Cygnus Counts Down to Launch, Station Crews Keep Up Research

NASA’s Northrop Grumman 20th commercial resupply mission will carry more than 8,200 pounds (3,720 kilograms) of cargo to the International Space Station.
NASA’s Northrop Grumman 20th commercial resupply mission will carry more than 8,200 pounds (3,720 kilograms) of cargo to the International Space Station.

Cargo mission preparations and space research kept the Expedition 70 and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crews busy at the beginning of the week. The 11 residents working together aboard the International Space Station also continued their ongoing biomedical science and lab maintenance activities.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is sitting atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket counting down to a lift off no earlier than 12:07 p.m. EST on Tuesday. Cygnus is packed with more than 8,200 pounds of science and supplies scheduled for delivery to the orbital outpost on Thursday, Feb. 1. Among the new science experiments being delivered are the Metal 3D Printer that tests the 3D printing of small metal parts in space and the Robotic Surgery Tech Demo that tests remotely controlled surgical techniques.

NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara trained on a computer Monday afternoon for Cygnus’ arrival. Moghbeli will be at the robotics workstation on Thursday commanding the Canadarm 2 robotic arm to capture Cygnus at 4:20 a.m. O’Hara will also be on duty monitoring Cygnus’ automated approach and rendezvous early Thursday.

The duo along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa started the day with blood, saliva, and urine sample collections. The samples were processed first then stowed in a science freezer for later analysis to understand how living in weightlessness affects the human body. Furukawa later assisted Ax-3 crewmates Michael López-Alegría and Alper Gezeravcı as they studied how to use the CRISPR method to genetically modify plants promoting space agriculture and sustainable life support systems.

Station Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) started his day with a cognition test measuring his spatial orientation, visual tracking, and decision-making abilities in microgravity. Afterward, he supported the Ax-3 crew throughout the day, prepared the station for Cygnus cargo transfers, and recorded video messages for European students.

Ax-3 Pilot Walter Villadei documented his meals on Monday and answered a few questions about his dining experience. Villadei then videotaped a simple space physics experiment using a yo-yo then recorded a video message for future Italian pilots. Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt from ESA also recorded a video message using 360-degree virtual reality gear to promote science for Swedish audiences. He later documented his sleep experiences, took a cognition test, then uninstalled a high speed camera that photographed Earth’s thunderstorms.

Over in the orbiting lab’s Roscosmos segment, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko repressurized thermal control system components then swapped batteries inside hardware designed to inspect difficult to reach areas on the station. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub spent his day inventorying tools and equipment inside the Poisk module and photographing windows on the Zvezda service module. Cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov started his day disconnecting a student-controlled Earth observation camera then serviced ventilation systems in Zvezda and the Nauka science module.

The space station is orbiting a few miles higher after the Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo craft fired its engines for over 13 minutes on Saturday. The orbital reboost lifted the station to the correct altitude for an upcoming Progress cargo launch in February and the next Soyuz crew swap planned for early spring.


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

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Station Wraps Busy Week Before Cygnus Cargo Mission Launches

This high exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows Earth's atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared above the Pacific Ocean.
This high exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows Earth’s atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared above the Pacific Ocean.

The Expedition 70 crew is looking ahead to the arrival of a U.S. cargo craft due to arrive at the International Space Station next week. Meanwhile, the Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) crew finished its first week in orbit with a busy schedule of research, education, and media activities.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft will take its first ride atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket when it lifts off no earlier than 12:07 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 30,  from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private space freighter will be carrying over 8,200 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and lab hardware to the orbiting outpost. NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli is due to capture Cygnus with the Canadarm 2 robotic arm at 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1. She will be on duty that morning along with fellow NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara who will monitor Cygnus’ automated approach and rendezvous.

Both NASA astronauts along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa relaxed on Friday following the weeklong Cygnus preparations and Ax-3 orientation activities. Station Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) had a light duty day at the end of the week spending a couple of hours aiding the Ax-3 foursome during its science and maintenance-filled itinerary.

Ax-3 Commander and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría joined his crewmates Walter Villadei and Alper Gezeravcı at the start of their shift with blood draws for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis. Afterward, the five-time station visitor partnered with Italian astronaut Villadei configuring hardware that monitors space radiation and how it affects astronauts. At the end of the day, López-Alegría tested a digital voice assistant for its potential to assist with crew operations.

Gezeravcı, Turkey’s first astronaut, tended to algae samples growing in petri dishes for an antibacterial investigation then photographed his Ax-3 crewmates as they worked throughout the day. Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt representing ESA spent Friday juggling a variety of science experiments. The Swedish astronaut powered on plasma physics hardware, collected station air samples for chemical analysis, and taped high frame rate video of thunderstorm conditions in Earth’s stratosphere.

In the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko spent his morning updating laptop computer software before inventorying cargo in the Prichal docking module. First time space flyers Nikolai Chub and Konstantin Borisov split their day studying fluid physics, servicing life support components, and maintaining communications and computer systems.

Four Ax-3 Astronauts Board Station and Meet Expedition 70 Crew

The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts (front row) gather with the Expedition 70 crew inside the International Space Station's Harmony module. Credit: NASA TV
The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts (front row) gather with the Expedition 70 crew inside the International Space Station’s Harmony module. Credit: NASA TV

Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci are now aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 7:13 a.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 20.

Ax-3 docked to the orbital complex at 5:42 a.m. while the spacecraft was flying 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean, west of South America. It is the third mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the orbiting laboratory.

The Axiom Space crew are joining Expedition 70 crew members aboard station, including NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub.

Next up, the station crew members will take part in a welcome ceremony aboard the International Space Station.

Axiom Space astronauts are expected to depart the space station Feb. 3, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida.


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

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Robotics Activities Continue; Crew Completes an Array of Research

An aurora glows in Earth's atmosphere as the International Space Station soared 260 miles above Utah during orbital nighttime.
An aurora glows in Earth’s atmosphere as the International Space Station soared 260 miles above Utah during orbital nighttime.

Another busy day of science activities is underway for the Expedition 70 crew and robotics ground controllers following the arrival of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft last weekend. The seven members aboard the International Space Station spent time on an array of research today while grounds teams remotely retrieved science hardware from Dragon.

Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara started work in the morning on an experiment that studies age-related liver dysfunction and regeneration. The first-time station resident of NASA processed liver tissue samples in the Life Sciences Glovebox, research that could help scientists understand the biology of aging and its effects on disease mechanisms. Later in the day, Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA took over this work before stowing the samples.

After yesterday’s ILLUMA-T extraction, mission controllers from the U.S. spent another day on robotics activities to retrieve more science hardware delivered inside Dragon’s unpressurized trunk. Remotely controlling the Canadarm2 robotic arm, engineers extracted the new Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) payload to mount it to the exterior of the orbiting laboratory. From its perch, AWE will track small-scale atmospheric gravity waves in our home planet’s upper atmosphere to investigate how they contribute to space weather, which affects space- and ground-based comms, navigation, and tracking systems.

While ground teams worked remotely outside the station, research experiments continued for other residents aboard. Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) spent the majority of his day deploying six antimicrobial placards for a four-month investigation that will test a coating to inhibit microbial growth on several surfaces aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Meanwhile, after yesterday’s start on treating cell samples inside the Kibo laboratory, astronaut Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) continued this work for the Cell Gravisensing-2 study. Using a microscope, he observed additional samples to help researchers learn how lack of gravity affects cell response.

The trio of cosmonauts kept busy with their own scientific research and maintenance activities. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov worked on an ongoing investigation that observes Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet and photographed the Zarya and Nauka modules to assist in future planning of repairs and science equipment placement. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko inspected hardware in Nauka, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub completed some orbital plumbing and investigated the processes of liquid phases in microgravity.


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

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Cygnus Installed on Station, Crew Begins Cargo Ops

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter is guided to its installation point on the space station's Unity module by the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is guided to its installation point on the space station’s Unity module by the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft installation at the International Space Station is now complete. Cygnus, carrying over 8,200 pounds of cargo and science experiments, launched atop the company’s Antares rocket at 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 1, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At 5:52 a.m., NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, along with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio as backup, captured Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Highlights of space station research facilitated by delivery aboard this Cygnus are:

Cygnus will remain at the space station until October before it departs for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.


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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Robotic Arm Installing Cygnus Live on NASA TV

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter is pictured moments before being captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm by NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg. Credit: NASA TV
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is pictured moments before being captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm by NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg. Credit: NASA TV

NASA’s live coverage of the installation of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft at the International Space Station is underway. At 5:55 a.m. EDT, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio acting as backup, captured the Cygnus spacecraft using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Cygnus is carrying over 8,200 pounds of supplies, hardware, and science experiments.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 19th commercial resupply mission to the space station for NASA. Northrop Grumman named the Cygnus spacecraft the S.S. Laurel Clark in honor of the late NASA astronaut, undersea medical officer, and naval flight officer, Laurel Clark.

Cygnus will remain at the space station until October before it departs for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

NASA Television, the NASA app, and agency’s website are providing live coverage of the spacecraft’s installation.


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 Astronauts Capture Cygnus Cargo Craft with Robotic Arm

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm following its capture as both spacecraft orbited above Africa. Credit: NASA TV
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm following its capture as both spacecraft orbited above Africa. Credit: NASA TV

At 5:52 a.m. EDT, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio acting as backup, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Mission control in Houston will actively command the arm to rotate Cygnus to its installation orientation and then to guide it in for installation on the station’s Unity module Earth-facing port.

NASA Television, the NASA app, and agency’s website will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s installation beginning at 7:30 a.m.

The Cygnus spacecraft launched Tuesday, Aug. 1, on the company’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 8:31 p.m. This is Northrop Grumman’s 19th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The Cygnus spacecraft is carrying a supply of over 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

Northrop Grumman named the Cygnus the S.S. Laurel Clark in honor of the late NASA astronaut, undersea medical officer, and naval flight officer, Laurel Clark.


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 Works Ongoing Spacewalk Preps and Advanced Space Research

Astronauts (from left) Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi try on and test out the their spacesuits ahead of a spacewalk planned for Friday, April 28.
Astronauts (from left) Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi try on and test out the their spacesuits ahead of a spacewalk planned for Friday, April 28.

As spacewalk preparations are under way aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition 69 crew is continuing its advanced microgravity research while maintaining orbital lab systems.

Two astronauts are readying their tools today for a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk planned to start at 9:15 a.m. EDT on Friday. NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen will be going on his eighth career spacewalk with first-time spacewalker and astronaut Sultan Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates). The duo will work in the vacuum of space on the starboard side of the station’s truss structure routing power cables and retrieving a communications antenna. The cable work is being done in advance of the installation of the station’s fourth roll-out solar array. The iROSA, or International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, is due to be delivered on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.

After the morning tool work, Bowen and Alneyadi had a standard pre-spacewalk health checkup measuring each other’s heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. The pair then split up for science work in the afternoon, as Bowen first swapped samples inside a fluorescence microscope then reconfigured a biology research incubator that generates artificial gravity. Alneyadi collected air samples from the Destiny and Columbus laboratory modules for analysis before cleaning the Veggie space botany facility.

NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg also had their hands full on Wednesday conducting science operations and ensuring the upkeep of the orbital outpost. Rubio started his day servicing protein crystal samples for a biochemistry study then tested his proficiency as an operator of the Canadarm2 robotic arm on a computer. Hoburg serviced orbital plumbing and oxygen generator components throughout the day and finally installed a new radiation-sensing telescope in the Tranquility module.

In the Roscosmos side of the space station, the crew’s three cosmonauts were back to work following an off-duty day on Tuesday. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin began Wednesday training for an unlikely emergency scenario of evacuating the station inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship. Prokopyev then studied futuristic planetary piloting techniques while Petelin worked on the Nauka science module’s ventilation system. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day repairing plumbing gear and replacing dust filters.


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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Robotic Arm Releases Cygnus Space Freighter from Station

The Cygnus space freighter is pictured moments after being released from the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic completing its stay at the space station. Credit: NASA TV
The Cygnus space freighter is pictured moments after being released from the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic completing its stay at the space station. Credit: NASA TV

At 7:22 a.m. EDT, Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was released from the Canadarm2 robotic arm which earlier detached Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Unity module. At the time of release, the station was flying southwest of Ireland.

The Cygnus spacecraft successfully departed the space station more than five months after arriving at the microgravity laboratory to deliver about 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo for NASA.

Following a deorbit engine firing later Friday evening, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Cygnus arrived at the space station Nov. 10, following a launch on Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. It was the company’s 18th commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. Northrop Grumman named the spacecraft “S.S. Sally Ride” after late NASA astronaut, physicist, and first American woman to fly in space, Sally Ride, launched on an Antares rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at Wallops.


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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Robotic Arm Releasing Cygnus Cargo Craft Live on NASA TV

The Cygnus space freighter, loaded with 8,200 pounds of cargo, is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its installation to the Unity module on Nov. 9, 2022.
The Cygnus space freighter, loaded with 8,200 pounds of cargo, is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its installation to the Unity module on Nov. 9, 2022.

Live coverage of the departure of Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app, with its release from the robotic arm scheduled for 7:20 a.m. EDT. Coverage will conclude following departure from station.

Flight controllers on the ground sent commands earlier Friday morning for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port, and then maneuver the spacecraft into position for its release. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi will monitor Cygnus’ systems during its departure from the space station.

Following a deorbit engine firing later Friday evening, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Cygnus arrived at the space station Nov. 10, following a launch on Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. It was the company’s 18th commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. Northrop Grumman named the spacecraft “S.S. Sally Ride” after late NASA astronaut, physicist, and first American woman to fly in space, Sally Ride, launched on an Antares rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at Wallops.


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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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