Blogs

Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app. Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, Dragon will undock at 11:05 a.m. EDT from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module and fire …

WĀNAKA, New Zealand — NASA is targeting Sunday, April 16 (Saturday, April 15 in the United States), to conduct a super pressure balloon (SPB) test flight launching from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, to further test and qualify the technology, which can offer cost savings compared to space missions. This first launch will also carry the …

NASA and its industry partners, Boeing and SpaceX, are planning target launch schedules for upcoming commercial crew missions to the International Space Station. Target Launch Manifest NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test: NET July 21, 2023 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7: NET mid-August 2023 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8: NET February 2024 NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1: NET Summer 2024 Here is …

Payloads: Advanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP): A BioFabrication Facility (BFF) test tissue cassette was removed from the ADSEP facility and prepared for return on SpX-27. There is no viable science currently in this cassette, but was instead in ADSEP to perform engineering evaluations of the systems inside. Using 3D biological printers to produce usable human organs …

NASA and SpaceX officials have given the “go” for the science- and cargo-packed Dragon cargo craft to undock from the International Space Station and return to Earth.  While the Expedition 69 crew finalizes Dragon cargo operations, preparations are still underway for a busy period of spacewalks set to begin on Tuesday. An array of experiment …

Payloads: Human Research Program (HRP) Sample Collection: The crew collected samples in support of the Food Physiology and Standard Measures investigations. Food Physiology is designed to characterize the key effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional status indicators. Standard Measures collects a set of core measurements related to …

Biology research, cargo packing, and spacewalk preparations continue aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 69 crew goes into a very busy April. NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg have been working on a variety of space experiments since their delivery aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on March 16. The two …

Payloads: Cold Atom Lab (CAL): The crew used a Grab Sample Container (GSC) to sample the air around the CAL experiment hardware. The GSC will be returned to the ground for analysis of the sample. CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero — …

In a world where many global challenges exist, finding ways to respond to an as yet undiscovered asteroid that might one day impact Earth could seem like a lesser priority. While it is true there are currently no known asteroids of significant size on a collision trajectory with Earth, an asteroid impact with our …

The Expedition 69 astronauts are finalizing a space biology study this week before packing it inside a cargo craft for return to Earth. The cosmonauts are also relaxing today ahead of more preparations for a series of spacewalks at the International Space Station. Return cargo operations are under way at the orbiting lab as the …