New Status: 34 Soyuz (S) Launch and Docking: 34S launched nominally at 3:43pm CDT. Docking to the ISS is scheduled at 9:32 pm CDT. The Soyuz is bringing Chris Cassidy, Alexander Misurkin and Pavel Vinogradov to the ISS. ENERGY Experiment: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Marshburn completed days 2 and 3 of metabolic measurements today due to sleep shifting …
New Status: ENERGY Experiment: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Marshburn began Day 1 of this 10-day experiment by powering on the equipment and performing 4 sessions of metabolic measurements. A loss in astronauts’ body mass is a systematic observation during space flight. The aim of ENERGY is to measure changes in energy balance during long term space flight; …
New Status: Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Last evening Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the MSS and the Crew unbolted and unlatched Dragon from the Node 2 Nadir Common Berthing System (CBM). Ground controllers then uninstalled Dragon using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and maneuvered it to the release position. After the crew …
New Status: SpaceX-2 Dragon Cargo Transfers and Departure Preparation: Commander (CDR) Chris Hadfield and Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Tom Marshburn loaded five full coldbags and an active GLACIER with returning science samples into the Dragon vehicle forward rack, and at 8:25 am CDT closed the Dragon hatch. Afterwards they configured the Dragon Pressurized Segment for closeout …
New Status: SpaceX-2 Unberth Delay: The SpaceX Dragon vehicle unberth and departure from ISS was scheduled for Monday March 25th but has been deferred due to rough seas predicted at the splash-down location. The new unberth and departure date is Tuesday March 26, 2013. On-board Training (OBT) for Emergency Response: All 3 crewmembers participated in this training. …
New Status: Marangoni Inside (MI) Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF): In preparation for the start of the experiment tonight, Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Tom Marshburn installed the sample cassette in the FPEF. The experiment will run through early July during crew sleep. Marangoni convection is the flow driven by the presence of a surface tension gradient which …
New Status: Amine Swingbed Payload Review: Commander (CDR) Hadfield unstowed Amine from its temporary stowage configuration inside Express Rack 8 and placed it in the payload’s double locker chassis. Then he re-assembled the payload in its normal operating configuration. This task follows Kevin Ford’s troubleshooting activities earlier this month when he replaced the Amine gear box. …
New Status: SpaceX (SpX)-2 Cargo Operations: Commander (CDR) Hadfield and Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Marshburn loaded cargo in preparation for unberth scheduled on March 25, 2013. Marangoni Inside (MI) Core Cleaning: Following yesterday’s completion of this experiment, Marshburn cleaned the inside of the Marangoni core. When he was finished cleaning he powered off the camcorder to terminate real …
New Status: Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixture 3 (CSLM-3) Experiment: Over the weekend Hadfield transferred data from the 3rd sample and started the 4th of 6 runs of this experiment. CSLM-3 is a materials science investigation that studies the growth and solidification processes (i.e., coarsening) in lead-tin solid-liquid mixtures that contain a small amount of tin branch-like …
New Status: 32 Soyuz (S) Undock & Landing: Following a delay in undocking yesterday due to adverse weather conditions, 32 Soyuz undocked from ISS tonight at 6:43pm CDT bringing Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin back to earth. The Soyuz performed a nominal automated de-orbit burn and following a nominal separation of modules, descended successfully under parachutes. The …
