Space Station – Off The Earth, For The Earth

Station Crew Works Science Installs and Spacewalk Cleanup Before Holidays

NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Suni Williams pose for a fun holiday season portrait while speaking on a ham radio inside the Columbus laboratory module.

Science hardware installations wrapped up the week for the Expedition 72 crew members aboard the International Space Station. The cosmonauts also slept in on Friday following a spacewalk the day before.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague finalized the installation of the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device that provides advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities in the Columbus laboratory module. The astronauts checked the fit of the workout gear’s vibration isolation system, installed grounding brackets, greased rails, and tested the device’s motion. The small and compact futuristic exercise hardware will be evaluated in the orbital outpost’s microgravity environment before being used on longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Hague also joined Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, in the Tranquility module for more installation work. The trio outfitted the Nanoracks Bishop airlock with a variety of hardware after it was berthed to Tranquility and pressurized following robotic transfers for scientific work at the beginning of the week. Wilmore completed the Bishop configurations at the end of the day after he installed computer hardware.

The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos slept in on Friday following a seven-hour and 17-minute spacewalk on Thursday. Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner installed a celestial X-ray investigation and removed older experiments for disposal during the spacewalk. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov remained inside the space station monitoring the spacewalkers and maneuvering Ovchinin with the European robotic arm (ERA). The trio spent Friday cleaning spacesuits and returning the ERA to its stowage position on the Nauka science module.

The seven astronauts and cosmonauts will spend Christmas and New Year’s Day orbiting Earth taking time to relax, open gifts, share a meal, and talk to family. The orbital septet will go into 2025 continuing more advanced space research benefitting humans on and off the Earth. The next space station blog is planned to publish on Jan. 6.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Roscosmos Spacewalkers Finish External Science Work

Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin conducts a spacewalk 260 miles above the Earth's surface and removes science hardware attached to the space station's Poisk module. Credit: NASA+ — Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin conducts a spacewalk 260 miles above the Earth’s surface and removes science hardware attached to the space station’s Poisk module. Credit: NASA+

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner concluded their spacewalk Dec. 19 at 5:53 p.m. EST after seven hours and 17 minutes.

Ovchinin and Vagner completed all of their major objectives, which included installing an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and removing several experiments for disposal. The two cosmonauts were unable to complete their non-critical final objective due to time constraints, which was to relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

This was the second spacewalk in Ovinchin’s career, and the first for Vagner. It is the 272nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Spacewalkers Exit Station for Science and Robotics Work

Two cosmonauts work outside the space station to activate a radiator on the Nauka science module during a spacewalk on May 12, 2023. At top, is the European robotic arm attached to Nauka.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner began a spacewalk at 10:36 a.m. EST to install an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and remove several experiments for disposal. The two cosmonauts will also relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov will operate the arm during the spacewalk from inside the station.

Coverage will continue on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Ovchinin is wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Vagner is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the second spacewalk in Ovchinin’s career, and the first for Vagner. It is the 272nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Cosmonauts Prepare for Science and Robotics Spacewalk

Two cosmonauts are pictured in their Orlan spacesuits during a seven-hour and 41-minute spacewalk inspecting a radiator outside the Nauka science module on Oct. 25, 2023.

NASA coverage is underway for today’s spacewalk with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The duo will venture outside the station’s Poisk airlock to install an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and remove several experiments for disposal. Additionally, the two cosmonauts will relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov will operate the arm during the spacewalk from inside the station.

The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:10 a.m. EST, and last about six hours and 45 minutes. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Roscosmos spacewalk 63 will be the second for Ovchinin and the first for Vagner. Ovchinin will wear an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, and Vagner will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes. It will be the 272nd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Crew Works Advanced Exercise and Space Tech, Gets Ready for Thursday Spacewalk

Astronaut Suni Williams installs the European Materials Ageing experiment hardware inside the Nanoracks Bishop airlock that will expose a variety of materials to the vacuum of space for about a year.

A new exercise system, spacecraft fire safety, and advanced life support gear were the main research priorities aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 72 crew is also ready for a spacewalk to conduct science and robotics work on Thursday.

Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both from NASA, were back inside the Columbus laboratory module continuing to install futuristic exercise gear for space crews. The duo is spending the rest of the week assembling the workout hardware in Columbus where it will be tested by the station crew using its advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities. The small and compact European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device will be evaluated in the orbital outpost’s microgravity environment before being used on longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Working from the Destiny laboratory module, NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague swapped samples of thin plastic sheets inside the Combustion Integrated Rack. Those samples are being observed for how they burn in weightlessness to learn how to prevent fires on spacecraft. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit spent his day in the Harmony module setting up the Microgravity Sediment Trap hardware. The advanced technology demonstration gear will test new filters to protect and extend the life of spacecraft cooling systems.

Two cosmonauts are ready to exit the space station’s Poisk airlock at 10:10 a.m. EST on Thursday for a planned six-hour and 40-minute spacewalk to remove science experiments and relocate robotic hardware. The duo from Roscosmos wrapped up their spacewalk procedure reviews, completed the installation of Orlan spacesuit components, and finished charging the video cameras they will wear on their suits to record their spacewalk activities. NASA+ will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 9:45 a.m. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will assist the spacewalkers in and out of the airlock as well as their Orlan spacesuits on Thursday. Gorbunov will also be at the controls of the European robotic arm as the spacewalkers relocate a robotics control panel on the device attached to the Nauka science module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Life Science, Spacewalk Preps on Station as Dragon Splashes Down

Astronauts Suni Williams and Don Pettit take a break from science maintenance activities and pose for a selfie-portrait aboard the station's Harmony module. — Astronauts Suni Williams and Don Pettit take a break from science maintenance activities and pose for a selfie-portrait aboard the station’s Harmony module.

The Expedition 72 crew continued its life science research and spacewalk preparations on Tuesday as a U.S. resupply spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. The orbital residents also serviced advanced exercise gear and reconfigured a science airlock on the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague worked on two different space biology experiments Tuesday each exploring different facets of microgravity’s effects on humans. Pettit cleaned up a research incubator that earlier housed biological samples exposed to the stresses of space that cause muscle and bone loss. Those samples have been returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for analysis. Hague strapped on a sensor-packed headband and vest that recorded his heart and breathing activity as he pedaled on an exercise bike. The data will be downlinked to researchers to learn how the body adapts to microgravity conditions.

Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module and began installing new exercise gear. Combining bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities, the small and compact European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device will be tested for its effectiveness aboard the space station before being used for longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Wilmore partnered with Hague near the end of their shift and reconfigured the Nanoracks Bishop airlock. Bishop will be repressurized after being reattached to the Tranquility module following a weekend of transfer activities with the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Bishop had earlier contained the Euro Materials Ageing experiment hardware that was robotically maneuvered to the Bartolomeo research platform attached to the outside of Columbus.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are nearing a spacewalk that will see the duo remove external science experiments and relocate European robotic arm hardware. The pair organized their spacewalking tools and conducted photographic inspections inside the Poisk airlock where they will exit into the vacuum of space at 10:10 a.m. EST on Thursday. Ovchinin and Vagner will spend about six hour and 40-minutes wearing their Orlan spacesuits while tethered to the outside of the orbital outpost.

Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov split his day on Earth observations and life support maintenance inside the station’s Roscosmos segment. Gorbunov tested new imaging hardware in the Nauka science module that can view the effects of natural and man-made disasters on Earth in different wavelengths. The first-time space flyer also worked an orbital plumbing and ventilation system cleaning throughout the day.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Dragon Returns to Earth, Cargo Mission Ends

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is pictured departing the vicinity of the space station following its undocking from the International Space Station on January 9, 2023.

At 1:39 p.m. EST, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of Florida, marking the return of the company’s 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

The spacecraft carried back to Earth thousands of pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment after undocking at 11:05 a.m. Dec. 16, from the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module.

Filled with nearly 6,000 pounds of crew supplies, science investigations, and equipment, the spacecraft arrived to the orbiting laboratory Nov. 5 after it launched Nov. 4 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Leaves Station Packed With Science

Dec. 16, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, and the Progress 89 and 90 resupply ships.

At 11:05 a.m. EST, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the forward port of the Harmony module at the International Space Station following a command from ground controllers at SpaceX.

After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 17. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on the agency’s space station blog.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA+ Broadcasting Dragon Departing Station

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship is photographed departing the space station on July 8, 2021.

NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure is underway on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

The unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will undock at 11:05 a.m. EST from the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station.

After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on the agency’s space station blog.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA, SpaceX Adjust Dragon Undock Date Due to Weather

International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, and the Progress 89 and 90 resupply ships.

Mission managers waved off the planned return of a Dragon resupply spacecraft on Sunday, Dec. 15, due to forecasted unfavorable weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of Florida. NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Monday, Dec. 16, for the next undocking opportunity of NASA’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services spacecraft.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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