Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS)-II: Kopra completed flame tests for the BASS-II investigation. BASS-II examines the burning and extinction characteristics of a wide variety of fuel samples in microgravity. The results of the BASS-II experiment will be used in the development of strategies for flammability screening of materials to be used in spacecraft as …
Airway Monitoring: Kopra and Peake completed a European Space Agency (ESA) Airway Monitoring session which began this morning when the crewmembers assembled a Lithium Hydroxide (LIOH) canister and portable fan assembly to prepare for carbon dioxide removal in the US Airlock. Subsequently, Nitric Oxide (NO) measurements were taken of both crewmembers at nominal and reduced …
A pair of astronauts is exploring breathing risks during long term space missions today while a trio of crew members is packing a Soyuz spacecraft for the return home. NASA astronaut and two-time space station resident Tim Kopra joined first-time British astronaut for the Airway Monitoring experiment. That study explores the risk of breathing in …
Two pathfinders, or test versions, of solid rocket booster segments for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The booster segments were transported from Promontory, Utah, for pathfinder operations at the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) to prepare for Exploration Mission-1. The boosters, which are inert, …
Water Process Assembly (WPA) Status: Following yesterday’s WPA Catalytic Reactor replacement, the WPA successfully completed a process cycle and is working nominally. In addition, the crew returned Treadmill 2 (T2) and Water Recovery System (WRS)-1 Racks back to their nominal configuration. Airway Monitoring: Peake completed setup of a camera and hardware for Airway Monitoring …
Three International Space Station crew members, two of whom have been in orbit nearly a year, will complete their stay in space March 1. As they prepare for landing, the Expedition 46 crew is moving right along with human research, advanced space science and ongoing lab maintenance. One-Year crew mates Commander Scott Kelly and Flight …
Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL): Today, for the NASA SABL facility, Peake set up two SABL units in in the US Laboratory module and configured power, data, and thermal connections to the rack. SABL is an upgrade to the long standing ISS incubator, Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA). SABL supports a wide variety of experiments in …
The crew of Expedition 46 was engaged in a variety of repair tasks today across the orbiting laboratory. ESA astronaut Tim Peake replaced cables in the station’s Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, the primary tool for astronaut resistive exercise vital for maintaining bone and muscle mass while in microgravity. NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra …
Cygnus Destructive Re-Entry: On Saturday, Cygnus completed its De-Orbit Delta-V (DDV)-1 burn at 4:32 am CST. The spacecraft then crossed the Entry Interface and destructively re-entered the atmosphere at approximately 9:53 am CST. Urine Processing Assembly UPA Status: On Sunday, UPA faulted out due to belt slippage between the distillation assembly and its motor. …
Over the weekend, Expedition 46 commander Scott Kelly worked with ground controllers to successfully checkout the Sidekick device and internet connectivity. The project, which makes use of Microsoft’s HoloLens device, aims to enable station crews with assistance when and where they need it. This new capability could reduce crew training requirements and increase the efficiency …
