The Expedition 63 crew checked out SpaceX Crew Dragon suits today and stayed busy with a full slate of space research. The International Space Station also completed the first of three orbital reboosts to get ready for the next crew mission in October.
Flight Engineers Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken inspected the suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon spaceship. The duo tried on their suits for a fit check and ensured the components are in good condition. They are scheduled to depart the station on Saturday and splashdown the following day. NASA TV will cover all the departure activities live.
The homebound-duo started the day replacing environmental control system (ECS) hardware aboard the orbiting lab. That work required temporarily removing a plant habitat from the Unity module to access the ECS.
Commander Chris Cassidy had his hands full as he worked on specialized hardware that enables research into disordered solids, or glass, and materials heated to extreme temperatures. He first set up a Light Microscopy Module that will look at the microscopic transition of glass-forming materials. Next, he worked on the Electromagnetic Levitator that observes the thermophysical properties of liquid metallic alloys.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner stayed busy today as they checked out Orlan spacesuits, serviced life support gear and analyzed station air samples for impurities.
The docked Progress 75 resupply ship fired its engines this morning for five-and-a-half minutes slightly lifting the station’s orbit. There will be two more station reboosts before the Soyuz MS-17 crew ship launches in October with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. They will dock to the Rassvet module a few hours after launch to begin a six-month mission as the Expedition 64 crew.
I am very happy the astronauts come back next Saturday arriving Sunday. I hope Tropical Depression don’t bother their sea landing. Greeting to International Space Station people and SpaceX boss Elon Musk and NASA manager Bridenstine.
L’ISS a été changé d’orbite, sans doute en allumant un ou plusieurs moteurs pour gagner de l’altitude ! Quelle est la nouvelle altitude de l’ISS?
The station’s orbit was raised nearly 1/3 of a mile at its high point (apogee) and 1.1 miles at its low point (perigee) to in an orbit of 263.8 by 256.9 statute miles.
Thank you, that was exactly the information I was looking for.
Wishing Bob and Doug a safe splash down Sunday.
Excellent report.
Concise.
Thank you.
I wish Bob and Doug a happy homecoming and a safe undocking and splash down.
Mr. Hurley and Mr. Behnken finishing up their historic mission. First splashdown of a spacecraft after 46 years. It’s actually a departure from the elegant landings of the Space Shuttle but a much more economical way to do the round trip from and to Mother Earth. Godspeed Hurley and Behnken. Welcome back.