J-SSOD-10: The crew performed part 1 of 2 of the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) installation onto the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP). This is being performed in preparation for the J-SSOD-10 deploys this Saturday, GMT 279. The J-SSOD is a unique satellite launcher, handled by the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), which …
October will be a busy month as a pair of crews get ready to swap places on the International Space Station followed by a pair of spacewalks. Also, Japan’s HTV-7 resupply ship is open for business and the Expedition 56 crew has begun unloading its science and supplies. Station commander Drew Feustel is preparing to …
Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sedimentation (BCAT-CS): The crew replaced all four SB-800 flash batteries with new AA batteries; they then verified the camera focus and alignment with manual images. Recent reports from the BCAT team indicate the pixel brightness in the downlinked images is higher for the ISS samples compared to ground samples. …
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Capture and Berthing: Yesterday evening, Robotics Ground Controllers performed a survey of the Node 2 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (ACBM) sealing surface as required prior to HTV berthing. Today, the ISS Crew (Feustel, Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst) monitored the HTV-7 approach from the Cupola Robotic Workstation (RWS) and, at approximately 11:34 GMT, …
Ground controllers successfully installed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kounotori 7 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-7) to the International Space Station’s Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at 10:09 a.m. EDT. The spacecraft’s arrival supports the crew members’ research off the Earth to benefit the Earth. The cargo spacecraft began its trip on an H-IIB rocket …
Using the International Space Station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, Expedition 56 Commander Drew Feustel and Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA grappled the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kounotori H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-7) at 7:34 a.m. EDT and successfully completed the capture at 7:36 a.m. At the time of capture, the space station and cargo spacecraft were flying 250 miles above …
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) cargo spacecraft that launched at 1:52 p.m. EDT Sept. 22 (2:52 a.m. Sept. 23 Japan standard time) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan is set to arrive at the International Space Station early tomorrow morning. Beginning Thursday at 6:30 a.m., NASA will provide live coverage of the …
Fluidics: The crew prepared the Fluidics hardware in order to perform experiment runs today. Some difficulties were encountered securing one of the fluid tanks, but this was resolved by applying layers of tape. Fluidics is a fluid mechanics experiment with two main objectives: perform a Slosh study to investigate fluid behavior under microgravity during satellite …
The Expedition 56 crew aboard the International Space Station awaits the arrival of new science experiments and crew supplies Thursday morning. One week later, three crew members will return to Earth after 197 days in space. Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7), also known as the “Kounotori,” is nearing the station and headed for a Thursday …
Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-2 (ACE-T-2): The crew performed a sample module exchange for the ACE-T2 experiment. ACE-T-2 is performed in the Light Microscopy Module in the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR/LMM). The experiment looks at the assembly of complex structures from micron-scale colloidal particles interacting via tunable attractive interactions. The samples contain suspensions of colloidal particles that upon …
