The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship (at top) is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on the space station.
Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.
Ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, will send commands at approximately 11:00 a.m. EDT for Dragon to undock from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station. Tomorrow, controllers will command a deorbit burn.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA TV will not broadcast the de-orbit burn and splashdown. Updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.
The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the space station on July 16, 2022, during an orbital sunrise above the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA TV
The Expedition 67 crew will wait an extra day before seeing a U.S. space freighter depart the International Space Station. In the meantime, the cosmonauts are cleaning up following a shorter-than-planned spacewalk after a power issue on a Russian Orlan spacesuit.
Mission managers representing NASA and SpaceX waved off Thursday’s undocking of the Dragon cargo craft due to adverse weather conditions at the splashdown site off the coast of Florida. Dragon is now due to leave the Harmony module’s forward port at 11:05 a.m. EDT on Friday.
Four of the station’s astronauts including Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, all from NASA, with Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), will finish packing Dragon with critical research samples early Friday morning before closing the commercial resupply ship’s hatch. Dragon is scheduled to parachute back to Earth on Saturday loaded with over 4,000 pounds of cargo including completed scientific experiments for analysis. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, begins its live undocking coverage at 10:45 a.m. on Friday.
During a four-hour and one-minute spacewalk on Wednesday, Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev installed a pair of cameras on the European robotic arm (ERA) and removed parts attached to the arm’s end effector. Today, the cosmonauts powered down their Orlan spacesuits and removed suit components. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov reconfigured the Poisk module back to normal operations.
Just over two hours after Thursday’s spacewalk began, Artemyev informed Russian mission controllers his spacesuit was experiencing abnormal battery readings. Mission controllers directed Artemyev to return to the Poisk’s airlock and connect his spacesuit to the station’s power supply. Matveev continued his tasks before cleaning up and heading back to Poisk after managers called off the robotic maintenance excursion. Korsakov maneuvered the ERA to a safe post-spacewalk configuration while the cosmonaut spacewalkers were never in any danger.
The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship carrying over 5,800 pounds of cargo approaches the space station above the south Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 2022.
At the conclusion of an early morning weather briefing, NASA and SpaceX are postponing the Thursday, Aug. 18 undocking of a SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft from the International Space Station due to unfavorable weather conditions, including an elevated chance of precipitation at the splashdown sites. Mission teams now are targeting to undock the uncrewed Dragon spacecraft from the space station at 11:05 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 19.
NASA will provide coverage of Dragon’s undocking and departure on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website beginning at 10:45 a.m. EDT. Watch online at:
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Saturday, Aug. 20. NASA TV will not broadcast the splashdown, and updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.v
Spacewalkers Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev are pictured during a spacewalk on April 28, 2022, monitoring the station’s new European robotic arm.
Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev, both of Roscosmos, concluded their spacewalk at 1:54 p.m. EDT after 4 hours and 1 minute.
During the spacewalk, the two cosmonauts completed the installation of two cameras on the European robotic arm prior to Artemyev’s Orlan spacesuit showing abnormal battery readings about 2 hours and 17 minutes into the extravehicular activity. Mission Control-Moscow instructed Artemeyev to return to the Poisk airlock to connect to the space station’s power supply. Cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov, inside the station, placed the European robotic arm in a safe configuration, and Matveev safely returned to the Poisk airlock after completing some final clean-up activities outside of the International Space Station. The duo was never in any danger during the operations.
Additional spacewalks are planned to continue outfitting the European robotic arm and to activate Nauka’s airlock for future spacewalks. The work on the European robotic arm will be used to move spacewalkers and payloads around the Russian segment of the station.
This was the seventh spacewalk in Artemyev’s career, and the third for Matveev. It was the seventh spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 252nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Flight Engineer Denis Matveev makes his way back inside the station after being instructed by Russian flight controllers to end the Aug. 17 spacewalk at the International Space Station due to a battery power issue on Artemyev’s Orlan spacesuit.
Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev, both of Roscosmos, were instructed by Russian flight controllers to end the Aug. 17 spacewalk at the International Space Station due to a battery power issue on Artemyev’s Orlan spacesuit.
During the spacewalk, the two cosmonauts completed the installation of two cameras on the European robotic arm prior to Artemyev’s Orlan spacesuit showing abnormal battery readings. Mission Control-Moscow instructed Artemyev to return to the Poisk airlock to connect to the space station’s power supply. Cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov, inside the station, is placing the European robotic arm in a safe configuration, and Matveev has just returned to the Poisk airlock. The duo was never in any danger during the operations.
The European robotic arm is seen attached to the Nauka module of the International Space Station, the worksite for today’s spacewalk by two cosmonauts.
Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev, both of Roscosmos, began a spacewalk at 9:53 a.m. EDT to continue outfitting the European robotic arm on the International Space Station’s Nauka laboratory by opening the hatch of the Poisk docking compartment airlock. Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
The duo is installing cameras on the European robotic arm, relocating an external control panel for the arm from one operating area to another, removing launch restraints near the two end effectors or “hands” of the arm, and testing a rigidizing mechanism on the arm that will be used to facilitate the grasping of payloads.
Artemyev is wearing a Russian spacesuit with red stripes, while Matveev is wearing a Russian suit with blue stripes. This will be the seventh spacewalk in Artemyev’s career, and the third for Matveev. It will be the seventh spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 252nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Spacewalkers Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos work outside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module on the International Space Station while wearing Russian Orlan spacesuits. The duo continued outfitting the European Robotic Arm attached to Nauka during a spacewalk that lasted seven hours and five minutes on July 21, 2022.
NASA Television coverage is underway of today’s spacewalk with Russian cosmonauts to continue outfitting the European robotic arm on the International Space Station’s Nauka laboratory. Coverage of the spacewalk is on NASA Television, the NASA app, and agency’s website.
Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev, both of Roscosmos, will install cameras on the European robotic arm, relocate an external control panel for the arm from one operating area to another, remove launch restraints near the two end effectors or “hands” of the arm, and test a rigidizing mechanism on the arm that will be used to facilitate the grasping of payloads.
Artemyev and Matveev will exit out of the Poisk module about 9:20 a.m. EDT to begin the six-and-a-half-hour excursion. Artemyev will wear a Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Matveev will wear a Russian Orlan suit with blue stripes. This will be the seventh spacewalk for Artemyev and the third for Matveev. It will be the seventh spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 252nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
The European robotic arm will be used to move payloads and equipment outside the Russian segment of the station, joining the Canadian-built Canadarm2 robotic arm and the Japanese arm already supporting station maintenance, operations, and research.
The European robotic arm extends out from the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module during a mobility test.
The Expedition 67 crew split up today with the astronauts studying wound healing techniques and the cosmonauts preparing for a spacewalk to prepare a new robotic arm for operations. A U.S. space freighter has also been given the “go” to return to Earth at the end of the week.
Researchers are exploring tissue regeneration in the International Space Station’s microgravity environment to develop new ways to heal wounds benefitting humans living in space and on Earth. The astronauts took turns throughout Tuesday investigating how spaceflight conditions, such as weightlessness and radiation, affect genetic expressions that occur during the healing process.
The skin healing experiment will wrap up on Wednesday when the astronauts load the research samples and other cargo inside the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship for analysis by scientists and engineers on Earth. Mission managers have approved Dragon’s departure for 11:05 a.m. EDT on Thursday when it will undock from the Harmony module’s forward port. The commercial cargo craft will parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida on Friday with over 4,000 pounds of cargo and research for retrieval.
Meanwhile, two cosmonauts are ready for their spacewalk to continue outfitting the European robotic arm (ERA) for payload operations on the orbiting lab’s Russian segment. Roscosmos spacewalkers Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev are finalizing their task list reviews and Orlan spacesuit checks today with assistance from Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov.
Artemyev and Matveev are scheduled to exit the Poisk module’s airlock at 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday and spend about six-and-a-half hours servicing the ERA. The duo will install cameras on the ERA, move its external control panel, remove the robotic arm’s launch restraints, and test the arm’s grasping mechanism. Korsakov will monitor his cosmonaut crewmates during their excursion and help them in and out of their spacesuits. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 9 a.m.
The SpaceX Dragon space freighter approaches the space station during an orbital sunrise on July 16, 2022.
Mission managers have given the “go” for the seventh spacewalk of the year scheduled to take place in the middle of the week. A U.S. cargo craft is also nearing the end of its mission with its undocking and return to Earth planned for the end of the week.
Two cosmonauts are gearing up for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to continue setting up the European robotic arm (ERA) for operations on the outside of the International Space Station’s Russian segment. Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev will exit the Poisk module’s airlock at 9:20 a.m. EDT on Wednesday in their Russian Orlan spacesuits. The pair will install cameras on the ERA, move its external control panel, remove the robotic arm’s launch restraints, and test the arm’s grasping mechanism. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 9 a.m.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov is assisting his fellow cosmonauts with the spacewalk preparations while also maintaining orbital lab systems and conducting space research. Today, he worked on ventilation systems inside the Nauka module then explored effective exercise techniques to maintain physical fitness in microgravity.
Meanwhile, the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is nearing the end of its monthlong stay on the Harmony module’s forward port. Expedition 67 Flight Engineers Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) spent Monday afternoon packing Dragon with some of the more than 4,000 pounds of station gear and completed science experiments it will return to Earth. Dragon will undock at 11:05 a.m. on Thursday and parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida the following day for retrieval. Live undocking coverage on NASA TV begins at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines spent Monday focusing on life science to improve human health on and off the Earth. Lindgren set up tissue stem cell samples inside the Life Science Glovebox (LSG) to explore how weightlessness affects immunological aging possibly promoting therapies to protect astronauts and Earthlings. Afterward, Hines cleaned up the LSG in the Kibo laboratory module to prepare for experiment operations that will use the microgravity environment to develop new wound treatment techniques.
The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship (at top) is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on the International Space Station.
Skin healing processes and spacewalk preparations filled the work schedule aboard the International Space Station on Friday. The Expedition 67 crew members are also readying a U.S. space freighter for its return to Earth next week.
During the middle of the day, the foursome had time set aside time for gathering frozen research samples inside science freezers and preparing them for departure back to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. Dragon is due to leave the station on Aug. 18 loaded with over 4,000 pounds of station supplies and science experiments after 33 days docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. The commercial cargo craft will parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida the next day for retrieval by NASA and SpaceX personnel.
Watkins and Cristoforetti started the day collecting blood samples for spinning in a centrifuge then stowing them in a science freezer. Lindgren evaluated the effectiveness of the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound device that uses mobile-computing technology to promote crew autonomy. Hines wrapped up his day with light orbital plumbing tasks and spacewalk tether inspections.
Two cosmonauts are gearing up for a spacewalk on Aug. 17 to continue configuring the European robotic arm (ERA) for operations on the station’s Russian segment. Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev tried on their Orlan spacesuits, tested communications gear, checked for leaks, and practiced maneuvers planned for next week’s six-and-half-hour excursion. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov assisted the duo during the spacewalking dry run and will be on duty monitoring his two crewmates when they exit the Poisk module’s airlock next week for the ongoing ERA work.
