Month: November 2016

LAST 2016 CARGO SHIPMENTS TO ISS

Two more spaceships with cargo shipments will arrive in December. As of Nov. 21, 2016, there are three spacecraft docked at the station including the Soyuz MS-02 and MS-03 crew vehicles and the Progress 64 resupply ship. Credit: NASA

Two more cargo shipments are due to arrive at the International Space Station before the end of 2016. Meanwhile, science research continues. As seen in the image below, there are two ports available for docking.

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Two more spaceships with cargo shipments will arrive in December. As of Nov. 21, 2016, there are three spacecraft docked at the station including the Soyuz MS-02 and MS-03 crew vehicles and the Progress 64 resupply ship. Credit: NASA

The Expedition 50 crew is getting ready to receive a shipment of space supplies Saturday after Russia launches the Progress 65 cargo craft Thursday morning. The final space delivery of the year will be Dec. 13 when the Kounotori HTV-6 resupply ship arrives four days after its launch from Tanegashima, Japan.

Inside the International Space Station, Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson installed aerosol samplers to collect airborne particles for analysis on Earth. Scientists will study the samples using specialized techniques with powerful microscopes.

Commander Shane Kimbrough is setting up science gear inside Japan’s Kibo lab module to study the fundamental physics of surface tension where liquid and gas meet. The experiment known as Marangoni Ultrasonic Velocity Profiler-2 may improve industrial processes and products on Earth and in space.

New astronaut Thomas Pesquet, from the European Space Agency, strapped himself into the Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System chair for a study of his calf muscle and Achilles tendon. On Earth, that area carries loads from the entire human body. He conducted a series of ankle exercises while attached to sensors to monitor any changes in that area caused by living in space.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

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THANKSGIVING AND NEW CREW

As Thanksgiving approaches, the newly-docked Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft is next to one of the Cygnus’ round Ultraflex solar arrays in the left foreground. The Cygnus cargo craft departed the station two days after the Soyuz arrived.

As Thanksgiving approaches, observed by over twelve nations, worldwide, work continues aboard the space station. As seen below, the new HD cameras give remarkable images.

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As Thanksgiving approaches, the newly-docked Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft is next to one of the Cygnus’ round Ultraflex solar arrays in the left foreground. The Cygnus cargo craft departed the station two days after the Soyuz arrived.

Three new crew members are in their first week aboard the International Space Station. They joined the Expedition 50 crew Saturday bringing the occupancy of the orbital lab to six humans.

Astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough pause for a portrait inside the space station as Thanksgiving approaches.
Astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough pause for a portrait inside the space station as Thanksgiving approaches.

Six International Space Station crew members are heading in to the Thanksgiving holiday with human research activities and orbital lab maintenance.

The two U.S. astronauts, three cosmonauts and one French astronaut are getting ready for a Space Thanksgiving. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is beginning her third station mission and will spend the traditional U.S. holiday orbiting above the Earth for the third time.

Meanwhile, new crew members Whitson, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and first time space-flyer Thomas Pesquet and are familiarizing themselves with their home on orbit where they will live for the next six months. Whitson was last onboard the station during Expedition 16 in 2008 before Japan’s Kibo lab module had been delivered and the final solar arrays had been installed.

Whitson spent several hours repairing the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) today, one of two functional toilets aboard the station. She replaced several components after a leak was detected in the WHC on Monday.

Novitskiy’s previous mission was Expedition 34 which ended in 2013. Pesquet is on his first spaceflight and is the fourth astronaut from France to visit the space station.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

Please note: When multiple articles are published regarding singular/similar events during a specific time period, Universal Digest will combine detail into one article. This is still mostly unedited material written by the same author.

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CYGNUS SPACE FREIGHTER LEAVES ISS

The Orbital ATK Cygnus space freighter is seen moments after being released from the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

The Orbital ATK Cygnus space freighter is released for its fiery trip back to earth after performing one more important function. See below for details.

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The Orbital ATK Cygnus space freighter is seen moments after being released from the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

Expedition 50 robotic arm operators Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) commanded the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the Cygnus spacecraft at 8:22 a.m. EST while the space station was flying 251 miles over the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of Colombia. Earlier, ground controllers detached Cygnus from the station and maneuvered it into place for its departure.

Once Cygnus is a safe distance away from the station, ground controllers at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and at Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia, will activate the Saffire-II experiment.

Cygnus also will release four LEMUR CubeSats from an external deployer on Friday, Nov. 25, sending them to join a remote sensing satellite constellation that provides global ship tracking and weather monitoring.

The spacecraft will remain in orbit until Sunday, Nov. 27, when its engines will fire twice, pushing it into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up over the Pacific Ocean.

The Cygnus resupply craft launched Oct. 17 on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, for the company’s sixth NASA-contracted commercial resupply mission. The company’s seventh contracted resupply mission is targeted for spring 2017 on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

For more information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

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WELCOME ABOARD! ISS CREW AT SIX

Welcome aboard! The six-member Expedition 50 crew is comprised of (front row, from left) Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet. In the back, from left, are Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko. Credit: NASA TV

Welcome aboard! Here are the highlights of the launch and two-day trip to the International Space Station. It culminated in the docking of Soyuz MS-03 to the station last evening.

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Welcome aboard! The six-member Expedition 50 crew is comprised of (front row, from left) Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet. In the back, from left, are Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko. Credit: NASA TV

Three new crew members are aboard the International Space Station. The hatches on the space station and Soyuz MS-03 opened at 7:40 p.m. EST, marking the arrival to the orbiting laboratory for NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency).

Along with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, the arriving crew members will contribute to more than 250 research experiments ongoing aboard the space station, in diverse fields such as biology, Earth Science, human research, physical sciences and technology development.

Soyuz MS-03 is photographed from the space station engaging in docking maneuvers before the new Expedition 50 crew is brought aboard.
Soyuz MS-03 is photographed from the space station engaging in docking maneuvers before the new Expedition 50 crew is brought aboard.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) have docked to the International Space Station. After orbiting the Earth for approximately two days, their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft docked with the space station’s Rassvet module at 4:58 p.m. EST.

When hatches between the Soyuz and space station opened at 7:35 p.m., the three crew members joined Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko, who have been aboard the complex since October. NASA TV coverage for hatch opening will begin at 6:45 p.m.

From left are Expedition 50 crew members Peggy Whitson of NASA, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA. Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
From left are Expedition 50 crew members Peggy Whitson of NASA, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA. Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Three new crew members docked to the International Space Station Saturday at 5:01 p.m. EST. Live coverage of the docking and arrival began at 4:15 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) launched in their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft at 3:20 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 (2:20 a.m. Baikonur time, Nov. 18).

To learn more about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station. For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/.

To follow activities on orbit, visit the space station Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/ISS

Follow the crew members and the station on Twitter at:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa_astronauts

and

http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station

Follow the station on Instagram at:

https://instagram.com/iss/

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

Please note: When multiple articles are published regarding singular/similar events during a specific time period, Universal Digest will combine detail into one article. This is still mostly unedited material written by the same author.

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