Crew Staying in Space Until October for Research Mission

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur is at the robotics workstation participating in Canadarm2 robotic arm training.
NASA astronaut Megan McArthur is at the robotics workstation participating in Canadarm2 robotic arm training.

The seven-member Expedition 65 crew aboard the International Space Station will be orbiting Earth until October after watching the SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts depart over the weekend. The five astronauts and two cosmonauts staying behind prepared for the next SpaceX Cargo mission and researched a variety of space phenomena today.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting June 3 for the launch of the next Cargo Dragon mission to resupply the orbital lab. NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough and station Commander Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency began getting the station ready for the upcoming space shipment. The duo organized the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the Kibo laboratory module today to make room for the new cargo.

Monday’s science activities ran the gamut of robotics, human research and drug development. Research on the orbiting lab can improve the health of humans on and off the Earth, benefit a range of industries, and advance the commercialization of space.

The Astrobee robotic assistants were flying around inside Kibo testing automated rendezvous techniques as Kimbrough monitored the activities. Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency wore a virtual reality headset and reached for virtual objects to help scientists understand how weightlessness affects the central nervous system.

NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur cleaned up the Microgravity Science Glovebox after closing out the Transparent Alloys physics study. Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA checked out emergency hardware then set up gear for an immune system study that may promote the development of new vaccines and drugs to treat diseases.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy worked on inventory updates and cargo transfers from the ISS Progress 77 resupply ship. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov installed hardware for a Russian experiment that monitors the Earth’s atmosphere in ultraviolet light.

Crew-1 Makes Nighttime Splashdown, Ends Mission

A night-vision camera pictures the SpaceX Crew Dragon parachuting to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico as fast boats arrive to retrieve the crew. Credit: NASA TV
A night-vision camera captures the SpaceX Crew Dragon parachuting to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico as fast boats arrive to retrieve the crew. Credit: NASA TV

Astronauts Michael HopkinsVictor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) splashed down safely in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at 2:56 a.m. EDT after 168 days in space. The return marks the end of the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon spacecraft developed in partnership between NASA and SpaceX as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Teams on the Go Navigator recovery ship, including two fast boats, now are in the process of securing Crew Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Crew Dragon onto the main deck of Go Navigator with the astronauts inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and receive medical checks before a helicopter ride to Pensacola to board a plane for Houston.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission launched Nov. 15, 2020, on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts named the spacecraft Resilience, in honor of their families, colleagues, and fellow citizens and highlighting the dedication displayed by the teams involved with the mission and demonstrating that there is no limit to what humans can achieve when they work together. Crew Dragon Resilience docked to the Harmony module’s forward port of the space station Nov. 16, nearly 27 hours after liftoff.

Hopkins has now spent a total of 335 days in space during two spaceflights; he conducted three spacewalks during this mission for a total of five in his career. It was Glover’s first spaceflight, during which he conducted four spacewalks during the 168 days. It was Walker’s second spaceflight, bringing her total time in space to 331 days. Noguchi conducted one spacewalk, for a total of four spacewalks during his three total spaceflights; he has spent a total of 345 days in space.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found in the press kit online and by following the commercial crew blog@commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

Crew Dragon Fires Braking Engines, Begins Earth Descent

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four Crew-1 astronauts is pictured approaching the station on Nov. 15, 2020, for a docking.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four Crew-1 astronauts is pictured approaching the station on Nov. 15, 2020, for a docking.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying astronauts Michael HopkinsVictor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on their return to Earth after a six-month science mission has completed its deorbit burn as expected ahead of splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog@commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

Crew-1 Astronauts in Final Hour Before Splashdown

The SpaceX Crew-1 official crew portrait with (from left) NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
The SpaceX Crew-1 official crew portrait with (from left) NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

Watch NASA’s live coverage as astronauts Michael HopkinsVictor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft are about one hour away from splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico at 2:57 a.m. EDT. Weather conditions remain within the splashdown weather criteria and are “Go” at the primary targeted site off the coast of Panama City, Florida.

Here are the upcoming milestones (all times Eastern):

All times approximate:

  • 1:57 a.m. – Crew Dragon performs claw separation. The claw is located on Crew Dragon’s trunk, connecting thermal control, power, and avionics system components located on the trunk to the capsule.
  • 1:58 a.m. – Trunk separation
  • 2:03 a.m. – Deorbit burn begins
  • 2:19 a.m. – Deorbit burn complete
  • 2:22 a.m. – Nosecone closed
  • 2:40 a.m. – Crew Dragon maneuvers to attitude for re-entry
  • 2:52 a.m. – Drogue parachutes deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour.
  • 2:53 p.m. – Main parachutes deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.
  • 2:57 p.m. – Splashdown

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog@commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

Crew-1 Undocks From Station and Heads for Splashdown

May 1, 2021: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are attached to the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, and Russia's Soyuz MS-18 crew ship and ISS Progress 77 resupply ship.
May 1, 2021: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are attached to the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, and Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 crew ship and ISS Progress 77 resupply ship.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft with astronauts Michael HopkinsVictor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) inside undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 8:35 p.m. EDT to complete a six-month science mission.

Two very small engine burns separated Crew Dragon from the station, and the spacecraft is slowly maneuvering away from the orbital laboratory into an orbital track that will return the astronaut crew and its cargo safely to Earth.

Once flying free, Crew Dragon Resilience will autonomously execute four departure burns to move the spaceship away from the space station and begin the flight home.

The return timeline with approximate times in EDT is:

May 1

  • 8:35 p.m.             Departure burn 0
  • 8:40 p.m.             Departure burn 1
  • 9:28 p.m.             Departure burn 2
  • 10:14 p.m.           Departure burn 3

May 2

  • 1:58 a.m.             Trunk jettison
  • 2:03 a.m.             Deorbit burn begins
  • 2:57 a.m.             Crew Dragon splashdown

NASA will continue to provide live coverage until Resilience splashes down off the coast of Florida and the Crew-1 astronauts are recovered from the Gulf of Mexico.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission launched Nov. 15, 2020, on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts named the spacecraft Resilience, in honor of their families, colleagues, and fellow citizens and highlighting the dedication displayed by the teams involved with the mission and demonstrating that there is no limit to what humans can achieve when they work together. Crew Dragon Resilience docked to the Harmony module’s forward port of the space station Nov. 16, nearly 27 hours after liftoff.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog@commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

Watch NASA TV Now as Crew-1 Prepares for Departure and Splashdown

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience carrying four Crew-1 astronauts is pictured approaching the station on Nov. 15, 2020, for a docking.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience carrying four Crew-1 astronauts is pictured approaching the station on Nov. 15, 2020, for a docking.

Watch live coverage now on NASA TV and the agency’s website as undocking preparations continue for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from the International Space Station.

After the Crew-1 astronauts closed the Dragon hatch at 6:26 p.m. EDT, Expedition 65 astronauts closed the hatch of the orbital laboratory. With Crew-1 astronauts seated inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft, teams are conducting standard leak checks and depressurization of the space between the spacecraft, called the vestibule, in preparation for its undocking and return to Earth.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 8:35 p.m. for Crew Dragon to autonomously undock from the space station, with its four international crew members aboard the spacecraft, and return to Earth. After hooks holding Crew Dragon in place retract, two very small engine burns at 8:30 p.m. and 8:32 p.m. will fire to separate the spacecraft from the station.

Conditions remain “Go” at the primary targeted site, off the coast of Panama City, Florida, for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about 2:57 a.m. on Sunday, May 2.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog@commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

Crew Dragon Hatch Closed, Undocks Soon on NASA TV

Currently, five spaceships are attached to the space station including two SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicles, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, and Russia's 77 resupply ship and Soyuz MS-18 crew ship. The Crew-1 Endeavour spaceship will undock today.
Currently, five spaceships are attached to the space station including two SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicles, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, and Russia’s 77 resupply ship and Soyuz MS-18 crew ship. The Crew-1 Endeavour spaceship will undock today.

At 6:26p.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with astronauts Michael HopkinsVictor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

NASA Television will air live coverage beginning at 8:15 p.m. for undocking scheduled at 8:35 p.m. and continue coverage through their splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at about 2:57 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 2 and their recovery from the spacecraft.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

NASA TV is Live Now With Crew Dragon Hatch Closure

The SpaceX Crew-1 official crew portrait with (from left) NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
The SpaceX Crew-1 official crew portrait with (from left) NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

Watch live coverage now on NASA TV and the agency’s website as undocking preparations are underway for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with Michael HopkinsVictor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 8:35 p.m. EDT for Crew Dragon to autonomously undock from the space station, with four international crew members aboard the spacecraft, and return to Earth.

Almost six-and-a-half hours later, after jettisoning its trunk and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, Crew Dragon will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida about 2:57 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 2. The primary splashdown target is Panama City, Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 return coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern):

Saturday, May 1

  • 6 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 6:20 p.m. hatch closure
  • 8:15 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 8:35 p.m. undocking

Sunday, May 2

  • 2:57 a.m. (approx.) – Splashdown (NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown and crew recovery)
  • 5 a.m. – Return to Earth news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the following participants:
  • Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
  • Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy Space Center
  • Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson
  • Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Johnson
  • Hans Koenigsmann, senior advisor, Flight Reliability, SpaceX
  • Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission launched Nov. 15, 2020, on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a six-month science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. The astronauts named the spacecraft Resilience, in honor of their families, colleagues, and fellow citizens and highlighting the dedication displayed by the teams involved with the mission and demonstrating that there is no limit to what humans can achieve when they work together. Crew Dragon Resilience docked to the Harmony module’s forward port of the space station Nov. 16, nearly 27 hours after liftoff.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

Sunday Splashdown Set for Crew-1 During Light Day on Station

From left, are the SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi.
From left, are the SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi.

Four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts are making final preparations ahead of their return to Earth this weekend. Some of the Expedition 65 crew members staying behind on the International Space Station are relaxing today while others are focusing on science and lab maintenance.

Mission managers have decided to send Crew Dragon Resilience and its four astronauts back to Earth on Sunday. Resilience will undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing international docking adapter during an automated maneuver on Saturday at 8:35 p.m. EDT. It will splashdown about six-and-a-half hours later in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

Hatch closure of the Resilience will be on Saturday at 6:20 p.m. with NASA TV beginning its broadcast at 6 p.m. Live continuous coverage of the undocking and splashdown activities starts at 8:15 p.m.

Resilience Commander Michael Hopkins and Pilot Victor Glover are finishing packing up personal items and emergency hardware inside Resilience today. They were assisted by Crew-1 Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi who also loaded science freezers filled with research samples inside the Crew Dragon. When the Crew-1 astronauts land they will have spent 168 days in space since launching to the station on Nov. 15 last year.

The newest crew aboard the orbital lab, the four SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts, are relaxing today. Station Commander Akihiko Hoshide and Flight Engineers Megan McArthur, Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough had their schedules cleared on Friday ahead of Saturday night’s Crew-1 undocking.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who rode to space aboard the Soyuz MS-18 crew ship, processed samples for the Food Physiology experiment amidst a mostly slow day for him. Glover finalized his science work early Friday as he collected and stowed his blood and urine samples for later analysis.

The station’s two cosmonauts, Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, stayed focused on maintenance in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment. The duo worked on power connections, ventilation systems and computer hardware throughout Friday.

Cargo Ship Departs as SpaceX Crew-1 Mission Nears End

The 11-member crew aboard the station is actually a combination of three different crews: the Soyuz MS-18 crew in the back row, the SpaceX Crew-2 in the middle row, and the four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts in the far left and right corners.
The 11-member crew aboard the station is actually a combination of three different crews: the Soyuz MS-18 crew in the back row, SpaceX Crew-2 in the middle row, and the four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts in the far left and right corners.

A trash-packed Russian cargo craft departed the International Space Station on Tuesday night. Four astronauts are also nearing the end of their mission amidst a variety of human research taking place on the orbiting lab today.

After being docked to the station for just over a year, Russia’s ISS Progress 75 (75P) resupply ship undocked from the Zvezda service module’s aft port filled with trash and discarded gear. The 75P backed away from Zvezda during the automated maneuver that began at 7:11 p.m. EDT. It will orbit Earth on its own until Wednesday night before burning up safely above the southern Pacific Ocean.

Four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts are targeting Saturday for their return to Earth and splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. NASA and SpaceX managers continue to monitor the weather at the splashdown site.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience is planned to undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing international docking adapter on Friday at 5:55 p.m. EDT. Astronaut Michael Hopkins will command the ride home alongside Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi. They are due to splashdown the next day at 11:36 a.m. NASA TV will begin its continuous live coverage at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Staying behind on the station is Commander Akihiko Hoshide and his Crew-2 crewmates Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency. They will live and work in space until October with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov who rode to the station on April 9 aboard the Soyuz MS-18 crew ship.

During the crew handover activities, the orbital residents still had time for space science today. The crew collected blood and urine samples for the Phospho-Aging study that is researching space-caused muscle and bone atrophy. They are also taking note of how improving a space diet can impact mission success. Finally, they explored how weightlessness affects grip and movement as well as future spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques.