Blogs

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are undergoing integrated testing inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to ensure they are “go” for launch of the Artemis I mission early next year. After stacking the Orion atop the SLS rocket, the engineers completed several tests to ensure …

Launching aboard SpaceX’s 24th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, NASA’s 38th Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) mission strengthens the initiative’s aim of providing opportunities for small satellite payloads built by universities, high schools, NASA Centers, and non-profit organizations. Liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 21, at …

Payloads: EasyMotion:  After donning the EasyMotion Suit, the crew performed a Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS) exercise science session.  Following the experiment session, the crew removed the suit and charged the experiment batteries.  The EasyMotion investigation uses whole body Electro-Myo-Stimulation (EMS) with a wearable body skin suit for an ISS crew member …

Next week will see a U.S. resupply ship launch toward the International Space Station following Sunday’s departure of three orbiting lab visitors. Meanwhile, the seven Expedition 66 crewmates continued their space biology and physics research while maintaining station systems. SpaceX is due to launch its Cargo Dragon spacecraft from Florida on Tuesday at 5:06 a.m. …

Payloads: Cold Atom Lab (CAL): To address a boot-up issue which was first seen in mid-November, the crew gained access to the CAL interior components and exchanged the Solid-State Drive (SSD) on the Central Processing Unit (CPU) card.  This should allow the CAL to resume nominal operations and science collection.  CAL produces clouds of atoms …

The seven-member Expedition 66 crew spent Thursday servicing physics research gear and exercise hardware aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab’s three visitors are preparing for their departure on Sunday. The coldest temperatures in the Universe can be found inside the space station’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL). Atoms are chilled to temperatures near …

NASA's newest X-ray observatory – the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE – extended its boom successfully Dec. 15, giving IXPE the ability to see high-energy X-rays. The mission, which launched on Dec. 9, is one step closer to studying some of the most energetic and mysterious places in the universe in a new way. …

Payloads: EasyMotion:  After donning the EasyMotion Suit, the crew performed Treadmill 2 (T2) exercise science session.  Following the experiment session, the crew removed the suit and charged the experiment batteries.  The EasyMotion investigation uses whole body Electro-Myo-Stimulation (EMS) with a wearable body skin suit for an ISS crew member to perform pre- and postflight EMS-assisted …

Wednesday’s research schedule aboard the International Space Station highlighted the human muscular and circulatory systems as well as botany. The Expedition 66 crew also continued its space physics studies while working on docked Russian spacecraft. The lack of gravity affects the human body and station crew members exercise about two hours a day to counteract …

The James Webb Space Telescope team is working a communication issue between the observatory and the launch vehicle system. This will delay the launch date to no earlier than Friday, Dec. 24. We will provide more information about the new launch date no later than Friday, Dec. 17.