On May 1, 2018, NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the next stage of its journey to launch, scheduled for June 15 from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (in the continental United States the launch date is June 14).
The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship’s stay at the International Space Station has been extended until Saturday after unfavorable conditions were reported at the splashdown zone in the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime, time-sensitive payloads are still being readied for return to Earth as the crew wraps up final cargo packing. Robotics controllers will operate the …
The Cygnus resupply ship from Orbital ATK is now open for business and the Expedition 55 crew has begun unloading the 7,400 pounds of cargo it delivered Thursday morning. The orbital residents are also conducting space research and preparing for a crew swap in early June. There are now four spaceships parked at the International …
With springtime comes sunlight and warmth that advance the melting and breakup of Arctic sea ice. Varied patterns and textures appear across the icescape, and many are visible in this image, which was our Image of the Day on April 30. This satellite image includes the area photographed a day earlier by Operation IceBridge—the same photograph […]
Dragon Preparation for Return: Weather at the prime Recovery Zone will not support Dragon return tomorrow; release has slipped to the backup date of Saturday, 5 May. With guidance from stowage experts, the crew re-configured already transferred Dragon cargo and all assets, to include cold stowage, are in a good configuration. Tomorrow, the crew will …
The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is packed with International Space Station hardware and scientific samples ready for return to Earth on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Expedition 55 crew members continued maintenance of the orbital lab and space research operations. Dragon’s departure was pushed back from Wednesday after SpaceX personnel observed high sea states in the Pacific …
Launch week is underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where NASA’s InSight spacecraft is being prepared for its upcoming flight to Mars. Mission and launch officials gathered Monday for the InSight flight readiness review. Teams are preparing to launch InSight on its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Saturday, May 5, at 4:05 …
Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer 8 (J-SSOD#8): Today the crew extended the Slide Table into the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) from the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) and installed the Multipurpose Experiment Platform (MPEP). They then installed two J-SSOD#8 deployers on the MPEP. The J-SSODs are used to launch small satellites from the JEM Remote Manipulator System …
You don’t get to swim in the Sun’s atmosphere unless you can prove you belong there. And Parker Solar Probe’s Faraday cup, a key sensor on the spacecraft, earned its stripes on April 19 by enduring testing in a homemade contraption designed to simulate the Sun.
The crew on board the International Space Station has been busy this month unloading the bounty of supplies and equipment brought up by the SpaceX Dragon and repacking it with cargo to be returned to Earth. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into a layover at the space station, check out chapter 14 of the …
