Blogs

The Expedition 53 astronauts are continuing to unload several thousand pounds of space cargo from the new Cygnus resupply ship that arrived Tuesday morning. Some of the new science cargo contains a bacteria that curiously loses its harmful properties in microgravity and CubeSats that will be deployed in Earth orbit. The Cygnus is now installed …

Orbital 8 (OA-8) Capture/Berthing:  Monday night, Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to inspect the Node 1 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM). They then maneuvered the SSRMS to the Cygnus high hover position in preparation for Cygnus capture.  Early this morning, the crew monitored the Cygnus approach from the Cupola …

The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship was bolted into place on the International Space Station’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 7:15 a.m. EST. The spacecraft will spend about three weeks attached to the space station before departing in early December. After it leaves the station, the uncrewed spacecraft will deploy several CubeSats before …

At 5:04 a.m., Expedition 53 Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) and Randy Bresnik of NASA successfully captured Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft using the International Space Station’s robotic arm. Robotic ground controllers will position Cygnus for installation to the orbiting laboratory’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module. NASA Television coverage of …

Orbital-ATK 8 (OA-8) Launch:  Following a 24 hour delay, OA-8 launched successfully from Wallops Island, Virginia atop an Antares rocket on Sunday at 6:19 AM CST.  Capture and berthing to Node 1 Nadir is planned for Tuesday, November 14th starting at 3:50 AM CST. The spacecraft will deliver ~3300 kgs of payloads and supplies to …

The Cygnus resupply ship from Orbital ATK is less than 24 hours away from a rendezvous and capture at the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 53 crew members are conducting human research and exploring growing crops in space. Cygnus is in Earth orbit today conducting a series of orbital maneuvers refining its path to …

Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off at 7:19 a.m. EST and is on its way to the International Space Station. About an hour and half after launch, commands will be given to deploy the spacecraft’s solar arrays. Launch coverage will continue on NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv until shortly after spacecraft …

The launch of Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft has scrubbed for Saturday after an aircraft was detected in the vicinity of the launch pad. The next launch attempt is set for Sunday, Nov. 12 at 7:14 a.m. EST. For more information about the International Space Station, visit www.nasa.gov/station.

Human Research Program (HRP) Collections (Biochemical Profile, Repository): A 51S crewmember completed Flight Day (FD) 120 blood and urine sample collections to support the Biochemical Profile and Repository experiments. The samples were placed in the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples are obtained …

Lighting Effects: Upon wakeup, a 52S subject provided a sleep log entry, and then conducted a series of three Cognition tests throughout the day. The Lighting Effects experiment hopes to better quantify and qualify how lighting can effect habitability of spacecraft. The light bulbs on the ISS are being replaced with a new system designed …