On July 18-20, the team behind NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission rehearsed recovering a mock sample return capsule from the location where the real one, with fragments of asteroid Bennu, will land on Sept. 24: the Utah desert. Though the team has rehearsed portions of the recovery operation many times this year, this was the most realistic …
Three Expedition 69 crew members completed another round of eye exams today aboard the International Space Station. Various maintenance and clean-up activities were also underway in multiple service modules. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen collected salvia samples early in the morning then began installation work in the Japanese Experiment Module on a system that provides fluorescent …
Payloads: Gradient Heating Furnace (GHF): The GHF Material Processing Unit heater insulation was measured for resistance using a multimeter. The GHF is a vacuum furnace that contains three heating blocks. Their positions and temperatures can be independently controlled, and various temperature profiles can be realized. This facility will be mainly used for high quality crystal …
Eye scans and station maintenance continue for the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station today. NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his day observing and taking photos of satellites that were recently deployed from a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer in the Japanese Experiment Module. He then moved into the station’s Tranquility module to troubleshoot …
Payloads: Advanced Resistive Exercise Device Kinematics (ARED-K): The acquisition unit was partially set up in Node 3 for a remote ground connection. The ARED-K investigation assesses the current exercise programs to allow for the improvement of exercise prescriptions by conducting a biomechanical analysis of exercise on the ARED onboard the ISS. ISS Ham Radio: An …
After a well-deserved day off yesterday, the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station is back to work performing a variety of maintenance activities, science experiments, and vision exams. NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is on track to set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut later this …
NASA’s four Starling CubeSats are confirmed to have deployed from the Rocket Lab’s Electron kick stage. The spacecraft, which are designed to work together as a “swarm,” have reached low Earth orbit to begin their mission to test technologies for autonomous positioning, networking, maneuvering, and decision-making. Now, the Starling swarm will power up and attempt …
NASA’s Starling mission, has lifted off from the launch pad aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. The four CubeSats are on their way to low Earth orbit to test new autonomous spacecraft swarm technologies. Rocket Lab is providing a live launch broadcast, available on the company’s website. Connect with us on social media for ongoing launch …
The Expedition 69 crew members took a well-deserved day off after working on past weekends aboard the International Space Station. Looking ahead, August is shaping up to be a busy month with crew and cargo missions. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will be delivering new science investigations—including studies of fire suppression, gene therapy, and atmospheric monitoring—as …
