Blogs

38 Soyuz (38S) Undock and Landing: Expedition 40 Commander (CDR) Swanson, Flight Engineer (FE)-1 Skvortsov, and FE-2 Artemyev undocked from the ISS today at 6:01 p.m. CDT and landed in Kazakhstan at 9:23 p.m CDT. The crew’s return completes 167 days in space. 38S undock began Expedition 41 under the command of Maxim Suraev.  Suraev, …

Change of Command Ceremony:  The Change of Command Ceremony occurred at the end of the crew day today in preparation for return of the 38S Crew tomorrow.  ISS CDR Swanson, handed over to Expedition 41 CDR Suraev.  Undock tomorrow is scheduled at 6:01pm CDT with landing at 9:23pm CDT. Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental …

At approximately midnight local time on the night of September 6 (September 7, 6 UTC), a loud explosion was heard in an area near Managua, Nicaragua. A crater some 39 feet in diameter was found near 86.2 degrees west longitude, 12.2 degrees north latitude, in good agreement with the reports of explosive sounds. It has …

Energy: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Gerst continued taking urine samples and eating a special diet over the weekend for the Energy investigation. FE-5 Wiseman also collected urine samples as the control subject. Today, Wiseman and Gerst continued with the Energy investigation. Energy measures change in energy balance in crewmembers following long term space flight. Energy also …

NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSD):  Utilizing the JEM Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), Ground controllers performed an emergency stop shake test on the NRCSD.  No deployments were observed during this time.  However, after roughly 7 hours, an additional door (#7) was observed to be open, implying an inadvertent deploy during the morning of the crew workday.  The …

NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers:  Additional attempts to launch CubeSats from deployers #4, 7, and 8 were made overnight without success. 24 commands were sent attempting to deploy #4, 30 commands were sent to deployer #7, and 17 deploy commands were sent to deployer #8.  Ground Teams are continuing to assess the issue and are working on …

NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers:  Overnight, ground teams attempted deployment of three undeployed launchers (#4, 7, 8) without success. Additional deploy attempts are being planned this evening. Sprint Evaluation of Maximal Oxygen Uptake and Submaximal Estimates of VO2max Before, During, and After Long Duration International Space Station Missions (VO2Max): Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Wiseman set up the Portable …

Skin-B: Commander (CDR) Swanson conducted his last Skin-B data collection using the Tewameter probe to measure the skin barrier function; the Visioscan Camera to measure skin surface topography; and the Corneometer probe to measure skin hydration. This experiment will improve understanding of skin aging, which is slow on Earth but greatly accelerated in space. It …

FLame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)-2 Operations: Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Wiseman removed the Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) alignment guides which isolated the rack, allowing ground teams to conduct another FLEX-2 test point via ground commanding. A toluene and heptane mixture was used for this test point. FLEX-2 uses small droplets of fuel to study the special burning …

Robonaut Leg Installation: Commander (CDR) Swanson attached Robonaut’s mobility legs to the torso.  After the legs were installed, Swanson installed the Inertial Measurement Unit Bracket and Tentacle Board. The Kidney Fan, Backpack, and Cortex Box were reinstalled before replacing the side panels and soft goods. Robonaut is a dexterous humanoid robot designed with the versatility …