International Space Station (Updates)

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UPDATE: Both astronauts have arrived at the PMA. Currently preparing for cable deployment on IDA.

 

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 18 August 2016

 

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A new port for commercial crew vehicles was robotically removed from the back of the SpaceX Dragon Wednesday night. The International Docking Adapter was placed in position for its installation Friday morning to a pressurized mating adapter attached to the Harmony module.

 

Two spacewalkers, Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, will complete the installation work during a spacewalk scheduled to begin Friday at 8:05 a.m. EDT. The NASA astronauts will install cables and outfit the docking port that will enable future Boeing and SpaceX crew vehicles to dock at the International Space Station.

 

While the spacewalk preparations were under way, a Japanese astronaut and three cosmonauts conducted a variety of space research. Takuya Onishi tended to the mice being observed for the Mouse Epigenetics study. That experiment is researching altered gene expression and DNA changes in mice and their offspring living in space.

 

Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin explored ways of detecting micrometeoroid impacts on the outside of the station. He also joined Oleg Skripochka and studied how galactic and solar radiation genetically affects viruses that infect bacteria. Veteran cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin investigated how coulomb crystals and liquids are formed by charged macroparticles and researched how the heart beats in space.

 

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Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The crew spent most of the day preparing for tomorrow's EVA, completing the following:

- Configured/audited tools and prepared the Equipment Lock (EL), Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) and ancillary hardware.
- Removed/relocated stowage from the Node 2 forward port endcone to access the forward International Docking Adapter (IDA) control panel.
- Set up the IDA control panel and 2 multimeters for the Modified Androgynous Peripheral Attachment System (MAPAS) installation.
- Copied EMU/Airlock contingency procedures to their iPads in the event the Station Support Computer (SSC) goes down.
- Pre-EVA health check.
- Pre-EVA conference with ground teams.

 

International Docking Adapter (IDA): Ground controllers used the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to inspect the sealing surface of IDA2, and then successfully extracted the IDA from the Dragon trunk overnight. There was a delay in the removal when a tethered pyro bolt from the Latch B Flight Support Equipment (FSE) floated very close to the IDA handrail. A video inspection of the handrail confirmed that the tether was not looped around or through the handrail. The ground team continued with the IDA extraction but the FSE bolt interfered with the bottom of the handrail and the IDA structure. The FSE bolt was freed after a sequence of adjustments with the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) robotic arm. The adjustments were very minor and positive margin between the IDA and Dragon were verified prior to each adjustments. The IDA was maneuvered to position for the installation on Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) 2 during the spacewalk tomorrow morning.

 

MERLIN-1 False Fire Indication: MERLIN-1 was unpowered following a false fire indication. Crew members took Compound Specific Analyzer- Combustion Products (CSA-CP) readings which were all zero. Ground teams are investigating the cause. No loss of science was incurred, as MERLIN-1 is located in the Node 1 Galley area and is used primarily for crew preference items.

 

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Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
EVA procedures review
IDA multimeter startup
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 08/19: IDA2 EVA
Saturday, 08/20: Post EVA cleanup activities, EVA debrief, Heart Cells media change, Mouse cage maintenance, CMO OBT
Sunday, 08/21: Crew off duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-18-august-2016.html

 

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Spacewalk Concludes After Commercial Crew Port Installation

 

Spacewalker Kate Rubins works outside the International Space Station with the SpaceX Dragon space freighter just below her. Credit: NASA TV

 

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Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins concluded their spacewalk at 2:02 EDT. During the five-hour and 58-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully installed the first of two international docking adapters (IDAs).

 

The IDAs will be used for the future arrivals of Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew spacecraft in development under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Commercial crew flights from Florida’s Space Coast to the International Space Station will restore America’s human launch capability and increase the time U.S. crews can dedicate to scientific research, which is helping prepare astronauts for deep space missions, including the journey to Mars.

 

Space station crew members have conducted 194 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 1,210 hours and 46 minutes working outside the station.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/19/spacewalk-concludes-after-commercial-crew-port-installation/

 

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Spacewalkers attach docking adapter to space station for commercial vehicles

 

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Two spacewalkers attached a new docking port to the International Space Station Friday, clearing the way for U.S. crew ferry ships being built by Boeing and SpaceX to begin test flights to the lab complex next year. It was a key step in NASA’s drive to regain independent access to the lab complex for the first time since the shuttle fleet was retired in 2011.

 

Attached to the station’s no-longer-needed shuttle port at the front of the station, the Boeing-built International Docking Adapter will allow spacecraft from both companies to bring crews to the outpost, ending NASA’s sole reliance on Russian Soyuz ferry ships. A second IDA is expected to be attached in 2018.

 

“It is amazing that now we’ve opened up a new chapter in the story of the International Space Station, putting the front door on this for future commercial vehicles,” radioed station commander Jeff Williams, who worked with astronaut Kate Rubins to attach and outfit the IDA. “Congratulations to the entire team.”

 

Williams, making his fourth spacewalk, and Rubins, making her first, began the spacewalk at 8:04 a.m. EDT (GMT-4). After exiting the Quest airlock and collecting tools and foot restraints, they made their way to the front of the station where the shuttle port — pressurized mating adapter No. 2 — extends from the forward end of the Harmony module.

 

The new docking mechanism was carried up to the station aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship in June. Overnight Wednesday, the station’s robot arm pulled it from the Dragon’s unpressurized trunk and positioned just in front of PMA-2 to await the spacewalkers.

 

Once in place on either side of the mating adapter, their feet locked in restraints on PMA-2 for stability, Williams and Rubins attached tethers to the IDA and cinched it in before connecting cables to provide power to sensors, heaters and motors needed to drive home 12 latches to lock the component to the old shuttle port.

 

Other than a minor problem freeing up one balky cable connector, the astronauts had no trouble staying ahead of their timeline. After sensors indicated the IDA was properly aligned, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, working inside the station, sent commands to drive the hooks closed, firmly locking down the IDA.

 

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After carrying their tools and tethers back to the airlock, Williams and Rubins floated back inside, shut the hatch and began repressurization at 2:02 p.m., closing out U.S. EVA-36. Duration was five hours and 58 minutes.

 

It was the 194th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998 and the third so far this year. Adding Rubins to the list of veteran station spacewalkers, 124 astronauts and cosmonauts have now logged 1,210 hours and 46 minutes working outside the station, or 50.4 days.

 

Williams and Rubins plan to stage another spacewalk Sept. 1 to retract a cooling radiator, to install an HD camera and replace an external light.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/08/19/spacewalkers-attach-new-port-to-space-station-for-commercial-spacecraft/

 

American Astronauts Install New Docking Port for U S Commercial Crew Vehicles

video is 3:02 min.

 

 

 

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Crew 49/50 minutes long expedition to the ISS: a month before the start of

 

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Mainau Island, Baden-Württemberg, Germany August 14, 2016

 

In the Überlinger See, Mainau Island (seen amongst moored ships) is a flower aficionado’s haven. The 150 year old arboretum boasts over 30,000 rose bushes, a butterfly house, and a Teutonic castle across its 112 acres.   Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/uberlinger/

 

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Usual weekend backlog.....

 

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 August 2016

 

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Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins concluded their spacewalk at 2:02 EDT. During the five-hour and 58-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully installed the first of two international docking adapters (IDAs).

 

The IDAs will be used for the future arrivals of Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew spacecraft in development under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Commercial crew flights from Florida's Space Coast to the International Space Station will restore America's human launch capability and increase the time U.S. crews can dedicate to scientific research, which is helping prepare astronauts for deep space missions, including the journey to Mars.

 

Space station crew members have conducted 194 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 1,210 hours and 46 minutes working outside the station.

 

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U.S. Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #36: Williams (EV-1) and Rubins (EV-2) completed the following activities to install the International Docking Adapter (IDA)2 with Intravehicular (IV) support from FE-5:

- Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)-2 setup
- Preliminary IDA installation
- Initial IDA cable installation
- PMA-2 hemi reflector cover installation
- Final IDA cable installation
- IDA outfitting
- IDA cleanup
- IDA3 cable routing
- Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) ethernet cable connection
- MDM ethernet cable routing
- Station/Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS) cap removal

 

Tomorrow the crew will perform post-EVA cleanup activities and a post-EVA debrief with ground teams.

 

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Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
EVA operations
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 08/20: Post EVA cleanup activities, EVA debrief, Heart Cells media change, Mouse cage maintenance, CMO OBT
Sunday, 08/21: Crew off duty
Monday, 08/22: Crew off duty (payback for Saturday's post-EVA activities)

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-19-august-2016.html

 

American Astronauts Install New Docking Port for U S Commercial Crew Vehicles

video is 3:02 min.

 

 

 

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Astronauts Install New Docking Port for U.S. Commercial Crew Vehicles

 

Astronauts Install New Docking Port for U.S. Commercial Crew Vehicles.   NASA

 

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Outside the International Space Station, Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA installed a new docking port onto the forward end of the Harmony module during a spacewalk on August 19.

 

The first of two International Docking Adapters was installed and latched in place onto Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 on the forward end of Harmony, the same place that space shuttles used to dock during the shuttle era. The new docking port will be the port of call for the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing CST-100 "Starliner" commercial crew vehicles that are under development. The docking adapter was launched in July aboard a SpaceX/Dragon cargo vehicle. A second docking adapter for the U.S. commercial crew vehicles is being constructed and will ultimately be placed on the space-facing side of the Harmony module. Williams and Rubins will conduct a second spacewalk on Sept. 1 to retract a thermal radiator on the port truss of the station and install the first of several high definition cameras outside the complex.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/astronauts-install-new-docking-port-for-us-commercial-crew-vehicles.html

 

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Astronauts Relaxing Before Pair of Spaceships Leave

 

An astronaut works to install an international docking adapter during a spacewalk on Friday.   NASA

 

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Three astronauts are relaxing today after a spacewalk on Friday and weekend cleanup work. Meanwhile, a pair of spacecraft will be departing the International Space Station over the next two weeks.

 

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins successfully installed a new international docking adapter Friday morning during a five hour and 58-minute spacewalk. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi assisted the duo from inside the station, while all three cleaned up the Quest airlock afterward where they stowed their spacesuits and tools.

 

Williams is scheduled to return to Earth on Sept. 6 with cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin ending Expedition 48. The two cosmonauts began their departure preparations today to get the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft ready for undocking and landing in Kazakhstan.

 

Before Expedition 48 returns home in two weeks the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will leave the station this Friday at 6:10 a.m. EDT. The crew is loading the space freighter with gear and science for analysis by NASA engineers on the ground. Dragon will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a few hours after its release Friday and be retrieved by SpaceX personnel.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/22/astronauts-relaxing-before-pair-of-spaceships-leave/

 

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Photo report Oleg fiddle about yesterday's spacewalk astronauts NASA - http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22560/ 

 

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Verona, Italy August 17, 2016

 

The Adige River winds through Verona, Italy—a city that has endured through the ages. The Verona Arena (an ancient Roman amphitheater), Romanesque basilicas, and medieval churches mingle in Verona’s city center.   Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/verona-20160817/

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 22 August 2016

 

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins (shown here) successfully installed a new international docking adapter Friday Aug 19, 2016 during a five hour and 58-minute spacewalk. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi assisted the duo from inside the station, while all three cleaned up the Quest airlock afterward where they stowed their spacesuits and tools. Williams is scheduled to return to Earth on Sept. 6 with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin ending Expedition 48. Credit: NASA.

 

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Three astronauts are relaxing today after a spacewalk on Friday and weekend cleanup work. Meanwhile, a pair of spacecraft will be departing the International Space Station over the next two weeks.

 

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins successfully installed a new international docking adapter Friday morning during a five hour and 58-minute spacewalk. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi assisted the duo from inside the station, while all three cleaned up the Quest airlock afterward where they stowed their spacesuits and tools.

 

Williams is scheduled to return to Earth on Sept. 6 with cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin ending Expedition 48. The two cosmonauts began their departure preparations today to get the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft ready for undocking and landing in Kazakhstan.

 

Before Expedition 48 returns home in two weeks the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will leave the station this Friday at 6:10 a.m. EDT. The crew is loading the space freighter with gear and science for analysis by NASA engineers on the ground. Dragon will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a few hours after its release Friday and be retrieved by SpaceX personnel.

 

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Command and Control (C&C) Multiplexer Demultiplexer (MDM) Transition: The ground executed a planned C&C MDM transition today. C&C 2 MDM was transitioned to primary with C&C 3 MDM in backup and C&C 1 MDM in standby. The transition supports the desired configuration for OA-5, ensuring that the primary Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) MDM and the primary C&C MDM are not on the same power channels.

 

Columbus Power Distribution Unit 1 (PDU-1) Repower: Last Friday the Columbus Module experienced a power anomaly with Power Distribution Unit 1 (PDU-1), and a subset of the loads on PDU-1 lost power. Systems were automatically safed. All downstream loads have since been repowered with the exception of RapidScat. During an attempt to reactivate RapidScat, outlet 3 on PDU-1 tripped. The only two items downstream of this outlet are RapidScat and Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR), which was deactivated at the time of the trip. RapidScat has active heater power and is able to stay deactivated indefinitely without hardware impact. Ground teams are investigating the cause of the outlet 3 trip.

 

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Payload Activities Completed Over the Weekend:

 

- Mouse Epigenetics Habitat Cage Unit Maintenance: The crew completed standard maintenance activities by exchanging the food cartridges and refilling the water of Mouse Habitat Cage Units which is located in the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF).

 

- Heart Cells Media Change Operations: The crew changed the media in the Multiwell BioCell for Heart Cells and repaired one of the Multiwell BioCells within the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) work volume to provide nutrients to the Heart Cells.

 

- Biological Rhythms 48 Hours Actiwatch Preparation: In preparation for upcoming Biological Rhythms activities this week, the crew configured of the Actiwatch using the Actiware Software and Medical Laptop.

 

- NanoRack Module 9: Session 4 of 5 for the NanoRack Module 9 experiment was completed when the crew activated, deactivated, and shook the mixture tubes to facilitate the experiment.

 

- Fine Motor Skills: A series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet were completed for the Fine Motor Skills investigation.

 

- Space Headaches: The crew completed the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Headaches questionnaire.

 

- Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) Hard Drive Change: The crew swapped the AMS hard drives in the UltraBay Adapter in the AMS laptop, which is completed every six months.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-22-august-2016.html

 

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NASA TV Coverage Set for U.S. Cargo Ship Departure from International Space Station

 

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra captured an image of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, on the company's eighth Commercial Resupply Services mission, from the Cupola Module of the International Space Station during Expedition 47 in April 2016.
Credits: NASA

 

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After delivering almost 5,000 pounds of supplies, experiments and equipment – including a docking adapter for future American commercial crew spacecraft – a SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is set to leave the International Space Station Friday, Aug. 26. NASA Television will provide coverage of Dragon’s departure beginning at 5:45 a.m. EDT.

 

SpaceX’s Commercial Resupply Service-9 mission arrived on station July 20. The Dragon spacecraft will be detached from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module using the station’s Canadarm 2 robotic arm. Robotics controllers will send commands to maneuver the spacecraft into place before it’s released by Expedition 48 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) at 6:10 a.m.

 

The spacecraft will move to a safe distance from the station and fire its engines at 10:56 a.m. to drop out of orbit and descend back to Earth. A parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific is expected at 11:47 a.m. about 326 miles west of Baja California. The deorbit burn and splashdown will not air on NASA TV.

 

A recovery team will retrieve the capsule and about 3,000 pounds of cargo and experiments for researchers and investigators.

 

In the event of adverse weather conditions in the Pacific, the backup departure and splashdown date is Sunday, Aug. 28.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-tv-coverage-set-for-us-cargo-ship-departure-from-international-space-station

 

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Dragon Being Loaded With Science for Return to Earth

 

The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is pictured attached to the Harmony module a few days after its arrival in July.

 

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The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is getting ready to return to Earth Friday morning loaded with gear and a variety of science for analysis. Another spacecraft, the Soyuz TMA-20M, will leave Sept. 6 and land in Kazakhstan with three International Space Station crew members.

 

Dragon delivered numerous science experiments July 20 that the Expedition 48 crew immediately unloaded and began working on. Two of those experiments set to return on Friday include the Heart Cells study and Mouse Epigenetics. That research explored how microgravity affects human heart cells and alters gene expression and DNA in mice.

 

The station will get an orbital reboost early Wednesday when the docked Progress 63 cargo craft fires its engines for over 12 minutes. The reboost will put the station at the correct altitude for the departure of the Expedition 48 trio next month.

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will return to Earth in two weeks after 5-1/2 months in space. Williams will be completing his fourth space mission and hold the NASA record for cumulative days in space. Skripochka will be completing his second mission and Ovchinin will be completing his first.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/23/dragon-being-loaded-with-science-for-return-to-earth/

 

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Record-Breaker Jeff Williams to Become America's Most Experienced Astronaut Tomorrow

 

In the wee hours of tomorrow morning (Wednesday), Jeff Williams will become the United States’ most flight-experienced astronaut. Photo Credit: NASA

 

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At 4:56 a.m. EDT tomorrow (Wednesday, 24 August), NASA astronaut Jeff Williams—the incumbent skipper of Expedition 48, aboard the International Space Station (ISS)—will officially become the United States’ most seasoned spacefarer. He will eclipse the previous record-holder, Scott Kelly, as he passes a cumulative total of 520 days, 10 hours, and 30 minutes in space, across four flights. Williams, who last week also became the United States’ oldest spacewalker, is scheduled to return to Earth late on 6 September, wrapping up a career total of 534 days in space.

 

When placed into context, this elevates Williams from his current place as the United States’ second most-experienced astronaut into first place and on the “world list” from No. 19 to No. 14. Standing ahead of him are a cadre of Soviet and Russian cosmonauts, with 878-day veteran Gennadi Padalka topping the list.

more at the link...

http://www.americaspace.com/?p=94826

 

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# NovostiIzNevesomosti Oleg Skripochka continues to talk about the work of the crew on the ISShttp: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22564/ 

 

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First Earthrise Image Taken 50 Years Ago Today

 

Earth and the Moon   NASA

 

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50 Years ago today, on 23 August 1966, Lunar Orbiter 1 snapped the first photo of Earth as seen from lunar orbit. While a remarkable image at the time, the full resolution of the image was never retrieved from the data stored from the mission. 

In 2008, this earthrise image was restored by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project at NASA Ames Research Center. The project obtained the original data tapes from the mission (the last surviving set) and restored original FR-900 tape drives to operational condition using both 60s era parts and modern electronics.

 

Here is a comparison of the full image in its original, familiar context

 

 

http://spaceref.com/moon/first-earthrise-image-taken-50-years-ago-today.html

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 23 August 2016

 

The SpaceX Dragon is attached to the International Space Station, while inside the station the crew of Expedition 48 continue to off load the nearly 5000 pounds of supplies, hardware and experiments. Credit: NASA.

 

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The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is getting ready to return to Earth Friday morning loaded with gear and a variety of science for analysis. Another spacecraft, the Soyuz TMA-20M, will leave Sept. 6 and land in Kazakhstan with three International Space Station crew members.

 

Dragon delivered numerous science experiments July 20 that the Expedition 48 crew immediately unloaded and began working on. Two of those experiments set to return on Friday include the Heart Cells study and Mouse Epigenetics. That research explored how microgravity affects human heart cells and alters gene expression and DNA in mice.

 

The station will get an orbital reboost early Wednesday when the docked Progress 63 cargo craft fires its engines for over 12 minutes. The reboost will put the station at the correct altitude for the departure of the Expedition 48 trio next month.

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will return to Earth in two weeks after 5-1/2 months in space. Williams will be completing his fourth space mission and hold the NASA record for cumulative days in space. Skripochka will be completing his second mission and Ovchinin will be completing his first.

 

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SpaceX-9 Dragon Pack: In preparation for SpX-9 return this Friday the crew completed the following:

 

- Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) to Polar Sample Transfer: Samples were transferred from the MELFI to the Polars.
- Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL) CO2 Controller Removal: SABL-1's CO2 Incubator Controller was removed for return on SpaceX-9.
- SPHERES Blue Satellite: The CO2 tank in the SPHERES blue satellite was removed, vented, and packed.
- Meteor Hard Drive Retrieval: The Meteor Laptop hard drive was retrieved.

 

Mouse Epigenetics Habitat Cage Unit Maintenance: The Mouse Cage Units containing the mice were transferred from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) to the glove box to conduct food cartridge exchanges and cleaning activities. The crew also performed troubleshooting activities on the Transportation Cage Units (TCU) by performing individual cover replacements, cage block replacements, and TCU exchanges to prepare for return on SpX-9. The Mouse Cage Units were then returned to CBEF. The Mouse Epigenetics investigation studies altered gene expression patterns in the organs of male mice that spend one month in space, and also examines changes in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of their offspring. Results from the investigation identify genetic alterations that happen after exposure to the microgravity environment of space.

 

Biomolecule Sequencer Surface Pro 3 Hardware Checkout: The crew set up and connected Surface Pro 3 tablets to the wireless network before completing checkout activities to support upcoming Biomolecule Sequencer operations later this week. The Biomolecule Sequencer investigation seeks to demonstrate for the first time that DNA sequencing is feasible in an orbiting spacecraft. A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, diagnose diseases and understand crew member health and potentially help detect DNA-based life elsewhere in the solar system.

 

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Columbus Payload Power Switching Box (PPSB) - SDX Switch 1 Reconfiguration: The crew reconfigured the SDX 1 switch on the PPSB1 for RapidScat in Columbus in preparation for tomorrow's 63P reboost.

 

Columbus Power Distribution Unit 1 (PDU-1) Troubleshooting: On Monday, ground teams were unable to repower the COL's PDU-1 Outlet 3 which provides operational power to RapidScat and Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR) payloads. Today, ground teams successfully repowered SOLAR from Outlet 3 by turning OFF the Columbus Payload Power Switching Box (PPSB) - SDX switch 1 to isolate RapidScat from the power feed. RapidScat has active heater power and can remain deactivated with no impact to hardware. Ground teams continue to investigate the anomaly.

 

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Last night Robotics Ground Controllers stowed the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) on Mobile Base System (MBS) Power Data Grapple Fixture #2 (PDGF2). At the end of rigidizing its Latching End Effector (LEE) on MBS PDGF2, the SPDM safed, which has been observed previously. Controllers performed the necessary recovery steps and latched and mated the SPDM LEE to the PDGF. The SSRMS was then maneuvered to grapple the SpX-9 Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF) in preparation of the SpX-9 release on Friday.

 

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Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Maritime payload ops
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 08/24: NanoRacks Module 9 retrieve, CBEF cable reconfig, Biological Rhythms 48, Plant RNA Regulation Experiment Container install, Polar transfer
Thursday, 08/25: Biological Rhythms 48, Double Cold Bag packing, Mouse Habitat Unit transfer for return, Dragon egress
Friday, 08/26: Dragon unberth, Biomolecule Sequencer ops, Biological Rhythms 48, Fine Motor Skills, HMS Fundoscope exam, Crew departure prep

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-23-august-2016.html

 

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Williams Breaks Kelly’s Cumulative Time in Space Record

 

Astronaut Jeff Williams surpassed former astronaut Scott Kelly’s record today for the most cumulative days in space by a NASA astronaut.

 

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Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams established a new record for most time spent in space by a NASA astronaut today, surpassing 520 days in space over his four missions. Williams will have a total of 534 cumulative days by the time he lands Sept. 6 in Kazakhstan. Former astronaut Scott Kelly had set the record on his year-long mission, and still holds the record for longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut at 340 days.

 

The International Space Station raised its orbit today ahead of Williams’ departure Sept. 6 with cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. After the trio undocks in their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft, ending Expedition 48, they will parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan about 3-1/2 hours later.

 

SpaceX’s Dragon will depart the station first early Friday morning for a splashdown in Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins continue loading Dragon with gear and science samples for analysis on Earth. Rubins and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi will be at the controls of the robotics workstation when they command the Canadarm2 to release Dragon at 6:10 a.m. EDT Friday.

 

In parallel with the upcoming spacecraft departure activities, the crew continues to dedicate time to research a multitude of space experiments taking place on the orbital laboratory. The crew conducted research looking at heart function, plant growth in microgravity and executed a variety of student designed experiments. Researchers use the data collected from the advanced space experiments to improve health treatments on Earth, benefit a wide variety of industry sectors and help NASA plan journeys farther into space

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/24/williams-breaks-kellys-cumulative-time-in-space-record/

 

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International Space Station Calendar

 

This is a listing of all upcoming operations related to the International Space Station. Given the fluidity of the Station’s schedule,all Dates are subject to Change. Schedule may contain outdated information.

Last Update: August 16, 2016
 

DateEvent

August 19, 2016U.S. EVA-36 – IDA-2 Installation

SummerRussian Satellite Deployment

SummerSatellite Deployments via NRCSD and Kaber

August 26, 2016Dragon SpX-9 Unberthing, Release & Landing

September 1, 2016U.S. EVA-37

September 7, 2016Soyuz TMA-20M Undocking & Landing

NET September 2016Cygnus OA-5 Launch atop Antares 230

September 23, 2016Soyuz MS-02 Launch (Ryzhikov, Borisenko, Kimbrough)

September 25, 2016Soyuz MS-02 Docking

September 30, 2016HTV-6 Launch atop H-IIB

October 4, 2016HTV-6 Rendezvous, Capture & Berthing

October 2016Cygnus OA-5 Departure

October 14, 2016Progress MS-02 Undocking from Zvezda

October 20, 2016Progress MS-4 Launch & Docking to Zvezda

October 30, 2016Soyuz MS Undocking & Landing (Ivanishin, Onishi, Rubins)

http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/

 

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NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough Available for Interviews Before Space Station Mission

 

Quote

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who is making final preparations for a September launch to the International Space Station, is available for live satellite interviews from 7 to 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 6. The interviews will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

 

Kimbrough will participate in the interviews live from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. The interviews will be preceded at 6:30 a.m. by a video highlighting his mission training.

 

To participate, media should contact Thomas Gerczak at 281-792-7515 or thomas.j.gerczak@nasa.gov no later than 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2. Media participating in the live shots must tune to NASA Television's NTV-3 channel. Satellite tuning information is available at:

http://go.nasa.gov/1pOWUhR

 

Kimbrough and his crewmates, cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, will launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft at 2:17 p.m. Sept. 23 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This will be the second flight of the upgraded Soyuz MS spacecraft, and the crew will spend two days testing the modified systems before docking to the station at 5:05 p.m. Sept. 25.

 

At the space station, they will join Expedition 49 members NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi. Together, the six crew members will continue the several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science currently under way and scheduled to take place aboard humanity's only orbiting lab.

 

A retired Army colonel and native of Killeen, Texas, Kimbrough completed his first spaceflight in 2008 on space shuttle mission STS-126. During this mission, he worked to expand the living quarters of the space station to accommodate a six-member crew – an effort that included two spacewalks, during which he logged 12 hours and 52 minutes outside the orbiting laboratory.

Kimbrough is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He began his NASA career at the agency's Johnson Space Center as a flight simulation engineer on the Shuttle Training Aircraft before being selected as an astronaut in 2004. This will be Kimbrough's first long-duration stay on the space station. He is scheduled to return to Earth with crew members Borisenko and Ryzhikov in February 2017.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/prnewswire-space-news.html?rkey=20160824DC76005&filter=1639

 

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The main crew # SoyuzMS02 held training "typical flight day" -http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22567/ 

 

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Cancún, Mexico August 18, 2016

 

On the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, Puerto Cancún—a large-scale real estate development, still under construction—presides over the Atlantic Ocean. Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/cancun-20160818/

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 August 2016

 

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Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams established a new record for most time spent in space by a NASA astronaut today, surpassing 520 days in space over his four missions.

 

Williams will have a total of 534 cumulative days by the time he lands Sept. 6 in Kazakhstan. Former astronaut Scott Kelly had set the record on his year-long mission, and still holds the record for longest single spaceflight by a NASA astronaut at 340 days.

 

The International Space Station raised its orbit today ahead of Williams' departure Sept. 6 with cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. After the trio undocks in their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft, ending Expedition 48, they will parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan about 3-1/2 hours later.

 

SpaceX's Dragon will depart the station first early Friday morning for a splashdown in Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins continue loading Dragon with gear and science samples for analysis on Earth. Rubins and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi will be at the controls of the robotics workstation when they command the Canadarm2 to release Dragon at 6:10 a.m. EDT Friday.

 

In parallel with the upcoming spacecraft departure activities, the crew continues to dedicate time to research a multitude of space experiments taking place on the orbital laboratory. The crew conducted research looking at heart function, plant growth in microgravity and executed a variety of student designed experiments. Researchers use the data collected from the advanced space experiments to improve health treatments on Earth, benefit a wide variety of industry sectors and help NASA plan journeys farther into space.

 

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ISS Reboost: This morning, an ISS reboost was performed using 63P R&D thrusters. This reboost was to set up for 46S landing.

 

Biological Rhythms 48 Holter Start: The crew began the operations phase of the Biological Rhythms experiment by attaching the Digital Walk Holter Electrocardiogram (ECG) and electrodes and initiating the first of two 24-hour measurements. The objective of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Biological Rhythms 48 is to study the effects of long-term microgravity exposure on heart function by analyzing an astronaut's electrocardiogram for 48 hours.

 

Mouse Epigenetics Transfer and Reconfiguration Operations: Crewmembers detached the Mouse Habitat Cage Unit from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Incubator Unit (IU) Micro-G and 1G and transferred mice from Mouse Habitat Cage Unit to Transportation Cage Unit. The crew also reconfigured the CBEF video cables for the Image Processing Unit (IPU) and the Video Compression and Recording Unit 2 (VRU2).

 

NanoRack Module 9: The crew completed the last of the 5 NanoRack Module 9 experiment sessions by activating, deactivating, and shaking the mixture tubes to facilitate the experiment. Module-9 is a collection of student research projects utilizing the NanoRacks Mixsticks. Student teams from across the United States design their own experiments using flight approved fluids and materials. The investigation consists of several science experiments flown in a NanoRacks Module on board the ISS.

 

Dragon Packing:

- Polars 2 & 4 ISS to Dragon Transfer: The crew uninstalled and transferred Polars 2 and 4 from the EXPRESS Rack and install into Dragon.
- Payload Card Multilab Card Cube Removal: The crew removed the Multilab card(s) from the Payload Card Multilab facility for return.
- Lithium HydrOxide (LiOH) R&R: The crew replaced LiOH bags on Dragon in preparation for life support operations after ISS departure.

 

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: In preparation for the Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) EVA planned for September 1, the CDR and FE-6 completed a procedures review. Following the review, the crew participated in a conference with ground teams.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Dragon departure OBT
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 08/25: Biological Rhythms 48, Double Cold Bag packing, Mouse Habitat Unit transfer for return, Dragon egress
Friday, 08/26: Dragon unberth, Biomolecule Sequencer ops, Biological Rhythms 48, Fine Motor Skills, HMS Fundoscope exam, Crew departure prep
Saturday, 08/27: Crew off duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group: 
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-24-august-2016.html

 

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Dragon Packed for Friday Morning Departure and Splashdown

 

The SpaceX Dragon is pictured as the International Space Station orbited over the English Channel.

 

Quote

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft has been packed with science experiments and gear for return to Earth and analysis by NASA engineers. Robotics controllers on the ground will maneuver the Canadarm2 to detach Dragon from the Harmony module Thursday afternoon.

 

Astronauts Takuya Onishi and Kate Rubins will command Canadarm2 to release Dragon at 6:10 a.m. EDT Friday. It will splashdown off the Pacific coast of Baja California a few hours later, then be retrieved and shipped back to Los Angeles by SpaceX personnel.

 

Less than two weeks later, a trio of Expedition 48 crew members will return to Earth inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft. Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin are due to end their stay at the International Space Station on Sept. 6 and land in Kazakhstan.

 

Meanwhile, the space station crew is still participating in a wide variety of ongoing space research to benefit people living on Earth and in space. The crew conducted human research activities today exploring how long-term space missions affect an astronaut’s metabolism, digestion and blood pressure.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/25/dragon-packed-for-friday-morning-departure-and-splashdown/

 

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Dragon Spacecraft to conclude ISS Cargo Delivery Mission with Splashdown Landing Friday

 

Quote

The Dragon SpX-9 spacecraft is set to make its return to Earth on Friday after a mission of over one month facilitating the delivery of critical items to the International Space Station.

 

Packed with scientific samples and Station hardware, Dragon will be unberthed in the early hours on Friday ahead of its release by the Station’s robotic arm at 10:10 UTC, allowing the spacecraft to drift away to a safe distance for a targeted deorbit burn that sets the stage for a parachute assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 15:47 UTC.

 

Quote

Departing the orbital outpost, the spacecraft will be on a path to increase its range to the complex to around 150 Kilometers over the course of the Free Flight. Once Dragon has departed ISS, NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston will end integrated operations with Space-X Control in California with overall responsibility of the return solely in the hands of teams at MCC-X.

 

The vehicle will spend nearly five hours in Free Flight to set up for its deorbit burn that has been precisely calculated to allow Dragon to make an on-target landing. One of the critical events of the Free Flight is the closure of the GNC Bay Door to protect the navigation sensors inside from the harsh re-entry environment.

 

Dragon will begin firing its Draco thrusters at 14:56 UTC for a precisely targeted deorbit burn that will be nine to ten minutes in duration to slow the Dragon down by around 100 meters per second, placing it on a path to intercept the dense atmosphere at a location that allows Dragon’s Entry Guidance System to maneuver the craft to the desired chute deploy position. 16 minutes after the start of the deorbit burn, Dragon will jettison its trunk section containing the solar arrays to burn up in the atmosphere since it is not equipped with a thermal protection system.

 

Around 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Deorbit Burn, Dragon will begin re-entry, hitting the dense layers of the atmosphere.

 

During the Re-Entry Process, Dragon’s PICA-X Heat Shield has to withstand temperatures of up to 1,600°C. PICA-X is derived from NASA’s phenolic impregnated carbon ablator heat shield, also called PICA. This heat shield has a substantial flight heritage and the PICA-X version is expected to be re-usable many times without showing a high degree of degradation.

 

About 10 minutes before Splashdown, at an altitude of 13.7 Kilometers, Dragon opens its dual Drogue Chutes slowing the vehicle down for the opening of the three orange-and-white main chutes around three Kilometers in altitude. Flying under the Main Chutes, Dragon is slowed to its landing speed of 17 to 20 Kilometers per Hour.

 

Splashdown is expected at 15:47 UTC in the Pacific Ocean, 525 Kilometers west of Baja California where recovery forces will be awaiting the arrival of the vehicle. In previous cases, Dragon’s landing was very close to the bulls-eye target, allowing teams on the recovery ships to track a large portion of the vehicle’s descent under its three main parachutes. Critical cargo retrieved from Dragon will be shipped back to NASA within 48 hours of landing for post-flight analysis and distribution to the participating scientific institutions.

http://spaceflight101.com/dragon-spx9-ready-for-landing/

 

file image   SpaceX

 

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Space Station's orbit adjusted Wednesday

 

Quote

A planned change of the orbital altitude at the International Space Station (ISS) will take place on Wednesday as a preparation to an upcoming Soyuz spaceflight, the Russian mission control center said.

 

"The maneuver is to increase the ISS orbital altitude is scheduled for August 24... In accordance with the ballistics' estimates, the average altitude will increase by approximately 2.3 kilometers [1.4 miles] and will amount to around 404 kilometers [251 miles]," a source in the control center told RIA Novosti.

 

According to him, the maneuver will be carried out in order to provide for optimal conditions for the launch and docking of the the new series of the Soyuz MS-02 manned transport spacecraft with crew aboard.

 

The Soyuz MS-02 mission is scheduled for September 2016. The crew will consist of a Russian commander and flight engineer, as well as an US flight engineer.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Space_Stations_orbit_adjusted_Wednesday_999.html

 

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Japan to Upgrade HTV Cargo Ship

 

HTV in flight (Credit: NASA)

 

Quote

JAXA is planning enhancements to its next generation HTV freighter, The Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

 

According to JAXA, the next-generation model currently in design — dubbed HTV-X — will be able to separate control systems units such as engines from its main body after docking at the ISS.

 

The engines will be equipped with observational devices so the spacecraft can leave the ISS and orbit as a satellite.

 

After that, the spacecraft itself will be used as an Earth observation satellite or to monitor space debris, which includes pieces of broken satellites. It will also be able to re-dock with the ISS.

 

JAXA is considering adding other functions, including for returning capsules containing experiment samples to Earth and connecting the spacecraft with a probe device to depart for other astronomical objects.

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/08/24/japan-upgrade-htv-cargo-ship/

 

Quote

Launch Postponement of H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 6
with H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI6” (HTV6) Onboard

 

August 10, 2016 (JST)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
National Research and Development Agency
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) decided to postpone the launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 6 with the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI6” (HTV6) onboard from the Tanegashima Space Center, which was scheduled for October 1 (Sat.), 2016 (Japan Standard Time).

The new launch date will be announced as soon as it is determined. 

 

(Reason for the delay)
A slight leak was detected from piping of the HTV6 during an air tightness test. The test is part of HTV6 launch preparations at the launch site. We will disband the HTV6 module and take necessary measures.

http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2016/08/20160810_h2bf6.html

 

HTV6 digital image archive

 

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Hurricane Gaston Seen From Space

 

Composite image of Hurricane Gaston in the Atlantic at 06:00 UTC on Thursday, 25 August 2016.

Tropical Cyclone Fiona is also visible over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Infrared data from the geostationary satellites of EUMETSAT and NOAA overlays a computer-generated model of the Earth, containing NASA's Blue Marble Next Generation imagery.

Copyright: 2016 EUMETSAT

 

http://spaceref.com/earth/hurricane-gaston-seen-from-space.html

 

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NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 26 August 2016

 

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NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---26-august-2016.html

 

Space to Ground: 520 Days and Counting: 08/26/2016

video is 2:24 min.

 

 

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 August 2016

 

NASA astronauts Kate Rubins (left) and Jeff Williams (right) prepare to grapple the SpaceX Dragon supply spacecraft from aboard the International Space Station. The nearly 5,000 pounds of supplies and equipment includes science supplies and hardware, including instruments to perform the first-ever DNA sequencing in space, and the first of two identical international docking adapters (IDA.) The IDAs will provide a means for commercial crew spacecraft to dock to the station in the near future as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Dragon is scheduled to depart the space station Aug. 29 when it will return critical science research back to Earth. Credit: NASA.

 

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Dragon was detached from the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony module last night by robotics controllers who maneuvered Dragon into place for its release under the control of and Expedition 48 Flight Engineers Takuya Onishi of JAXA and Kate Rubins of NASA at 6:10 a.m. EDT.

 

Dragon launched to the space station July 18 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying almost 5,000 pounds of supplies and cargo on SpaceX's ninth commercial resupply mission to the station for NASA. The spacecraft arrived at the station two days later.

 

Among the cargo delivered was the first of two International Docking Adapters (IDA) that will enable future commercial spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Crew Program to dock to the space station, including Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The IDA was installed Aug. 19 during a six-hour spacewalk by NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Rubins. The second IDA is being built and will be delivered to the space station no earlier than SpaceX CRS-14.

 

Release of the spacecraft by the station's robotic arm will begin the Dragon's return to Earth carrying more than 3,000 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities sponsored by NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the nonprofit organization responsible for managing research aboard the U.S. national laboratory portion of the space station.

 

The capsule is currently scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about 11:47 a.m. EDT, approximately 326 miles west of Baja California.

 

Quote

SpaceX (SpX)-9 Unberth: The crew packed critical items and egressed the vehicle in preparation for Dragon departure. Dragon was unberthed from the ISS via ground commanding at 4 PM CDT today. The vehicle will be maneuvered via ground commanding to an overnight park position in preparation for release tomorrow at 5:11 AM CDT with splashdown approximately 5 hours later.

 

- Polar 1 ISS to Dragon Transfer: Polar 1 was powered down, de-cabled, and removed from the EXPRESS Rack and transferred to the starboard powered payload location of SpX-9. A second crew member concurrently installed and powered the Polar and Transportation Cage Unit of the Mouse Epigenetics investigation into the Dragon.

- Double Coldbag Pack: The crew transferred cold samples and required Ice Bricks from MELFI-2, MELFI-3, Glacier 2, MERLIN 5, and SABL S/N 2 into Double Coldbags in preparation for Dragon descent.

 

Biological Rhythms 48 Multi Media Card Exchange: The crew stopped the 24-hour recording that began yesterday, changed out the Multi Media Card and battery of the Digital Walk Holter ECG, and began the second 24-hour recording. The objective of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Biological Rhythms 48 is to study the effects of long-term microgravity exposure on heart function by analyzing an astronaut's electrocardiogram for 48 hours.

 

Mouse Epigenetics Transfer and Closeout Operations: The crew prepared all twelve of theTransportation Cage Units (TCU) before removing the Mouse Habitat Cage Units from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) and transferring the mice into the TCUs in the Glove Box for return. The crew also transferred the food cartridges and disconnected the supporting Glove Box hardware.

 

LS-1 Server Issues: Last night the LS-1 server had to be rebooted multiple times and continued to experience issues this morning. There are no major impacts at this time. The server will be rebooted as necessary. The server will be reconfigured to set up for the possibility of rebuilding a new server overnight to protect tomorrow's SpX-9 departure.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Dragon unberth
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 08/26: Dragon release, Biomolecule Sequencer ops, Biological Rhythms 48, Fine Motor Skills, HMS Fundoscope exam, crew departure prep
Saturday, 08/27: Crew off duty
Sunday, 08/28: Crew off duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-25-august-2016.html

 

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SpaceX Dragon Splashes Down in Pacific Ocean

 

The SpaceX Dragon splashed down on time off the Pacific coast of Baja Calfornia completing its ninth cargo mission. This photograph of Baja California and the Mexican coastline was taken Aug. 22, 2016 from the International Space Station.

 

Quote

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 11:47 a.m. EDT, approximately 326 miles west of Baja California, marking the end of the company’s ninth contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

 

Following splashdown, Dragon will be recovered from the ocean and put on a ship for transportation to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo including research will be removed and returned to NASA within 48 hours. Dragon will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing. Dragon is currently the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return a significant amount of cargo to Earth at this time.

 

Dragon is returning more than 3,000 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from a variety of technological and biological studies about the International Space Station. Results from the Heart Cells study, which investigated how heart muscle tissue contracts, grows and changes in microgravity, may help advance the study of heart disease and development of drugs and cell replacement therapy on Earth and on future space missions. Other experiments returning include tomato “space seeds” that were flown to station and will be planted on Earth as part of STEM education program with NanoRacks; Multi-Omics, which looked at impacts of space on astronauts’ immune systems; and OASIS, which studied the behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity, including their overall motion and merging of crystal layers.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/26/spacex-dragon-splashes-down-in-pacific-ocean/

 

Dragon splashes down   SpaceX

 

SpaceX Dragon CRS-9 cargo ship heads back to Earth

video is 1:00 min.

 

 

 

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Updates are very slow after the weekend, but here are a few...

 

Crew Preparing for Second Spacewalk and Soyuz Departure

 

Astronaut Jeff Williams is pictured Aug. 19 during a spacewalk to install an international docking adapter.

 

Quote

Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins are going back outside the International Space Station Thursday morning for their second spacewalk in less than two weeks. The duo will retract and cover a thermal control radiator no longer being used and install lights and a new high definition camera for better views of Earth and the station structure.

 

Less than a week after they complete that spacewalk, Williams will return to Earth with his Expedition 48 crewmates Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. The two cosmonauts are checking their Sokol launch and entry suits today and packing the Soyuz before next week’s ride home. They will undock from the Poisk module Sept. 6 inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft and land in Kazakhstan ending their 5 ½-month mission.

 

As always, advanced space science is continuing aboard the orbital laboratory. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi gathered research samples for return to Earth aboard the home-bound Soyuz spacecraft. Over the weekend, Rubins completed a DNA sequencing process for the Biomolecule Sequencer study that could possibly benefit crew health and identify life in space. Body samples were also collected today for the Multi-Omics study observing the changes to an astronaut’s metabolism and immune system.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/29/crew-preparing-for-second-spacewalk-and-soyuz-departure/

 

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Kentucky Students Talk Live with NASA Astronauts on Space Station

 

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Students in Hyden, Kentucky, will have the opportunity to speak with two NASA astronauts currently living and working aboard the International Space Station at 1:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 31. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins will answer questions from students of Leslie County High School at the Hazard Community & Technical College’s (HCTC) School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Hyden.

 

Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky will kick-off the event, joined by NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, who returned from the space station June 18.

 

Media interested in covering the event should contact Danielle Smoot at danielle.smoot@mail.house.gov or 606-679-8346. The HCTC School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music is located at 108 Maple St.

 

Williams launched to the space station March 18 and is scheduled to depart Sept. 6. Rubins launched July 6 and will return home in October.

 

This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Office of Education’s efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through the Education Office’s STEM on Station activity provides authentic, live experiences in space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing the possibilities of life in space.

 

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/kentucky-students-talk-live-with-nasa-astronauts-on-space-station

 

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Media Invited to Interview Future Space Station Crew, Attend Televised NASA Briefing

 

Quote

NASA is inviting media to attend a news conference and conduct one-on-one interviews Tuesday, Aug. 30, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with three crewmembers currently preparing for a November launch to the International Space Station. The 2 p.m. EDT news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

 

The Expedition 50/51 crewmembers are NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency), and Oleg Novitsky, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. This will be Whitson’s third long-duration stay on the space station, the second expedition for Novitsky, and Pesquet’s first trip to the space station.

 

NASA TV will air a 30-minute video of crew training immediately preceding the news conference, and all three crew members will be available for individual media interviews afterward, in person or by phone.

 

To request credentials to attend, or reserve an interview opportunity, U.S. media must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26. The deadline for international media accreditation has passed.

 

To participate in the news conference by telephone, media must contact the newsroom at least 10 minutes prior to its start. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using #askNASA.

 

During her stay in space, Whitson will become the first woman to have commanded the space station twice, and will break Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams’ approaching record for most time spent in space by a U.S. astronaut.

 

Whitson, Pesquet and Novitsky will launch to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio will join Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko and Sergei Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, who are scheduled to arrive in September.

more at ...

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/media-invited-to-interview-future-space-station-crew-attend-televised-nasa-briefing

 

----------------------

 

ISS Calendar

 

Quote

September 1, 2016    U.S. EVA-37
September 7, 2016    Soyuz TMA-20M Undocking & Landing
NET September 2016    Cygnus OA-5 Launch atop Antares 230
September 23, 2016    Soyuz MS-02 Launch (Ryzhikov, Borisenko, Kimbrough)
September 25, 2016    Soyuz MS-02 Docking
September 30, 2016    HTV-6 Launch atop H-IIB
October 4, 2016    HTV-6 Rendezvous, Capture & Berthing

http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/

 

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Quote

# MKSfotoDnya : Satellite image of the construction site of the bridge over # Kerch Strait from the cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka. 

 

-----------------------

 

Detroit, Michigan, USA August 22, 2016

 

On early Monday morning, August 22, a lone barge cruised down the historic Detroit River. The scene reveals only a portion of the sprawling 140+ square mile Motor City, including the downtown skyscrapers, Ford Field, and Comerica Park.   Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/detroit-20160822/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 August 2016

 

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams (shown here) and Kate Rubins successfully installed a new international docking adapter Friday Aug 19, 2016 during a five hour and 58-minute spacewalk. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi assisted the duo from inside the station, while all three cleaned up the Quest airlock afterward where they stowed their spacesuits and tools. Williams is scheduled to return to Earth on Sept. 6 with Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin ending Expedition 48. Credit: NASA.

 

Quote

Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins are going back outside the International Space Station Thursday morning for their second spacewalk in less than two weeks.

 

The duo will retract and cover a thermal control radiator no longer being used and install lights and a new high definition camera for better views of Earth and the station structure.

 

Less than a week after they complete that spacewalk, Williams will return to Earth with his Expedition 48 crewmates Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. The two cosmonauts are checking their Sokol launch and entry suits today and packing the Soyuz before next week's ride home. They will undock from the Poisk module Sept. 6 inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft and land in Kazakhstan ending their 5 ½-month mission.

 

As always, advanced space science is continuing aboard the orbital laboratory. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi gathered research samples for return to Earth aboard the home-bound Soyuz spacecraft. Over the weekend, Rubins completed a DNA sequencing process for the Biomolecule Sequencer study that could possibly benefit crew health and identify life in space. Body samples were also collected today for the Multi-Omics study observing the changes to an astronaut's metabolism and immune system.

 

Quote

External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) Troubleshooting Test Lead Build: The crew performed part 1 of a procedure to verify the heaters on the spare ETVCG Light are functional. They built two jumpers from pin kit materials for use in tomorrow's task.

 

Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) Remove & Replace (R&R): Over the weekend, Robotics Ground Controllers unstowed the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) from Mobile Base System (MBS) Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF)2. At the end of re-rigidizing the SPDM Latching End Effector (LEE) for SPDM unstow, the SPDM safed, which has been observed previously. Controllers performed the necessary recovery steps and released the SPDM LEE from MBS PDGF2. Once the SPDM had been unstowed, controllers maneuvered the SSRMS and SPDM to position SPDM Arm2 to use Robot Micro Conical Tool #2 (RMCT2) to demate and remove RPCM P12B_A from its slot which was previously attempted on June 14, 2016 without success. Today, after numerous pull and wiggle attempts, the RPCM came out of its slot. Both the RPCM and its slot were inspected and nothing was seen that would preclude pressing with stowing the RPCM in a spare slot and installing another RPCM in Slot P12B_A. This RPCM was then stowed in Spare Slot P13A_H. Controllers commanded the SPDM Arm 2 On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) Tool Change-out Mechanism (OTCM) handling the RMCT2 to release the Failed RPCM (removed from P12B_A slot) in the P13A_H slot. They then maneuvered the SSRMS and SPDM to position SPDM Arm2 to align RMCT2 with the spare RPCM located in P11A_D to demate and remove it from its slot. This RPCM was then moved to the P12B_A slot. It was successfully inserted and bolted to P12B_A worksite after being pushed with the maximum force allowed of 200 N. SPDM Arm 2 released the spare RPCM in P12B_A and ground teams confirmed it was functioning nominally.

 

46 Soyuz Survey: Following the RPCM R&R, controllers walked the SSRMS off MBS PDGF3 onto the Node 2 PDGF then onto the Lab PDGF and finally onto the Functional Cargo Block (FGB) PDGF. From there, the SSRMS was used to perform a survey of the 46S Soyuz using the Tip LEE. When the survey was completed they walked the SSRMS off the FGB PDGF onto the Lab PDGF, then off the Lab PDGF onto MBS PDGF3. Finally, the SSRMS was maneuvered to its start position for the Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) scheduled this Thursday.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities are on schedule unless otherwise noted.
46S survey
DOUG review
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 08/30: Cardio Ox Ultrasound, EVA preparations, CEVIS isolater inspection, Fine Motor Skills
Wednesday, 08/31: CBEF reconfig, EVA preparations
Thursday, 09/01: Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) EVA

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-29-august-2016.html

 

Animation of Sept. 1 Space Station Spacewalk

video is 9:34 min.

 

 

 

----------------------

 

First DNA Sequencing Conducted in Space

 

DNA Sequencing on ISS   NASA

 

Quote

For the first time ever, DNA was successfully sequenced in microgravity as part of the Biomolecule Sequencer experiment performed by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins this weekend aboard the International Space Station.

 

The ability to sequence the DNA of living organisms in space opens a whole new world of scientific and medical possibilities. Scientists consider it a game changer.

 

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, contains the instructions each cell in an organism on Earth needs to live. These instructions are represented by the letters A, G, C and T, which stand for the four chemical bases of DNA, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Both the number and arrangement of these bases differ among organisms, so their order, or sequence, can be used to identify a specific organism.

 

The Biomolecule Sequencer investigation moved us closer to this ability to sequence DNA in space by demonstrating, for the first time, that DNA sequencing is possible in an orbiting spacecraft.

 

With a way to sequence DNA in space, astronauts could diagnose an illness, or identify microbes growing in the International Space Station and determine whether or not they represent a health threat. A space-based DNA sequencer would be an important tool to help protect astronaut health during long duration missions on the journey to Mars, and future explorers could also potentially use the technology to identify DNA-based life forms beyond Earth.

much more at the link...

http://spaceref.com/nasa-hack-space/first-dna-sequencing-conducted-in-space.html

 

First DNA Sequencing performed on Space Station opens new Era of In-Space Research

http://spaceflight101.com/biomolecule-sequencer-test-run/

 

ScienceCasts: Sequencing DNA in Space

video is 4:20 min.

 

 

 

-----------------------

 

Spacewalk Preps as Station Orbits over Three Hurricanes

 

(From left) Hurricanes Lester, Madeline and Gaston are seen from the International Space Station on Aug. 30. Credit: NASA Johnson YouTube

 

Quote

Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins are two days away from their second spacewalk in as many weeks. The duo are reviewing the tasks they will perform outside the International Space Station for 6.5 hours of maintenance work beginning Thursday at 8 a.m. EDT. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi will assist Williams and Rubins from inside the space station.

 

They will retract and cover an out-of-service thermal control radiator and install lights and a high-definition camera for better views of the station structure and the Earth below. If time allows, the spacewalkers will perform get-ahead tasks including photographing the condition of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

 

In the Russian segment of the station, the three cosmonauts concentrated on a variety of human research experiments and crew departure activities. Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka collected blood and saliva samples to explore how bones and the immune system are impacted by living in space. The pair also practiced an entry simulation drill today inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft they will return home in with Williams on Sept. 6.

 

The space station cameras spotted three hurricanes today, two in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricanes Lester and Madeline were seen in the Pacific potentially threatening the big island of Hawaii. Hurricane Gaston was seen in the open Atlantic.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/30/spacewalk-preps-as-station-orbits-over-three-hurricanes/

 

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ISS Spacewalkers to retract Thermal Radiator, Install HD Video Camera

 

Indepth analysis of the EVA

http://spaceflight101.com/iss-us-eva-37-preview/

 

-------------------------

 

Hurricanes Lester and Madeline Seen From Space

 

Hurricanes Lester and Madeline   EUMETSAT

 

Quote

Composite image of Hurricanes Madeline (left) and Lester (right) west of the Americas, from 06:00 (UTC) on Monday, 29 August 2016.
Infrared data from the geostationary satellites of EUMETSAT and NOAA overlays a computer-generated model of the Earth, containing NASA's Blue Marble Next Generation imagery.

Copyright: 2016 EUMETSAT

http://spaceref.com/earth/hurricanes-lester-and-madeline-seen-from-space.html

 

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SPACE RECOVERY USB

 

Space recovery USB
Released 30/08/2016 4:22 pm
Copyright ESA

 

Quote

All computer enthusiasts have a recovery disk available in case their computer stops working – and it’s no different for a liquids experiment on the International Space Station.

 

This USB stick is now in the Columbus laboratory after its launch to the Station on 18 July. If all goes well, it will never be used – but it is better to be safe than sorry.

 

The SODI-DCMIX experiment will run for around nine weeks in space observing how a mixture of water, ethanol and triethylene glycol behaves in a thermal field. If the instrument refuses to start, an astronaut can insert the USB stick and reboot the experiment.

 

The 8 GB stick is a commercial item that was modified to make it fit for space. Engineers removed all the stickers and rubber and drilled venting holes to cope with the changes in atmosphere. Lastly, the stick’s light was covered to avoid distractions.

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/08/Space_recovery_USB

 

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Quote

Krasnogorsk, Sibirginskij and Olzherassky career with the height of the International Space Station from Oleg fiddle.

 

----------------------

 

Moscow, Russia August 28, 2016

 

The Moskva River snakes through central Moscow, passing the Kremlin, Red Square, and Zaryadye Park (now under construction) along the way.  Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/moscow-20160828/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 30 August 2016

 

Quote

Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins are two days away from their second spacewalk in as many weeks.

 

The duo are reviewing the tasks they will perform outside the International Space Station for 6.5 hours of maintenance work beginning Thursday at 8 a.m. EDT. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi will assist Williams and Rubins from inside the space station.

 

They will retract and cover an out-of-service thermal control radiator and install lights and a high-definition camera for better views of the station structure and the Earth below. If time allows, the spacewalkers will perform get-ahead tasks including photographing the condition of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

 

In the Russian segment of the station, the three cosmonauts concentrated on a variety of human research experiments and crew departure activities. Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka collected blood and saliva samples to explore how bones and the immune system are impacted by living in space. The pair also practiced an entry simulation drill today inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft they will return home in with Williams on Sept. 6.

 

The space station cameras spotted three hurricanes today, two in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricanes Lester and Madeline were seen in the Pacific potentially threatening the big island of Hawaii. Hurricane Gaston was seen in the open Atlantic.

 

Quote

Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The EV crew continued the EVA tool configuration in preparation for the TTCR EVA on Thursday. The IV crew accessed the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) software and completed additional robotics reviews of Space Station Remote Manipulator System support plan for the EVA.

 

External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) Troubleshooting: The crew performed a procedure to verify that the heaters on the spare ETVCG Light are functional. They utilized the two jumpers that were built from pin kit materials and tested the ETVCG light and heaters. After the troubleshooting, the crew confirmed a functional camera light and heater circuit on the ETVCG. This light will be used to replace the degraded light at the P1 Lower Outboard location during Thursday's TTCR EVA.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities completed unless otherwise noted.
ЦВМ Restart
DOUG review
Lab CDRA Activation
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 08/31: CBEF reconfig, EVA preparations
Thursday, 09/01: TTCR EVA
Friday, 09/02: EVA Debrief, EMU H2O Recharge, Post EVA PHS, Soyuz Descent Training

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-30-august-2016.html

 

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Astronauts Ready for Thursday Morning Spacewalk

 

Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi gets the U.S. spacesuits ready that NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins will wear Thursday during a spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV

 

Quote

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins are ready for Thursday morning’s spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8:05 a.m. EDT and last 6.5 hours. The duo will retract and cover an out-of-service thermal control radiator, tighten struts on a solar array rotary joint and install a high-definition camera.

 

The spacewalkers finished collecting their tools and reviewing their timeline this morning. Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi will assist the pair today getting the Quest airlock ready and tomorrow helping them in and out of their spacesuits.

 

Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Anatoly Ivanishin were back at work today exploring how bones and the immune system are impacted by living in space. Oleg Skripochka researched how the digestive system adapts and how humans experience pain during a long-term space mission.

 

After the completion of Thursday’s spacewalk, the crew will turn its attention to the Sept. 6 departure of Expedition 48 crew members Williams, Skripochka and Ovchinin. The trio continue loading the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft and getting their launch and entry suits ready. They will undock from the Poisk module and land in Kazakhstan after 5-1/2 months on orbit.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/31/astronauts-ready-for-thursday-morning-spacewalk/

 

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Watch NASA TV Thursday for Live Spacewalk Coverage

 

Astronaut Kate Rubins is seen taking taking photographs with the Japanese Kibo lab module behind her during a spacewalk on Aug. 19.

 

Quote

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA will begin a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at about 8:10 a.m. EDT Thursday. NASA TV coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m.

 

Williams and Rubins will retract a thermal radiator that is part of the station’s cooling system. The radiator is a backup that had been deployed previously as part of an effort to fix an ammonia coolant leak. They’ll also tighten struts on a solar array joint, and install the first of several enhanced high-definition television cameras that will be used to monitor activities outside the station, including the comings and goings of visiting cargo and crew vehicles.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/08/31/watch-nasa-tv-thursday-for-live-spacewalk-coverage/

 

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Orbital View Of Earth's Aurora

 

Sparkling aurora colors of magenta and green color the skies while the International Space Station orbits above the planet every 90 minutes.

SpaceX's Dragon resupply vehicle is seen docked to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module.

ISS048e056981 (0813/2016)

 

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/orbital-view-of-earths-aurora.html

 

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Looking Inside A Soyuz Simulator

 

The interior of the Soyuz simulator seen as Expedition 49 NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos take their Soyuz qualification exams

Image taken Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, Russia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

 

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/looking-inside-a-soyuz-simulator.html

 

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Quote

In the Cosmonaut Training Center. Gagarin completed a comprehensive examination training crews long expedition ISS-49/50.

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 31 August 2016

 

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 31 August 2016.   NASA

 

Quote

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA will begin a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at about 8:10 a.m. EDT Thursday. NASA TV coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m.

 

Williams and Rubins will retract a thermal radiator that is part of the station's cooling system. The radiator is a backup that had been deployed previously as part of an effort to fix an ammonia coolant leak. They'll also tighten struts on a solar array joint, and install the first of several enhanced high-definition television cameras that will be used to monitor activities outside the station, including the comings and goings of visiting cargo and crew vehicles.

 

Quote

Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The Commander and Flight Engineer-6 completed their pre-EVA medical checkup, final EVA tool configuration and EVA timeline review earlier today. This afternoon the crew performed a conference with EVA ground specialist to discuss any final question about tomorrow's TTCR EVA. The crew also prepared the Equipment Lock, EMUs and ancillary hardware to support EVA prep activities. Crew egress of the Airlock is scheduled for 7:10 am CDT.

 

Multi-Omics sample collections: Flight Engineer-5 collected samples for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Multi-Omics experiment. Samples were then placed into the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Multi-omics analysis of human microbial-metabolic cross-talk in the space ecosystem (Multi-Omics) investigation evaluates the impacts of space environment and prebiotics on astronauts' immune function, by combining the data obtained from the measurements of changes in the gut microbiological composition, metabolites profiles, and the immune system. Biomarkers for immune dysfunction during the crewmembers time on the ISS could be useful for the health management of astronauts.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Lab CDRA to Standby
Nominal ground commanding

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 09/01: TTCR EVA
Friday, 09/02: EVA Debrief, EMU H2O Recharge, Post EVA PHS, Soyuz Descent Training
Saturday, 09/03: Crew Off Duty, Housekeeping, Overhead CQ Cleaning

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-31-august-2016.html

 

Next ISS Crew Trains for Upcoming Launch to the Station

video is 11:26 min.

 

 

 

----------------------

 

Astronauts Conclude Second Spacewalk of Expedition 48

 

Quote

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins concluded their spacewalk at 2:41 p.m. EDT.  During the six-hour, 48-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully retracted a thermal radiator, installed two enhanced high definition cameras on the station’s truss and tightened bolts on a joint that enables one of the station’s solar arrays to rotate.

 

Space station crew members have conducted 195 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 1,217 hours and 34 minutes working outside the station.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/01/astronauts-conclude-second-spacewalk-of-expedition-48/

 

ISS Spacewalkers install new external HD Cameras, retract Thermal Radiator

 

Quote

Spacewalkers Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins blazed through their task list in a busy EVA on Thursday, venturing outside the hatches of the International Space Station for over six and a half hours to complete a series of outfitting tasks on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

Working on the far outside of the Station’s Truss, the spacewalking duo retracted a thermal radiator to preserve it as a spare for future use if needed. They then installed a pair of new HD cameras that will generate high-resolution still imagery and video for external inspections and Earth observations. Still with time to spare, the crew serviced the Station’s Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, removed no-longer needed covers and reconfigured an equipment cart on the station’s truss.

 

Thursday’s spacewalk was added to the crew’s schedule after a gap opened up in the Station’s timetable due to the slip of the Cygnus OA-5 launch and the HTV-6 resupply mission. Also, Mission Controllers took advantage of still having experienced spacewalker Jeff Williams on the station to provide a helping hand in keeping ISS in ship shape before returning to Earth next week.

 

indepth analysis and images at the link...

http://spaceflight101.com/us-eva-37-successfully-completed-on-iss/

 

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NASA Astronauts Conduct Second Spacewalk in Two Weeks Outside the Space Station

Video is 5:02 min.

 

 

 

Intl Space Station crewmembers conduct spacewalk

Video is 8:41:10 hours, full session

 

 

 

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El Alamein, Egypt August 28, 2016

 

Just south of the Marina El Alamein, thousands of Commonwealth soldiers from World War II are buried in the El Alamein War Cemetary.  Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/el-alamein-20160828/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 2 September 2016

 

NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 2 September 2016.   NASA

 

Quote

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---1-september-2016.html

 

Space to Ground: Tracking the Tropics: 09/02/2016

video is 2:17 min.

 

 

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 September 2016

 

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 September 2016.   NASA

 

Quote

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins concluded their spacewalk at 2:41 p.m. EDT.

 

During the six-hour, 48-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully retracted a thermal radiator, installed two enhanced high definition cameras on the station's truss and tightened bolts on a joint that enables one of the station's solar arrays to rotate.

 

Space station crew members have conducted 195 spacewalks in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory. Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 1,217 hours and 34 minutes working outside the station.

 

Quote

Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR) Extravehicular Activity (EVA): Today, CDR Williams and FE-6 Rubins completed the TTCR EVA, with Airlock egress at 6:53 am CDT. Once outside the Airlock, the crew performed the following scheduled tasks:

- Retract, cover, and cinch down the TTCR using hook straps
- Replace a failed External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) light at the Camera Port 9 (CP9) location
- Install a High Definition Camera in the CP9 location
- Re-torque the Alpha Joint Interface Structure (AJIS) Struts on the Port 4 (P4) truss
- Perform an inspection Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ)
- Port 6 (P6) Pump Flow and Control System (PFCS) Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) Tie-back

 

The crew was ahead on the timeline, so they were also able to install an additional High Definition Camera at the CP8 location, and perform the Port Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart Brake Handle Tie-Down task. While Williams and Rubin were outside, FE-5 Onishi operated the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and assisted with the tasks. The EVA duration was 6 hours, 48 minutes.

 

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations for EVA: Today Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the MSS to support the TTCR EVA. Once the EVA crew completed the TTCR retract, FE-5 maneuvered the SSRMS into position to install an Articulating Portable Foot Restraint (APFR) on the SSRMS Latching End Effector (LEE). CDR ingressed the APFR, and the SSRMS was maneuvered to allow CDR to change the light of the CP9 (P1 Lower Outboard (LOOB)) camera then again to position CDR to install an External High Definition Camera (EHDC) on the CP9 camera. Once the CP9 tasks had been completed, the SSRMS was maneuvered to position CDR to install an EHDC on the CP8 (P1 Upper Outboard (UPOB)) camera. Once this had been completed, the SSRMS was moved to a park position. MSS performance today was nominal.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Commanding to support EVA

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 09/02: EVA Debrief, EMU H2O Recharge, Post EVA PHS, Soyuz Descent Training
Saturday, 09/03: Crew Off Duty, Housekeeping, Overhead CQ Cleaning
Sunday, 09/04: Crew Off Duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-1-september-2016.html

 

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Spacewalkers Cleaning Up Before Trio Returns Home Tuesday

 

The new high-definition video camera installed during Thursday’s spacewalk is now in service and providing better external views.

 

Quote

Two astronauts are cleaning up after a spacewalk while a pair of cosmonauts are getting a Soyuz spacecraft ready for departure after the Labor Day weekend. On the ground, three new crew members are preparing for a launch to the International Space Station at the end of the month.

 

Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins completed a spacewalk Thursday, retracting a thermal radiator and installing a pair of high definition cameras. Today, the astronauts are recharging spacesuits and tidying up the Quest airlock by stowing their tools and other spacewalk gear.

The Expedition 48 crew now turns its attention to a change of command on Monday, followed by three crew members returning to Earth on Tuesday. Williams will hand over station control to cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin before going home the following day with Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin.

 

The trio will undock Tuesday at 5:51 p.m. EDT inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft officially ending the Expedition 48 mission. After a few hours they will parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan after 5-1/2 months in space.

 

Back on Earth, new station crew members Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko participated in traditional ceremonies and final qualification exams. They will join the Expedition 49 crew two days after their Sept. 23 launch inside the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/02/spacewalkers-cleaning-up-before-trio-returns-home-tuesday/

 

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Watch Live as NASA Astronaut, Two Crewmates Return to Earth

 

Quote

Three International Space Station crew members are scheduled to return to Earth on Tuesday, Sept. 6. NASA Television will provide coverage of their departure from the orbital outpost and return home, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 6.

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Soyuz Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will undock their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft from the space station at 5:51 p.m. and land in Kazakhstan at 9:14 p.m. (7:14 a.m. Kazakhstan time Sept. 7.)

 

Together, the Expedition 48 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard humanity’s only orbiting laboratory.

Their return will wrap up 172 days in space for the crew since their launch in March 2016. Williams will return to Earth having accrued 534 days in space on his four missions dating back to 2000, the most days by any U.S. astronaut in history.

 

NASA TV will air coverage of the departure and landing activities at the following dates and times:

Tuesday, Sept. 6

9 a.m. - Replay of the traditional change of command ceremony in which Williams hands over station command to Anatoly Ivanishin (recorded on Sept. 5.)
2:15 p.m. - Farewell and hatch closure coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 2:30 p.m.).
5:30 p.m. - Undocking coverage (undocking scheduled at 5:51 p.m.).
8 p.m. - Deorbit burn and landing coverage (deorbit burn scheduled at 8:21 p.m., with landing at 9:14 p.m.)

Wednesday, Sept. 7

12 a.m. - Video File of hatch closure, undocking and landing activities.
12 p.m. - Video File of landing and post-landing activities and post-landing interview with Williams in Kazakhstan.
At the time of undocking, Expedition 49 will begin aboard the station under the command of Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos. Along with his crewmates Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the three-person crew will operate the station for more than two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

 

Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch Sept. 23, U.S. time, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

 

Check out the full NASA TV schedule and video streaming information at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/watch-live-as-nasa-astronaut-two-crewmates-return-to-earth

 

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Quote

Program # Space on September 3, 2016

Red pepper to Space
Prior to the start of the second manned spacecraft series "MS" 3 weeks. Among the experiments to be carried astronauts, many of the new biological greenhouse "Lada-2", developed at the Institute of Biomedical Problems.

 

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Montreal, Canada August 27, 2016

 

Celebrating their first public market, Old Montréal’s Pointe-à-Callière hosts day-one of their 18th-Century style festival complete with spruce beer, fruit jams, and maple everything. Je suis jalouse!  Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/montreal-20160827/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

Progress cargo ship replacement proposed

 

The architecture of the prospective cargo ship as of August 2016.

 

Quote

Project history

On Dec. 11, 2015, Roskosmos awarded a contract to RKK Energia to develop a preliminary design of the spacecraft, which was characterized as "cargo vehicle with increased payload capacity," or TGK PG. This designation referred to the current capabilities of the Progress cargo ship, which has an overall mass of around seven tons. The same contract also assigned the company to upgrade the design documentation and operational manuals for the Soyuz MS and Progress MS spacecraft to extend their stay in orbit up to 370 days (from the current average of around six months). (67)

The main rationale for the development of the new cargo ship was the urgent need to reduce the number of cargo launches to the ISS from four to three annually, while still supporting three crew members on the Russian segment of the station.

 

The preliminary design for the new cargo ship was originally to be completed in December 2016, but the work was apparently sped up to be completed in August of the same year. Still, even if the go ahead for the full-scale development of the project was given immediately, the new cargo ship was not expected to fly before 2020. In the meantime, the Russian crew onboard the ISS could be reduced from three to two people beginning in March 2017 onward, with the exception of a time period in 2018, when Russian cosmonauts would have to conduct spacewalks to outfit the newly arrived MLM module.

 

Spacecraft design

Unlike many previous attempts to upgrade the Progress series, the latest proposal is essentially a new design, relying on engineering ideas recently developed for the Federatsiya next-generation transport ship, PTK, and its derivatives. Most significantly, a cluster of six tanks originally developed for the PTK was scaled down to serve as a combined tanker for the space station and the propellant storage for the new ship's own propulsion system.

 

The complex geometry making a pair of three interlocking tanks resembles Escher's mind-bending artwork, but it neatly packages liquid propellant in multiple spherical containers. The combined propellant section provides major advantage over the Progress design, built around separate refueling and propulsion modules.

 

Structurally, the new cargo ship would consist of a pressurized module carrying dry cargo and water and an unpressurized instrument module containing the propellant tanks.

 

A light-weight truss adapter would connect the two parts. The truss would also carry four groups of attitude control engines and three pallets with avionics. The pallets were designed to radiate excessive heat generated by electronics into space. Other electronic components, which were not designed to operate in vacuum, would be accommodated inside the pressurized section.

 

The new cargo shop was expected to carry a main engine developed at KB Khimmash for another spacecraft. The attitude control thrusters would be borrowed unchanged from Soyuz and Progress transport ships.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/tgk-pg.html

 

---------------

 

A First Peek at Russia's New Space Cargo Ship

 

credit Anatoly Zak

 

Quote

The main engine for the new cargo ship will be borrowed from an existing satellite. Meanwhile, 28 small thrusters for orbit correction and maneuvering will be copied practically unchanged from the Progress.

 

A pressurized cargo section with an internal volume of around 18 cubic meters will accommodate around 2.4 tons of food, clothes, and other supplies for cosmonauts, including 400 kilograms of water and more than 50 kg of air. It will be connected by a lattice structure to the tanker section, which will operate in the vacuum of space. Various electronics will be spread between both compartments.

 

The new ship will be able to remain at the ISS up to a year and fly solo missions lasting up to a month. For its ascent to orbit, the new ship will take advantage of the most powerful version of the Russian Soyuz rocket known as Soyuz-2-1b. The three-stage booster is capable of delivering nearly 8.2-ton vehicles into orbit.

 

Even with all the shortcuts and the streamlined design, the new ship is not expected not reach the launchpad until at least 2020. In the meantime, the Russian crew aboard the ISS is expected to go down to two people beginning next March. In 2018, the Russian crew might go back to three people temporarily, when cosmonauts are expected to conduct extensive work outside the station to integrate the new multi-purpose module slated for launch at the end of next year.

 

In addition to the latest design, Russian engineers were also considering a concept of an even larger cargo vehicle, which would need Russia's new-generation Angara rocket for launch.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a22477/russia-new-cargo-space-ship/

 

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Three new modules are slated for the ISS. This is a quick description of the units. As more data becomes available, I will post it here as well.

 

The MLM multi-purpose module (a.k.a. FGB-2)

 

Above: An isolated view of the MLM module in deployed position. Copyright © 2012 Anatoly Zak

 

Quote

In 2016, the launch of the MLM module slipped again to December 2017, or around six months behind the previously quoted timeline. According to a press-release issued by RKK Energia on June 20, the company completed the manufacturing and testing of unidentified equipment for the interior of the module.

 

At the same time, the head of RKK Energia was quoted as saying that the development of documentation and the installation of large pieces of hardware on the exterior of the spacecraft had entered the final stage.

 

Russian officials also began identifying the module as MLM-U, where "U" stood for "usovershenstvovanny" or "upgraded." These "upgrades" had never been detailed, hinting that the new designation was a political gimmick to explain endless delays and the ballooning budget of the project.

 

However, the new name could also denote yet-to-be identified upgrades to adapt the module for the operation as a part of the future Russian space station. As late as 2015, Roskosmos continued evaluating various schemes to separate the MLM along with the UM and NEM-1 modules from the ISS at the end of its operation to form the new outpost in the low Earth orbit.

 

An undated photo released in June 2016 shows the MLM module or its prototype at RKK Energia's Checkout and Test Station, KIS, in Korolev.

 

 

Workers at RKK Energia's experimental plant work with the European robotic arm on the development prototype, KS, of the Nauka module.

 

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss_fgb2.html

 

-----------------------

 

Node Module of the ISS

 

Quote

Despite its small size, a four-ton, ball-shaped module could play an extremely important role in the Russian space program.

 

The first task of the new station compoment would be to enable the addition of a pair of science and power modules, NEMs, to the Russian segment, which were intended to replace a canceled Science and Power Platform, NEP. However more importantly, the node module was conceived to serve as the only permanent element of the future Russian successor to the ISS. Equipped with six docking ports, the Node Module would serve as a single permanent core of the future station with all other modules coming and going as their life span and mission required. Thus, the orbital base could be maintained in space practically indefinitely. It was a key feature, which would differ the future station from Russia's Mir, Mir-2 and the ISS.

 

For its ride to the station, the Node Module would be integrated with a special version of the Progress cargo ship and launched by a standard Soyuz rocket. The Progress would use its own propulsion and flight control system to deliver and dock the Node Module to the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port of the MLM/FGB-2 module on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

 

The Node Module will provide additional docking ports and 14 cubic meters of pressurized volume for the Russian segment, along with one-time delivery of 1,000 kilograms of cargo.

 

A 2009 scale model depicting future configuration of the International Space Station, includes a node module at the heart of the Russian segment.

 

The Node Module. Credit: RKK Energia

 

The Node Module was to be equipped with four passive hybriddocking ports.

 

Quote

The station's flight manifest surfaced in April 2015 indicated the launch of the Node Module in the third quarter of 2018.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss_node.html

 

-------------------

 

Russia works on a new-generation station module

 

Quote

Engineers at Russia's chief manned spacecraft contractor are developing a habitable orbital laboratory, which could serve as the cornerstone of a future deep-space outpost. The new 20-ton module is scheduled to dock at the Russian segment of the International Space Station, ISS, in 2017 or 2018.

 

Above: Isolated view of the NEM module as of 2014. Copyright © 2015 Anatoly Zak / RussianSpaceWeb.com

 

 

Above: Internal layout of the pressurized section of the NEM module. Credit: RKK Energia

 

 

Above: Three future Russian modules of the International Space Station. (Clickable) Sometimes before 2016, NASA convinced Roskosmos to move the module to the left docking port, along +Z axis of the Russian segment. Credit: RKK Energia

 

Quote

A station's flight manifest surfaced in April 2015 indicated the launch of the NEM module in the middle of the fourth quarter of 2019.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/nem.html

 

With all three new modules up by 2020, it will allow a thorough testing for many years till the EOL of the ISS is determined. More importantly, it allows a full science suite and full 3 crew compliment.

 

Hope all goes well.

[Draggendrop 5,748]

Just a goofy Sunday night post...space related...

 

Robot Designed to Test NASA's Pre-Apollo Spacesuits Heads to Auction

 

A hydraulically-powered robot dummy designed for NASA to use in testing spacesuits, circa 1963-1965, is heading for auction.
Credit: RR Auction

 

Quote

Before NASA launched men to walk on the moon, the space agency almost turned to a human-like robot to test its astronauts' prototype spacesuits.

The hydraulic-powered android might have worked, too — had it not been for its tendency to leak oil when used.

 

Now, 50 years after its rejection, one of the robot dummies is set to be sold among 100 "Remarkable Rarities" offered by RR Auction. The 10-day online auction will begin Sept. 15 and culminate in a live sale at Royal Sonesta Boston on Sept. 26.

 

"Only two of the test robots were produced — the other is on display and owned by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum," Robert Livingston, RR Auction executive vice president, in a statement. "This [robot] was purchased as surplus from the University of Maryland." [Meet Valkyrie: NASA's Humanoid Robot in Photos]

 

The so-called "Power Driven Articulated Dummy" project ran from May 22, 1963 through July 31, 1965. Produced by the IIT Research Institute in Chicago, the robot could be used to simulate 35 basic human motions. It was equipped with sensors at each joint to measure the forces imposed on the human body by a pressurized spacesuit.

 

"It was impressive on the motions it could make," said Joe Kosmo, a retired NASA suit engineer, in an interview with space historian Andrew Chaikin for Smithsonian magazine in May, describing the robot on display at the institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

 

Though a person could climb into a spacesuit and describe how it felt, the articulated dummy was designed to provide quantitative data for a more scientific approach to refining the suit's design.

 

That is, if it didn't destroy the spacesuit in the process.

 

The robot dummy's movements were enabled by hydraulic actuators powered by oil that flowed through a nylon-tube circulatory system. The design allowed for the android to swivel its hips, raise and lower its arms and legs, shrug its shoulders, clench its fists, and even shake hands — but it could not handle the pressure needed to move the robot's extremities without leaking. [The Evolution of NASA Spacesuits (Photos)]

 

"Leaking oil would contaminate the suit. We didn't want to risk ruining a suit," stated Kosmo. "You couldn't place the dummy inside a one-of-a-kind spacesuit."

 

Despite trying some creative solutions, including outfitting the robot in a scuba diving wetsuit, the problem was never solved. NASA dropped the project and directed its funding elsewhere.

 

NASA’s life-size robot dummy could simulate 35 basic human motions and was equipped with torque sensors at each joint to gather data on forces imposed on the body by a pressurized spacesuit.
Credit: RR Auction

 

Space.com link

 

just a little like...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_Woodman

 

Prior to this, we also had...

 

1960 Grumman Lunar Suit

 

kind of like...

 

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

 

[Jim K 14,153]

Happening in a little bit....all times are Eastern.

Quote

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos undocked from the International Space Station at 5:51 p.m. EDT to begin their trip home. Ovchinin, the Soyuz commander, is at the controls of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft.

 

The crew is scheduled to land at 9:13 p.m. southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

 

The Expedition 49 crew members, Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will operate the station for more than two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

 

NASA TV will air live coverage of the Soyuz TMA-20M deorbit burn and landing beginning at 8 p.m. Watch live at www.nasa.gov/ntv.

I believe it will be shown on this channel starting at 8 PM EST.

 

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 September 2016

 

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 September 2016.             NASA

 

Quote

Today: Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Ingress and Sampling: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Rubins ingressed the BEAM and collected the deployed Radiation Area Monitor (RAM) dosimeters and performed Microbial Air Sampler (MAS) and Surface Sample Kit (SSK) sampling.

 

She also performed a thorough inspection of the walls and found no moisture. The crew also replaced all of the BEAM sensor extended life battery packs. The MAS and SSK samples as well as the RAM dosimeters will be packed for return on 46S and analyzed in Houston.

 

Cardio Ox and Biochem Profile Collections: Rubins and FE-5 Onishi performed their Flight Day 60 (FD60) urine and blood collections and inserted them into Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results, which scientists can use to study the effects of spaceflight on the body. The goal of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis risk in astronauts.

 

Marrow: Rubins collected breath and ambient air samples in support of the Canadian Space Agency's Marrow experiment. Marrow investigation looks at the effect of microgravity on the bone marrow. It is believed that microgravity, like long-duration bed rest on Earth, has a negative effect on the bone marrow and the blood cells that are produced in the marrow. The extent of this effect, and its recovery, are of interest to space research and healthcare providers on Earth.

 

ISS Change of Command (COC): The entire crew discussed with Mission Control Center (MCC)-Houston and MCC-Moscow flight control teams their roles and responsibilities for the timeframe between the COC event and departure of 46S. Anatoly Ivanishin then assumed command of the ISS from Jeff Williams. Following the COC, the 47S crew became prime for emergency response.

 

Post Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tasks: The crew deconfigured the Airlock following last week's EVA operations and prepared Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) and equipment for long term stowage. They also performed EMU cooling loop maintenance on the EMUs used during the EVA (3003 and 3008).

 

Crew Quarters (CQ) Port Cleaning: In preparation for his departure from the ISS tomorrow Williams cleaned his CQ, including the intake and exhaust ducts, fans and airflow sensors.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Support for EMU Loop Scrub
Safing for port CQ cleaning

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 09/06: Cardio Ox ultrasound, final HRF samples, 46S undock and landing
Wednesday, 09/07: Crew Sleep Shift
Thursday, 09/08: Express Rack 7 SSPCM R&R, EVA water conductivity test, ARED cable R&R, IMV flow measurement

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-5-september-2016.html

 

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Expedition 48 Undocks, Begins Journey to Earth

 

The Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft is seen slowly departing away from the International Space Station. NASA TV

 

Quote

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos undocked from the International Space Station at 5:51 p.m. EDT to begin their trip home. Ovchinin, the Soyuz commander, is at the controls of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft.

 

The crew is scheduled to land at 9:13 p.m. southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

 

The Expedition 49 crew members, Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will operate the station for more than two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

 

NASA TV will air live coverage of the Soyuz TMA-20M deorbit burn and landing beginning at 8 p.m. Watch live at www.nasa.gov/ntv.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/06/expedition-48-undocks-begins-journey-to-earth/

 

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Expedition 48 Trio Enters Soyuz and Closes Hatches

 

Astronaut Jeff Williams (front row left) handed command of the International Space Station to cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin (back row center) Monday Sept. 5. Credit: NASA TV

 

Quote

At 2:42 p.m. EDT, the Soyuz hatch closed between the International Space Station and the TMA-20M spacecraft. Expedition 48 crew members Jeff Williams of NASA and his Russian crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos are preparing to undock at 5:51 p.m. NASA Television will provide coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m.

 

The deorbit burn is targeted for 8:21 p.m. and will lead to a landing at 9:13 p.m. southeast of Dzezkazgan in Kazakhstan. NASA TV coverage of deorbit and landing begins at 8 p.m. Watch live at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

 

The return of Expedition 48 will wrap up 172 days in space for the crew since their launch in March 2016. Williams will return to Earth having accrued 534 days in space on his four missions dating back to 2000, the most days by any U.S. astronaut in history.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/06/expedition-48-trio-enters-soyuz-and-closes-hatches/

 

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Soyuz Crew en-route to blazing Re-Entry & early Morning Landing after on-time Departure of ISS

 

Photo: NASA TV

 

Quote

Three International Space Station crew members have begun their final laps around Earth, embarking on an overnight return aboard their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft after an eventful 172-day stay on the orbiting laboratory.

 

Swapping the comforts of the spacious ISS for the confined quarters of their Soyuz, the three crewmen are aiming to make one and a half orbits of Earth before Soyuz hits the brakes to set up for an early morning landing in south-central Kazakhstan.

 

Soyuz Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Jeff Williams bid farewell to ISS and their fellow crew members at 18:42 UTC on Tuesday, closing the hatch to their Soyuz spacecraft. The last of the TMA-M series to fly, Soyuz departed ISS at 21:51 UTC to set out on a two-and-a-half-hour free flight prior to the precisely targeted deorbit maneuver for a parachute-assisted landing at 1:13 UTC on Wednesday.

indepth analysis at the link...

http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-tma-20m-undocking/

 

Expedition 48 Bid Farewell & Close Hatches ahead of Landing

video is 6:20 min.

 

 

 

 

Soyuz TMA-20M Undocks from the ISS with Expedition 48

video is 19:37 min.

 

 

 

---------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

There are landing descent vehicle # SoyuzTMA20M ! All operations on the descent from orbit and landing went normally.

 

 

 

Quote

At 03:51 at an altitude of 100.3 km began entrance descent vehicle # SoyuzTMA20M into the atmosphere.

 

 

 

Quote

# SoyuzTMA20M : to reduce speed sequentially begin to open the brake and main parachutes.

 

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Versailles, France August 30, 2016

 

Famed architect André Le Nôtre, under the careful guidance of King Louis XIV, designed the grand gardens of Versailles in the 17th Century. Today, the wide pathways, delicate hedges, and monumental fountains are clearly visible from Low Earth Orbit.  Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/versailles-20160830/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 September 2016

 

NASATV

 

Quote

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos landed their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft in Kazakhstan at 9:13 p.m. EDT.

 

Russian recovery teams are helping the crew exit the Soyuz spacecraft and adjust to gravity after their stay in space. The trio will be transported by helicopter to Karaganda where they will split up, with Williams returning to Houston in a NASA jet, while Ovchinin and Skripochka are flown back to their training base at Star City, Russia.

 

Williams was instrumental in preparing the station for the future arrival of U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. The first International Docking Adapter was installed during a spacewalk by Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Kate Rubins Aug. 19. Outfitted with a host of sensors and systems, the adapter's main purpose is to connect spacecraft bringing astronauts to the station in the future. Its first users are expected to be Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, now in development in partnership with NASA.

 

During his time on the orbital complex, Williams ventured outside the confines of the space station for a second spacewalk with Rubins to retract a spare thermal control radiator and install two new high-definition cameras.

 

Together, the Expedition 48 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard humanity's only orbiting laboratory.

 

The crew members also welcomed five cargo spacecraft during their stay. Williams was involved in the grapple of Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft in March, the company's fourth commercial resupply mission, and SpaceX's eighth Dragon spacecraft cargo delivery in April, and welcomed a second Dragon delivery in July. Two Russian ISS Progress cargo craft also docked to the station in April and July delivering tons of supplies.

 

The Expedition 48 trio launched to the space station in March 2016. With the conclusion of his fourth trip to the International Space Station, Williams has accrued 534 days in space, the most by any U.S. astronaut in history.

 

Expedition 49 continues operating the station with Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos in command. He, Rubins, and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will operate the station for more than two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

 

Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch Sept. 23, U.S. time, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

 

Quote

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 09/07: Crew off duty
Thursday, 09/08: Express Rack 7 SSPCM R&R, EVA water conductivity test, ARED cable R&R, BEAM IMV flow measurement
Friday, 09/09: OBT 47S emergency drill, SABL relocate

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-6-september-2016.html

 

Expedition 48 Crew Lands Safely in Kazakhstan

video is 6:07 min.

 

 

 

---------------------------

 

Expedition 48 Lands With Most Experienced NASA Astronaut

 

Quote

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos landed their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft in Kazakhstan at 9:13 p.m. EDT. Russian recovery teams are helping the crew exit the Soyuz spacecraft and adjust to gravity after their stay in space.

 

The trio will be transported by helicopter to Karaganda where they will split up, with Williams returning to Houston in a NASA jet, while Ovchinin and Skripochka are flown back to their training base at Star City, Russia.

 

Williams was instrumental in preparing the station for the future arrival of U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. The first International Docking Adapter was installed during a spacewalk by Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Kate Rubins Aug. 19. Outfitted with a host of sensors and systems, the adapter’s main purpose is to connect spacecraft bringing astronauts to the station in the future. Its first users are expected to be Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, now in development in partnership with NASA.

 

During his time on the orbital complex, Williams ventured outside the confines of the space station for a second spacewalk with Rubins to retract a spare thermal control radiator and install two new high-definition cameras.

 

Together, the Expedition 48 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard humanity’s only orbiting laboratory.

 

The crew members also welcomed five cargo spacecraft during their stay. Williams was involved in the grapple of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft in March, the company’s fourth commercial resupply mission, and SpaceX’s eighth Dragon spacecraft cargo delivery in April, and welcomed a second Dragon delivery in July. Two Russian ISS Progress cargo craft also docked to the station in April and July delivering tons of supplies.

 

The Expedition 48 trio launched to the space station in March 2016. With the conclusion of his fourth trip to the International Space Station, Williams has accrued 534 days in space, the most by any U.S. astronaut in history.

 

Expedition 49 continues operating the station with Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos in command. He, Rubins, and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will operate the station for more than two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.

 

Shane Kimbrough of NASA and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch Sept. 23, U.S. time, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/06/expedition-48-lands-with-most-experienced-nasa-astronaut/

 

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Photos: Soyuz Re-Entry Captured from International Space Station

 

Quote

The three crew members aboard the International Space Station caught a remarkable sight Tuesday night when they captured photos of the re-entry of their Expedition 48 crew mates who parachuted to a safe landing in Kazakhstan just after sunrise.

 

Soyuz TMA-20M and its three crew members Alexey Ovchinin, Oleg Skripochka and U.S. Spaceflight record holder Jeff Williams wrapped up a 172-day mission when they departed the orbiting complex at 21:51 UTC to head toward their South Central Kazakhstan landing site. After undocking, Soyuz opened up a gap to the Space Station before firing its braking rocket to slow down and place itself on a sub-orbital path, intercepting the atmosphere at a precisely calculated location.

http://spaceflight101.com/photos-soyuz-re-entry-captured-from-international-space-station/

 

JAXA/NASA/Takuya Onishi

 

 

JAXA/NASA/Takuya Onishi

 

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Gallery: Three ISS Residents Parachute to Sunrise Landing in Kazakhstan

 

Quote

Three International Space Station residents parachuted to a safe landing Wednesday in a picturesque morning scenery in the steppe of Kazakhstan where their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft touched down after circling the Earth 2,752 times.

 

Still strapped into the confined space of the Soyuz Entry Module, crewmates Alexey Ovchinin, Oleg Skripochka and Jeff Williams enjoyed a breath of fresh air for the first time in 172 days when recovery crews opened up the hatch to the spacecraft. The Russian-American crew was greeted by a beautiful late summer morning with clear skies and warm temperatures in south central Kazakhstan where the crew’s five-and-a-half month journey to space found its successful conclusion in a bulls-eye landing aboard the Russian workhorse spacecraft.

http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-tma-20m-landing-photos/

 

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

 

 

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

 

 

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

 

 

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

 

 

NASA/Bill Ingalls

 

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Soyuz Touches down at Sunrise – ISS Crew Trio back on Earth after 172-Day Space Flight

 

Quote

Three International Space Station residents parachuted to a safe landing Wednesday in a picturesque morning scenery in the steppe of Kazakhstan where their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft touched down after circling the Earth 2,752 times.

Indepth analysis at the link...

http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-tma-20m-landing/

 

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Quote

During entry into the dense layers of the atmosphere the crew # SoyuzTMA20M oversees about this picture.

 

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Santorini, Greece August 31, 2016

 

Thousands of years ago, an ancient shield volcano collapsed and left behind a water-filled caldera. This gave the Mediterranean island of Santorini its unique shape. Today, Santorini’s dry climate and volcanic soil produce sought-after grape and tomato crops.    Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/santorini-20160831/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

No station data released today, but have a few odds and ends.....

 

New Crew Preps for Launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome

 

Expedition 49-50 crew members (from left) Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko arrive at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: RSC Energia

 

Quote

As one crew gets used to Earth’s gravity after 172 days in space, another crew is preparing to launch to the International Space Station in just over two weeks.

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams arrived in the United States just 24 hours after landing Tuesday evening in Kazakhstan and completing his mission. His Expedition 48 crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka, who were seated next to each other in the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft, have returned to their home space agency Roscosmos in Russia. Williams has completed one shuttle mission and his third station mission accumulating 534 days in space – a NASA astronaut record.

 

They will soon be replaced by another trio of Expedition 49-50 crew members who have arrived at their launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko will launch Sept. 23 on a two-day trip to the space station. They are in final preparations for a mission scheduled to last until Feb. 25, 2017.

 

Back in space, the Expedition 48-49 crew consisting of Commander Anatoly Ivanishin and Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi are continuing science operations and maintenance of the orbital laboratory. Rubins continued more DNA sequencing work today and inspected emergency equipment. Onishi cleaned ventilation fans and measured air flow. Ivanishin worked on the Pilot-T experiment exploring how a crew member adapts to the working conditions of a long-term space mission.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/08/new-crew-preps-for-launch-at-baikonur-cosmodrome/

 

------------------------

 

ISS Calendar

 

Quote

September 6/7, 2016    Soyuz TMA-20M Undocking & Landing
September 23, 2016    Soyuz MS-02 Launch (Ryzhikov, Borisenko, Kimbrough)
September 25, 2016    Soyuz MS-02 Docking
NET September 27, 2016    Cygnus OA-5 Launch atop Antares 230
Fall    Russian Satellite Deployment
Fall    Satellite Deployments via NRCSD and Kaber
October 2016    Cygnus OA-5 Departure
October 14, 2016    Progress MS-02 Undocking from Zvezda
October 20, 2016    Progress MS-4 Launch & Docking to Zvezda
October 30, 2016    Soyuz MS Undocking & Landing (Ivanishin, Onishi, Rubins)

http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/

 

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Massive and Mysterious Ice Fall in Tibet Viewed From Space

 

Before

 

 

Avalanche in Tibet   NASA

 

Quote

On July 17, 2016, a huge stream of ice and rock tumbled down a narrow valley in the Aru Range of Tibet. 

When the ice stopped moving, it had spread a pile of debris that was up to 30 meters (98 feet) thick across 10 square kilometers (4 square miles). Nine people, 350 sheep, and 110 yaks in the remote village of Dungru were killed during the avalanche.

 

The massive debris field makes this one of the largest ice avalanches ever recorded. The only event of a comparable size was a 2002 avalanche from Kolka Glacier in in the Caucasus , explained Andreas Kääb, a glaciologist at the University of Oslo.

 

A multispectral imager on the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellite captured an image of the debris field on July 21, 2016. The Operational Land Imager, a similar instrument on Landsat 8, acquired an image on June 24, 2016, that shows the same area before the avalanche.

The cause of the avalanche is unclear. "This is new territory scientifically," said Kääb. "It is unknown why an entire glacier tongue would shear off like this. We would not have thought this was even possible before Kolka happened."

 

Kääb's preliminary analysis of satellite imagery indicates that the glacier showed signs of change weeks before the avalanche happened. Normally, such signs would be clues the glacier might be in the process of surging, but surging glaciers typically flow at a fairly slow rate rather than collapsing violently in an avalanche.

 

After inspecting the satellite imagery, University of Arizona glaciologist Jeffrey Kargel agreed that a surging glacier could not be the cause. "The form is completely wrong," he said. "It must be a high-energy mass flow. Maybe liquid water lubrication at the base played some role," he said.

 

Tian Lide, a glaciologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, visited the site in August and described the avalanche as "baffling" because the area where the ice collapse began is rather flat. "We failed to reach the upper part of the glacier for safety reasons," he said in an email, "but we will go the upper part [later] to see if we can find some more hints about what caused the glacier disaster."

http://spaceref.com/earth/massive-and-mysterious-ice-fall-in-tibet-viewed-from-space.html

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 8 September 2016

 

Expedition 49-50 crew members (from left) Shane Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko arrive at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: RSC Energia.

 

Quote

As one crew gets used to Earth's gravity after 172 days in space, another crew is preparing to launch to the International Space Station in just over two weeks.

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams arrived in the United States just 24 hours after landing Tuesday evening in Kazakhstan and completing his mission. His Expedition 48 crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka, who were seated next to each other in the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft, have returned to their home space agency Roscosmos in Russia. Williams has completed one shuttle mission and his third station mission accumulating 534 days in space - a NASA astronaut record.

 

They will soon be replaced by another trio of Expedition 49-50 crew members who have arrived at their launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko will launch Sept. 23 on a two-day trip to the space station. They are in final preparations for a mission scheduled to last until Feb. 25, 2017.

 

Back in space, the Expedition 48-49 crew consisting of Commander Anatoly Ivanishin and Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi are continuing science operations and maintenance of the orbital laboratory. Rubins continued more DNA sequencing work today and inspected emergency equipment. Onishi cleaned ventilation fans and measured air flow. Ivanishin worked on the Pilot-T experiment exploring how a crew member adapts to the working conditions of a long-term space mission.

 

Quote

Biomolecule Sequencer (BMS) Sample Analysis: Yesterday, the crew initiated the third BMS sample off of the task list. Following retrieval of the Flow Cell and Media Syringe Tube from the from Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) and thawing of the sample, the crew injected the sample into the Flow Cell and initiated the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing via the Surface Pro 3 tablet. The goals of the BMS experiment are to provide a proof-of-concept for the functionality and evaluate crew operability of a DNA sequencer in a space/microgravity environment. The capability for sequencing of DNA in space could provide for a better ability to identify microbes in real-time, instead of requiring sample return and ground based analysis.

 

Node 1 Starboard Aft Intra-Module Ventilation (IMV) Fan Inlet Cleaning: Yesterday, the crew completed the IMV Fan Inlet cleaning. The purpose of this cleaning is to remove any foreign object or debris (FOD) from Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Fan inlet flow straighter and Silencers located at the Node 1 Starboard Aft location.

 

Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPS) Inspection: Today, the crew conducted a regular inspection of the Portable Fire Extinguishers (PFEs), Extension Hose Tee Kits (EHTKs), Portable Breathing Apparatus (PBAs), and Pre-Breathe Masks. Pre-Breathe Masks are not emergency equipment, but have similar maintenance requirements and are included in this inspection.

 

EXpedite PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack 7 (ER7) Solid State Power Control Module (SSPCM) Remove and Replace (R&R): The crew replaced the SSPCM in ER7 to recover the rack. After powering the rack, ground teams report that the SSPCM powered up successfully. The SSPCM failed on July 8, 2016. Following the recovery of ER7 capability, tomorrow the crew will relocate the two Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratories (SABLs) currently in ER8 to ER7 to make room for the SpaceX-9 delivered Phase Change Heat Exchanger (PCHx). The primary objective of the PCHx Project is to create a unique test platform utilizing the EXPRESS Rack on the ISS to advance the technology readiness level of phase change heat exchangers for infusion into future exploration vehicles. Phase change material heat exchangers are a useful technology that helps certain space missions in regulating the thermal conditions on their particular spacecraft. They serve as a supplemental heat rejection device during time-varying heat loads and/or transient environments. It does so by storing waste energy by melting a phase change material during peak loads. It can then reject this energy through a radiator when conditions allow, causing the phase change material to freeze.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
EPS Max Loading Test

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 09/09: OBT 47S emergency drill, SABL relocate
Saturday, 09/10: Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 9/11: Crew Off Duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-8-september-2016.html

 

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NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 9 September 2016

 

Quote

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---9-september-2016.html

 

Space to Ground: Record Breaker: 09/09/2016

video is 1:52 min.

 

 

 

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RapidScat Team Investigating Power System Anomaly

 

Artist's rendering of NASA's ISS-RapidScat instrument (inset), which launched to the International Space Station in 2014 to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction and help improve weather forecasts, including hurricane monitoring.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Johnson Space Center

 

Quote

MISSION STATUS REPORT

 

Mission managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, are assessing two power system-related anomalies affecting the operation of NASA’s ISS-RapidScat instrument aboard the International Space Station. RapidScat measures surface wind speeds and directions over the ocean.

 

RapidScat is currently deactivated and in a stable configuration. A RapidScat project anomaly response team has been formed, working in conjunction with the space station anomaly response team. RapidScat will remain deactivated as the investigation continues.

 

On Aug. 19, the RapidScat team was notified by the International Space Station payload operations center at Marshall that the station’s Columbus Module experienced an anomaly with one of the two units aboard the station that distribute electrical power to the module. The anomaly resulted in the loss of power to several payloads aboard the space station, including RapidScat. Later that day, as JPL mission managers attempted to reactivate RapidScat, one of the outlets on the power distribution unit experienced an electrical overload. That outlet powers the station’s RapidScat, High-Definition Earth Viewing Experiment (HDEV) and Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR) payloads.

 

On Aug. 23, the crew manually isolated RapidScat’s external payload site from its Columbus module power circuit. Ground teams then successfully restored power to the affected power distribution unit outlet, and SOLAR and HDEV powered up successfully, with no sign of electrical overload. This action isolated the outlet overload to the RapidScat site. It is not yet known if the fault is on the Columbus or RapidScat side of the power supply interface.

 

Mission managers are handling the incidents as two separate anomalies: loss of power to multiple payloads connected to the power distribution unit, and the electrical overload on the unit’s outlet during the attempted reactivation of RapidScat.

 

RapidScat’s survival heaters are currently on (the heaters receive power from a different Columbus power circuit). The heaters are designed to keep the instrument within allowable flight temperatures indefinitely.

 

RapidScat, launched on Sept. 21, 2014, was developed as a speedy and cost-effective replacement for NASA’s QuikScat satellite. RapidScat’s all-weather measurements of ocean surface wind speed and direction contribute to improved weather and marine forecasting, including hurricane monitoring, as well as to climate studies.

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/rapidscat-team-investigating-power-system-anomaly

 

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Earth from Space: Barents Sea Bloom

 

Barents bloom   ESA

 

Quote

Although it may appear as a watercolour painting, this image is a natural-colour capture of a plankton bloom in the Barents Sea by the Sentinel-2A satellite.

 

Plankton, the most abundant type of life found in the ocean, are microscopic marine plants that drift on or near the surface of the sea. They are sometimes referred to as 'the grass of the sea' because they are the basic food on which all other marine life depends.

 

Since plankton contain photosynthetic chlorophyll pigments, these simple organisms play a similar role to terrestrial 'green' plants in the photosynthetic process. Plankton are able to convert inorganic compounds such as water, nitrogen and carbon into complex organic materials.

 

With their ability to 'digest' these compounds, they are credited with removing as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as their counterparts on land. As a result, the oceans have a profound influence on climate. Since plankton are a major influence on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and are sensitive to environmental changes, it is important to monitor and model them into calculations of future climate change.

 

Although some types of plankton are individually microscopic, the chlorophyll they use for photosynthesis collectively tints the colour of the surrounding ocean waters, providing a means of detecting these tiny organisms from space with dedicated sensors, such as Sentinel-2's multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands.

 

Some algae species are toxic or harmful. If they surge out of control during optimal blooming conditions they can exhaust the water of oxygen and suffocate larger fish. This phenomenon has dramatically increased in recent decades, and is particularly dangerous to fish farms because the fish cannot flee affected areas. Early warning of harmful blooms from satellites can help to prevent fish farmers from losing their stock, as it happened in Chile recently.

http://spaceref.com/earth/earth-from-space-barents-sea-bloom.html

 

Earth from Space: Barents bloom

video is 3:03 min.

 

 

 

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Quote

Cargo ship # ProgressMS02 adjusted the orbit of the International Space Station -http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22637/ .

 

Quote

PCO. The cargo ship "Progress MS-02" to adjust the ISS orbit
09.10.2016 4:13
In accordance with the flight program of the International Space Station (ISS) September 10, 2016 held the planned correction of the ISS orbit. 

To carry out the maneuver motors cargo vehicle "Progress MS-02", which is composed of stations included in the 03 hour. 45 min. MSK. engine operating time was 610.3 seconds. As a result, the station received the increment speed of 1.22 m / sec.
 
In accordance with the calculations of service ballistics navigation support the Mission Control Center (MCC), the average height of the flight station, after the maneuver, increased by 2.2 km and reached 405.6 km. 
 
The purpose of the correction was the formation of ballistic conditions for running "MS-02 Soyuz" spacecraft, scheduled for September 23, 2016

http://www.roscosmos.ru/22637/

 

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Sept. 6, 2016: International Space Station Configuration. Three spacecraft are parked at the station including the Soyuz MS-01 crew vehicle and two Progress resupply ships.

 

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/visiting-vehicle-launches-arrivals-and-departures

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

Updates are a little slow after the weekend....

 

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 9 September 2016

 

Quote

Today: EXpedite PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack 7 (ER7) and ER8 Locker Relocations: Following the recovery of ER7 capability yesterday, the crew relocated the two Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratories (SABLs) currently in ER8 to ER7 to make room for the SpaceX-9 delivered Phase Change Heat Exchanger (PCHx) which will be installed next week.

 

The primary objective of the PCHx Project is to create a unique test platform utilizing the EXPRESS Rack on the ISS to advance the technology readiness level of phase change heat exchangers for infusion into future exploration vehicles. Phase change material heat exchangers are a useful technology that helps certain space missions in regulating the thermal conditions on their particular spacecraft. They serve as a supplemental heat rejection device during time-varying heat loads and/or transient environments. It does so by storing waste energy by melting a phase change material during peak loads. It can then reject this energy through a radiator when conditions allow, causing the phase change material to freeze.

 

Manufacturing Device: FE-6 removed, photographed, and stowed the printed object and from the Manufacturing Device volume. The crew then removed and cleaned the extruder print nozzle, installed a new feedstock canister, extruder head, and print tray in preparation for the next ground controlled printing session. Manufacturing Device consists of the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), a permanent manufacturing facility on the ISS, providing hardware manufacturing services. The ability to manufacture on the ISS enables on-demand repair and production capability, as well as essential research for manufacturing on long-term missions. AMF allows for immediate repair of essential components, upgrades of existing hardware, installation of new hardware that is manufactured, and the manufacturing capability to support commercial interests on the ISS.

 

Quote

On Board Training (OBT) 45 Soyuz (45S) Emergency Drill: All 3 crew members participated in this OBT to practice emergency departure of the ISS. This drill is scheduled when a crew has been on onboard the Station for 12-14 weeks and once every 2.5 months thereafter.

 

Hatch Seal Inspection: The crew performed this scheduled maintenance to clean the USOS hatch seals in Node1, lab, Node2 and Node3. They will also inspect the sealing surface and hatch handle mechanism for Foreign Object Debris (FOD) or damage.

 

ISS Reboost on 64 Progress (63P) Thrusters: Tonight, ground controllers will perform a reboost of ISS using thrusters on 63P currently docked to the Service Module (SM) Aft. This will set up phasing for 65P launch/dock, and 47S landing.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) Shunt Test
Solar Array Voltage Maximum Power Test

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 09/10: Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 9/11: Crew Off Duty
Monday, 9/12: EMU Swap, EMU Loop Scrub and Iodination, Fine Motor, MPEP Install JEMAL

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Normal
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-9-september-2016.html

 

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Napa Students to Speak to Space Station Astronaut Alum

 

Quote

Students at Vintage High School in Napa, California, will have the opportunity to speak with a NASA astronaut living and working aboard the International Space Station at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 14. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

 

Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, a 1996 Vintage High School graduate, will answer questions from the students. Media interested in covering the event should contact Elizabeth Emmett at elizabeth_emmett@nvusd.org. Vintage High School is located at 1375 Trower Ave.

 

In preparation, students have been learning about topics related to Rubins’ research, including DNA sequencing. Rubins launched to the station July 6, and in August, conducted the first DNA sequencing in space. She will return home in October.

 

This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Office of Education’s efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through the agency Office of Education’s STEM on Station activity provides authentic, live experiences in space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing the possibilities of life in space.

http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/napa-students-to-speak-to-space-station-astronaut-alum

 

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International Space Station Calendar

 

Quote

Date                                                      Event

September 6/7, 2016           Soyuz TMA-20M Undocking & Landing

September 23, 2016            Soyuz MS-02 Launch (Ryzhikov, Borisenko, Kimbrough)

September 25, 2016            Soyuz MS-02 Docking

NET September 27, 2016    Cygnus OA-5 Launch atop Antares 230

Fall                                          Russian Satellite Deployment

Fall                                         Satellite Deployments via NRCSD and Kaber

October 2016                       Cygnus OA-5 Departure

October 14, 2016                Progress MS-02 Undocking from Zvezda

October 20, 2016                Progress MS-4 Launch & Docking to Zvezda

October 30, 2016               Soyuz MS Undocking & Landing (Ivanishin, Onishi, Rubins)

http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/

 

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Image of the Day

 

Monday, September 12, 2016:This is a view of a beautiful aurora as seen from the International Space Station. The bright pink, green and blue lights of the aurora dance over the Pacific Northwest, creating not only a spectacular light show for those on Earth, but for those on the space station, too. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and ESA astronaut Tim Peake shared a series of aurora photographs on Twitter on Jan. 20 that were taken during their stay on the orbiting lab. Among them was this photo. — Samantha Mathewson

 

 

larger image link...

 

http://www.space.com/34-image-day.html

 

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Quote

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) -- installed on the outside of the space station -- continued successful Earth observations by capturing images of dust clouds off the coast of Africa. The CATS light detection and ranging system measures the location, composition and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, aerosols and other particulates in the atmosphere using lasers. A better understanding of cloud and aerosol coverage over a long period will help scientists create a better model of Earth's climate system and predict climate changes more precisely.

This image captured as the International Space Station crossed over the west coast of Africa shows the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) mounted to the station on the right and a visible dust cloud extending for miles over the Atlantic Ocean. CATS captures in-depth data of clouds -- dust and condensed vapor -- to help scientists create a better model of Earth's climate system and predict climate changes more precisely.

Credits: NASA

 

from...

Weekly Recap From the Expedition Lead Scientist

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/wklysumm_week_of_29aug16.html

 

CATS – Cloud Aerosol Transport System

indepth analysis

http://spaceflight101.com/iss/cats/

 

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Fairbanks, Alaska, USA September 1, 2016

 

Deep within Alaska’s interior the silty, braided Tanana River lazily flows by Fairbanks. The city lies far north—on the 64th parallel—making it an ideal spot to observe the Aurora Borealis.   Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/fairbanks-20160901/

 

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NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 12 September 2016

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA conducted a six-hour and 48-minute spacewalk on Sept. 1, 2016. The pair successfully retracted a thermal radiator, installed two enhanced high definition cameras (pictured) on the station’s truss and tightened bolts on a joint that enables one of the station’s solar arrays to rotate. The spacewalk was the second for Williams and Rubins in just 13 days, the fifth of Williams’ career and the second for Rubins.Credit: NASA.

 

Quote

Today: Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) reconfiguration: FE-6 performed the teardown and removal of the Heart Cell payload from the MSG.

 

Heart Cells was completed and returned to the ground on SpaceX-9. On Tuesday, the crew will install the Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument Experiment Diffusion Coefficient Mixture (SODI DCMix)-3 into the MSG work volume. The Heart Cell investigation studies the human heart,

specifically how heart muscle tissue contracts, grows and changes (gene expression) in microgravity and how those changes vary among subjects.

 

Understanding how heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, change in space improves efforts for studying disease, screening drugs and conducting cell replacement therapy for future space missions. The main purpose of the SODI DCMix-3 investigation is the measurement of diffusion coefficients of selected ternary mixtures taking advantage of the reduced gravity environment available on board the ISS.

 

Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEMAL) Preparation: FE-5 extended the JEMAL Slide Table into the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) volume and installed the Small Fine Arm (SFA) Attachment Mechanism (SAM) to the table. FE-5 installed the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) on the SAM. The crew reviewed the NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) installation procedure ahead of tomorrow's installation.

 

Fine Motor Skills (FMS): FE-5 and FE-6 performed their FMS sessions this morning. Performing a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet were completed for the Fine Motor Skills investigation. This investigation is critical during long-duration space missions, particularly those skills needed to interact with technologies required in next-generation space vehicles, spacesuits, and habitats. The crewmember's fine motor skills are also necessary for performing tasks in transit or on a planetary surface, such as information access, just-in-time training, subsystem maintenance, and medical treatment.

 

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Suit Maintenance: The crew performed maintenance tasks on EMU 3006 and EMU 3010 including an EMU swap, a loop scrub, a post-loop scrub water sample, suit and ion filter iodination and an EMU conductivity test.

 

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Network Storage (NeST) Mesh Replacement: The crew removed the NeST mesh cover that covers the NeST internal fan inlet, changed out the mesh and replace the cover. The old mesh was vacuumed and stowed. This is nominal maintenance.

 

Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Operations: Today, the Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) and maneuvered the SSRMS to a park position clear of the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer #9 (NRCSD 9) deploy operations scheduled for next week. MSS Performance today was nominal.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities are on schedule unless otherwise noted.
P4 Maximum Voltage Output Test
MSS Mnvr clear for JEMRMS NRCSD Operation.
ACDU-RC Slide Table Validation

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 09/13: Lab MCA pumpdown, Hatch Seal Insp, Biomolecule Sequencer, NRCSD #9 install, SODI setup
Wednesday, 09/14: NORS O2 transfer, PCHx install, Asian Try Zero-G, ELF troubleshooting
Thursday, 09/15: ARED 6 month, JPM window inspection, MDCA H/W replace, ELF troubleshooting

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-12-september-2016.html

 

--------------------------

 

MDA Continues Support for ISS Robotics

 

Dextre at the end of Canadarm2. (Credit: NASA)

 

Quote

RICHMOND, BC (MDA PR) — MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (“MDA” or the “Company”) (TSX: MDA), a global communications and information company, announced today it has signed a contract amendment with the Canadian Space Agency for CA$35 million. The amendment provides funding for continued support to the ongoing robotic operations of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station (ISS).

 

The Mobile Servicing System comprises Canadarm2, the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator known as “Dextre,” and the Mobile Base System.

 

These three robotic systems perform a variety of operations ranging from resupply, maintenance, and servicing tasks on the space station that are critical to the on-going operations of the ISS.

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/09/13/mda-contract/

 

-------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

At Baikonur launch site to perform the operation on refueling ship # SoyuzMS02 fuel components and compressed gases.

 

 

 

 

Quote

Today, on the site 17 Baikonur ceremony of raising the flag of the countries participating in the ship's launch # SoyuzMS02

 

 

 

 

Quote

Sept, 1, 2016
The CAL Science Module and Science Instrument are in the final stages of assembly prior to System Test. The top image (science module) shows the vacuum chamber installed inside a magnetic shield. The bottom image (science instrument) is the quad locker that contains the electronics, lasers, and science module. 

 

http://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/

 

Quote

CAL will be a facility for the study of ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS). It will enable research in a temperature regime and force free environment that is inaccessible to terrestrial laboratories. In the microgravity environment, up to 20 second long interaction times and as low as 1 picokelvin temperatures are achievable, unlocking the potential to observe new quantum phenomena. The CAL facility is designed for use by multiple scientific investigators and to be upgradable/maintainable on orbit. CAL will also be a pathfinder experiment for future quantum sensors based on laser cooled atoms.

CAL is scheduled to launch in June 2017 on a Pressurized Cargo Vehicle in soft-stowage. After docking with ISS the CAL payload will be installed by astronauts into an EXPRESS (EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station) Rack inside the space station (upper picture). The EXPRESS Rack provides a standardized power, data, thermal, and mechanical interface to scientific payloads. CAL will occupy a quad locker space due to its size and power requirements. Following installation the payload will be operated remotely via sequence control from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (lower picture). The initial mission will have a duration of 12 months with up to five years of extended operation.

 

Quote

Science Mission Objectives

 

The CAL science mission objectives are derived from the microgravity decadal survey. CAL utilizes the microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS) to form, create, and study ultra-cold quantum gases. CAL will be a technology and science pathfinder mission with the first ever demonstration of the following areas:

Laser cooling of Rubidium (Rb) in a space environment
Laser cooling of Potassium (K) in any microgravity environment
Dual species laser cooling in a space environment
Magnetic trapping in a space environment
Evaporative cooling in a space environment
Bose Einstein Condensate (BEC) in a space environment
Degenerate Fermi gas in any microgravity environment
Dual species degenerate gases, both Bose-Bose and Bose-Fermi in any microgravity environment
Delta-kick Cooling to temperatures below 100 pK
Interaction times greater than 5 seconds
Atom interferometry in a space environment

http://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/

 

CAL in Express Rack
(front panels removed for clarity)

 

 

-----------------------------------

 

Havana, Cuba September 3, 2016

 

The narrow streets and small plazas of Havana’s historic quarter (right)—a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in the 16th Century—contrast with the wider, tree-lined, streets of the Vedado business district to the west which was built in the 20th century (left).  Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/havana-20160903/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 13 September 2016

 

File photo: Cubesat launch.   NASA

 

Quote

Today: NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) #9 Install: After extending the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) slide table into the cabin, FE-5 installed the NRCSD #9 quad-deployer onto the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform Small Fine Arm Attachment Mechanism (MPEP/SAM) attachments this morning.

The crew then retracted the slide table, closed the JEMAL hatch and depressurized the JEMAL in advance of the deployments tomorrow. NRCSD #9 contains eight Planet Lab Dovesats that will be deployed in pairs of two.

 

Biomolecule Sequencer (BMS): FE-6 removed and thawed samples and flow cells from the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The crew then initiated a 48-hour sequencing run. This sequencing session will be the fourth utilizing the Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) MinION sequencer and Surface Pro 3 tablet. The goals of the BMS experiment are to provide a proof-of-concept for the functionality and evaluate crew operability of a DNA sequencer in a space/microgravity environment. The capability for sequencing of DNA in space could provide for a better ability to identify microbes in real-time, instead of requiring sample return and ground based analysis.

 

Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument Experiment Diffusion Coefficient Mixture-3 (SODI) DCMix-3 Installation: FE-6 successfully installed the European Space Agency's (ESA's) SODI-DCMix-3 experiment into the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG). Once installed, ground controllers will operate the SODI experiment for several weeks. The main purpose of the SODI DCMix-3 investigation is the measurement of diffusion coefficients of selected ternary mixtures taking advantage of the reduced gravity environment available on board the ISS. A combination of different and complementary techniques are used to characterize flight candidate samples among water-based and hydrocarbon mixtures. Experimental results from space experiments, performed in the Selectable Optical Diagnostic Instrument, are used to test thermodiffusion theories and develop physical and mathematical models for the estimation of thermo-diffusion coefficients.

 

Manufacturing Device: FE-6 installed a new medium for the Manufacturing Device. This print medium will be used for a calibration printing followed by a higher priority device contracted through Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). Manufacturing Device consists of the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), a permanent manufacturing facility on the ISS, providing hardware manufacturing services. The ability to manufacture on the ISS enables on-demand repair and production capability, as well as essential research for manufacturing on long-term missions. AMF allows for immediate repair of essential components, upgrades of existing hardware, installation of new hardware that is manufactured, and the manufacturing capability to support commercial interests on the ISS.

 

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Dose Pump Remove and Replace (R&R): The crew has reported multiple WHC Pre-Treat Bad Quality Light (PTBQL) indications over the past several days. This is an indication that the Dose Pump is reaching the end of its nominal six month life. Today, they changed out the Dose Pump to return to nominal WHC operations. The pump was last replaced in March of 2016.

 

Lab Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Return to Operations: During installation of the MCA vacuum jumper in preparation for Lab MCA pumpdown, the crew was unable to mate the jumper to the Waste Gas Quick Disconnect (QD) due to access issues. Ground teams are working alternate options for connecting the MCA to vacuum. This is required to return the Lab MCA to an operational state.

 

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Encoder Remove and Replace (R&R): The JEM Encoder was misconfigured with an off-nominal IP configuration, and could not be accessed. Today, FE-5 replaced the JEM Encoder with an on orbit spare in order to regain functionality.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
JEM Airlock Depress
Battery 4B1 Reconditioning
Lab MCA Pumpout (Aborted)

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 09/14: NORS O2 transfer, PCHx install, Asian Try Zero-G, ELF troubleshooting
Thursday, 09/15: ARED 6 month, JPM window inspection, MDCA H/W replace, ELF troubleshooting
Friday, 09/16: T2 Yearly Maintenance, Plant RNA Regulation

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Normal
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-13-september-2016.html

 

----------------------------

 

NASA Television to Air Launch of Next International Space Station Crew

 

Quote

Press Release From: NASA HQ 

Posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2016

 

Three crew members headed to the International Space Station are scheduled to launch on Friday, Sept. 23. Live launch coverage will begin at 1:15 p.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

 

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, along with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, will launch at 2:16 p.m. from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (12:16 a.m. Sept. 24, Baikonur time). The Expedition 49/50 crew will spend approximately five months together aboard the orbital complex before returning to Earth in late February.

 

Between launch and docking to the space station, the trio will spend two days in the Soyuz MS-02 testing upgrades to the spacecraft’s various systems. The team will dock to the space station’s Poisk module at 3:32 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25. NASA TV coverage of the docking will begin at 2:45 p.m.

 

Hatches between the Soyuz and station will open at approximately 6:10 p.m. Sunday, and NASA TV coverage of hatch opening and welcoming ceremonies will begin at 5:45 p.m. The arriving crew will be welcomed by Expedition 49 Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who have been on the station since July.

 

The soon-to-be six crew members of Expedition 49 will continue work on hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard humanity’s only microgravity laboratory.

 

Check out the full NASA TV schedule and video streaming information at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=49481

 

-------------------------------

 

Three Crew Moving Ahead with Variety of Science

 

Expedition 49 crew members Takuya Onishi and Anatoly Ivanishin work inside the Zvezda service module.

 

Quote

The Expedition 49 trio orbiting Earth inside the International Space Station are less than two weeks away from welcoming three new crew members. As the station residents wait for the new arrivals, they continue conducting space science and maintaining station systems.

 

Commander Anatoly Ivanishin with Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi have been living in space for two months. They are awaiting reinforcements scheduled to join them two days after a Sept. 23 launch from Kazakhstan. Soyuz Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Andrey Borisenko are reviewing their flight plan and familiarizing themselves with the new Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft.

 

Back inside the space station, Commander Ivanishin started his day researching how crew activities affect the station structure and exploring how the circulatory system adapts to microgravity. Afterward, he setup a laptop computer and worked on more science and Russian maintenance tasks.

 

Onishi setup some simple experiments today to show how space affects the flight of a paper plane, a spinning ball and buoyancy among other phenomena. The results were videotaped for sharing to Asian audiences to promote the understanding of spaceflight.

 

Rubins installed a Phase Change Heat Exchanger into an experiment rack. The new Phase Change HX payload will test ways to regulate thermal conditions on future spacecraft.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/14/three-crew-moving-ahead-with-variety-of-science/

 

-----------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

Rehabilitation cosmonauts Ovchinin and O. violins returning Sept. 7 from a six-month flight, passes cleanly

 

 

 

 

Quote

Spacecraft # SoyuzMS02 docked with the transfer compartment -http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22649/ 

 

 

 

 

 

An Orange a Day Keeps Scurvy Away

 

Quote

Centuries ago, ships often sailed with crews numbering in the hundreds returning with tens. Cause of death: Scurvy – a severe depletion of Vitamin C. Today’s explorers cross miles of space with no hope of finding an island with food and nutrients along the way. All nutritional needs must be met aboard.

 

“Nutrition is vital to the mission,” Scott M. Smith, Ph.D., manager for NASA’s Nutritional Biochemistry Lab said. “Without proper nutrition for the astronauts, the mission will fail. It’s that simple.”

 

Smith and his colleagues at NASA’s Human Research Program are tasked with research to understand the requirements for long-duration spaceflight. In their recent publication, Human Adaptation to Spaceflight:  The Role of Nutrition, Smith explains the importance of nutrition to the astronauts and how the spaceflight environment presents even more challenges to eating a healthy diet. For instance, they tend to eat less in space due to being very busy and menu fatigue.  

In space, the astronauts’ environment also impacts their nutrition needs.  Beyond microgravity, higher radiation exposure, higher atmosphere levels of carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity can all have profound effects on health.  Nutrition is important to help counteract some of the effects spaceflight have on the body, such as bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular degradation, impairment of immune function, neurovestibular changes and vision changes. 

 

“We need to make sure we understand the body’s requirements for nutrients, that the food system has those nutrients, and that they are stable over the duration of a long spaceflight,” Smith said. “We can plan for what we know. It’s what we don’t know that’s the challenge.”

more at the link...

http://www.nasa.gov/content/an-orange-a-day-keeps-scurvy-away

 

HRP Nutrition In Space: An Orange a Day Keeps Scurvy Away

video is 2:09 min.

 

 

 

Human adaptation to spaceflight, the role of nutrition, pdf, 151 pages

 

---------------------------

 

Norilsk, Russia September 10, 2016

 

n early September, media reports surfaced that the Daldykan River in northern Siberia had turned bright red. One possible source of the color in the river is this tailings pond near the Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant.   Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/norilsk-20160910/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 14 September 2016

 

Expedition 49 crew members Takuya Onishi and Anatoly Ivanishin work inside the Zvezda service module.Credit: NASA

 

Quote

The Expedition 49 trio orbiting Earth inside the International Space Station are less than two weeks away from welcoming three new crew members. As the station residents wait for the new arrivals, they continue conducting space science and maintaining station systems.

 

Commander Anatoly Ivanishin with Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi have been living in space for two months. They are awaiting reinforcements scheduled to join them two days after a Sept. 23 launch from Kazakhstan. Soyuz Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Andrey Borisenko are reviewing their flight plan and familiarizing themselves with the new Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft.

 

Back inside the space station, Commander Ivanishin started his day researching how crew activities affect the station structure and exploring how the circulatory system adapts to microgravity. Afterward, he setup a laptop computer and worked on more science and Russian maintenance tasks.

 

Onishi setup some simple experiments today to show how space affects the flight of a paper plane, a spinning ball and buoyancy among other phenomena. The results were videotaped for sharing to Asian audiences to promote the understanding of spaceflight.

 

Rubins installed a Phase Change Heat Exchanger into an experiment rack. The new Phase Change HX payload will test ways to regulate thermal conditions on future spacecraft.

 

Quote

Asia Try Zero-G: The crew performed the ASIA TRY ZERO-G experiment. The crew performed science experiments on themes proposed by six different countries throughout Asia. The downlinked video will be used to promote the understanding of space activity for Asian countries.

 

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Troubleshooting: The crew is troubleshooting the ELF facility. The crew removed hardware from the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR)-2 and connected the laptop via USB to provide the ground the ability to load software to the ELF subunits.

Troubleshooting is scheduled to continue through Friday, September 16th. The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) is an experimental facility designed to levitate/melt/solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured, and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved. The ELF is located in the JEM Multipurpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) in Kibo.

 

Phase Change Heat Exchanger (PCHx): The crew began the installation of the PCHx into EXpedite PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack (ER)-8. The crew was initially unable to mate the Low Temperature Loop (LTL) Quick Disconnect (QD) to complete the PCHx installation. After further troubleshooting, the crew was able to mate the LTL supply line, and continued with PCHx Installation. The crew will check for any leaks and ground teams will continue with verification. The primary objective of the PCHx Project is to create a unique test platform utilizing the EXPRESS Rack on the ISS to advance the technology readiness level of phase change heat exchangers for infusion into future exploration vehicles. Phase change material heat exchangers are a useful technology that helps certain space missions in regulating the thermal conditions on their particular spacecraft. They serve as a supplemental heat rejection device during time-varying heat loads and/or transient environments. It does so by storing waste energy by melting a phase change material during peak loads. It can then reject this energy through a radiator when conditions allow, causing the phase change material to freeze.

 

NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) #9 Deployment: Ground controllers deployed the first of four pairs of Planet Lab DoveSats from the NRCSD #9. One solar array on the first cubesat and both solar arrays on the second cubesat deployed early, which was an expected possibility and there are no impacts. The remaining three pairs of cubesats will be deployed through tonight's crew sleep period. This deployment titled "Flock 2" is a fleet of nanosatellites designed, built and operated by Planet Labs Inc., and will enable imagery of the changing planet to be taken on a frequent basis, with humanitarian and environmental applications ranging from monitoring deforestation and the ice caps to disaster relief and improving agriculture yields in developing nations.

 

Nitrogen/Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Setup and Oxygen Transfer: The crew demated and stowed a depleted O2 recharge tank and then installed a new O2 recharge tank and configured NORS to transfer O2 to the US Airlock High Pressure Gas Tanks (HPGTs).

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
JEMRMS retrieval of NRCSD from JEMAL
NRCSD deploy (4)
Phase Change Heat Exchanger activation
Battery 4B1 reconditioning

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 09/15: ARED 6 month, JPM window inspection, MDCA H/W replace, ELF troubleshooting
Friday, 09/16: T2 Yearly Maintenance, Plant RNA Regulation
Saturday, 09/17: Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-14-september-2016.html

 

A Gut Feeling

video is 1:29 min.   good video

 

 

 

----------------------------

 

Weekly Recap From the Expedition Lead Scientist

 

Quote

The day before the three crew members left the station, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins inspected the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) attached to the orbiting laboratory. Expandable habitats are designed to take up less room on a spacecraft while providing greater volume for living and working in space once expanded. It was the first checkup of BEAM since the initial inspection of the space station's expanded node after it was deployed May 28. Rubins collected radiation monitors and sampled surfaces inside BEAM to assess the microbe environment inside the expandable node. Her inspection revealed the module appeared in good condition, and the samples and radiation detectors were packed for return to Earth for analysis. For the next two years, crew members will inspect the module every three months to check for stability.

 

BEAM, the first test of an expandable module, allows investigators to gauge how well the habitat performs -- specifically, how well it protects against solar radiation, space debris and the temperature extremes of space. Durable, reliable and safe expandable structures have applications on Earth as well. Expandable modules can be used as pop-up habitats in disaster areas or remote locations; storm surge protection devices; pipeline or subway system plugs to prevent flooding; fluid storage containers; or hyperbaric chambers for pressurized oxygen delivery.

 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins inspects the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), collecting radiation detectors and microbial samples from various surfaces as part of a regular checkup of the module Sept. 5. BEAM is the first test of an expandable module attached to the station, allowing investigators to gauge how the habitat can protect against solar radiation, space debris and the temperature extremes of space.
Credits: NASA

 

Quote

Station crew members also removed the seventh print from the Additive Manufacturing Facility (Manufacturing Device), installed on the station in 2015. The Manufacturing Device is a 3D printer that uses additive manufacturing to build a part layer by layer using an engineered plastic polymer as raw material. The print completed by the device is an adapter for the station's Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) used to help measure air flow speed and temperature. Later in the week, the device successfully printed an air nozzle part for the OGA.

 

The Manufacturing Device is another step toward a permanent manufacturing capability on the space station. It will enable the production of components and tools on demand in orbit, which will provide further research into manufacturing for long-term missions. The station crew can use it to print a variety of items to perform maintenance, build tools and repair sections in case of an emergency, leading to a reduction in cost, mass, labor and production time. Further research will also help develop this advanced technology for use on Earth.

 

Progress was made on other investigations and facilities this week, including Plant RNA Regulation, ISS Ham, Biomolecule Sequencer, EXPRESS Rack, and the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack.

 

A part created on the Additive Manufacturing Facility on the International Space Station floats in front of one of the station's portals facing Earth. This part will be used in the station's Oxygen Generator Assembly to help measure air flow speed. It helps moves the additive manufacturing technology another step toward printing tools and parts on demand in orbit or on long voyages deeper in space.
Credits: NASA

 

more at the link...

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/wklysumm_week_of_5sep16.html

 

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Quote

Completed Designers inspection of the spacecraft # SoyuzMS02 -http: // the www. roscosmos.ru/22658/ 

 

----------------------------

 

Tolaga Bay, New Zealand September 11, 2016

 

A calm day in the seaside community of Tolaga Bay after a 7.1 quake left the town on an emergency tsunami watch. Shallow water and seaside cliffs can focus the water displaced by an undersea earthquake or landslide, enhancing the Bay’s tsunami risk.   credit Planet.com

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/tolaga-bay-20160911/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 15 September 2016

 

Planet Labs CubeSat deployed from the International Space Station today. Credit: NASA/Planet Labs.

 

Quote

Today: NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) #9 Deployment: Overnight, ground controllers deployed the remaining three of four pairs of Planet Lab DoveSats from the NRCSD #9.

 

This deployment titled "Flock 2" is a fleet of nanosatellites designed, built and operated by Planet Labs Inc., and will enable imagery of the changing planet to be taken on a frequent basis, with humanitarian and environmental applications ranging from monitoring deforestation and the ice caps to disaster relief and improving agriculture yields in developing nations.

 

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Troubleshooting: Following the software load yesterday, FE-5 reassembled the ELF and installed the assembled ELF into the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR)-2 Work Volume. Ground controllers will be performing checkout activities on the new loaded software. The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) is an experimental facility designed to levitate/melt/solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured, and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved. The ELF is located in the JEM Multipurpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) in Kibo.

 

Biomolecule Sequencer (BMS) Sample Stop: FE-6 completed the 48-hour sample session. The crew completed the analysis, captured a screenshot of the Surface Pro 3, and downlinked the screenshot image to the ground for the BMS team to evaluate. The goals of the BMS experiment are to provide a proof-of-concept for the functionality and evaluate crew operability of a DNA sequencer in a space/microgravity environment. The capability for sequencing of DNA in space could provide for a better ability to identify microbes in real-time, instead of requiring sample return and ground based analysis.

 

Manufacturing Device (MD): The crew attempted to remove the printed calibration objects from the Manufacturing Device. Two of three pieces of a print were successfully removed and stowed. The crew was unable to remove the third print from the MD volume. Ground specialists are looking into further steps to remove the print. Manufacturing Device consists of the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), a permanent manufacturing facility on the ISS, providing hardware manufacturing services. The ability to manufacture on the ISS enables on-demand repair and production capability, as well as essential research for manufacturing on long-term missions. AMF allows for immediate repair of essential components, upgrades of existing hardware, installation of new hardware that is manufactured, and the manufacturing capability to support commercial interests on the ISS.

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Window Inspection: The crew inspected JEM Windows for contamination and damage. This inspection documents any contamination or damage there may be on any of the window pane surfaces. The crew stated that no major defects were identified. This is nominal periodic maintenance.

 

Nitrogen/Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Setup and Oxygen Transfer: The crew terminated the NORS transfer O2 to the US Airlock High Pressure Gas Tanks (HPGTs) and reconfigured for transfer to the Low Pressure Gas Tanks (LPGTs). At the end of the day, they terminated the transfer to the LPGT.

 

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Battery 4B1 reconditioning
N2 Distribution system leak check
PCHx Activation

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 09/16: T2 Yearly Maintenance, Plant RNA Regulation
Saturday, 09/17: Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 09/18: Crew Off Duty

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-15-september-2016.html

 

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NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 16 September 2016

 

NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 16 September 2016.   NASA

 

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NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---16-september-2016.html

 

Space to Ground: Be Cool: 09/16/2016

video is 2:14 min.

 

 

 

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Orbital View: EVA in the Shade

 

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams (pictured) and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA conducted a six-hour and 48-minute spacewalk on Sept. 1, 2016.

The pair successfully retracted a thermal radiator, installed two enhanced high definition cameras on the station's truss and tightened bolts on a joint that enables one of the station's solar arrays to rotate. The spacewalk was the second for Williams and Rubins in just 13 days, the fifth of Williams' career and the second for Rubins.

ISS048e069213 (09/01/2016)

 

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/orbital-view-eva-in-the-shade.html

 

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NASA Astronaut Wears Spacesuit Painted by Kids With Cancer

 

An undated handout photo from NASA shows astronaut Kate Rubins aboard the International Space Station wearing a hand-painted spacesuit decorated by childhood cancer patients at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

 

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HOUSTON — 
Some childhood cancer patients will chat Friday with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station wearing a hand-painted spacesuit they helped decorate.

 

NASA says astronaut Kate Rubins will wear the suit, dubbed "Courage," during a 20-minute chat Friday afternoon with patients from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Rubins has a degree in cancer biology. NASA says she will answer questions from the patients.

 

Three hand-painted suits have been created through the project that NASA says is designed "to raise awareness about the benefits of pairing art with medicine."

http://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-astronaut-wears-spacesuit-painted-kids-cancer/3511928.html

 

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Next Station Crew Launch Postponed

 

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Roscosmos decided to postpone the planned September 23, 2016 launch of the spacecraft “Soyuz MS – 02 ” for technical reasons after routine tests at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch date of the spacecraft will be announced later.

http://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/17/next-station-crew-launch-postponed/

 

[Draggendrop 5,748]

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 16 September 2016

 

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 16 September 2016.   NASA

 

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The Expedition 49 trio is looking at plant growth today after the successful deployment of eight nanosatellites Thursday. The crew also inspected a treadmill and trained to care for a sick or injured crew member.

 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins swapped seeds in a cultivator for the Plant RNA Regulation experiment. Some seeds were stowed in a science freezer, the other seeds will be grown in the cultivator for a week to research how microgravity changes a plant's gene expression. Observations may provide new insights on how to grow plants for food and oxygen on long-term spaceflights.

 

Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi thoroughly inspected a treadmill inside the Tranquility module photographing its parts for analysis on the ground. Onishi also took a refresher course to stay up to date on medical procedures and gear in case of a crew illness or injury.

 

Commander Anatoly Ivanishin collected data from a radiation detection experiment and worked maintenance on a variety of Russian systems throughout Friday.

 

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Plant Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) Regulation Harvest: FE-6 removed the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) Seed Cassettes from EMCS Rotors A and B stowed them in an EMCS Cold Stowage Pouch. The removed cassettes were then stowed in MELFI. New Experiment Container (EC) Seed Cassettes were installed into the EMCS and will be grown for approximately one week. Compared to plants grown on the ground, plants grown in space experience broad changes in gene expression, which affects how they grow and develop. The Plant RNA Regulation investigation studies the first steps of gene expression involved in development of roots and shoots. Scientists expect to find new molecules that play a role in how plants adapt and respond to the microgravity environment of space, which provides new insight into growing plants for food and oxygen supplies on long-duration missions.

 

NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) Return: FE-5 extended the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) Slide Table so that ground controllers could install the MPEP following the successful release of the eight Planet Lab DoveSats. The crew then retracted the table back into the JEMAL. The JEMAL will be repressurized next Tuesday, and the NRCSD will be removed next Friday.

 

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) High Definition (HD) Encoder Connectivity - On September 13, the previous AVN 443 HD Encoder in the JEM Module (S/N 1006) was inadvertently misconfigured with the wrong IP address. A spare unit (S/N 1009) was installed but its IP address was incorrect. Ground teams developed a procedure to reset the IP address via the JSL which was successfully executed today.

 

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Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
JEMRMS installation of NRCSD deployer on slide table
Battery 4B1 Reconditioning

 

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 09/17: Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 09/18: Crew Off Duty
Monday, 09/19: Body Measures, HTWS setup, MSL SCA exchange, PWD sample

 

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Reprocess
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-16-september-2016.html

 

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Orbiting Trio Studies Circulatory System and Body Shape

 

Portions of the International Space Station’s solar arrays and Japan’s Kibo lab module are seen as it orbits Sept. 13, 2016, over the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Credit: Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

 

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The three Expedition 49 crew members orbiting Earth right now are moving ahead today with human research and the upkeep of the International Space Station. In the meantime, Roscosmos officials have decided to postpone the Sept. 23 launch of NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft.

 

Expedition 49 Commander Anatoly Ivanishin worked throughout the station’s Russian segment Monday working on life support systems, checking computers and testing video gear. He also set up an electrocardiogram to begin recording data for 24 hours for the Cosmocard blood circulation study.

 

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi partnered up for the Body Measures experiment exploring how living in space changes body shape and size. The study involves video-taping, photographing and tape measuring the circumference of a crew member’s arms, legs and chest and comparing it with data recorded before, during and after a space mission.

 

The pair also performed a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet for the Fine Motor Skills study. That experiment explores how astronauts interact with new technologies which may help engineers design new spacesuits and spacecraft for future long-term space missions.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/19/orbiting-trio-studies-circulatory-system-and-body-shape/

 

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Science in Short: One Billion Base Pairs Sequenced

 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins checks a sample for air bubbles prior to loading it in the biomolecule sequencer. Credits: NASA

 

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When NASA astronaut Kate Rubins’ expedition began, zero base pairs of DNA had been sequenced in space. Within just a few weeks, she and the Biomolecule Sequencer team had sequenced their one billionth base of DNA aboard the orbiting laboratory.

 

“I [have a] genomics background, [so] I get really excited about that kind of stuff,” Rubins said in a downlink shortly after reaching the one billion base pairs sequenced goal.

 

The Biomolecule Sequencer investigation seeks to demonstrate that DNA sequencing in microgravity is possible, and adds to the suite of genomics capabilities aboard the space station. Facilities like WetLab-2, miniPCR and Biomolecule Sequencer will expand opportunities for scientists to utilize the space station for cutting edge molecular research.

Aaron Burton, NASA planetary scientist and principal investigator, put into context the one billionth “base” mark.

 

“For reference, the genome of the virus DNA we sent up is 48,000 bases, the genome of the E. Coli DNA we sent up is 4.6 million bases, and the length of the human genome is 3.2 billion bases,” Burton said. “So if all of the bases we sequenced were from the same organism, in principle, we have collected enough data to sequence the virus genome 20,000 times over, the bacterial genome about 200 times over, and about a quarter of the mouse genome.”

 

Aside from proving the capabilities of the device, data from the sequencing experiments will also be deposited in NASA’s GeneLab database, making them available for study by any researcher to re-analyze and potentially make new discoveries.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/ISS_Science_Blog/2016/09/19/science-in-short-one-billion-base-pairs-sequenced/

 

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Next Station Crew Launch Postponed

 

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Roscosmos decided to postpone the planned September 23, 2016 launch of the spacecraft “Soyuz MS – 02” for technical reasons after routine tests at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch date of the spacecraft will be announced later.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/09/17/next-station-crew-launch-postponed/

 

Quote

Postponed from Sept. 23, 21:17 Moscow Time: A Soyuz-FG rocket to launch the Soyuz MS-02 (No. 732) transport spacecraft with a crew of three from Baikonur to the International Space Station, ISS. (The launch was previously scheduled for Sept. 30, 2016.) The spacecraft was originally scheduled for landing on Feb. 25, 2017, at 08:05 Moscow Time.

 

On September 17, Roskosmos announced that after final tests of the spacecraft, its launch had to be postponed from September 23. The new launch date has not been announced. According to industry sources, the delay was caused by a short circuit, which took place during roll-on of the payload fairing, which protects the spacecraft during its ascent through the atmosphere. The problem was not detected until the vehicle had been rotated back to a vertical position and was being prepared for the second fit check at Site 254 in Baikonur. The situation was complicated by the fact that engineers could not immediately identify the location of the short circuit in the fully assembled spacecraft. Preliminary estimates indicated that such an issue inside the descent module, SA, could require several weeks to fix, however if the problem was in the instrument module, PAO, it could take several months to resolve.

 

In worst case scenario, mission officials might decide to replace the Soyuz vehicle No. 732, which was affected by the problem, with Vehicle No. 733 originally intended for the Soyuz MS-03 mission. According to the official Russian media, the launch of the Soyuz MS-02 might be postponed until at least the beginning of October.

 

On Sept. 19, the Interfax news agency reported that a meeting of the State Commission overseeing the launch was scheduled at the end of the day to make a decision on how to proceed. In the meantime, the three members of the Soyuz MS-02 crew, including Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Andrey Borisenko and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough who were already in Baikonur in preparation for the Sept. 23 liftoff, were now expected to fly back from Baikonur to their training center in Star City near Moscow.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/2016.html#ms02

 

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Malha Wells, Sudan September 13, 2016

 

The village of Malha Wells (lower left)—is located near a small lake in the center of an ancient volcanic crater. The lake provides water in an otherwise arid region of Darfur, Sudan.

 

https://www.planet.com/gallery/malha-wells-20160913/