Crew Readies Satellite and Organizes Station

The International Space Station is getting ready to deploy another satellite while the Expedition 63 crew winds down the work week on logistics and space science.

Commander Chris Cassidy and Flight Engineer Bob Behnken set up hardware today in Japan’s Kibo laboratory module that will deploy another Red-Eye satellite. The third and final Red-Eye microsatellite will be deployed outside Kibo to test satellite communications, flight computers and thermal management technologies.

Cassidy then joined fellow NASA astronaut Doug Hurley transferring resupply racks from the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) into Japan’s HTV-9 space freighter. Behnken helped out as he moved gear from the PMM into the Unity module to make space for the rack swap work during the afternoon.

Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin changed out fuel bottles in the Combustion Integrated Rack this morning to continue the safe research of flames in microgravity. Then he moved on observing particle clouds for a plasma crystal study that seeks to increase fundamental knowledge and improve spacecraft designs.

First-time Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner was photographing the Earth today documenting natural and man-made catastrophes. He also sampled the atmosphere in the Russian segment of the station before working on the Zvezda service module’s ventilation system.