Expedition 43 is packing the SpaceX Dragon space freighter readying the vehicle for its return home and splashdown May 21. The docked ISS Progress 58 resupply ship will fire its thrusters Friday night placing the International Space Station at the correct orbit for next month’s Soyuz undocking. The six-member crew also worked a variety of …
Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Replace: In preparation for the start of FLame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)-2J, Virts removed the MDCA Chamber Insert Assembly (CIA) from the CIR Combustion Chamber and replaced the MDCA Needles, fuel reservoirs, MDCA Igniter Tips and the MDCA Fiber Arm. Following the changeouts, he reinstalled the MDCA …
Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Kelly performed a fixative flush and swapped the samples collected yesterday which he inserted into MELFI. The primary objective of this research is to monitor the effects of the space environment on the musculoskeletal and neurological systems of mice as model organisms of …
The return to Earth for NASA’s Terry Virts, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov now is scheduled for early June. NASA and its international partners set the schedule after hearing the Russian Federal Space Agency’s (Roscosmos) findings on the loss of the Progress 59 cargo craft. The exact date …
Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Kelly and Virts successfully performed the third set of four sample collections, including use of the recently recovered Bone Densitometer. Kelly was the primary operator while Virts assisted, placing samples in containment then in Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer in ISS (MELFI). The crew …
The crew of Expedition 43 spent much of the day on Monday working on experiments that will be coming home on SpaceX’s Dragon vehicle later this month. NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts studied the effects of microgravity on living organisms for the Rodent Research experiment. They are looking at mice and how their …
Crew Half-Duty Day: Today was a half duty day for the USOS crew following a week of CDRA operations and activities associated with SpX-6 unberthing, currently scheduled for May 21. Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions – A (Triplelux-A): Cristoforetti closed out the Triplelux-A experiment today. She unstowed and …
The crew was scheduled for a half-duty day today to catch their breath following a week of heavy maintenance and in advance of activities to come. NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Scott Kelly completed the work they’ve been doing this week on one of the station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assemblies (CDRA) by reconnecting power, data …
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) reports the Progress 59 cargo craft reentered the Earth’s atmosphere at 10:04 p.m. EDT over the central Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft was not carrying any supplies critical for the United States Operating Segment (USOS) of the station, and the break up and reenty of the Progress posed no threat …
Bone Densitometer (BD) Imaging On-orbit Replacement Unit (ORU) Remove and Replace (R&R): Following a failed checkout of the BD, ground controllers determined that the Imaging Unit had failed. Cristoforetti R&R’ed the unit today in advance of Rodent Research sample collections next Monday. Ground controllers successfully calibrated the unit and are ready to proceed with Rodent Research …
