Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Sample Clean: This morning the crew disconnected the Sample Cartridges from within the ELF to exchange the samples and retrieve lost samples within the sample holders. The crew reinserted the cartridge and reconnected the hoses and cables. Ground teams will resume checkout and operations later this week. The ELF is an …
Trying to sleep on a trampoline while somebody is jumping on it – this is how it feels during many nights at sea as the ship zig-zags in an imaginary box around our drifting instruments in the North Pacific during winter. This is when biological activity is lowest, but clearly there is no absence of physical […]
Act 1: Blowin’ in the wind At the unholy hour of 0400, I find myself on the aft deck of the world-class research vessel Falkor, bubbling with excitement stemming from a unique combination of four shots of espresso, generally being a morning person, and, most importantly, preparing to test an experimental device that I have put […]
Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI) and Robotics External Leak Locator (RELL) Installation on JEM Airlock (JEMAL) Slide Table: The crew installed the JOTI on the JEM A/L Slide Table. Afterwards, the crew installed the Robotics External Leak Locator (RELL) onto the JOTI, and retracted the Slide Table inside the JEMAL. RELL operations …
The Expedition 50 crew is gearing up for three different spaceships in two months to resupply the International Space Station. The crew also worked today on a variety of research hardware and practiced an emergency drill. Two U.S. companies are getting their rockets ready to deliver food, fuel, supplies and new science gear to the …
As an undergraduate student, Colleen Durkin had no idea what to specialize in, but looking at a seawater sample through a microscope during a field-trip to Friday Harbor Labs changed that forever. “I suppose I had used a microscope before, but I can’t remember it,” she shares. “All I know is that to this day, I can recall what […]
Galley Rack Outfitting: Today the crew relocated the Node 1 16-Port Ethernet Switch from Node 1 Port-Deck location to the Galley Rack. All pre-existing cables remained mated to the switch during relocation, and the switch power feed will remain the same. Later today they will connect the two Microgravity Experiment Research Locker/Incubator (MERLIN) Ethernet connections …
SpaceX has announced no earlier than Feb. 18 for the launch of its tenth commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Dragon will be loaded with advanced space science and will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet will …
Galley Rack Outfitting: The crew continued with Galley Rack Outfitting today. They mated power, data, and fluid umbilicals to the Galley Rack in preparation for activation. They also relocated the Food Warmer from the Node 1 Starboard location to the Node 1 Galley Rack. Following this relocation the Food Warmer will be powered from the …
