Blogs

Two astronauts are getting the Quest airlock and their equipment ready for a Friday morning spacewalk. The cosmonauts continued their human research program today exploring the various affects of living in space. Spacewalkers Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will exit the Quest airlock Friday at 8 a.m. EDT to begin setting up the International Space …

NASA's Scientific Balloon Team kicked off a day-long hang test of the Extreme Universe Space Observatory-Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB) payload March 23, a key step to certifying the flight readiness of this year's super pressure balloon mission lifting off from Wanaka, New Zealand. The hang test is a complete test of all primary balloon systems—tracking, …

As mentioned at the IMMT this morning, the teams have been assessing their ability to support 2 EVAs and the PMA3 relocation prior to the arrival to OA-7.  This was reviewed at the Inc 50 JOP this afternoon and there were no issues identified.  Based on this and the IMMT Chair’s approval, we have baselined …

The first launch umbilical for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft was installed on the mobile launcher tower March 16 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion Service Module Umbilical, or OSMU, was installed high up on the tower at about the 260-foot level. “Installation of the OSMU is a …

The astronauts took a break from spacewalk preparations today and checked out an expandable module and worked on science freezers. The crew also continued its human research program exploring space nutrition and the effects of microgravity on metabolism and the immune system. Thomas Pesquet opened the hatches to the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) today …

Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI):  The crew obtained both front-on and profile view pictures to check for facial edema followed by a conference with ground teams.  Scheduled at Launch + 4 months (L+4m), the IPVI investigation studies changes to crewmembers’ eyes and optic nerves by analyzing arterial blood pressure and blood flow to the …

Three astronauts are preparing for a Friday morning spacewalk to upgrade and maintain the International Space Station’s external systems. The three cosmonauts stayed focused today on their set of Russian space experiments and life support work. Astronauts Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet from the European Space Agency are reviewing procedures for the spacewalk …

While the launch window for NASA's next Super Pressure Balloon launch from Wanaka, New Zealand, opens March 25, there are a number of factors that need to align prior to making an actual launch attempt. Operationally, all the balloon systems—power, communications, telemetry, etc.—need to be checked out and tested. Today, as seen in the accompanying …

With the decision today to move the OA7 launch to NET March 27, we have decided to move the IMMT OA7 Readiness Review from March 22 to March 27.  We will have the IMMT OA7 RR at 08:00 CDT on March 27 and if OA7 launches later that day, it would be around 18:49 CDT.  …

The Expedition 50 crew is gearing up for three spacewalks over two weeks to continue the external maintenance at the International Space Station. Also, the SpaceX Dragon is returning to port today after completing a month-long stay at the station. Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will begin the first spacewalk Friday at 8 a.m. …