Li-Ion battery upgrades. This included installing the third and final Li-Ion battery to the Channel 2B IEA. The …
Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan of NASA concluded their spacewalk at the International Space Station at 2:23 p.m. EDT. During six-hour and 45-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts continued 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 …
By Cameron Gallant and Katherine H. Webber /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA’APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ KATHERINE: Walking on deck, I welcomed our first sunny day at HTHH; however, upon reaching the island, I was greeted by hot black sand and an all-consuming heat that would last all day. Soon, as a part of the bird/vegetation team, Emily, …
Two NASA astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power this morning at 7:38 a.m. EDT. Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan of NASA continue with the second in a series of five planned spacewalks dedicated to replacing batteries on the far end of the International Space Station’s port truss. The existing nickel-hydrogen batteries will be upgraded …
Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan and Christina Koch of NASA will continue the series of spacewalks outside of the International Space Station at about 7:50 a.m. EDT to upgrade the station’s solar array batteries. Watch the spacewalk coverage now on NASA TV and the agency’s website. This is the second of five battery replacement spacewalks …
A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite at 9:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to study the dynamic zone in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. The satellite was attached to the Pegasus XL rocket, …
The Pegasus XL rocket has gone through each of its three stage motors, reaching a top speed of nearly 17,000 mph. ICON has now separated from the rocket to begin its mission, orbiting 360 miles above the Earth. Learn more about NASA’s ICON mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/icon
Following first stage separation, the second stage motor ignited 1 minute and 34 seconds after launch, burning for 1 minute, 14 seconds before shutting down and separating. At 7 minutes, 18 seconds after launch, the third stage engine ignited and will burn for 1 minute and 9 seconds.
