Tag: Expedition 49

CYGNUS CARGO MISSION IN MARCH

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft was captured Oct. 23, 2016, using the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the International Space Station.

The International Space Station will receive the next cargo mission via the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo spaceship this March. This will bring supply status to an optimal level after the launch failure and burn up of the Progress 65 cargo ship from Russia, December 1, 2016.

It is customary to have backup contingencies in case of launch failures or other unforeseen circumstances. ISS always has a supply of materials, oxygen, energy, and food for any eventuality. This is also why so much time is taken to practice drills from air leaks, fires, or catastrophic events requiring immediate evacuation from the space station are imperative for human survival.

What we take for granted living on earth is not a luxury astronauts and cosmonauts ever have.

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Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft was captured Oct. 23, 2016, using the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the International Space Station.

Orbital ATK has completed a significant mission milestone for NASA’s next International Space Station cargo mission.

The Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) of the Cygnus spacecraft has arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for processing and assembly before launch. The OA-7 mission is targeted to launch on Thursday, March 16 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Orbital ATK will launch Cygnus atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket  for delivery of essential crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The 30 minute launch window opens at 12:29am EDT.

OA-7 will mark Orbital ATK’s seventh cargo delivery mission for NASA under its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) -1 contract.

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.

On occasion, editing to accentuate content and accurate historical recollections are provided in the article. This makes the overview easier to understand and more relevant.

Please go to www.nasa.gov for continued updates and information.

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NEXT CREW PREPARES FOR LAUNCH

Next Expedition 50-51 crew members (from left) Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet try on their spacesuits and check out the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Alexander Vysotsky

The next crew to launch in two weeks are in preparation while the latest crew arrival are settling into the new space station environment.

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Next Expedition 50-51 crew members (from left) Peggy Whitson, Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet try on their spacesuits and check out the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Alexander Vysotsky

A new set of Expedition 50 crew members is in Kazakhstan just two weeks away from a launch to the International Space Station. The three orbiting station inhabitants are in the second week of their four-month stay in space.

Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy have tried on their spacesuits and checked out the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft they will blast off in Nov. 17. After launch, the trio will take a two-day trip to their new home in space where they will live until May. Today, the new crew is participating in flag-raising and tree-planting ceremonies at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site.

The orbiting crew of Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko are conducting critical space science while maintaining station systems.

Kimbrough continued transferring cargo from the Cygnus resupply ship that is due to depart in mid-November. The station commander also collected blood and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer then worked on research and plumbing gear.

Ryzhikov researched how humans experience pain in space and unloaded cargo from the new Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft. Borisenko, who is on his second station mission, checked out Russian life support systems and completed a questionnaire documenting the interactions of station crews and mission controllers on the ground.

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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CREW TRIO AWAITS NEXT EXPEDITION

Expedition 50-51 crew member trio (from left) Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy are pictured aboard an aircraft before landing at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The newest crew preparing to join the present Expedition 50 crew will be the present trio of astronauts shown in the photograph below. It is most well noted how the continued human presence in orbital space above earth makes the statement of our desire to explore and discover what we want to know, and ultimately, go there. Go NASA.

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Expedition 50-51 crew member trio (from left) Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy are pictured aboard an aircraft before landing at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The new Expedition 50 crew is in its first week aboard the International Space Station after a trio of Expedition 49 crew members left for Earth Saturday night. Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko are the sole occupants of the station right now awaiting three more crewmates due to launch in mid-November.

Kimbrough is tending a new garden of red romaine lettuce due to be harvested at the end of November. He is continuing the validation of greenhouse hardware to enable a fresh food supply for future crews venturing further and longer into space.

Cosmonauts Ryzhikov and Borisenko spent their time working on Russian life support systems and space research. The cosmonauts explored controlling rovers on a planetary surface from a spacecraft and also researched how microgravity affects pain sensitivity.

Back on Earth in Kazakhstan, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy are preparing for their mission to the space station. The Expedition 50-51 crew members are due to launch Nov. 17 to begin a six-month mission aboard the orbital laboratory.

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: At times some minor editing is published to accentuate the goals and aspirations of NASA and the overall, global space programs.

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EXPEDITION 49 LANDS IN KAZAKHSTAN

Expedition 49 crew members Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi are surrounded by support personnel moments after the Soyuz MS-01 successfully lands in Kazakhstan after 115 days in space. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

After a 115-day mission, the Expedition 49 crew lands safely. The image below shows the support personnel working with the crew members.

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Expedition 49 crew members Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi are surrounded by support personnel moments after the Soyuz MS-01 successfully lands in Kazakhstan after 115 days in space. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Earlier on late Saturday, their descent was covered on NASA TV.

Ready to deploy before it lands on earth.
Ready to deploy before it lands on earth.

This image shows the successful separation from the space station.

This shows the Soyuz MS-01 on its way to earth before it lands in Kazakhstan.
This shows the Soyuz MS-01 on its way to earth before it lands in Kazakhstan.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins of NASA, Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency lands safely their Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft in Kazakhstan southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan at 11:58 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Oct. 29. Russian recovery teams are helping the crew exit the Soyuz spacecraft and adjust to gravity after their stay in space. The trio will be transported by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan where they will split up, with Rubins and Onishi returning to Houston in a NASA jet, while Ivanishin will be flown back to his training base at Star City, Russia.

During her time on the orbiting complex, Rubins ventured outside the confines of the station for two spacewalks. During the first one Aug. 19, she and NASA astronaut Jeff Williams installed the first international docking adapter. Outfitted with a host of sensors and systems, the adapter’s main purpose is to provide a port for commercial spacecraft to bring astronauts to the station in the future. Its first users are expected to be the Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft now in development in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. During her second spacewalk Sept. 1, Rubins and Williams retracted a spare thermal control radiator and installed two new high-definition cameras.

Together, the Expedition 49 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard the world-class orbiting laboratory during their 115 days in space.

The trio also welcomed three cargo spacecraft delivering several tons of supplies and research experiments. Rubins was involved in the grapple of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft to the station in October, the company’s sixth contracted commercial resupply mission, and SpaceX’s Dragon ninth contracted mission in July. One Russian ISS Progress cargo spacecraft also docked to the station in July.

Rubins and Onishi spent a total of 115 days in space during their first mission. Ivanishin now has 280 days in space during two flights.

Expedition 50, with Shane Kimbrough of NASA in command and his crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, will operate the station for three weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

Peggy Whitson of NASA, Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch Nov. 17 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

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/. Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram at: http://instagram.com/iss and on Twitter @Space_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.

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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