Tag: spacewalk

Spacewalk Preps, Science Work as Dragon Counts Down to Launch

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi sets up hardware for a protein crystal growth experiment on May 30, 2023, that may shorten the development cycle for new drugs.
Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi sets up hardware for a protein crystal growth experiment on May 30, 2023, that may shorten the development cycle for new drugs.

Spacesuits and science filled the Expedition 69 schedule at the end of the workweek aboard the International Space Station. Back on Earth, a cargo-filled U.S. resupply ship is counting down to its launch to replenish the residents living on the orbital outpost.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are preparing for a June 9 spacewalk to install one of two new roll-out solar arrays on the space station’s starboard-side truss structure. The duo spent Friday morning configuring Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, and readying spacewalk tools inside the Quest airlock. Hoburg then joined NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio in the afternoon for a fit check of his EMU.

The crew also continued its ongoing microgravity research to improve health on Earth and in space. Bowen set up blood samples in a centrifuge before stowing them in a science freezer to learn how spaceflight affects cellular immune functions. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi pedaled on an exercise while attached to sensors monitoring his breathing and blood pressure for the Cardiobreath astronaut health study. Rubio swapped out protein crystal samples in the Kibo laboratory module for a study advancing biochemistry research in space.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev worked together on Friday for a human research study that investigates how microgravity affects the digestion process. Commander Sergey Prokopyev studied how micro-particles such as electrons, ions, and neutral gases, interact and turn into plasma crystals when exposed to electrical charges.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is counting down to launch at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with two new roll-out solar arrays packed inside its unpressurized trunk. Mission managers polled the station and Dragon teams on Thursday and reported all systems are go for launch to the orbiting lab. However, weather forecasters on Friday announced conditions at the launch pad are 70% no-go with scattered thunderstorms predicted for both Saturday and Sunday launch attempts.

For now, Dragon’s automated rendezvous and docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port is scheduled for 5:36 a.m. on Monday. Two days after that the Canadarm2 robotic arm will extract the roll-out solar arrays from Dragon’s trunk and stage them on a pallet attached to the starboard truss. The two spacewalkers will then be able to retrieve the solar arrays and begin the installation work.

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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Dragon Counts Down to Launch Ahead of Spacewalks

A pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), also known as spacesuits, are pictured inside the space station's Quest airlock where spacewalks are staged by astronauts wearing the EMUs.
A pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), also known as spacesuits, are pictured inside the space station’s Quest airlock where spacewalks are staged by astronauts wearing the EMUs.

A Dragon cargo craft is counting down to its liftoff to the International Space Station on Saturday as two NASA astronauts get ready for next week’s spacewalk. Meanwhile, the Expedition 69 crew is keeping up with its human research, robotics, and lab maintenance activities.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo craft atop has rolled out to its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is expected to lift off at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday carrying Dragon to Earth orbit. Dragon will then conduct an automated flight to the orbital outpost where it will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:36 a.m. on Monday.

Dragon is carrying two new roll-out solar arrays that will be extracted from its unpressurized trunk about two days after its docking then staged on a pallet attached to the station’s starboard-side truss structure. Packed inside the U.S. cargo craft are several tons of new experiments, food, supplies, and hardware to replenish the crew members. NASA TV begins its live launch coverage at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday on the agency’s app and website. The live docking broadcast starts at 4 a.m. on Monday.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are planning to go on a spacewalk on June 9 and install one of the new Dragon-delivered solar arrays on the starboard truss. The duo have been reviewing spacewalk procedures and configuring their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, they will use next week during their excursion. Another spacewalk is scheduled for June 15 to install the second roll-out solar array packed inside Dragon.

Today, along with the ongoing spacewalk preparations, the pair had time set aside for some science and cargo activities. Bowen spent the morning servicing blood samples for the Immunity Assay experiment to explore how spaceflight affects cellular immune functions. Hoburg worked on an Astrobee robotic free-flying assistant then reviewed operations for the upcoming Dragon resupply mission.

Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), who have been assisting with the spacewalk preparations, also had a variety of science tasks booked on Thursday’s schedule. Rubio installed research hardware inside the Combustion Integrated Rack for a space fire safety study. Alneyadi is in the middle of a 48-hour period of wearing a Bio-Monitor vest and headband that is monitoring his cardiovascular system while performing normal crew activities.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin once again partnered together and continued installing upgraded data cables inside the Zvezda service module. Prokopyev also attached sensors to himself for a physical fitness evaluation on the station’s treadmill. Petelin unpacked and stowed cargo from inside the ISS Progress 84 space freighter. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day practicing European robotic arm maneuvering techniques from inside the Nauka science module.

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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Station Crew Focuses on Spacewalks, Cargo Mission After Ax-2

Astronaut Stephen Bowen is pictured exiting the space station's Quest airlock and beginning a spacewalk on April 28, 2023.
Astronaut Stephen Bowen is pictured exiting the space station’s Quest airlock and beginning a spacewalk on April 28, 2023.

The seven Expedition 69 crew members are turning their attention to a pair of spacewalks and a cargo mission after saying goodbye to their Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) guests on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a pair of experiments onboard the International Space Station on Wednesday looked at monitoring health and 3D printing.

The four astronauts and three cosmonauts that comprise Expedition 69 are resuming their standard mission activities today following the departure of four Ax-2 astronauts. Next up in June for the orbital residents are a pair of spacewalks to upgrade the station’s power generation system and a commercial resupply mission.

Mission managers will preview the upcoming power upgrade spacewalks during a news conference live on NASA TV at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The first spacewalk will begin at 9:15 a.m. on June 9 with NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg. The duo will exit the Quest airlock in their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, and install a new roll-out solar array on the orbital lab’s starboard-side truss segment. The second spacewalk will take place on June 15 with a duo going back out in EMUs and installing another roll-out solar array on the starboard truss.

Bowen and Hoburg started Wednesday morning reviewing their spacewalk activities and cleaning spacesuit cooling loops. The pair then joined Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) in the afternoon for spacewalk training. The quartet logged into a computer and practiced the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support the solar array installation work planned for next Friday.

Both roll-out solar arrays are packed inside the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft that is counting down to liftoff at 12:35 p.m. on Saturday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Dragon will arrive at the station for an automated docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:36 a.m. on Monday. The new solar arrays will be extracted from Dragon’s trunk with the Canadarm2 two days before the first spacewalk begins and staged on a pallet attached to the starboard truss. Dragon is also carrying new experiments, food, supplies, and hardware to replenish the station crew.

Microgravity science is still continuing onboard the station while the crew gets ready for the upcoming cargo mission and spacewalks. Alneyadi put on the Bio-Monitor vest and headband at the end of the day testing their ability to monitor an astronaut’s health while minimally interfering with crew activities. Commander Sergey Prokopyev worked on a 3D printer to demonstrate printing tools and parts in space reducing the crew’s reliance on cargo missions for hardware.

Prokopyev also partnered with Roscosmos Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin installing upgraded data cables in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day on ventilation and electronics maintenance.

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 Works Human Research and Cleans Up After Spacewalk

Astronauts (from left) Sultan Alneyadi and Woody Hoburg show off the tools they used to successfully open a hatch on the Unity module.
Astronauts (from left) Sultan Alneyadi and Woody Hoburg show off the tools they used to successfully open a hatch on the Unity module.

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew began its week studying microgravity’s effects on human immunity, replacing critical life support gear, and cleaning up after last week’s spacewalk. Axiom Space is also counting down to its second private mission to the International Space Station.

The orbital lab’s main purpose is gaining scientific knowledge not possible in Earth’s gravity to gain new insights benefitting humans on and off the Earth. Human research and physics are a key part of the microgravity science program helping NASA and its international partners plan missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen started Monday processing blood samples that will be analyzed to understand how living in space affects cellular immune function to promote healthier astronauts. At the end of the day, Bowen put on a vest and headband packed with sensors that will record his physiological data to the Canadian Space Agency’s Bio-Monitor device.

Station flight engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked throughout Monday on experiment hardware supporting advanced space biology research. Rubio worked in the Kibo laboratory module checking out the Confocal Space Microscope that captures fluorescence imagery to observe the fundamental nature of cellular and tissue structures. Alneyadi installed a syringe filled with a protein solution inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Ring Sheared Drop experiment that may provide potential treatments for neuro-degenerative diseases.

Rubio and Alneyadi also assisted NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg as he worked throughout the day on the Destiny laboratory module’s carbon dioxide removal assembly. Hoburg spent several hours throughout Monday replacing components then checking for leaks on the life support device located in Destiny’s air revitalization system rack.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin relaxed Saturday and Sunday following their five-hour and 14-minute spacewalk on Friday to deploy and activate a radiator on the Nauka science module. The two cosmonauts then kicked off Monday uninstalling components and checking for leaks on their Orlan spacesuits then returning the Poisk airlock to its post-spacewalk configuration. Afterward, the pair checked the heart monitoring gear they would wear during their descent to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day primarily on maintenance activities as he cleaned ventilation equipment and laptop computers in the Zvezda service module.  Fedyaev also spent a few moments on human research activities recording and downloading his body mass measurements then collecting his own blood sample for later analyzing.

The second private astronaut mission from Axiom Space, Axiom Mission 2, is scheduled to launch to the space station at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday. Commander Peggy Whitson with Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will ride the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting lab’s space-facing port on the Harmony module where they are scheduled to dock at 9:24 a.m. on Monday. The private quartet will conduct research, outreach, and commercial activities before returning to Earth.

The Axiom Mission 2 Flight Readiness Review was conducted today and has concluded. The media briefing will begin as scheduled at 5 p.m. EDT today. More: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-axiom-mission-2-briefings-events-broadcast

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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Cosmonauts Deploy Radiator and Complete Spacewalk

Spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the Nauka science module to deploy a radiator and install gap spanners on the European robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV
Spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the Nauka science module to deploy a radiator and install gap spanners on the European robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk May 12 at 5:01 p.m. EDT after 5 hours and 14 minutes.

Prokopyev and Petelin completed their major objectives, which included deploying a radiator on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module, connecting electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic lines, and filling a pair of cooling loops with coolant.

This was the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It was the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

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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Cosmonauts Begin Spacewalk to Deploy Radiator

Roscosmos spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the International Space Station's Roscosmos segment.
Roscosmos spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the International Space Station’s Roscosmos segment.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin began a spacewalk at 11:47 a.m. EDT to deploy a radiator on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module.

Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Prokopyev is wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It is the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

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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Cosmonaut Spacewalkers Exiting Station Soon Live on NASA TV

Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev (left) is conducting his sixth career spacewalk. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin (right) is conducting his fourth spacewalk.
Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev (left) is conducting his sixth career spacewalk. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin (right) is conducting his fourth spacewalk.

NASA Television coverage is underway for today’s spacewalk with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. The duo will deploy a radiator on the on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module, connect electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic lines, and fill a pair of colling loops on the radiator with coolant. Coverage of the spacewalk is on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Prokopyev and Petelin will exit out of the Poisk module at about 11:55 a.m. EDT. Prokopyev is wearing the Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing the suit with blue stripes.

This is the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It is the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

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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Cosmonauts GO for Spacewalk, Astronauts Work on Science Gear

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin install a radiator on the Nauka science module during a spacewalk on April 19, 2023.
Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin install a radiator on the Nauka science module during a spacewalk on April 19, 2023.

Station managers have given the go for a spacewalk on Friday to deploy and activate a radiator on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Expedition 69 crew is continuing its ongoing human research activities and science hardware maintenance.

Two cosmonauts will exit the Poisk airlock in their Orlan spacesuits at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Friday beginning a spacewalk to deploy and activate a radiator on the Nauka science module. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will spend up to seven hours in the vacuum of space configuring the same radiator they installed on Nauka during a spacewalk on April 19. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev will remain inside the orbiting lab assisting the spacewalkers in and out of their Orlans and monitoring their excursion.

The trio from Roscosmos spent Thursday morning completing their spacewalk preparations checking Orlan suit components, finalizing procedure reviews, and discussing their readiness with mission controllers. Prokopyev and Petelin then took the rest of the afternoon off, while Fedyaev collected radiation detectors and cleaned electronics and computer gear.

The four astronauts supporting the U.S. segment of the orbiting lab spent Thursday studying the effects of microgravity on humans and servicing an array of advanced science gear.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen spent all day Thursday helping doctors understand how the human body adapts to living long-term in weightlessness. He processed his blood and saliva samples during the morning then stowed them inside the Kubik incubator for 24 hours for the Immunity Assay investigation. After lunchtime, Bowen attached sensors and breathing gear to himself that recorded his aerobic capacity while he pedaled on the Destiny laboratory module’s exercise cycle.

Astronauts Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) focused their efforts on maintaining a variety of research hardware throughout the day. Rubio collected sound level readings aboard the station, installed an air quality monitor, and reconfigured a science education computer. Hoburg charged Actiwatches that monitor an astronaut’s heart activity and sleep cycle, replaced handles on the Human Research Facility, and finally cleaned and inspected U.S. module hatches. Alneyadi set up Bio-Monitor hardware and software that collects medical data from a headband and vest loaded with sensors that he is wearing for the Space Health study.

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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Spacesuit Work, Eye Checks, Human Research Fill Crew Day

Roscosmos spacewalker Sergey Prokopyev works outside the space station to install an experiment airlock on the Nauka science module on May 3, 2023.
Roscosmos spacewalker Sergey Prokopyev works outside the space station to install an experiment airlock on the Nauka science module on May 3, 2023.

Two cosmonauts spent the day readying the spacesuits they will wear for a spacewalk scheduled for Friday. The rest of the Expedition 69 crew concentrated on eye exams, orbital lab maintenance, and human research aboard the International Space Station.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are getting ready for their third spacewalk together since April set to begin on Friday. They will exit the Poisk airlock at 11:55 a.m. EDT in their Orlan spacesuits and translate toward the Nauka science module to deploy and activate a radiator they installed on April 19 during a previous spacewalk. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 11:30 a.m.

The duo spent Wednesday inside Poisk setting up their Orlan spacesuits for the planned six-plus-hour spacewalk. They checked the suits for leaks, then installed batteries, helmet cameras, and other communications gear on the Orlans. Prokopyev and Petelin coordinated the suit checks with mission controllers ensuring the suits were in operating condition and suit data was being received on the ground.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen and Frank Rubio worked on a pair of different spacesuits, the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), deconfiguring them for stowage in the Quest airlock. The two astronauts took turns dumping water and cleaning cooling loops inside the two EMUs that were worn by Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi during a spacewalk on April 28.

At the end of the day, Bowen joined Alneyadi for eye checks using standard medical imaging gear patients on Earth would find in an optometrist’s office. Alneyadi and NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg partnered together throughout Wednesday servicing station module hatches and power supply systems. The pair first inspected the Unity module’s top hatch that connects to the orbital lab’s Z1 truss. Next, Alneyadi went on and inspected and cleaned the rest of the hatches in the station’s U.S. segment. Hoburg moved on and installed an antenna power supply system with its two power cables inside the Tranquility module.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev conducted two different human research experiments on Wednesday. For the first experiment, Fedyaev attached sensors to himself then rested while his cardiac activity was recorded to understand blood pressure in microgravity. For his second experiment, Fedyaev wore a cap with electrodes that monitored his responses while practicing simulated spacecraft or robotic piloting techniques for future planetary missions on a computer.

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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Astronauts Work on Science Gear, Cosmonauts Relax Before Spacewalk

Astronaut Frank Rubio works to install the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer inside the Kibo laboratory module's airlock on April 20, 2023.
Astronaut Frank Rubio works to install the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock on April 20, 2023.

The Expedition 69 astronauts had their day full on Tuesday servicing a variety of science hardware and maintaining critical life support gear. The cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station cleared their schedule and relaxed before finalizing preparations for Friday’s spacewalk.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio began Tuesday removing a small satellite deployer from inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock. Astronauts install small satellites inside the device and place it in the airlock before it is depressurized. Kibo’s robotic arm grapples the deployer, places it in the vacuum of space, and points it away from the space station. Next, it deploys tiny satellites about the size of shoeboxes into Earth orbit for public and private research programs.

Rubio then moved into the Destiny laboratory module and inspected the Microgravity Science Glovebox that accommodates space physics and biology experiments and reported his findings to ground controllers. Afterward, he resupplied the Columbus laboratory module’s Human Research Facility (HRF) with sample collection kits, medical gloves, needles, and ultrasound components.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen opened up Destiny’s Combustion Integrated Rack and swapped fuel bottles inside the research device that supports safe fuel, flame, and soot studies. Bowen then swapped carbon dioxide sensors and disconnected vent cables inside an artificial gravity generating incubator. At the end of the day, the four-time station visitor recorded an educational video to demonstrate space physics for high school students.

Bowen also spent a few moments assisting NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg as he worked on Destiny’s carbon dioxide removal assembly (CDRA) that creates a safe breathing environment on the station. Hoburg worked throughout Tuesday replacing components and checking for leaks inside the life support apparatus.

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) juggled several tasks on Tuesday as he worked on spacesuits, computers, life support gear, and science hardware. Alneyadi first checked batteries and cleaned the helmets that fit on the Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits. Then he loaded software on a tablet computer located in the Unity module. He also assisted Hoburg swapping components on the CDRA then replaced drawer handles on the Columbus HRF.

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and Andrey Fedyaev had the day off Tuesday aboard the orbital outpost. Prokopyev and Petelin are resting before they go on their third spacewalk since April on Friday. The duo will spend Wednesday and Thursday checking their Orlan spacesuits and reviewing the procedures they will use to deploy a radiator on the Nauka science module. Fedyaev will assist the cosmonauts in and out of their spacesuits and monitor their spacewalking activities.

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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