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The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of December 13 through the morning of December 14. Geminid rates can get as high as 100 per hour, with many fireballs visible in the night sky. Best viewing is just before dawn. NASA Tweet Chat: Observe the Geminid Meteor Shower On the night of December 13, …

The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship was bolted into place on the International Space Station’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 9:26 a.m. EST. Cygnus will be the first cargo ship to be berthed to the Earth-facing port on the Unity module. The spacecraft’s arrival will support the crew members’ research off the Earth …

Using the International Space Station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren successfully captured Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo vehicle at 6:19 a.m. EST. The space station crew and the robotics officer in mission control in Houston will position Cygnus for installation to the orbiting laboratory’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module. NASA TV coverage …

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren is making final preparations for the arrival of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo vehicle. NASA Television is providing live coverage, which also can be seen online at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv. Lindgren will command the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, to reach out and capture the Cygnus. Capture is scheduled …

Microbiome:  For Yui’s Return Minus Zero day (R-0) and Kelly’s Flight Day 240 Microbiome sessions, they each collected saliva samples today.  Kelly also collected water from the Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) in the galley and stowed it for ambient return on the 43 Soyuz (43S) vehicle, which is scheduled to undock from the ISS this …

The first of two Christmas space deliveries is set to arrive early Wednesday morning. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft is on its way to the International Space Station where it will be captured and berthed to the Unity module around 6:10 a.m. EST/11:10 a.m. UTC. The next holiday shipment will be delivered Dec. 23 aboard …

#1. The Geminid meteor shower can be seen from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Because they are pieces of an asteroid, Geminid meteoroids can penetrate deeper into Earth’s atmosphere than most other meteor showers, creating beautiful long arcs viewable for 1-2 seconds. Click the image to view a Geminid in action. Marshall Space Flight Center …

Orbital ATK (OA)-4 Launch:  The Enhanced Cygnus spacecraft was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket on Sunday at 3:44pm CST.  Sunday’s launch sets the stage for ISS rendezvous and capture on Wednesday, December 9th.  Cygnus will be delivering approximately 3,500 kg of pressurized cargo to the ISS. …

At 6:04 p.m. EST, the twin UltraFlex solar arrays of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft completed deployment. All of Cygnus’ systems are reported in excellent shape. The spacecraft is set to arrive at the International Space Station on Wednesday, Dec. 9. NASA crew members Kjell Lindgren and Scott Kelly will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm …

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft lifted off at 4:44 p.m. EST on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket en route to the International Space Station. At the time of launch, the International Space Station was traveling over the Atlantic Ocean, north of Bermuda. The cargo includes dozens of science and research investigations that …