Space Station – Off The Earth, For The Earth

Science and Tech Upgrades, Earth Observations and Trainings Kick off Busy Week

The southeast Chinese port city of Xiamen, on the coast of the South China Sea with a population of over 5.1 million people, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above during an orbital night pass.

A week of station upgrades and science has kicked off on the International Space Station. The Expedition 69 crew is keeping busy today with hardware updates, science tech installs, Earth observations and training.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen began his morning preparing for an upcoming water refill and science install of Plant Habitat-03B, an investigation that assesses if adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next. In the afternoon, he installed new science to the habitat and added water to its reservoir. Bowen then spent his evening organizing and stowing day/night glasses which help protect astronauts from radiation.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his morning removing CubeSat deployers from the Multipurpose Experiment Platform located inside the Kibo Laboratory following last week’s deployment of six CubeSats. Hoburg then moved to install a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer for future mini satellites inside the Japanese Experiment Module.

Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi prepared the Dreams headband for an upcoming assessment that will monitor astronauts’ sleep quality. Alneyadi then spent time with Hoburg to review procedures for forthcoming maintenance that will be completed in the station’s Tranquility module. He ended his day reconfiguring Extravehicular Mobility Units.

Flight Engineer Frank Rubio of NASA spent his morning, along with Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos completing training on station egress procedures. Following a morning training series, Rubio moved into the Window Observational Research Facility to observe and photograph Earth. In the afternoon, he analyzed water from the orbital lab’s Water Recovery System and took a look at surface and air microbial samples that were previously swabbed.

Following training, Petelin continued preparing a cargo unload plan he began last week for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission. Cosmonaut Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev started the EarthKAM software, a program that allows students to remotely control a digital camera mounted on the station to take photographs of mountain ranges, coastlines, and other Earth views that catch their eyes.

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

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Crew Ends Week Continuing Station Upgrades

NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg poses for a portrait during maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.

The Expedition 69 crewmembers aboard the International Space Station are wrapping up their week with a continuation of science activities and station upgrades.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio started his morning continuing to collect samples for the Food Physiology investigation. Later, he spent the afternoon completing upgrades to the Japanese Experiment Module Water Recovery System, which recycles wastewater and humidity in the cabin air into drinking water for astronauts, located in the Kibo Laboratory. Near the end of his day, Rubio conducted maintenance in the station’s Columbus Laboratory Module.

Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg of NASA spent their morning working together to replace hardware on the station’s Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, or ARED, a machine that simulates free weights for resistive exercise in microgravity. Bowen also retrieved data of the station’s acoustic levels that were measured earlier this week and performed system upgrades to the International Commercial Experiment Cubes (ICE Cubes) Facility, which is a platform that hosts a variety of research experiments, technology demonstrations and educational objectives. Meanwhile, Hoburg continued his efforts that he began yesterday of reconfiguring, rotating and monitoring the Life Support Rack, a system that helps generate water and oxygen.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi took time in the morning to rearrange stowage in the Columbus Laboratory Module. Later in the day, he installed hardware in the Quest Airlock.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos continued with station maintenance they began earlier in the week. Cosmonaut Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin completed upgrades to communications devices then spent most of his day preparing a cargo unload plan for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 cargo mission, arriving to the station next month.

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

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Food Physiology Science, Station Upgrades Continue and CubeSats Deployed

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew poses for a portrait during dinner time inside the International Space Station's Unity module. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev; NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen; Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev; UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi; Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin; and NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg. — The seven-member Expedition 69 crew poses for a portrait during dinner time inside the International Space Station’s Unity module. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev; NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen; Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev; UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi; Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin; and NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg.

Another busy day of Food Physiology science and station upgrades is underway today for the Expedition 69 crew on the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio spent most of his day continuing work for the Food Physiology investigation, collecting various samples and stowing them for future space and ground-based analysis, as well as processing samples taken earlier this week. This investigation is an ongoing series of experiments designed to understand the effects of spaceflight diet on astronauts.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen spent his morning working with a 3D chamber that investigates growth of organ buds from human stem cells in microgravity. Most of his day was spent preparing, rotating and verifying system operations throughout the day. Later on, Bowen deployed six CubeSats—mini satellites—into low-Earth orbit outside the Kibo airlock. The CubeSats will explore and monitor Earth’s atmosphere, study orbital conditions to learn more about space weather effects and observe material changes in space.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg spent the morning reconfiguring, rotating and monitoring the Life Support Rack which helps generate water and oxygen. Additionally, he measured acoustic levels of the station’s living quarters. United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi rebooted Lumina, a device that monitors radiation. The two then worked together to install new communications hardware in the station’s Tranquility module.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued performing station maintenance, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev continued experimental research. Fedyaev donned a sensor-packed cap to practice piloting techniques through Pilot-T, an experiment that explores how spacefarers may react and control spacecraft on future planetary missions.

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

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Station Reboost, Food Physiology, and Hearing Assessments for Crew Mid-Week

Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from left) Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Woody Hoburg of NASA pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the Unity module and the Tranquility module during maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.

Three Expedition 69 crew members spent their day on the International Space Station performing work in the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, while other crew members completed a variety of Food Physiology experiments and hearing assessments.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi performed maintenance and prepped BEAM for a mid-day entry. The seven-year-old module is an expandable capsule attached to the station’s Tranquility module and allows an additional space for crews to work.

Bowen spent his morning temporarily stowing items and cleaning BEAM, while Alneyadi and Hoburg completed maintenance in tandem. Hoburg later collected atmospheric and surface microbe samples from BEAM for future analysis. Bowen then entered BEAM for inspection, and later, exited and stowed tools and materials. In addition, Alneyadi moved MATISS samples that investigate antibacterial properties of materials in space while Hoburg cleaned vents that monitor the station’s air quality.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio spent his day performing connection checks of data management systems and completing a round of sample collections for the Food Physiology investigation. Rubio also conducted a hearing test, regular assessments such as this measure hearing function while exposed to the environment of microgravity in long-duration spaceflight.

Cosmonaut Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin and Commander Sergey Prokopyev also conducted hearing assessments, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev performed station maintenance.

Following the July 4 holiday, the space station is orbiting slightly higher after the 83P fired its engines for 18 minutes and 52 seconds Tuesday afternoon. The orbital reboost sets up the correct phasing for the ISS Progress 85 resupply mission next month.

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

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Crew Starts Week With Experiment Preps, Daily Exercise and System Maintenance

NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a portrait while working inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. — NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a portrait while working inside the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module.

After a weekend off-duty, the Expedition 69 crew is kicking off their week with a variety of experiment preparations and system maintenance on the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen started his day removing HICARI-2 samples from the Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF) in the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo. Hicari is an experiment led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to investigate high-quality crystal growth of semiconductors.

While Bowen separated Hicari samples for return, NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio refreshed internal computer systems on the station. The two then took turns exercising on the station’s Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System (CEVIS) bicycle and the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED), which is a machine that simulates free weights for resistive exercise to help astronauts maintain bone and muscle strength in microgravity.

Rubio ended his day setting up hardware for the crew to collect saliva samples. The samples will be monitored and stored for future analysis on Earth to better understand crew health in space. Following Rubio’s earlier computer refresh, Bowen ended his day stowing items and hardware after the refresh was completed.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg performed EVA battery maintenance following his and Bowen’s spacewalk on June 15. United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi prepped and turned on Astrobee, which are free-flying robots aboard the station that are used to assist astronauts with their daily duties. He also spent time surveying the Unity and Harmony modules for future hardware relocation. Hoburg and Alneyadi then took turns exercising on ARED and the station’s treadmill.

Cosmonaut Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev worked in tandem to perform sampling of microflora while Commander Sergey Prokopyev performed maintenance in the Zvezda service module.

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

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SpaceX Dragon Cargo Splashes Down, Returning Science to Earth

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft approaches the space station for an automated docking loaded with over 7,000 pounds of science experiments, station hardware, and crew supplies on June 9.

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 10:30 a.m. EDT Friday, June 30, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, marking the return of the company’s 28th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The spacecraft carried approximately 3,600 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth.

Scientific hardware and samples returning on the mission include the GRIP – Dexterous Manipulation in Microgravity chair used in the ESA (European Space Agency)-sponsored neurology experiments GRIP and GRASP (Gravitational References for Sensimotor Performance: Reaching and Grasping). GRIP studies how microgravity affects the manipulation of objects, while GRASP provides further insight into how the central nervous system adapts to the microgravity environment. The experiments have been on the space station almost six years, and the final in-orbit tests were completed in early 2023.

Samples from BioNutrients-2, Monoclonal Antibodies, and Myotones investigations also are returning to Earth for scientific analysis.

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

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SpaceX Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Departs from Station

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft undocks from the station on June 29, 2023 to bring 3,600 pounds of science back to Earth. — A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft undocks from the station on June 29, 2023, to bring 3,600 pounds of science back to Earth. Credit: NASA TV

Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, the company’s Dragon cargo spacecraft undocked at 12:30 p.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. At the time of undocking the station was flying at an altitude about 260 miles northeast of the Indian Ocean west of Indonesia.

After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Friday, June 30. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.

Dragon arrived at the station June 6 as SpaceX’s 28th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA, delivering more than 7,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware, including two IROSAs, or International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The spacecraft was launched June 5 on a SpaceX 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 Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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SpaceX Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Departing Station Live on NASA TV

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is pictured departing the vicinity of the space station following its undocking from the Harmony module's space-facing port on January 9, 2023. — The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is pictured departing the vicinity of the space station following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on January 9, 2023.

Live coverage of the departure of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.

Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, Dragon will undock at 12:30 p.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the 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 about 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 30. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.

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

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Dragon Go For Undocking as Crew Finalizes Cargo Loading

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is pictured approaching the International Space Station on June 6 above a cloudy Sea of Japan in this photograph from the orbital outpost.

Mission managers have given the go for the undocking of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station on Thursday. As Dragon nears its departure, the Expedition 69 crew also worked on advanced science hardware while conducting cardiac research and immunity studies.

Flight Engineers Woody Hoburg, Stephen Bowen, and Sultan Alneyadi took turns on Wednesday loading some of the 3,600 pounds of cargo that will return to Earth inside Dragon. The trio will get back together on Thursday for final cargo activities as they pack critical research samples inside Dragon’s return science freezers before closing its hatch.

Dragon is scheduled to undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday. It will parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida early Friday morning for retrieval by SpaceX and NASA personnel. NASA TV will cover Dragon’s undocking and departure beginning at 11:45 a.m. on the agency’s app and website. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.

Bowen began his day in the Kibo laboratory module setting up the NanoRacks CubeSat deployer that will soon be placed into the vacuum of space outside Kibo’s airlock. The deployer will release six different nanosatellites into Earth orbit for Earth observations, communication studies, materials research, and a technology demonstration. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio activated the Astrobee robotic free-flyers during the afternoon and performed software test runs on the devices with assistance from ground controllers.

Hoburg from NASA and Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates) partnered together in the afternoon for maintenance duties inside the Quest airlock. The duo secured airlock closeout panels and stowage platforms inside Quest.

Human research was a top priority on Wednesday for the cosmonauts working in the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin assisted Commander Sergey Prokopyev as he attached sensors to himself monitoring how living in microgravity affects his blood pressure and his cardiovascular health. Petelin stowed research hardware then downloaded data collected for a study that observes how the human immune system adapts to long-term weightlessness.

Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev set up a camera inside the Poisk module and pointed it out a window to photograph the external condition of the Roscosmos segment of the space station. He also spent some time working on ventilation systems inside the Nauka science module.

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

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Crew Packing Dragon for Undocking on Thursday

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft approaches the space station for an automated docking loaded with over 7,000 pounds of experiments, hardware, and crew supplies on June 6, 2023.

A U.S. cargo craft is being packed and readied for its undocking from the International Space Station and its retrieval on Earth at the end of the week. The Expedition 69 crew members also focused their Tuesday research activities on space botany, robotics, and human research.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is nearing the end of its stay at the orbital lab and is scheduled to undock at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday. NASA TV will begin its live undocking and departure coverage at 11:45 a.m. on the agency’s app and website.

NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi worked throughout Tuesday continuing to load Dragon with some of the 3,600 pounds of cargo that will return to Earth. Dragon is due to splash down off the coast of Florida about 2:30 a.m. on Friday for retrieval by NASA and SpaceX personnel. Dragon arrived at the station on June 6 packed with over 7,000 pounds of new science experiments, crew supplies, and lab hardware.

The astronaut quartet also split its day with a variety of research and maintenance activities. Hoburg added water to the Advanced Plant Habitat for an upcoming space botany study. Alneyadi swapped components on an artificial gravity-generating research incubator then configured the Astrobee robotic free-flyers for a student competition.

While Rubio spent most of Tuesday on Dragon cargo transfers, he also had time for hardware inspections inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the afternoon. Bowen swapped out life support components and charged wearable medical monitoring gear. Bowen and Hoburg also spent an hour before lunchtime reviewing Dragon Endeavour crew spacecraft departure procedures.

Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin collected his saliva and hair samples for a study that will analyze them to understand how the human immune system adapts to microgravity. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev primarily focused their activities on maintenance on Tuesday. The two cosmonauts worked in the Zvezda service module as Prokopyev worked on ventilation systems while Fedyaev checked its power supply and oxygen generator.

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

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