Blogs

Rodent Research-3 (RR-3) Operations: The crew has completed operations on 15 rodents. They are scheduled to perform operations on 5 rodents today and 5 more tomorrow which will conclude this session of RR activities.  The crew will perform bone densitometry measurements and then transfer the rodents to the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) for sample processing. …

The crew was back at work today with more life science studies and human research. Cygnus cargo transfer work is ongoing as robotics controllers prepare for an external video survey. Mice continue to be observed today for the Rodent Research-3 study. The astronauts are measuring their bone density to learn how microgravity affects muscles and …

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (JEMAL) NanoRacks Cubesat Deployer #7 (NRCSD 7) Deployment: This morning, operations which began Monday were completed with the deployment of four Dove satellites and four LEMUR-2 satellites.  All satellites were deployed on time as commanded.  The empty deployer will be returned to the JEM Airlock.   Rodent Research-3 (RR-3) Operations: …

Jorge Núñez, a planetary scientist and engineer from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), is the deputy systems engineer of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) instrument on New Horizons. He studies the geology and composition of planetary surfaces using a variety of remote-sensing techniques. When not working on New Horizons or analyzing …

The final set of Cubesats was ejected from the International Space Station today. Inside the orbital lab, the station residents continued more rodent bone and muscle research, checked for microbes and cleaned fans. A total of 17 Cubesats have been released since Monday from a small satellite deployer on the outside of the Kibo experiment …

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (JEMAL) NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer #7 (NRCSD 7) Deployment Operations: Today a total of 6 Dove satellites will be deployed via ground commanding. This morning the NRCSD 7 Silos 1 and 2 were deployed and Silo 3 is planned to be deployed this evening during crew sleep. This will complete the …

A new wave of Cubesats was shot into space today for a wide variety of Earth observations and communications research. The crew also explored life science and worked on high-flying plumbing tasks. Today’s set of Cubesat deployments from the Kibo lab module’s airlock was the second of three consecutive days of deployment operations. The Dove …

NASA's super pressure balloon took flight from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, at 7:35 p.m. Monday, May 16 (in EDT), on a flight aiming for long-duration at mid-latitudes. Video and pictures from the launch operation follow.

WANAKA, New Zealand – NASA successfully launched a super pressure balloon (SPB) from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, at 11:35 a.m. Tuesday, May 17, (7:35 p.m. EDT Monday, May 16) on a potentially record-breaking, around-the-world test flight. The purpose of the flight is to test and validate the SPB technology with the goal of long-duration flight …

NASA is targeting 7 p.m., Monday, May 16, (11 a.m., Tuesday, May 17, in New Zealand) to launch its super pressure balloon on a globetrotting, potentially 100-day test flight launching from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand. This is the fifth launch attempt for the balloon team. The launch can be tracked in the following ways: · …