Month: July 2017

CREW READY FOR LIFTOFF

The Expedition 52-53 crew members wave farewell prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-05 rocket for liftoff, Friday, July 28, 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Liftoff is imminent for the next crew members to join their fellows aboard the International Space Station.

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The Expedition 52-53 crew members wave farewell prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-05 rocket for liftoff, Friday, July 28, 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos and Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) are preparing for liftoff to the International Space Station. Their journey to the station will begin with a lift off at 11:41 a.m. EDT Friday (9:41 p.m. in Baikonur). Live launch coverage will begin at 10:45 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The three will join Expedition 52 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer of NASA. The Expedition 52 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 crew’s launch timeline in EDT:

7:11:12am    4:30              Crew suit up
7:36:12am    4:05              Booster loaded with liquid Oxygen
8:11:12am    3:30              Crew meets family members on other side of the glass
8:36:12am    3:05              First and second stage oxygen fueling complete
8:41:12am    3:00              Crew walkout from 254 and boards bus for the launch pad
8:46:12am    2:55              Crew departs for launch pad (Site 1)
9:06:12am    2:35              Crew arrives at launch pad (Site 1)
9:16:12am    2:25              Crew boards Soyuz; strapped in to the Descent module
10:06:12am  1:35               Descent module hardware tested
10:21:12am  1:20               Hatch closed; leak checks begin
10:41:12am  1:00               Launch vehicle control system prep; gyro activation
10:45:00am    :56:12         NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE BEGINS
10:56:12am    :45                Pad service structure components lowered
10:57:14am     :44               Clamshell gantry service towers retracted
11:00:00am     :41:12          NASA TV: Crew pre-launch activities played (B-roll)
11:04:12am      :37               Suit leak checks begin; descent module testing complete
11:07:12am      :34               Emergency escape system armed
11:26:12am      :15               Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
11:31:12am       :10               Gyros in flight readiness and recorders activated
11:34:12am       :07               Pre-launch operations complete
11:35:12am       :06               Launch countdown operations to auto; vehicle ready
11:36:12am       :05               Commander’s controls activated
11:37:07am      :04:05       The ISS flies directly over the Baikonur Cosmodrome
11:37:12am       :04               Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
11:38:12am       :03               Propellant drainback
11:38:27am       :02:45         Booster propellant tank pressurization
11:39:42am       :01:30         Ground propellant feed terminated
11:40:12am       :01:00         Vehicle to internal power
11:40:37am       :00:35         First umbilical tower separates
Auto sequence start
11:40:42am       :00:30         Ground umbilical to third stage disconnected
11:40:57am       :00:15         Second umbilical tower separates
11:41:00am       :00:12         Launch command issued
Engine Start Sequence Begins
11:41:02am       :00:10         Engine turbopumps at flight speed
11:41:07am       :00:05         Engines at maximum thrust
11:41:12am      :00:00         LAUNCH OF SOYUZ MS-05 TO THE ISS
11:49:57am       +8:45         THIRD STAGE SHUTDOWN; ORBITAL INSERTION

The next update will be after the crew safely reaches orbit.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/. Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram at: @iss and on Twitter @Space_Station and @ISS_Research.

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NEW SCIENCE GEAR INSTALLED ON ISS

New science gear is installed while Flight Engineer Jack Fischer evaluates scientific hardware aboard the International Space Station.

New science gear is installed at the space station. The Cygnus cargo ship is also being loaded with materials for disposal over the ocean, soon.

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New science gear is installed while Flight Engineer Jack Fischer evaluates scientific hardware aboard the International Space Station.

Expedition 52 worked throughout Thursday installing new science gear to improve the research capabilities of the International Space Station. A cargo craft is also being loaded with trash and obsolete gear for disposal next week.

New network connections were installed on the main window of the Destiny lab module today. Flight Engineer Jack Fischer installed new equipment in the Window Observational Research Facility, or WORF, which hosts a variety of Earth sensing payloads to study the planet through a large window on the bottom of the Destiny Laboratory.

Peggy Whitson of NASA installed a carbon dioxide controller inside an incubator. The incubator is part of the Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL) located in Destiny. SABL enables space research that provides insights benefiting pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural industries.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin is getting the Russian Progress 66 (66P) cargo craft ready to take out the trash next week. The 66P will undock July 20 from the Pirs docking compartment packed with old and discarded items and burn up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean.

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.

Universal Digest is committed to providing its audience with the most timely news reporting; however, there are times where this is not possible. Therefore, a concise reporting of historical news occurrences are published, as soon as, is practicable.

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EXERCISE AND HI TEMP STUDIES ON ISS

Hi temp research is on the agenda this week. This long-exposure photograph of Earth and starry sky was taken during a night pass by the Expedition 52 crew aboard the International Space Station. The Japanese Kibo module and part of the station’s solar array are visible at the top.

Hi temp research is on the agenda this week. The featured picture is of a view from the International Space Station.

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Hi temp research is on the agenda this week. This long-exposure photograph of Earth and starry sky was taken during a night pass by the Expedition 52 crew aboard the International Space Station. The Japanese Kibo module and part of the station’s solar array are visible at the top.

A pair of astronauts explored new space exercise techniques today to stay healthy and fit on long duration missions. The crew also observed protein crystals and high temperatures to understand microgravity’s effects on humans and physical processes.

Expedition 52 Flight Engineer Jack Fischer strapped himself in to the space station’s exercise bike this morning with assistance from veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson. The work out study is researching the effectiveness of high intensity, low volume exercise to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in space.

Whitson, who has been living in space since November 2016, then moved on and set up gear for the Two Phase Flow experiment. That study is observing how heat transfers from liquids in microgravity to help improve the design of thermal management systems in future space platforms.

Fischer later checked out protein crystals through a microscope for an experiment researching radiation damage, bone loss and muscle atrophy caused by living in space. At the end of the day, he swapped out samples that were heated up inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The furnace is a facility that allows safe observations and measurements of materials exposed to extremely high temperatures.

Written By: Catherine Williams 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.

Universal Digest is committed to providing its audience with the most timely news reporting; however, there are times where this is not possible. Therefore, a concise reporting of historical news occurrences are published, as soon as, is practicable.

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REPAIRS AND RESEARCH CONTINUE ON ISS

While research and repairs continue aboard ISS, Expedition 52 flight engineers Paolo Nespoli, left, Sergey Ryazanskiy, center, and Randy Bresnik visit Red Square prepare to lay roses at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Research and repairs continue on ISS. In anticipation, the crew aboard the space station makes ready for the next crew to join them in less than three weeks.

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While research and repairs continue aboard ISS, Expedition 52 flight engineers Paolo Nespoli, left, Sergey Ryazanskiy, center, and Randy Bresnik visit Red Square prepare to lay roses at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The orbiting Expedition 52 trio continued exploring magnetized cell structures today and worked on advanced repair tasks. Also, a new crew is in Moscow getting ready for its launch in less than three weeks.

Astronaut Peggy Whitson was back at work Tuesday running the Mag 3D cell culturing experiment all day. She peered at magnetic three-dimensional cell cultures through a microscope, specifically looking at the borders of the biocell structures. The biocells were then stowed in a science freezer before being injected with magnetic 3D culture media. Mag 3D observations may improve cell and tissue culture capabilities and research on orbit.

Though the space station is an orbiting laboratory, it is also a home that needs regular maintenance. Flight Engineer Jack Fischer put on his repairman’s hat today replacing a failed water separator inside the Tranquility module. The water separator is part of the Common Cabin Air Assembly that controls the station’s temperature and humidity.

Three upcoming station crew members are spending their final week in Moscow before heading to the launch site in Kazakhstan on Sunday. The experienced space trio will launch to space aboard the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft July 28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Expedition 52-53 crew members Randy Bresnik, Paolo Nespoli and Sergey Ryazanskiy will live aboard the station for 4-1/2 months.

Written By: Catherine Williams 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.

Universal Digest is committed to providing its audience with the most timely news reporting; however, there are times where this is not possible. Therefore, a concise reporting of historical news occurrences are published, as soon as, is practicable.

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