Blogs

As the latest super pressure balloon (SPB) prepares to lift off from New Zealand, carrying the Extreme Universe Space Observatory-SPB (EUSO-SPB) payload, one may reflect back on how this balloon, the 6th iteration in the current model of long duration balloons, came to be and what goes into its construction — acres and acres of …

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Universal Docking Port (UDP): The crew completed a test run for the SPHERES UDP payload. They loaded the test software and performed the session with ground support staff direction. Objectives of the UDP session are to demonstrate a reliably successful docking through running multiple, repeatable docking maneuvers …

A demonstration of the automated command and control software for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, recently took place in Firing Room 3 in the Launch Control Center at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The software, called the ground launch sequencer, will be responsible for nearly all of the launch …

The Expedition 50 crew is checking out U.S. spacesuits today and testing tiny internal satellites for research. Three crew members are also packing up for a ride back to Earth on Monday. Commander Shane Kimbrough worked on a pair of spacesuits today following the completion of two spacewalks last month. He sampled and tested the …

Return minus 15 (R-15) Human Research Program (HRP) Collections: The 48S returning crewmember performed a fasting blood draw followed by urine collections. Both blood and urine samples were stowed in Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for freezing and storage for return and analysis. The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine …

Three Expedition 50 crew members are getting ready to end their stay aboard the International Space Station and return to Earth April 10. Two Expedition 51 crew members, who will replace them, are in Russia finalizing their mission preparations before they launch April 20. Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko …

EXpedite PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack Locker Relocation: Following the successful completion of the Rodent Research-4 experiment during SpaceX-10, this morning the crew reconfigured EXPRESS Racks 1 and 2 to their nominal configuration for upcoming payload operations.  Programmable Isolation Mount (PIM): The crew installed the PIM into EXPRESS Rack 7 in the …

NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) took a test drive along the crawlerway at Kennedy Space Center to determine the structural dynamics and loading environments of the crawler’s recent upgrades. The test was performed to ensure that the crawler is ready to support the first integrated flight of the agency’s Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System. …

U.S. Crew Half Duty Day: Following yesterday’s successful EVA, today was a half duty day for the US crew. They executed standard post EVA activities including a Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) water recharge, returning equipment to the Airlock, Metal Oxide (METOX) regeneration, battery maintenance, and a debrief with ground teams.  Habitability Observations: The crew documented …

U.S. Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #41: EV1 Kimbrough and EV2 Whitson completed the following tasks during today’s 7 hour 3 minute External (EXT) Enhanced Processor and Integrated Communications (EPIC) Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) / Shields Installation EVA.  During the final translation back to the airlock, Whitson’s Helmet Light Assembly came loose from her helmet.  Kimbrough was able to …