Tag: Soyuz

Crew Unpacks Cargo Dragon and Starts New Space Research

The Prichal, pictured still attached to the Progress delivery vehicle, is docked to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module as the station orbited into a sunrise.
The Prichal, pictured still attached to the Progress delivery vehicle, is docked to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module as the station orbited into a sunrise.

The Expedition 66 crew members continue unpacking the SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle and initiating brand new microgravity investigations. Some of the new science taking place aboard the International Space Station today is looking at plant genetics, human cellular function, and even space laundry techniques.

The four NASA astronauts living on the orbital lab took turns on Tuesday offloading some of the 6,500 pounds of new crew supplies, station hardware, and science experiments. Flight Engineer Kayla Barron began her morning working inside the Cargo Dragon. She then serviced samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, a research device that observes the thermophysical properties of high temperature materials.

Astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Thomas Marshburn and Raja Chari got together on Tuesday afternoon to unpack the Cargo Dragon as well. Vande Hei and Marshburn have also begun work on a pair of new experiments exploring how to improve life in space. Vande Hei is testing detergent samples to learn how to keep clothes clean in a variety of gravity environments during long-term space missions. Marshburn set up the Veggie botany research facility for observing plant growth at the genetic level to promote space agriculture. Chari collected and spun his blood samples in a centrifuge then stowed them for later analysis. Afterward, Chari entered the Columbus laboratory module and began organizing cargo packed inside.

Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) collected research hardware from inside Columbus for a space biology investigation. He then began assembling that gear and thawing culture chambers inside the Kibo laboratory module. The work is for the new Cytoskeleton biology study, taking place in the Life Science Glovebox, and will explore how the machinery of the human cell is impacted by weightlessness.

Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, along with Vande Hei, started their day practicing emergency evacuation procedures. The trio trained on a computer for the procedures they would use in the unlikely event they would have to quickly board the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship, undock and return to Earth. Shkaplerov then unpacked Russian spacewalk gear delivered recently aboard the Prichal docking module. Dubrov focused on electronics and hardware maintenance for the rest of the day.

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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Last Week of 2021 Sees New Space Research Kick Off

The Soyuz MS-19 crew ship is pictured docked to the Rassvet module as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above southeast Asia.
The Soyuz MS-19 crew ship is pictured docked to the Rassvet module as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above southeast Asia.

The seven-member Expedition 66 crew is going into the final week of 2021 with a host of science experiments exploring numerous space phenomena benefitting astronauts in space and humans on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Kayla Barron worked on a pair of space farming studies during Monday afternoon exploring a variety of plant characteristics. Vande Hei set up components for the MVP (Multi Variable Platform) Plant-01 experiment inside the Harmony module. That study is investigating how a plant’s molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks adapt to weightlessness. Barron worked inside the Kibo laboratory module and configured the Plant Habitat-05 investigation which will observe the regenerative capacity of a variety of cotton genotypes.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn started Monday morning transferring research samples to science freezers in the Kibo lab. Chari then moved on and updated emergency checklists while also collecting and stowing his blood and urine samples for later analysis. Marshburn serviced the station’s oxygen generation system then unpacked medical gear from the SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle.

Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) spent his day working throughout the orbiting lab on a variety of research gear. Maurer first swapped science freezers inside the Unity module. Next, he installed the BioSentinel radiation exposure study in the Kibo lab. Finally, the astronaut from Germany worked in the Columbus laboratory module thawing research samples for the Cytoskeleton experiment before uninstalling the Kubik incubator.

The station’s commander, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, recharged computer tablets inside the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship while also working on Russian life support maintenance throughout the day. Russian Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov checked out electronics gear in the morning before joining Shkaplerov in the afternoon and replacing components on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill.

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 Cargo Dragon after Visitors Leave Station

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon (top) and Crew Dragon vehicles are pictured in September docked to the station's Harmony module.
The SpaceX Cargo Dragon (top) and Crew Dragon vehicles are pictured in September docked to the station’s Harmony module.

SpaceX has rolled out its Falcon 9 rocket with the Cargo Dragon vehicle attached to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 is due to lift off at 5:06 a.m. EST on Tuesday placing the Cargo Dragon into orbit for a docking at the International Space Station at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn of NASA will be on duty monitoring the Cargo Dragon’s automated docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. Dragon is delivering about 6,500 pounds crew supplies and new science experiments including a cancer treatment study and a handheld bioprinter. Live launch coverage begins at 4:45 a.m. on Tuesday on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The orbiting lab has returned to its occupancy rate of seven crew members after three visitors departed and returned to Earth on Sunday. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin led spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano inside the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship when they undocked from the Poisk module at 6:50 p.m. EST. The trio aboard the Soyuz parachuted to landing in Kazakhstan less than three-and-a-half hours later completing an 11-day station mission.

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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Trio of Russian, Japanese Station Visitors Back on Earth

At center, Soyuz Commander Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa (left) and Yozo Hirano (right) pose for individual preflight portraits.
At center, Soyuz Commander Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa (left) and Yozo Hirano (right) pose for individual preflight portraits.

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano landed on Earth around 10:13 p.m. EST Sunday, Dec. 19 in Kazakhstan (around 9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time). The trio departed the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft at 6:50 p.m. Misurkin, now a three-time space visitor, commanded the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft, which launched the visitors to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Dec. 8.

Earlier this month, the International Space Station surpassed its 21-year milestone of continuous human presence, providing opportunities for unique research and technological demonstrations that help prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars and also improve life on Earth. During that time, 251 people from 19 countries have visited the orbiting laboratory, which has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA TV Covers Soyuz Crew Ship Trio Landing Soon on Earth

Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano are pictured aboard the station on Dec. 8, 2021. Credit: NASA TV
Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano are pictured aboard the station on Dec. 8, 2021. Credit: NASA TV

NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app are now broadcasting live coverage of the return to Earth of a veteran Russian cosmonaut and two Japanese private citizens.

The Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft carrying Russian  cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin will join spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano will make its deorbit burn at 9:18 p.m. EST to set the spaceship on its re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere for a landing in Kazakhstan at 10:13 p.m. EST Sunday, Dec. 19. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time).

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, Japanese Visitors Leave Station and Head Home

The Soyuz MS-20 crew ship with cosmoanut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yozo Hirano and Yusaku Maezawa backs away from the station.
The Soyuz MS-20 crew ship with cosmoanut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yozo Hirano and Yusaku Maezawa backs away from the station.

The Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 6:50 p.m. EST, carrying three people back to Earth. Live coverage on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app will resume at 9 p.m. for the deorbit burn and landing of the spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano. Landing in Kazakhstan is scheduled for 10:13 p.m. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time). Remaining aboard the orbiting outpost are Expedition 66 commander and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA TV Covers Visiting Trio Undocking in Soyuz Crew Ship

The Soyuz MS-20 crew ship, carrying cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, approaches the station on Dec. 8, 2021.
The Soyuz MS-20 crew ship, carrying cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, approaches the station on Dec. 8, 2021.

NASA is providing live coverage on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app of the undocking and departure from the International Space Station of the Soyuz spacecraft that will return Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano to Earth. The Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft will undock from the station’s Poisk module at 6:50 p.m. EST and make a deorbit burn at 9:18 p.m. Live coverage of the deorbit burn and landing will begin at 9 p.m. The spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted landing at 10:13 p.m. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of 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. Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Visiting Trio Says Farewell to Station Crew Before Undocking

Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano wave goodbye before closing the Soyuz vehicle's hatch. Credit: NASA TV
Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano wave goodbye before closing the Soyuz vehicle’s hatch. Credit: NASA TV

NASA will provide live coverage as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin along with spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano begin their to return to Earth from the International Space Station. The trio, concluding a nearly 12-day mission, has bid farewell to the Expedition 66 crew and closed the hatch to their Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft around 2:20 p.m. EST. They will undock from the station’s Poisk module at 6:50 p.m., heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 10:13 p.m. (9:13 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan. Live coverage on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app will begin at 6:30 p.m. for undocking, with coverage of the Soyuz deorbit burn and landing beginning at 9 p.m.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Crew Ramps Up for Visitors’ Departure and U.S. Cargo Mission

The three-person Soyuz MS-20 crew (front row) participates in a group portrait with the seven-member Expedition 66 crew.
The three-person Soyuz MS-20 crew (front row) participates in a group portrait with the seven-member Expedition 66 crew.

Next week will see a U.S. resupply ship launch toward the International Space Station following Sunday’s departure of three orbiting lab visitors. Meanwhile, the seven Expedition 66 crewmates continued their space biology and physics research while maintaining station systems.

SpaceX is due to launch its Cargo Dragon spacecraft from Florida on Tuesday at 5:06 a.m. EST to replenish the station crew. It will automatically dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. delivering about 6,500 pounds of new science experiments, crew supplies and station hardware. NASA TV will cover both events live on the agency’s website, and the NASA app.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn are training for the U.S. cargo mission. The duo reviewed Cargo Dragon’s approach and rendezvous profile and got familiarized with docked operations. Both flight engineers will be on duty Wednesday morning monitoring the commercial craft’s automated arrival and docking.

Three space travelers are nearing the end of their 11-day mission as they prepare to return to Earth this weekend. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin has been staging gear to be packed inside the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship and checking components inside the Russian spacecraft. He’ll lead Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano back home when the spacecraft undocks on Sunday at 6:50 p.m. and parachutes to a landing in Kazakhstan at 10:18 p.m. NASA TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. when the departing trio says farewell to the station crew and closes the Soyuz vehicle’s hatch.

Human research is ongoing in space as Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer began Friday with blood and saliva collections and stowed the samples in a science freezer for future analysis. Barron of NASA then spent the afternoon inspecting personal protective equipment. Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) swapped samples for a wet foams study then configured components that support the EasyMotion space exercise suit.

NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei continued more runs today of the InSPACE-4 manufacturing study learning how to manipulate nanoparticles in weightlessness. Vande Hei then wrapped up his day early following a busy week of space physics research taking place inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox .

The two Expedition 66 cosmonauts, Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov, started the day attaching sensors to their hands for a muscle study. Shkaplerov then analyzed the Zvezda service module’s atmosphere and checked Russian life support and electronics hardware. Dubrov worked on communications gear and downloaded data collected from radiation detectors.

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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Science and Exercise Hardware Work as Trio Nears Departure

A waxing crescent Moon during is pictured from the station during an orbital sunset as it flew above the Pacific Ocean.
A waxing crescent Moon during is pictured from the station during an orbital sunset as it flew above the Pacific Ocean.

The seven-member Expedition 66 crew spent Thursday servicing physics research gear and exercise hardware aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab’s three visitors are preparing for their departure on Sunday.

The coldest temperatures in the Universe can be found inside the space station’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL). Atoms are chilled to temperatures near absolute zero allowing scientists to observe fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics not possible on Earth. NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari opened the CAL today and replaced computer hardware inside the space physics device.

Human research is always ongoing aboard the station helping scientists understand how microgravity affects humans as NASA prepares to go to the Moon, Mars and beyond. NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn scanned his right leg’s femoral artery with an ultrasound device to observe accelerated aging-like characteristics in the cardiovascular system that take place in weightlessness.

Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov replaced a motor inside the Zvezda service module’s treadmill during the afternoon. Flight surgeons regularly monitor space exercise ensuring crew members maintain muscle and bone health during long term space missions.

NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei took a robotics test for the Behavioral Core Measures space psychology study and continued researching how to manipulate nanoparticles. Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) spent his day maintaining science and computer systems inside the Columbus laboratory module.

Three station visitors are nearing the end of their mission and getting ready to return to Earth on Sunday. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin led Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano on a review of the descent procedures they will use as they soar into the atmosphere aboard the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship. The trio will undock from the Poisk module on Sunday at 6:50 p.m. EST and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan at 10:13 p.m.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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