The crew started their day checking out Cubesat gear and researching a wide variety of science to benefit humanity on and off Earth. Later, two astronauts tried on their spacesuits to ensure a good fit before next week’s spacewalk. Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren were in the Kibo lab module Thursday morning …
NanoRack Cubesat Deployer 6 (NRCSD#6) Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock Operations: Kelly pressurized the JEM Airlock and performed a leak check today in preparation for the activity planned for tomorrow to safe the door on Deployer #6, which contains two cubesats that were not able to be launched. Tropical Cyclone: Yui set up a …
The International Space Station crew is gearing up for a couple of spacewalks to service and upgrade the orbital laboratory. Meanwhile, the crew is also working long-term life science to improve life on Earth and in future space crews. The U.S. Quest airlock is getting busy as NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren get …
The deployment of two Cubesats is on hold after they failed to eject a couple of weeks ago. Also, more spacesuit servicing and biomedical investigations took place today. The deployer mechanism that ejected 14 of 16 Cubesats is back inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock. Two of the Cubesats did not deploy due to a …
Observation Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) Sample Exchange: Kononenko performed an OASIS sample exchange today, installing the third of four sample cartridges into the experiment hardware housed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG). OASIS studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity, including their overall motion and the merging of crystal layers …
When astronauts come home in Orion from deep-space missions, they’ll need a strategy for a safe and efficient exit. At NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, teams performed a series of tests Oct. 6-8 to evaluate the most efficient way for astronauts to get out of the spacecraft after …
The crew continued more biomedical studies today so scientists can learn how long-term missions affect humans in space. The International Space Station residents also reviewed procedures for a pair of upcoming spacewalks and conducted an emergency training session. Commander Scott Kelly joined his fellow One-Year crew member Mikhail Kornienko and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui for …
Ocular Health: One year crewmembers Kelly and Kornienko initiated their Flight Day 210 Ocular Health testing by completing vision and tonometry tests and taking blood pressure measurements with the assistance of Yui. The Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS …
Orionid meteors appear every year around this time when Earth travels through an area of space littered with debris from Halley’s Comet. This year the peak will occur on the night of Wednesday, Oct. 21 into the morning of Thursday, Oct. 22. “The Orionids will probably show weak activity this year,” says Bill Cooke of the …
Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock Safing: Today Kelly prepared the JEM Airlock for the return of NanoRack Cubesat Deployer 6 (NRCSD#6) from the exterior of the ISS to the JEM next week. He pressurized the Airlock and performed a leak check. Because Deployer #6 contains two unlaunched cubesats, he removed the Lamp Housing Assembly from …
