Crew Prepares for U.S. and Russian Space Deliveries

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The SpaceX Dragon

The SpaceX Dragon was pictured from a video camera as it approached the space station Wednesday morning.

NASA and SpaceX flight controllers in Houston and Hawthorne, California are reworking plans for the arrival Thursday of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft after its rendezvous to the International Space Station was aborted early Wednesday morning. The Dragon’s computers received an incorrect navigational update, triggering an automatic wave off.

Dragon was sent on a “racetrack” trajectory in front of, above and behind the station for a second rendezvous attempt Thursday.  Dragon is in excellent shape and neither the crew nor the station were in any danger.  NASA TV will cover its second rendezvous attempt Thursday beginning at 4 a.m. EST.

Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will be back in the cupola Thursday waiting to capture Dragon at around 6 a.m. Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson will be assisting the duo monitoring Dragon’s arrival and its systems.

A few hours before Dragon aborted its rendezvous, Russia launched its Progress 66 (66P) resupply ship from Kazakhstan on a two-day trip to the station’s Pirs docking compartment. The 66P is carrying nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the six-member Expedition 50 crew. It will arrive Friday for an automated docking at 3:34 a.m. and stay at the station until June. NASA TV will also cover its arrival starting at 2:45 a.m.

SpaceX Dragon Rendezvous and Docking Waved Off for Today

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spacex dragon 9

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft waved off its planned rendezvous with the International Space Station at 3:25 a.m. EST. Dragon’s onboard computers triggered the abort after recognizing an incorrect value in navigational data about the location of Dragon relative to the space station. Flight controllers immediately began planning for a second rendezvous attempt on Thursday, Feb. 23.

The spacecraft is in excellent shape with no issues, and the crew aboard the space station is safe. The next rendezvous attempt is targeted for Thursday morning. NASA TV coverage will begin at 4 a.m. with grapple expected around 6 a.m. Installation coverage will begin at 8 a.m. Watch live on NASA TV and online at: http://www.nasa.gov/live.

Russian Progress 66 Launches Cargo to Station

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The Russian 66 Progress launched at 12:58 a.m. Wednesday (11:58 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Russian Progress 66 launched at 12:58 a.m. Wednesday (11:58 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The unpiloted Russian Progress 66 launched at 12:58 a.m. Wednesday (11:58 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It is now orbiting the planet on course for the International Space Station

The vehicle will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the Expedition 50 crew.

The spacecraft is set to dock to the Pirs docking compartment at 3:34 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 2:45 a.m. Progress 66 will remain docked at the station for almost four months before departing in June for its deorbit into Earth’s atmosphere.

This was the first launch of a Progress cargo ship from Baikonur since the Progress 65 supply craft was lost Dec. 1, 2016.

Busy Traffic Week Ahead for Space Station Crew

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the company's 10th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 9:39 a.m. EST from the historic launch site now operated by SpaceX under a property agreement with NASA.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the company’s 10th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 9:39 a.m. EST from the historic launch site now operated by SpaceX under a property agreement with NASA.

Two cargo craft are scheduled to deliver several tons of supplies and experiment hardware to the station this week.

SpaceX’s tenth commercial resupply mission lifted off at 9:39 a.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19. The rocket launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first commercial launch from Kennedy’s historic pad.

Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Shane Kimbrough of NASA will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 on NASA TV and the agency’s website, with installation coverage set to begin at 8:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, the unpiloted Russian Progress 66 is scheduled for 12:58 a.m. Wednesday (11:58 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is set to dock to the Pirs docking compartment at 3:34 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24.

Aboard the station, the crew continued preparations for the arrival of the vehicles and set up several scientific experiments and technology demonstrations.

The Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2) was installed for a technical evaluation. MED-2 aims to demonstrate if small robotic actuators can provide motion and resistance for crew workout sessions, reducing the size and weight of exercise equipment for long-duration space missions.

Dragon Launches to Station, Arrives Wednesday

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SpaceX Dragon Liftoff

The SpaceX Dragon lifts off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA TV

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:39 a.m. EST, and Dragon has begun its journey to the International Space Station with an arrival scheduled for Wednesday. Dragon separated from the Falcon 9 about 10 minutes after launch.

For more information on the SpaceX CRS-10 mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacex. For more information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station.

Dragon Capture Training and Robonaut Power Check Today

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Expedition 50 Astronauts and Robonaut

Expedition 50 astronauts (from left) Peggy Whitson, Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet pose with the humanoid Robonaut.

Three Expedition 50 crew members practiced today the robotic capture of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship when it arrives at the International Space Station two days after its launch. A humanoid robot, better known as Robonaut, had its power supply checked out during a full day of troubleshooting.

Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet partnered up and practiced capturing the Dragon cargo ship using the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The duo will be in the cupola Monday morning to capture Dragon following its 10:01 a.m. EST Saturday launch from Kennedy Space Center. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will assist her crewmates and monitor Dragon’s approach and rendezvous.

Dragon is packing nearly 5,500 pounds of crew supplies, station gear and advanced science experiments. Some of the research will look at new technologies to improve space travel, observation gear to study Earth’s ozone and processes to improve how medicine works.

Whitson worked throughout the day on the robotic astronaut assistant, Robonaut. She opened up Robonaut’s torso and checked its cables and computer cards searching for an intermittent fault in its power supply. Robonaut is being tested for its ability to assist astronauts in the future with routine tasks and high risk activities.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Commander Sets Up Dragon Gear and Looks to April Crew Swap

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Commander Shane Kimbrough

Commander Shane Kimbrough works with the SPHERES-Halo experiment. The investigation uses two small, self-contained satellites (SPHERES) fitted with donut like rings to test wireless power transfer and formation flight using electromagnetic fields.

The Expedition 50 crew is getting ready for the upcoming SpaceX CRS-10 mission to resupply the International Space Station. Commander Shane Kimbrough checked out SpaceX communications gear today so the astronauts can monitor the approach and rendezvous of the Dragon cargo craft.

SpaceX is targeting Feb. 18 to launch its Dragon space freighter atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the station two days later for a robotic capture and a month-long stay at the Harmony module

Kimbrough also joined Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet for periodic eye exams during the afternoon. The trio started the day collecting blood and urine samples and stowing them in a science freezer for later analysis on the ground. The ongoing human research helps doctors understand how living in space affects astronauts as NASA plans longer-term missions farther out into space.

Kimbrough and his Soyuz MS-02 crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko are now set to return to Earth April 10 officially ending the Expedition 50 mission. Whitson will become Expedition 51 commander and continue her stay on the station with fellow crew members Pesquet and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy.

Two new Expedition 51 crew members will launch to the station April 20. Veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Jack Fischer will take a single-day ride inside the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft to begin their mission on orbit.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Station Gets New Software and Life Science Gear

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Astronauts Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet

Astronauts Peggy Whitson (left) and Thomas Pesquet talk to ground controllers about an upcoming SpaceX Dragon cargo mission to resupply the crew.

The International Space Station is continuing to receive software updates to improve its spacecraft communications and navigation systems. Meanwhile, the astronauts today are setting up new life science gear and testing the docking ability of tiny internal satellites.

New software is being uplinked and installed on the station this week to increase the communications and control of approaching spacecraft. The crew will also replace portable computer hard drives with new ones after the software transition.

SpaceX is looking to launch its Dragon cargo craft no earlier than Feb. 18 on a two-day trip to deliver crew supplies and new science experiments to the Expedition 50 crew. One study being shipped on Dragon will explore healing and tissue regeneration to fight bone and tissue loss in space. Habitats with telemetry and video were installed for the study and will house rodents being launched aboard Dragon.

A pair of bowling ball-sized satellites, known as SPHERES, were deployed inside the Kibo lab module to test new algorithms and docking techniques. The SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) are used for numerous experiments including today’s study to demonstrate the ability for future spacecraft to autonomously dock and undock.

 

Life Science Preps and Software Updates at Station

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Progress Resupply Ship Departs

The Progress 64 resupply ship is pictured departing the station Jan. 31, 2017, shortly after undocking from the Pirs Docking Compartment.

The Expedition 50 crew is getting the International Space Station ready for new experiments that will be delivered on the next SpaceX Dragon resupply mission. The station is also receiving a software update for its navigation and control systems.

Dragon is set to deliver new research gear for a variety of experiments exploring the benefits and risks of living in space. The crew began setting up the station today for a pair of those studies that will explore life science.

Cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko began installing habitats to house rodents for an exploration into bone and tissue loss caused by microgravity. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson set up new gear in the Microgravity Science Glovebox to cultivate human stem cells for evaluating their use in treating disease.

New software has been uplinked to the station to update its Guidance, Navigation and Control systems and its Command and Control systems. The updates will improve communications with spacecraft approaching the station and add new computer connectivity with docked vehicles.

Three Spaceships Targeting February and March Launches

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Aurora

Stars, the aurora and the International Space Station’s solar arrays are seen in this picture taken Jan. 18, 2017.

The Expedition 50 crew is gearing up for three different spaceships in two months to resupply the International Space Station. The crew also worked today on a variety of research hardware and practiced an emergency drill.

Two U.S. companies are getting their rockets ready to deliver food, fuel, supplies and new science gear to the crew. SpaceX is first in line with a plan to launch their Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Feb. 18. Next, Orbital ATK is targeting March 19 to launch their Cygnus spacecraft on its seventh resupply mission to the station. Both spaceships will be captured by the Canadarm2 robotic. The Dragon will be installed to the Harmony module and the Cygnus will be attached to the Unity module.

Russia is preparing its Progress 66 (66P) cargo craft for a Feb. 22 launch from Kazakhstan. The 66P will take a two-day trip to the orbital laboratory before automatically docking to the Pirs Docking Compartment.

Onboard the station, Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet spent the day in Japan’s Kibo lab module working on science gear maintenance. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson installed a leak locator in Kibo’s airlock that will be used to locate the source of an ammonia leak outside the Japanese lab.

Commander Shane Kimbrough and his Soyuz crewmates cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov got together in the afternoon an emergency descent drill. The trio practiced the procedures necessary to evacuate the station quickly in the unlikely event of an emergency and return to Earth inside their Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft.

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