Crew Studies Fire in Microgravity, Tests a Medical Device, and Transfers Cargo from Dragon

Expedition 67 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins services components that support the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SOFIE) fire safety experiment inside the International Space Station's Combustion Integrated Rack on June 24, 2022.
Expedition 67 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins services components that support the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SOFIE) fire safety experiment inside the International Space Station’s Combustion Integrated Rack on June 24, 2022.

The seven-member Expedition-67 crew split their time studying burning in microgravity, space manufacturing, testing an ultrasound device, and more, in addition to conducting some maintenance work aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins focused on setting up the Combustion Integrated Rack inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module to support the operations for the SoFIE-GEL, or Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction – Growth and Extinction Limit, study. The investigation measures the amount of heating in a fuel sample to determine how fuel temperature affects material flammability. Results could improve understanding of early fire growth behavior and help determine optimal fire suppression techniques, improving crew safety in future space facilities.

NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren opened the Cell Biology Experiment Facility to set up the Rodent Research-22 experiment. He also completed a Robotic On-Board Trainer for Research (ROBoT-r) session as part of the Behavioral Core Measures experiment. Later in the day, Lindgren performed the fourth medical technology demonstration of the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound device, focused on testing the effectiveness of a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction with a mobile device in the space environment. Such commercial off-the-shelf technology could provide essential medical capabilities for future deep space exploration missions.

ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti conducted public affairs activities for ESA and moved cargo from the SpaceX CRS-25 Dragon spacecraft. NASA Flight Engineer Bob Hines worked on the Genes in Space-9 investigation,  Space Fibers-3 space manufacturing study, and transferred supplies from the Dragon spacecraft.

The station’s three cosmonauts focused mainly on maintenance and exercise. Commander Oleg Artemyev spent his morning searching for leaks in the Zvezda service module while cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov checked the brakes on the European Robotic Arm. Cosmonaut Denis Matveev set up an electrocardiogram for a 24-hour survey of his heart health. He rested for 20 minutes before using the Tranquility module’s advanced resistive exercise device (ARED) to perform exercises such as bench presses, squats, and deadlifts.


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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Spacewalking Crew Sleeps In, Astronauts Work Science and Maintenance

NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins are pictured inside the cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," after monitoring the successful rendezvous and docking of the SpaceX Dragon space freighter on its 25th Commercial Resupply Services mission on July 16, 2022.
NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins are pictured inside the cupola, the International Space Station’s “window to the world,” after monitoring the successful rendezvous and docking of the SpaceX Dragon space freighter on its 25th Commercial Resupply Services mission on July 16, 2022.

Four Expedition 67 crew members slept in on Friday following a spacewalk the day before at the International Space Station. The other three orbital residents wrapped up the workweek researching a variety of space phenomena, unpacking a U.S. cargo ship, and maintaining orbital lab systems.

Commander and six-time spacewalker Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos led ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti on her first spacewalk on Thursday. The duo set up the European robotic arm for operations on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module during a spacewalk that lasted seven hours and five minutes. Ten nanosatellites were also deployed into Earth orbit for a radio technology experiment at the beginning of the excursion.

Artemyev and Cristoforetti woke up late on Friday and spent the rest of the day cleaning their Russian Orlan spacesuits and inspecting spacewalk tools and tethers. Cosmonauts Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov also slept in on Friday having monitored the spacewalkers and assisted the duo in and out of their spacesuits the day before. The pair also helped out with the post-spacewalk activities returning the Poisk airlock to its normal configuration and re-opening the hatch to the ISS Progress 80 cargo craft.

The station’s three NASA Flight Engineers including Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins, and Kjell Lindgren, worked a normal shift on Friday and wrapped up their workweek focusing on an array of science and maintenance operations.

Hines swapped fiber optic samples for a space manufacturing study, photographed samples for a cell-free protein production experiment, then activated the Astrobee robotic free-flyers ahead of a student robotics competition. Watkins continued unpacking cargo from inside the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship before stowing hardware for a water recycling experiment. Lindgren worked on payload cable connections then moved on to orbital plumbing tasks inside the station’s bathroom, also known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment.


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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