As the Expedition 44 crew orbited above the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto this morning at more than 30,000 mph. New Horizons’ closest approach was about 7,750 miles above the dwarf planet’s surface after a nine-year trip. The International Space Station has been orbiting at an average …
NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) Operations: On Saturday Kelly completed final preparations for a series of deployments of CubeSats from a NRCSD by performing a leak check of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (AL) and venting residual air. Kelly opened the outer hatch and extended the JEMAL slide table to the JEM Exposed Facility (JEF) …
A new trio of space station crew members arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Friday to complete mission preparations. In space, the orbital residents began a series of Cubesat deployments. The Expedition 44/45 crew comprised of Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui are wrapping up preflight training in Kazakhstan. …
ISS Reboost: Overnight a planned reboost using the 58P 8R&D thrusters was performed. This reboost is the second of two to set up 4-orbit rendezvous for 43S launch scheduled for July 22. The reboost is also the first of three scheduled to set up 4-orbit rendezvous conditions for 44S launch and 42S landing in the …
ISS Reboost: A planned reboost is scheduled at 9:54 pm CDT tonight using 58P thrusters. Delta V will be 1.22 m/s and burn duration is estimated to be 10 minutes and 57 seconds. The reboost will set up phasing for 43S docking and dynamic operations for future visiting vehicles. NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) Operations: Kelly …
The final day of the 2015 International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development conference closed the event with multiple talks looking at exploration beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) and novel ways the space station is affecting life on Earth. Panel sessions began with a talk about the commercial capabilities and technologies that will be needed—together with …
The International Space Station will get an orbital boost tonight to get ready for upcoming Soyuz crew missions. On the ground, three new crew members are preparing for their Friday departure to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The orbiting Expedition 44 trio, with Commander Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew members Scott …
The second full day of the 2015 International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development conference was dominated by panels and technical sessions featuring the leading minds in scientific research from the commercial and academic ISS communities. Panel sessions were led by a look at what the ISS Program is doing to maximize use of the …
Plant Gravity Sensing 2 (PGS2): After Kelly removed a seed paper kit from a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) he noted mold on the growth media. He discontinued the PGS2 activities and reported his observations to ground experts. This investigation supports the study of cellular formation of the gravity sensors and …
The Expedition 44 trio continued more science Wednesday looking at plants, fluids and other ongoing advanced space research. Back on Earth, another crew is getting ready for its July 22 launch to the International Space Station. One-Year crew member Scott Kelly worked throughout the day on botany science preparing samples collected for the Plant Gravity …
