Blogs

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (JEMAL) Materials ISS Experiment – Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) Operations:  The crew extended the JEMAL Slide Table into the JEM and removed the MISSE Transfer Tray (MTT) from the table. They also removed the JEM ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI), which was configured to support the MTT, from the table.  Space Technology …

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is rotated down to a horizontal position during pre-launch processing and testing on April 10, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, just outside Kennedy Space Center. Once horizontal, the integration and testing team will measure the alignment of the heat shield mounting points with respect to the spacecraft structure. This is done to assure that the umbra (or shadow) cast by the heat shield – called the Thermal Protection System – protects the spacecraft and instruments.

Robotics controllers and Expedition 55 crew members are getting ready for the departure of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship next week. The commercial space freighter will leave the International Space Station and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday loaded with cargo for retrieval and analysis. Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold powered up command and communications …

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NanoRacks Module-66:  The crew removed NanoRacks Module-66 from the NanoRacks Platform-1 today for return on the SpaceX-14 vehicle. This investigation examines fibril formation and beta amyloid peptides in microgravity using a fluorescence spectrometer.  Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible neurodegenerative process, is characterized by formation of neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein and plaques, or clumps of amyloid …

A wide variety of life science is being explored today aboard the International Space Station as Expedition 55 crew members prepare for a spacewalk planned for next month. The space residents also continued the upkeep of the orbital lab while robotics controllers set up an external experiment. Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai split his time today …

On the morning of Tuesday, April 17, 2018, crews from United Launch Alliance raised the 170-foot tall Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle – the largest and most powerful rocket currently used by NASA – at Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This Delta IV Heavy will carry Parker Solar Probe, humanity's first mission to the Sun's corona, on its journey to explore the Sun's atmosphere and the solar wind. Launch is scheduled for approximately 4 a.m. EDT on July 31, 2018.

Integrated Communications Unit (ICU) R4 Transition: Yesterday, a software patch was loaded for the Ku-Band Command and Data Processer (KCDP) to correct the anomaly experienced where large packets of data were disrupting Ku Band forward data flow.  After the load was complete, ground teams transitioned from KU Comm Unit (KCU)1 to KCU2, which contains the …

The Expedition 55 crew is experimenting with space gardening today while packing research samples and cargo for return to Earth. The space residents are also breaking down gear brought in from last month’s spacewalk and getting ready for the next spacewalk. Botany research aboard the International Space Station helps scientists and astronauts learn how to …