Payloads: Astrobee: The Astrobee systems were powered on and stowage in the area cleared away to allow the performance of free-flight maneuvers. This type of activity is commonly called “crew minimal” and the goal is for the ground to command the Astrobee experiment systems to complete the session objectives with minimal crew involvement. Astrobee is …
NASA's Parker Solar Probe accomplished a milestone on June 27, 2023 – its 16th orbit of the Sun.
After a weekend off-duty, the Expedition 69 crew is kicking off their week with a variety of experiment preparations and system maintenance on the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen started his day removing HICARI-2 samples from the Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF) in the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo. Hicari is an experiment led by …
The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 7:14 p.m. ET on July 2, 2023. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to …
Payloads: Cold Atom Lab (CAL): A checkout of the of the new CAL fiber optic inspection system was successfully performed. CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero — much colder than the average temperature of deep space. At these low temperatures, atoms have …
Editor's Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. On June 25, 2023, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope turned to famed ringed world Saturn for its first near-infrared observations of the planet. The initial imagery from Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is already fascinating researchers. Saturn …
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 10:30 a.m. EDT Friday, June 30, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, marking the return of the company’s 28th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The spacecraft carried approximately 3,600 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth. Scientific …
SpaceX-28 (SpX-28) Undock and Return: SpX-28 Cargo Dragon successfully undocked from the ISS on this morning at 11:25 AM CDT. The deorbit burn is scheduled to occur tomorrow morning at approximately 8:42 AM CDT. Dragon is targeted to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico near Jacksonville, FL at approximately 9:30 AM CDT on Friday, …
Fireworks won’t be the only bright objects lighting the sky this month. The next full moon will appear on the morning of Monday, July 3, although it will seem full for up to three days. The July full moon is also called the “Full Buck Moon,” according to the Farmers’ Almanac, as this is the …
Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, the company’s Dragon cargo spacecraft undocked at 12:30 p.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. At the time of undocking the station was flying at an altitude about 260 miles northeast of the Indian Ocean west of Indonesia. After re-entering Earth’s …
