U.S. Cargo Mission Nears Launch, Crew Unloads Russian Space Freighter

The Cygnus space freighter is pictured launching atop the Antares rocket from Virgina to the space station in April of 2019.
The Cygnus space freighter is pictured launching atop the Antares rocket from Virgina to the space station in April of 2019.

A U.S. rocket carrying Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is counting down to launch toward the International Space Station on Saturday. Meanwhile, Russia’s Progress 80 cargo craft completed a two-day space delivery mission to the Expedition 66 crew early Thursday.

An Antares rocket stands at the Wallops Flight Facility launch pad in Virginia ready to boost the Cygnus cargo craft to orbit on Saturday. It will lift off at 12:40 p.m. EST placing Cygnus, carrying more than 8,300 pounds of station gear and science experiments, into space about nine minutes later. Once on orbit, Cygnus will deploy its cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays which will power the vehicle during its journey to the orbiting lab.

NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron will be on duty early Monday monitoring Cygnus’ automated approach and rendezvous. When Cygnus reaches a point about 10 meters from the station, Chari will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture the vehicle at 4:35 a.m. Ground controllers will then take over the Canadarm2 and remotely install the U.S. cargo craft to the Unity module a couple of hours later.

Russia’s Progress 80 resupply ship docked to the Poisk module at 2:03 a.m. on Thursday, delivering nearly three-and-a-half tons of food, fuel, and supplies, to the seven orbital residents. Station commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov opened the hatch a few hours later and began unpacking the cargo that had launched from Kazakhstan just over two days earlier.

Despite the busy cargo schedule this week, biomedical science was in full-swing on the station today. Barron joined NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Mark Vande Hei investigating how weightlessness affects visual function. Chari partnered with ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer and checked his eyes using medical imaging gear.

Russian Space Freighter Docks to Station After Two Days

Russia's Progress 80 resupply ship approaches the station for docking on Feb. 17, 2022.
Russia’s Progress 80 resupply ship approaches the station for docking on Feb. 17, 2022. Credit: NASA TV.

An uncrewed Russian Progress 80 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 2:03 a.m. EST, about two days after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 66 crew.

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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NASA TV Broadcasts Russian Spaceship Approaching Station

Russia's Progress 76 resupply ship is pictured approaching the station in July of 2020 packed with nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies.
Russia’s Progress 76 resupply ship is pictured approaching the station in July of 2020 packed with nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies.

NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The uncrewed Russian Progress 80 launched on a Soyuz rocket at 11:25 p.m. EST (9:25 a.m. on Feb. 15 Baikonur time) on Monday, Feb. 14, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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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Russian Cargo Craft Nears Station, U.S. Space Freighter at Launch Pad

Russia's Progress 76 resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station in July of 2020.
Russia’s Progress 76 resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station in July of 2020.

A Russian resupply ship is targeting the International Space Station for a cargo delivery early Thursday. While two cosmonauts get ready to support the cargo craft’s arrival, the rest of the Expedition 66 crew juggled lab maintenance, space research, and robotics training ahead of a U.S. cargo mission due to launch on Saturday.

Nearly three-and-a-half tons of food, fuel, and supplies are racing toward the orbiting lab today aboard the ISS Progress 80 resupply ship from Roscosmos. Station Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov will be monitoring the cargo craft’s automated approach on Thursday when it docks to the Poisk module at 2:06 a.m. EST. The duo continued training today on the tele-robotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, preparing for the unlikely event the Progress 80 would need to be manually docked.

Another cargo craft rolled out to its launch pad on Tuesday at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The U.S. Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman is loaded with over 8,300 pounds of station hardware and new science experiments. It will launch atop an Antares rocket on Saturday at 12:40 p.m. and reach the station for a capture with the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Monday at 4:35 a.m.

NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron trained today for the capture activities on the robotics workstation and will be on duty Monday monitoring Cygnus’ approach and rendezvous. Controllers on the ground will take over robotics duties after Cygnus is captured and remotely install the U.S. cargo craft to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port where it will stay for just over three months.

The station’s other three astronauts focused on ongoing equipment servicing and microgravity science in the midst of this week’s cargo activities. NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Marshburn wrapped up the cooling component work on the COLBERT treadmill in the Tranquility module. Marshburn also set up an Astrobee robotic free-flyer with a smart phone video guidance sensor being tested remotely by controllers on Earth. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer swapped hardware inside the waste and hygiene compartment, the station’s restroom, before computer operations on human research gear.

Vein, Eye Scans as Russian Cargo Mission Orbits Toward Station

From left, NASA's Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Mark Vande Hei pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.
From left, NASA’s Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Mark Vande Hei pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module.

Vein scans and hardware maintenance kept the Expedition 66 crew busy on Tuesday aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Russia’s 80th space station cargo mission is orbiting Earth and on schedule to arrive at the orbiting lab early Thursday.

Three astronauts were scheduled on Tuesday afternoon for a series of vein and eye scans with doctors on the ground monitoring in real time. The station trio from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) gathered inside the Columbus laboratory module and used the Ultrasound 2 device to image each other’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins. NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Marshburn kicked off the biomedical work Tuesday afternoon. German astronaut Matthias Maurer joined them afterward wrapping up the vein and eye examinations. Doctors uses the data to understand how living in microgravity affects the human body.

Marshburn and Maurer had joined each other earlier in the day for maintenance on the COLBERT treadmill in the Tranquility module. Maurer began the work before lunchtime repairing cooling components on the exercise device. Marshburn followed up in the afternoon temporarily stowing the workout gear ahead of more work planned for the 11-year-old treadmill.

NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari split their day working on satellite hardware and life support gear. Barron spent Tuesday morning in the Kibo laboratory module uninstalling the small satellite orbital deployer. Its most recent deployment was a series of scientific and educational CubeSats delivered on the last SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission. Chari spent part of his day removing air and flushing the station’s water recovery system.

Nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies aboard the ISS Progress 80 cargo craft successfully reached orbit late Monday after its liftoff from Kazakhstan on Monday at 11:25 p.m. EST. Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov will be on duty monitoring the Russian resupply ship when it automatically docks to the Poisk module on Thursday at 2:06 a.m. EST.

Shkaplerov cleaned Poisk on Tuesday morning making space to begin cargo transfers after the Progress 80’s arrival. The station commander from Roscosmos later joined Dubrov for an ongoing study that explores ways to pilot future spacecraft and robots on 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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Russian Cargo Craft Blasts off to Resupply Station

Russia's Progress 80 resupply ship blasted off on Feb. 14 at 11:25 p.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.. Credit: NASA TV.
Russia’s Progress 80 resupply ship blasted off on Feb. 14 at 11:25 p.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV.

The uncrewed Russian Progress 80 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 11:25 p.m. EST (9:25 a.m. on Feb. 15 Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned on its way to meet up with the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 66 crew members.

After making 34 orbits of Earth on its journey, Progress will dock to the station’s Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Russian segment at 2:06 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 17. Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 1:30 a.m.

Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station. The Russian space agency Roscosmos will determine a departure date for Progress 80.

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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Russian Cargo Craft Launching to Station Live on NASA TV

Russia's Progress 80 space freighter is seen prior to launch in Baikonur. It will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 66 crew. Credit: Roscosmos.
Russia’s Progress 80 space freighter is seen prior to launch in Baikonur. It will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 66 crew. Credit: Roscosmos.

NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the launch of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The uncrewed Russian Progress 80 is scheduled to lift off on a Soyuz rocket at 11:25 p.m. EST (9:25 a.m. on Feb. 15 Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a 34-orbit journey to the microgravity laboratory.

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 Gets Ready for Pair of Cargo Missions Launching this Week

The Nauka multipurpose laboratory module and the Prichal docking module are pictured as the space station orbited above Australia.
The Nauka multipurpose laboratory module and the Prichal docking module are pictured as the space station orbited above Australia.

A Russian cargo craft is at its launch pad counting down to a lift off tonight to resupply the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 66 crew stayed focused on a variety of research activities while getting ready for another cargo mission due to arrive early next week.

Russia’s ISS Progress 80 resupply ship stands at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan loaded with nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies. The 80th cargo mission from Roscosmos is due to launch tonight at 11:25 p.m. EST and automatically dock to the Poisk module on Thursday at 2:06 a.m. live on NASA TV and the agency’s website and the NASA app.

A U.S. cargo mission is also on tap to launch on Saturday at 12:40 p.m. from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter will arrive at a point about 10 meters from the space station when the Canadarm2 robotic arm, commanded by NASA Flight Engineer Raja Chari, will capture the vehicle at 4:35 a.m. next Monday. Robotics controllers on the ground will take over shortly afterward and remotely install Cygnus to the Unity module a couple of hours later. Chari and his back up NASA Flight Engineer Kayla Barron are training today on a computer for the upcoming robotics activities.

While two rockets are getting ready to blast off to the orbiting lab this week, the space lab residents stayed busy today with space science and station maintenance activities.

NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei continued setting up the Combustion Integrated Rack for the upcoming SoFIE, or Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction, series of fire safety studies. Astronaut Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) participated in a vision test then wore a specialized body suit that stimulates muscles for the EasyMotion exercise study. NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn started the day on computer maintenance before spending the afternoon in the Tranquility module working on the U.S. treadmill.

Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos activated the EarthKAM experiment in the Harmony module for a weeklong session of Earth photography remotely-controlled by students on the ground. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov continued setting up the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module for operations.

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 Crew Gets Ready for Russian and U.S. Cargo Missions

(From left) Russia's Progress cargo craft and the U.S. Cygnus space freighter are pictured approaching the station during previous cargo missions.
(From left) Russia’s Progress cargo craft and the U.S. Cygnus space freighter are pictured approaching the station during previous cargo missions.

The Expedition 66 crew is getting ready for a pair of cargo missions launching from Kazakhstan and the United States next week. The Progress and Cygnus resupply ships will be delivering several tons of food, fuel, and supplies to replenish the seven astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station.

Russia’s ISS Progress 80 cargo craft will roll out this weekend at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome and begin counting down to its lift off on Feb. 14 at 11:25 p.m. EST. The Progress 80 will orbit the Earth for just over two days before automatically docking to the Poisk module on Feb. 17 at 2:06 a.m. with nearly three tons of cargo.

Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov trained today on a computer for the Progress 80’s arrival. The duo from Roscosmos will be at the controls of the tele-operated robotic unit, or TORU, in the Zvezda service module monitoring the cargo craft’s approach and rendezvous. In the unlikely event the Progress 80 is unable to dock on its own, the cosmonauts will be able to use the TORU and manually guide the vehicle to a docking on Poisk.

The next cargo craft to visit the station will be Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter after it launches from Virginia on Feb. 19 at 12:40 p.m. The Cygnus will arrive at the station on Feb. 21 where it will be captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 4:35 a.m. and installed to the Unity module a few hours later.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron joined each other Friday and reviewed robotics procedures necessary to capture Cygnus after it reaches a distance of about 10 meters from the station. Chari will be in the cupola commanding the Canadarm2 to reach out and grapple Cygnus while Barron backs him up and monitors vehicle systems. Ground controllers will take over afterward and remotely guide the robotic arm with Cygnus in its grip and install the U.S. cargo craft to Unity’s Earth-facing port where it will stay for three months.

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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Human Research Exploring How Astronauts Adapt to Long-Term Spaceflight

Astronaut Kayla Barron works on a space agriculture experiment that explores how to grow fresh food in space.
Astronaut Kayla Barron works on a space agriculture experiment that explores how to grow fresh food in space.

A host of human research activities dominated Thursday’s research schedule aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 66 crew members explored how living in microgravity affects sense of orientation, visual function, and the spine.

At the beginning of the day, NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron gathered again in the Columbus laboratory module for the GRIP study. The duo took turns strapping themselves in a specialized seat for the second time this week gripping a control device in response to dynamic events to explore how microgravity affects an astronaut’s sense of motion and orientation. They will have one more session on Friday for the experiment that may inform the design of future spacecraft interfaces.

Chari later spent the afternoon on a series of spinal exams with Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency). The astronauts swapped roles as crew medical officer marking their lower, or lumbar spinal section. Then with remote guidance from doctors on the ground, the duo took turns scanning each other’s lumbar spinal section with the Ultrasound 2 device for insights into how the skeletal system adapts to weightlessness.

Matthias first started the day with NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn conducting biology research inside the Kibo laboratory module. The duo performed operations using the Life Science Glovebox investigating how spaceflight affects visual function by examining changes in the vascular system of the retina and tissue remodeling.

Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei, who is on his way to breaking the NASA astronaut single spaceflight record, spent Thursday configuring hardware to support a pair of fire safety experiments. He was inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module setting up the Combustion Integrated Rack to support upcoming operations for the SoFIE, or Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction, studies.

Working in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment, Commander Anton Shkaplerov studied advanced ways to detect Earth landmarks for photography sessions. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov worked throughout the day installing components and setting up crew cabins inside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory 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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