Launch and mission officials gathered this morning for the OSIRIS-REx Flight Readiness Review and concluded that there are no issues or concerns that would preclude continuing to target launch next Thursday, Sept. 8. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is planned for 7:05 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 41 on Florida’s …
Astronauts Begin Second Spacewalk of Expedition 48 Mission
Two NASA astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power this morning at 7:53 a.m. EDT aboard the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk planned to last approximately six-and-a-half hours. Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins will retract a thermal radiator, install the first of several enhanced high definition cameras on …
Snakes on a Ship!
By Eric Lindstrom A longstanding technical challenge for oceanography has been how to measure the sea surface – temperature, salinity, gas exchange, or surfactants – to name a few examples. Obviously enough, the surface is where the ocean and atmosphere interact and exchange heat, freshwater, gases, momentum, and particles of all kinds. So, how do […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 08/31/2016
Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The Commander and Flight Engineer-6 completed their pre-EVA medical checkup, final EVA tool configuration and EVA timeline review earlier today. This afternoon the crew performed a conference with EVA ground specialist to discuss any final question about tomorrow’s TTCR EVA. The crew also prepared the Equipment …
Traveling the Length of the Atlantic Ocean, Part 2: Greenland!
I have always wanted to visit Greenland, the “ground zero” for climate change. Its ice cap rises more than 3,200 meters (2 miles!) above sea level and it holds so much ice that if it all melted, the height of sea level would rise by 7 meters (23 feet). The landscape is stark and inhospitable […]
Watch NASA TV Thursday for Live Spacewalk Coverage
Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA will begin a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at about 8:10 a.m. EDT Thursday. NASA TV coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. Williams and Rubins will retract a thermal radiator that is part of the station’s cooling system. The radiator is …
Second Half of Platform C Arrives for NASA’s Space Launch System
A section of the second half of the C-level platforms, C North, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrives at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform was offloaded from a heavy lift transport truck and secured in a staging area in the west parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). …
Astronauts Ready for Thursday Morning Spacewalk
NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins are ready for Thursday morning’s spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8:05 a.m. EDT and last 6.5 hours. The duo will retract and cover an out-of-service thermal control radiator, tighten struts on a solar array rotary joint and install a high-definition camera. The spacewalkers finished collecting their tools and …
Asteroid Sampler Placed Atop Atlas V for Launch
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was lifted into the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 and bolted into place on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V on Monday. The spacecraft, enclosed in a protective fairing, is to liftoff aboard the rocket on Sept. 8 to begin its mission to survey an asteroid called Bennu and …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 08/30/2016
Cardio Ox Ultrasound Operations: With remote guidance from the Cardio Ox ground teams, the crew conducted an ultrasound scan after they configured the VOX, attached the ECG Electrodes, and marked the arteries; followed by blood pressure measurements using the Cardiolab Holter Arterial Blood Pressure Unit. The goal of the Cardio Ox investigation is to determine …