Japan is preparing to launch its sixth cargo mission to the International Space Station Friday morning. The Expedition 50 crew is training for the cargo ship’s arrival while studying how living in space affects the human body and maintaining station systems. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is getting ready to roll out its H-IIB …
Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Operations: Monday afternoon and overnight, Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Mobile Serving System (MSS) and configured the SSRMS and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) Arm2 for translation. They then translated the Mobile Transporter (MT) translation from Worksite(WS)7 to WS5, stowed the SPDM on the Lab, and walked the …
The Expedition 50 crew worked on a series of life science experiments and maintenance operations today. A pair of astronauts also trained for the arrival of Japan’s HTV-6 resupply ship next week. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko started work this morning on the long-running Fluid Shifts experiment. The crew …
Human Research Program (HRP) collections and operations: Over the weekend, the crew continued sample collections for Biochem Profile, Repository, and Cardio Ox investigations. This morning the Cardio Ox subject donned an Electrocardiogram (ECG) and with operator assistance performed ultrasound scans of the Brachial and Carotid arteries. The Biochem Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples …
The Expedition 50 crew is getting ready for next week’s arrival and capture of Japan’s sixth resupply ship, the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-6). The six station residents also worked on a pair of spacesuits and conducted a variety of human research experiments. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is set to launch its HTV-6 resupply ship …
The Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft touched down at 3:57 p.m. EST at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Attached beneath the Stargazer is the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) on board. CYGNSS was processed and prepared for its mission at Vandenberg Air …
Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) Operations: Overnight, RELL checkout and demonstration was performed by performing scans of the Port 1 Truss (P1) Truss Radiator Beam Valve Modules (RBVMs), and the P1 Ammonia (NH3) Vent. Today the Robotics Ground Controllers are performing the Pump Flow and Control Subsystem (PFCS) survey. Once the PFCS survey is complete, …
Testing of several of the umbilical lines that will attach to NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from the tower on the mobile launcher continues at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Core Stage Inter-tank Umbilical (CSITU) arrived at the LETF and was attached to the “C” tower …
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is getting the last cargo mission of 2016 ready for launch next week. It’s sixth H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-6) nick-named “Kounotori” has been in processing for months and will lift off Dec. 9 from Tanegashima, Japan for a three-day trip to the station. The payload aboard HTV-6 will include potable …
65 Progress (65P) Launch: 65P launched from the Baikonur, Kazakhstan Cosmodrome today at 8:51 am CST. Telemetry indicated that the 3rd stage separation occurred a little more than 2 minutes early. Telemetry over Russian Ground Sites (RGS) was lost earlier than expected. Communication with the vehicle was never reacquired with the vehicle. The 65P vehicle …
