Galley Rack Outfitting: Today the crew relocated the Node 1 16-Port Ethernet Switch from Node 1 Port-Deck location to the Galley Rack. All pre-existing cables remained mated to the switch during relocation, and the switch power feed will remain the same. Later today they will connect the two Microgravity Experiment Research Locker/Incubator (MERLIN) Ethernet connections …
Next Dragon Launch Set, Crew Tests Tiny Satellites
SpaceX has announced no earlier than Feb. 18 for the launch of its tenth commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Dragon will be loaded with advanced space science and will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet will …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 2/08/2017
Galley Rack Outfitting: The crew continued with Galley Rack Outfitting today. They mated power, data, and fluid umbilicals to the Galley Rack in preparation for activation. They also relocated the Food Warmer from the Node 1 Starboard location to the Node 1 Galley Rack. Following this relocation the Food Warmer will be powered from the …
Using Satellites to Size Up the Severity of Crop Fires in Northern India
An analysis of satellite data suggest that crop fires in Punjab in 2016 were the most severe the state has seen in more than decade.
Dragon Training and Brain Imaging for Astronauts
The Expedition 50 crew trained today for the robotic capture of the SpaceX Dragon and studied how the brain adapts to living in space. Three crew members also conducted an emergency drill aboard the International Space Station. Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet joined Commander Shane Kimbrough to study the robotics maneuvers they will …
Sea to Space Trek: Oceans, the Final Frontier
Every great ship needs a Holodeck. Not for entertainment, but for science. Star Trek‘s fictional Holodeck can create matter virtually (in our case, it would be scientific data) which can be seen, touched and interacted with. Unfortunately, real technology is not as advanced as we know it from TV, so for now we skip the touch. But there […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 2/07/2017
Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Exposed Facility (EF) High Definition Television (HDTV) Camera Installation: Today, the crew installed the HDTV on the EFU Adapter which was then installed on the JEM Airlock Slide Table. The Slide Table was then retracted into the JEM Airlock, and the JEM Airlock was depressurized and leak checked in preparation for operations …
Station Prepped for Science Gear from Japan and SpaceX
A new high-definition Earth observation video camera will be installed on the outside of Japan’s Kibo lab module later this week. The Expedition 50 crew is also getting the International Space Station ready for the next SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. An HDTV camera delivered aboard Japan’s HTV-6 cargo craft in December is being readied for …
February Puzzler
Our latest puzzler is out. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image shows, and why the scene is interesting.
Fireball spotted northwest of Chicago, February 6, 1:25 AM CST
There was a very bright green fireball seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses surrounding Lake Michigan early this morning at 1:25:13 AM Central Time (February 6, 2017). The reports from these individuals and the video information from dash cameras and other cameras in the region indicate that the meteor originated 62 miles above West Bend, Wisconsin …