ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst works in the Columbus lab preparing the Biolab for future experiment work.
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst scanned his arteries then measured his body shape and size Wednesday. Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore joined Gerst for the scanning activities using an Ultrasound for the Cardio Ox experiment. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman assisted Gerst with the Body Measures study.
Wiseman also scanned Wilmore’s retinas for the Ocular Health study. Gerst continued more work on the Aquatic Habitat in Japan’s Kibo lab module for the Zebrafish Muscle experiment.
In the Russian segment of the orbital laboratory, Commander Max Suraev continued packing gear inside the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft that he, Wiseman and Gerst will use to return to Earth on Nov. 9. Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev assisted Suraev’s departure effort, checking the Iridium phones used in the Soyuz for emergency communications. Elena Serova participated in a psychophysiological evaluation, then inventoried gear in the Zarya module and Pirs docking compartment.
The next trio to launch to the station is getting ready for a news conference to be held Thursday in Star City, Russia, before going to Moscow for traditional pre-launch ceremonies. Expedition 42/43 crew members Terry Virts, Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov are due to liftoff Nov. 23 aboard their Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft for a six hour ride to their new home in space.
This is the configuration of the International Space Station as of Oct. 27. There are three spacecraft docked including two Soyuz spacecraft and Europe’s ATV-5.
The International Space Station saw a pair of space freighters leave while two more resupply ships were moved to their launch site waiting for liftoff this week. Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-5 fired its engines this afternoon to move the station away from a possible conjunction with some satellite debris.
Meanwhile, the six member Expedition 41 crew is moving right along with station housekeeping and an array of advanced science to improve life on Earth and in space.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst drew their blood samples Monday. Barry Wilmore stowed a pair of U.S. spacesuits. Elena Serova, Russia’s first female cosmonaut aboard the station, sampled surfaces in the Russian segment for microbes and worked on a physics experiment.
Cosmonauts Max Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev trained on rendezvous gear in advance of Wednesday’s arrival of the ISS Progress 57 resupply ship.
Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA harvests Mizuna mustard greens for the VEG-04 botany study that is exploring the viability of growing fresh food in space to support astronauts on long-term missions.
A quartet of Expedition 60 astronauts are relaxing today ahead of planned operations to receive a new space freighter on Friday. Meanwhile, a pair of cosmonauts checked Soyuz spacecraft systems and collected air samples aboard the International Space Station.
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. EDT for the launch of its Dragon cargo craft to resupply the station. Meteorologists, however, predict a 30% chance of favorable weather for a liftoff at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
An on time launch Wednesday would see Dragon arriving at the station early Friday packed with new science experiments and a new International Docking Adapter-3. NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch will be on duty in the cupola to command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture Dragon at 7 a.m., while Flight Engineer Drew Morgan monitors the cargo craft’s telemetry as it approaches the orbiting lab.
The station’s newest arrivals including Morgan, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos are getting up to speed with station systems today. They are orienting themselves in microgravity, while conducting science and maintenance operations aboard the lab.
Towards the end of the day, the entire six-member crew gathered for about an hour to review their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency. The four astronauts and two cosmonauts reviewed procedures, safety gear and escape paths for unlikely emergency scenarios such as a fire or a pressure leak aboard the station.
Expedition 50 crew members (from left) Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet are seen in quarantine behind glass during a crew press conference. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) are preparing for launch to the International Space Station. They are scheduled to lift off today in a Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft at 3:20 p.m. EST (2:20 a.m. Nov. 18, Baikonur time).
Live coverage of the launch will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Check out the NASA TV schedule online for information on how to watch live and replays.
The three crew members will join Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, who have been aboard the complex since October. Whitson, Novitskiy and Pesquet will remain aboard the station until next spring. Kimbrough, Ryzhikov and Borisenko are scheduled to remain aboard the station until late February.
The Expedition 50 crew members will contribute to more than 250 experiments in fields such as biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development.
Below is the launch timeline for the crew in EST:
Nov. 17
9:20 a.m. Crew departs Cosmonaut Hotel
9:35 a.m. Batteries installed in booster
10:05 a.m. Crew arrives at Site 254
10:20 a.m. Tanking begins
10:50 a.m. Crew suit up
11:15 a.m. Booster loaded with liquid oxygen
11:50 a.m. Crew meets family members on other side of the glass
12:15 p.m. First and second stage oxygen fueling complete
12:20 p.m. Crew walkout from 254; boards bus for the launch pad
12:25 p.m. Crew departs for launch pad at Site 31
12:45 p.m. Crew arrives at launch pad
12:55 p.m. Crew boards Soyuz; strapped in to the Descent module
1:45 p.m. Descent module hardware tested
2:00 p.m. Hatch closed; leak checks begin
2:20 p.m. Launch vehicle control system prep; gyro activation 2:30 p.m. NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE BEGINS
2:35 p.m. Pad service structure components lowered
2:36 p.m. Clamshell gantry service towers retracted
2:43 p.m. Suit leak checks begin; descent module testing complete 2:45 p.m. NASA TV: Crew pre-launch activities played (B-roll)
2:46 p.m. Emergency escape system armed
3:05 p.m. Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
3:10 p.m. Gyros in flight readiness and recorders activated
3:13 p.m. Pre-launch operations complete
3:14 p.m. Launch countdown operations to auto; vehicle ready
3:15 p.m. Commander’s controls activated
3:16 p.m. Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
3:17 p.m. Propellant drainback
3:17 p.m. Booster propellant tank pressurization
3:18 p.m. Ground propellant feed terminated
3:19 p.m. Vehicle to internal power;
3:19 p.m. First umbilical tower separates Auto sequence start
3:19 p.m. Ground umbilical to third stage disconnected
3:19 p.m. Second umbilical tower separates
3:20 p.m. Launch command issued Engine Start Sequence Begins
3:20 p.m. Engine turbopumps at flight speed
3:20 p.m. Engines at maximum thrust 3:20:13 p.m. LAUNCH
3:28 p.m. Third stage separation and orbital insertion
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