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Live coverage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Flight Support Booster-1 (FSB-1) ground test has begun on NASA Television and the agency’s website. The test fire is scheduled to begin at 3:05 EDT. Systems checks are underway for the full-scale, five-segment solid rocket booster ground test at Northrop Grumman’s test facility on Promontory, Utah. This …

The Expedition 63 crew serviced a variety of International Space Station hardware today ensuring research, power and life support systems continue operating in good condition. Heart research and team psychology studies also filled today’s science schedule. Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA wrapped up science rack swap work that he began on Monday. He finished moving …

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will conduct a test of Flight Support Booster-1 (FSB-1) Sept. 2, 2020 at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah. Northrop Grumman manufactures the two five-segment solid rocket boosters that will provide more than 75 percent of the vehicle’s thrust for the first two minutes of ascent. Live coverage of the …

It was a busy Tuesday aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 63 crew reorganized science racks and serviced life support hardware. Since its inception, the main focus of the orbiting lab has been research that is only possible in microgravity. Scientists take advantage of these unique insights to improve health and industry for …

Payloads EXPRESS Rack Relocation:  The crew performed the activities necessary to relocate EXPRESS racks 8, 10B, and 11B to their final locations.  EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Racks are multipurpose payload rack systems that store and support research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The EXPRESS Racks support science experiments in any …

NASA’s Orion Program has completed the System Acceptance Review and Design Certification Review to certify the Artemis I spacecraft is fit for flight, ready to venture from Earth to the lunar vicinity, and return home for landing and recovery. The review examined every spacecraft system, all test data, inspection reports, and analyses that support verification, …

Payloads JEMAL Depressurization:  The crew assisted with the depressurization of the JEM airlock (JEMAL) in preparation for the NREP component removal later this week.  The NanoRacks External Platform represents (NREP) the first external commercial research capability for the testing of scientific investigations, sensors, and electronic components in space. The NanoRacks External Platform is installed, on …

The last of three motors required to assemble the Launch Abort System for NASA’s Artemis II mission–the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft–arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 28. The attitude control motor (ACM) was delivered by truck from Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facility in Maryland, to the Launch Abort System Facility …

The Expedition 63 crew kicked off the work week exploring space agriculture and spacecraft technologies. The trio also split the day on upcoming mission preparations and International Space Station maintenance. Ongoing botany studies on the station have been teaching scientists, engineers and astronauts how to grow crops in space, so crews can feed themselves farther …

Payloads MSRR/MSL (Materials Science Laboratory) SCA exchange: The crew removed the processed calibration cartridge and inserted the first ESA batch-2b Sample Cartridge Assembly (SCA).  Batch-2b serves two projects investigating how different phases organize in a structure when metallic alloys are solidified. The project Metastable Solidification of Composites (METCOMP) studies the phase formed by the reaction of …