Blogs

USOS Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) #44: Today Randy Bresnik (as EV1) and Mark Vande Hei (as EV2) exited the airlock and successfully performed US EVA #44 with a Phased Elapsed Time (PET) of 6:55. The primary goal of today’s EVA was to remove the degraded Latching End Effector (LEE) A from the Space Station Robotic …

Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA completed a 6 hour, 55 minute spacewalk at 3 p.m. EDT. The two astronauts replaced one of two Latching End Effectors (LEE) on the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2. They also accomplished a couple of get-ahead tasks, including removal of the multi-layer insulation …

Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket is being prepared to launch NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON mission. The rocket is being prepared in a facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.

Two NASA astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power this morning at 8:05 a.m. EDT aboard the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk planned to last about 6.5 hours. Live coverage is available on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA will …

Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA will head outside the International Space Station at approximately 8 a.m. EDT Thursday to begin a 6.5-hour spacewalk. Live coverage will be available on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 6:30 a.m. This is the first of three spacewalks planned …

Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutron (RaDI-N) Retrieval:  Today a USOS crewmember retrieved all 8 of the Space Bubble Detectors that were deployed last week for the RaDI-N experiment, and transferred them to the Russian crewmember for processing in the Bubble Reader. This Canadian Space Agency (CSA) RaDI-N investigation measures neutron radiation levels while onboard the ISS.  …

VEG-03 Operations: Today the crew continued to conduct Veg-03 operations that began last week by thinning out the plants to one plant per pillow, in order to promote growth of the larger plants. The crew then watered the plant pillows. The crew will now begin the autonomous space gardening phase of the experiment.  The Veg-03 …

Three Expedition 53 astronauts conducted eye exams Tuesday morning two days ahead of a spacewalk. The crew is also preparing for a pair of upcoming commercial cargo missions. Commander Randy Bresnik, who is leading all three spacewalks this month, joined his fellow spacewalkers for a periodic eye exam. Bresnik and Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei …

The first major integrated operation at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida began with the initial tanking of a cryogenic fuel into a giant sphere at the northwest corner of the pad. The tanking operation is one of the steps needed to bring the center closer to supporting the launch of …

External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) Light Bulb R&R: Today the crew will removed, replaced, and tested two metal halide lamps bulbs. These light assemblies are used to illuminate sections of ISS during periods of darkness and support continuous operations.  After bulb failure, these assemblies can be removed and replaced during an Extra Vehicular Activity.   Rechargeable …