Tag: Soyuz

Station Crew Expands to 12 as New Arrivals Work Half-Day

Six Expedition 71 crew members pose for a portrait inside the Rassvet module moments before three Soyuz MS-26 crew members enter the space station.
Six Expedition 71 crew members pose for a portrait inside the Rassvet module moments before three Soyuz MS-26 crew members enter the space station.

Three new crewmates joined the International Space Station crew on Wednesday after a three-hour ride that began at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a launch aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft. The new trio including NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner will live and work aboard the orbital outpost until spring 2025.

Following their arrival, the three new space residents entered the Rassvet module’s Earth-facing port and were greeted by the nine Expedition 71 crewmates expanding the orbiting lab’s crew to 12. Next, family members and teams on the ground called up to the space station and congratulated Pettit, Ovchinin, and Wagner as their mission got underway. Finally, the new trio was given a standard station safety orientation before deactivating their Soyuz crew ship, unloading cargo, and going to bed.

On Thursday, their first full day in low-Earth orbit, Pettit, Ovchinin, and Wagner woke up late and worked a half-day. Pettit began his afternoon shift getting familiar with space station systems with assistance from NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick. Pettit was last aboard the space station in 2012 as an Expedition 31 Flight Engineer when the new SpaceX Dragon cargo craft visited the orbital outpost for the first time on a test mission in May of that year. Ovchinin and Wagner continued unpacking cargo packed inside the Soyuz before attaching sensors to themselves monitoring how their circulatory system is adapting to weightlessness.

The six NASA astronauts who have been aboard the space station for a few months had a full day on Thursday studying how plants grow in microgravity, conducting eye exams, and maintaining orbital plumbing systems.

NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt harvested plants growing inside the Columbus laboratory module’s Veggie space botany facility throughout the day. The space-grown samples of two types of grasses were then placed inside a science freezer for future analysis back on Earth. Researchers are seeking to understand how space affects photosynthesis and plant metabolism possibly supporting the development of bioregenerative life support systems.

Barratt also peered into the eyes of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams using standard medical imaging gear as ground personnel monitored in real-time. Some astronauts have reported vision issues so doctors continuously monitor the crew’s optic nerve, retina, cornea, and more to maintain crew health and ensure successful long-term space missions.

Earlier, Williams swapped out combustion research hardware in the Kibo laboratory module and worked on cargo transfers inside the Cygnus space freighter that has been attached to the station since Aug. 6. Wilmore checked out power supply components in Columbus then visually analyzed incubation bags containing microbe samples collected for analysis.

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson joined Dominick during Thursday servicing the space station’s restroom in Tranquility module, also known as the waste and hygiene compartment. The duo removed advanced plumbing components to access and troubleshoot the toilet’s electrical power system.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin also slept in on Thursday following their late-night support of the Soyuz MS-26 crew arrival. The trio spent the afternoon working on electrical and life support maintenance while also assisting their new crewmates.

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.

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

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

Soyuz Hatches Open, Expedition 71 Welcomes Trio Aboard Station

The Soyuz MS-26 crew joins the Expedition 71 crew in orbit aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 trio joins the Expedition 71 crew in orbit aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The hatch between the International Space Station and the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft opened at 5:58 p.m. EDT.

The spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:32 p.m. Sept. 11, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

NASA Coverage Underway of Soyuz Hatch Opening

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

NASA’s live hatch opening coverage is underway on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media. Hatch opening is scheduled to begin at 5:50 p.m. EDT.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:32 p.m. Sept. 11, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

Soyuz Spacecraft Docks to Station With Three Crew Members Aboard

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen approaching the station ahead of docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

At 3:32 p.m. EDT, the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrived at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module as the International Space Station was flying 262 miles over central Ukraine. NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner launched at 12:23 p.m. Sept. 11 (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA’s coverage of hatch opening will stream at 5:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media. Hatch opening is scheduled to begin at 5:50 p.m. EDT.

Once aboard, the trio will join Expedition 71 crew members including NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko, and spend approximately six months at the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

Three Crew Members Arriving to Station Soon on NASA+

The Soyuz MS-25 crew ship approaches the International Space Station 262 miles above the Croatian coast on the Adriatic Sea.
The Soyuz MS-25 crew ship approaches the International Space Station 262 miles above the Croatian coast on the Adriatic Sea.

NASA’s live coverage of rendezvous and docking is now underway on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The spacecraft will automatically dock at 3:33 p.m. at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

Crewed Soyuz Spacecraft Launches, Trio Headed to Space Station

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Credit: NASA

The crewed Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following a launch at 12:23 p.m. EDT Sept. 11 (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

After a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:33 p.m. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

Three Crew Members Nearing Launch to Station Live on NASA+

The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station with (pictured left to right) NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.Credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station with (pictured left to right) NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
Credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

NASA’s live launch coverage is underway on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms including social media.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Don Petitt and Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

After a two-orbit, three-hour trajectory to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:33 p.m. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Once aboard, the trio will join Expedition 71 crew members including NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko, and spend approximately six months at the orbital laboratory before returning to Earth in the spring of 2025.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

Tuesday Sees Human Research and Space Biology Ahead of Crew Arrival

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Human research activities and space biology kept the International Space Station residents busy on Tuesday as they prepare for the arrival of three new crewmates who are set to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, will launch aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11. Following launch, the trio will take a short ride to the station and dock at 3:33 p.m. to the Rassvet module before opening the hatches and joining the Expedition 71 crew in orbit, where they’ll spend approximately six months living and working in space.

Aboard the orbiting lab, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick completed some cable and power reconfigurations in the Columbus laboratory module, then finalized hardware preps for human research activities that took place throughout the day.

Dominick was joined by NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, and in coordination with remote ground teams, spent the day using ultrasound and tomography hardware to collect Epps’ blood pressure data and view her optic nerve, retina, and cornea. Epps then donned thigh cuffs through the remainder of the day to test how they could be used to possibly reverse space-induced headward fluid shifts in astronauts.

In the Japanese Experiment Module, NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson set up the Confocal Space Microscope, configured its lenses, and inserted samples for analysis. She then completed some medical training before ending the day swapping the gloves, sleeves, and media bag in the Life Science Glovebox.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt set his sights to prepping for future space botany investigations throughout the day. He charged the Multispeq tool, which is used to capture plant data for the APEX-09 investigation, then updated the software that logs and manages the data.

A suite of activities topped NASA astronaut Suni Williams’ schedule on Tuesday as she replaced hardware on the Packed Bed Retractor Experiment, completed some orbital plumbing, and prepped for upcoming crew arrivals. Her NASA crewmate, Butch Wilmore, collected water samples from the potable water dispenser and later analyzed them for microbial growth. Wilmore also powered on the KERMIT microscope, swapped the lens, and installed new slides. In the evening, the duo held a conference with SpaceX ground teams.

Current station Commander Oleg Kononenko swabbed various surfaces throughout the orbital complex to assess for microbial growth in microgravity. He then spent the rest of the day packing items for return on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, which is due to bring him, along with Dyson, and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub, home in late September.

Chub spent the day packing items for departure then took some time to observe the glow of Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet and collect condensate samples from the water recovery system. His Roscosmos crewmate, Alexander Grebenkin, spent a majority of the day on orbital plumbing tasks, including replacing hoses and running a distillation cycle on the water processing unit.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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

Wednesday’s Station Research Focuses on Space Plants, Free-Flying Robotics

The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the space station's Harmony module.
The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the space station’s Harmony module.

On Wednesday, space plants and free-flying robotics dominated the science schedule aboard the International Space Station. Orbital plumbing, cargo packing, and an emergency drill rounded out the day for the nine crew members living aboard the orbital outpost.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test continued exploring ways to effectively water plants in the weightless environment. The duo took turns throughout the day in the Harmony module testing how root models and plants of various sizes would absorb water in microgravity . The Plant Water Management study looks at techniques such as hydroponics and air circulation to nourish plants growing aboard spacecraft and space habitats.

Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson coordinated with ground controllers and tested an Astrobee robotic free flyer’s ability to autonomously maneuver and recognizes gestures inside the Kibo laboratory module. She set up the cube-shaped, toaster-sized robotic assistant ahead of a student competition to write the best algorithms that will guide the Astrobee. NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps activated the Astrobee before lunchtime and removed items in Kibo allowing Dyson to access the robotic free flyer’s docking apparatus. Epps also recorded another DNA research demonstration video for students on Earth.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mike Barratt took turns on Wednesday cleaning up orbital plumbing tools used to service the Tranquility module’s bathroom, also known as the waste and hygiene compartment. Dominick also relocated protein crystal research hardware, loaded software on the Microgravity Science Glovebox computer, then reorganized cargo and trashed stowed in the Destiny laboratory module. Barratt trained Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin on the operations of the COLBERT treadmill then audited and stowed spacesuit components.

At the beginning of the day, the crew of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, Dominick, Barratt, Epps, Grebenkin, trained for the unlikely event they would need to evacuate the station in an emergency. Dyson, who rode to the station aboard the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship, also joined the quartet reviewing their emergency responses and procedures during the hourlong session.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub began loading the Progress 87 cargo craft with garbage and discarded gear prior to its departure from the Zvezda service module in mid-August. Grebenkin had an off-duty day spending most of his time relaxing and working out on the treadmill and advanced resistive exercise device.

Beginning Monday, July 29th, the IMC Daily Summary will be discontinued.

To learn more about the groundbreaking science and engineering happening daily on the International Space Station, please visit the space station blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/, or browse a variety of space station research resources at https://nasa.gov/iss-science.

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.

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

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

Space Plants, Healthy Humans Top Tuesday’s Research on Station

The Cygnus space freighter and its two cymbal-shaped solar arrays is pictured attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its release from the space station's on July 12, 2024.
The Cygnus space freighter and its two cymbal-shaped solar arrays is pictured attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its release from the space station’s on July 12, 2024.

Space agriculture and human research operations were the prime science activities aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The four NASA astronauts and three Roscosmos cosmonauts representing Expedition 71 and the two NASA Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts also participated in a variety of cargo activities and lab maintenance aboard the orbiting lab.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent the majority of their day testing ways to water plants growing without soil in the weightless environment of microgravity. Williams first set up the Plant Water Management hardware in the Harmony module then tested a variety of liquid flow methods while video recording the results. Following her work, Wilmore ran more tests using hydroponics and air circulation techniques to learn how to effectively nourish a variety of plants on spacecraft and space habitats.

Cosmonaut Nikolai Chub attached sensors to his chest that recorded his heart activity while he relaxed Tuesday morning. NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick performed isometric mid-thigh pulls on the advanced resistive exercise device testing his strength and force production in microgravity. Doctors use the insights from the numerous space biology studies aboard the station to keep crews healthy on long-term missions.

NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps began and ended her day relocating NASA and Roscosmos hardware aboard the orbital outpost. In the middle of her shift, Epps replaced hardware in the station’s bathroom located in the Tranquility module then transferred radiation data, including electrons, protons, neutrons, and gamma-rays, collected from optical fibers to a computer.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt spent most of the day inside SpaceX Dragon Endeavour configuring the spacecraft for cargo packing operations. Dominick, commander of Endeavour, pitched in to help update software, synchronize data, and charge batteries on the spacecraft’s computer tablets.

Commander Oleg Kononenko kicked off his day inside the Nauka science module continuing to explore the capabilities of a 3D printer in microgravity. He later worked on cargo transfers inside the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin worked on household duties throughout Tuesday including orbital plumbing, reviewing inspection tasks, and cleaning smoke detectors, before ending his shift photographing Earth landmarks.

At the end of the day, all nine space station residents gathered together and practiced an emergency drill in response to unlikely scenarios such as a fire, a pressure leak, or a chemical release. The crew reviewed individual responsibilities, practiced evacuation techniques, and coordinated communications with mission controllers on the ground.

Beginning Monday, July 29th, the IMC Daily Summary will be discontinued.

To learn more about the groundbreaking science and engineering happening daily on the International Space Station, please visit the space station blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/, or browse a variety of space station research resources at https://nasa.gov/iss-science.

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.

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

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