iss International Space Station - Mission Status and Updates (Thread 2)

[Unobscured Vision]

Now I see what I did there ... hah ... well played, sir. 

[DocM]

 

For several years JAXA has been talking about a crew vehicle based on HTV, and the return capsule sure looks like development work in that direction. It could give them independent access to ISS, China's station, LOP-G  and commercial outposts.

Edited November 11, 2018 by DocM

[DocM]

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

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Nov. 16 Soyuz • Progress 71P

 

Launch time: 1814:08 GMT (1:14:08 p.m. EST)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

 

A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 71st Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. Delayed from Oct. 31. [Nov. 13]

 

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Nov. 17 Antares • NG-10

 

Launch time: 0901 GMT (4:01 a.m. EST)

Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia

 

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch the 11th Cygnus cargo freighter on the 10th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-10. The rocket will fly in the Antares 230 configuration, with two RD-181 first stage engines and a Castor 30XL second stage. Delayed from March and Nov. 10. Moved forward from Nov. 17. Delayed from Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 by poor weather forecast. [Nov. 15]

https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Russia’s Cargo Craft Blasts Off to Station for Sunday Delivery

 

Russia’s Progress 71 cargo craft blasts off on time to the International Space Station for a Sunday delivery.

 

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Carrying almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the International Space Station crew, the unpiloted Russian Progress 71 cargo spacecraft launched at 1:14 p.m. EST (12:14 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, Baikonur) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

 

At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying about 252 statute miles over southern Kazakhstan.

 

The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned. The Russian cargo craft will make 34 orbits of Earth before docking to the orbiting laboratory at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. NASA Television coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 1:45 p.m.

 

Progress 71 will remain docked at the station for more than four months before departing in March for its deorbit in Earth’s atmosphere.

 

Crew aboard the space station are scheduled to receive two cargo resupply missions in the coming days. Tomorrow, launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with Cygnus cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station is targeted for 4:01 a.m. from Pad 0A of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. NASA TV will provide launch broadcast coverage online beginning at 3:30 a.m. A Cygnus launch Saturday would result in capture and berthing on Monday, Nov. 19.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/11/16/russias-cargo-craft-blasts-off-to-station-for-sunday-delivery/

 

Space Station News - Russia’s Cargo Craft Blasts Off to Station - Nov. 16 2018

video is 1:41 min

 

 

 

Launch photo from the ISS! Photo taken by cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev

 

 

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U.S. Spaceship Lifts Off for Station Delivery Mission

 

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft blasted off at 4:01 a.m. EST today loaded with about 7,400 pounds of science, supplies and goodies for the station crew. Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

 

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Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off at 4:01 a.m. EST and is on its way to the International Space Station.

At about 5:45 a.m., commands will be given to deploy the spacecraft’s solar arrays. Coverage will continue on NASA TV at  http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv at 5 a.m. for solar array deployment, which is expected to last about 30 minutes.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/11/17/u-s-spaceship-lifts-off-for-station-delivery-mission/

 

NG CRS-10: Antares 230 launches SS John Young Cygnus spacecraft

video is 6:19 min.

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Russian Cargo Craft Docks to Station and Delivers Goods

 

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Traveling about 252 miles over Algeria, the unpiloted Russian Progress 71 cargo ship docked at 2:28 p.m. EST to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

 

In addition to the arrival of Progress today, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft is on its way to the space station with about 7,400 pounds of cargo after launching at 4:01 a.m. Saturday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

 

The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the orbital laboratory Monday, Nov. 19. Expedition 57 astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA and Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) will use the space station’s robotic arm to grapple Cygnus about 5:20 a.m. Watch installation coverage beginning at 4 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/11/18/russian-cargo-craft-docks-to-station-and-delivers-goods/

 

Nov. 18, 2018: International Space Station Configuration. Three spaceships are docked at the space station including the Progress 70 and Progress 71 resupply ships and the Soyuz MS-09 crew ship.

 

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Now this is wicked....liftoff and 3 stages of separation starting at the 2:00 mark...we don't see this often

 

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Video from the onboard camera of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle, which on November 16 withdrew a cargo ship into orbit on #ПрогрессМС10 🚀 November 18, the space truck successfully docked to the ISS!

https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1064262469475069954

 

 

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[Draggendrop Veteran]

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Today's arrival of the Cygnus space freighter from @NorthropGrumman makes four spaceships parked at the space station. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/visiting-vehicle-launches-arrivals-and-departures …

https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1064673442560122882

 

image by NASA

 

[Jim K Global Moderator]

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

This one is a treat. Not often that we get to see boosters attached to a Soyuz (MS launch)...here is MS-11 being assembled.

 

This is definitely due to the last incident...a show of careful ops and precision...as it should be.

 

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#СоюзМС11: Baikonur carried out the work on assembling the "package" (first and second stage units) of the Soyuz-FG launcher, intended for the launch of Soyuz MC-11 spacecraft into orbit. Launch of Soyuz-FG launch vehicle with Soyuz MC-11 manned spacecraft scheduled for December 3

Video at the link...

https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1066002518419955712

 

https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1066002518419955712

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

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Events due

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2018

December 3  11:31:53 / 17:36 - Soyuz MS-11 (57S) launch and docking (to Poisk) [Exp 57/58: Kononenko, McClain, Saint-Jacques]

NET December 4  18:38 - Dragon SpX-16 launch [GEDI, RRM3 in trunk]

NET December 6  ~11:00 / ~13:30 - Dragon (SpX-16) capture and berthing (to Harmony nadir) by SSRMS

December 11  16:03-22:00 - spacewalk (ISS Russian EVA-45a) from Pirs airlock [Kononenko, Prokopiev]

December 20  01:42 / 04:09 / 05:03 - Soyuz MS-09 (55S) undocking (from Rassvet), deorbit and landing [Exp 56/57: Prokopiev, Gerst, Auñón-Chancellor]

December 27 - ISS orbit's reboost by Progress MS-10 engines

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32006.820

 

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#СоюзМС11: Specialists of RSC Energia in the installation and testing Corps at Baikonur Baikonur conducted an author's inspection of the manned spacecraft Soyuz MC-11 and performed technological operations on Nakake of the head fairing of the Soyuz-FG rocket carrier

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Draggendrop

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Saw this back when it happened and forgot to post about it...here it is...

 

 

 

JAXA shows ISS recovery capsule to media

 

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Japan's space agency, JAXA, has showcased a capsule that returned from the International Space Station and announced that its technology basically works.

On Tuesday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency showed the capsule to media for the first time at its facility in Tsukuba City, north of Tokyo.

The cone-shaped capsule, with an 80-centimeter diameter bottom, was shown to the media disassembled.

A parachute used to land it on the ocean and a container that features thermos bottle technology were also put on display.

The recovery capsule containing protein for medical research returned to Earth, in a first for Japan. It landed in the Pacific Ocean on November 11.

It detached from the Kounotori 7 transfer vehicle, which had undocked from the ISS. The capsule reentered Earth's atmosphere and was exposed to temperatures of about 2,000 degrees Celsius.

JAXA officials say the temperature inside the container was kept as designed, at about 4 degrees Celsius.

The officials also say they have confirmed through microscopic observations that the protein crystalized at the space station has retained its crystal state and can be used in future experiments.

Currently, only the US and Russia have capsule recovery technology.

The mission is attracting attention in Japan as it could pave the way for the country's manned space exploration in the future.

JAXA project leader Kota Tanabe gave full marks to Japan's first capsule recovery.

He said his team wants to develop a system to bring a capsule back to Earth without a cargo spacecraft like Kounotori.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20181127_23/

 

[DocM]

/sigh....

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

/smh ....

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Here is a gif that makes you smile...

 

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Ahhhh ...  You're right. Smile upon my face.  

[DocM]

Dragon and Cygnus have proven to be very wise investments.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

Back to 6 crew until December 20th

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Soyuz FG rocket cam from Crew launch yesterday, MS-11

 

 

Nice "Korolev cross"....no bumpsies here...

[Unobscured Vision]

Issue with the TDRS. Moving the Dragon to 30m holding position until the next one comes into range.

 

For the love of ... it was literally ten meters from the Canada Arm, in the grapple position.

 

/sigh ... 

 

NASA. Getting nothing done quickly or easily since 1974.  It was right there.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Coverage of Dragon berthing...

 

running a bit late ...

 

NASA youtube channel

 

Dragon in the Grips of Robotic Arm, Installation Occurs Next

 

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While the International Space Station was traveling about 250 miles over the Pacific Ocean north of Papua New Guinea, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor, captured the Dragon spacecraft at 7:21 a.m. EST using the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Ground controllers will now send commands to begin the robotic installation of the spacecraft on bottom of the station’s Harmony module. NASA Television coverage of installation is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Watch online at www.nasa.gov/live.

The Dragon lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Wednesday, Dec 5 with more than 5,600 pounds of research, equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of investigations aboard the orbiting laboratory.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/12/08/dragon-in-the-grips-of-robotic-arm-installation-occurs-next/

 

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Capture confirmed! Dragon was captured at 4:21 a.m. PST while flying over Papua New Guinea. Dragon will spend about five weeks at the @Space_Station.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1071380080880902144

 

 

Almost there now...

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

which is a lot better than this sighting...

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

good video.

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On December 11 cosmonauts Sergey Prokopiev and Oleg Kononenko will go out into the open space. The main works will be carried out on the outside of the ship #СоюзМС09. The opening of the exit Hatch is at 19:05 MSK. The estimated duration is 6 hours. The broadcast will be available on our website

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RSC Energia specialists developed a special cyclogram of a walk in open space and conducted a training session on Earth. Read more in the story of RSC Energia.

https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1072122550904336384

 

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Coverage Set for Russian Spacewalk at International Space Station

 

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Two Russian cosmonauts will venture outside the International Space Station at 11 a.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 11, to conduct a six-hour spacewalk. Live coverage will begin at 10 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

 

Expedition 57 Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos will use this spacewalk to examine a section of the external hull of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft currently docked to the space station. In late August, a pressure leak occurred on the space station that was traced to the Soyuz.

 

Within hours after finding the source of the leak, the Expedition 56 crew sealed the hole and the station has since maintained a steady pressure.

 

The cosmonauts will take samples of any residue found on the hull and take digital images of the area before placing a new thermal blanket over it. The samples and images will provide additional information that will aid the investigation into the cause of the pressure leak. The cosmonauts also will retrieve science experiments from Rassvet before heading back inside.

 

Kononenko, extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), will wear a spacesuit bearing red stripes on this spacewalk, the fourth of his career. Prokopyev, on his second spacewalk, will bear blue stripes as EV2.

 

Prokopyev, NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst are scheduled to depart the station in the Soyuz MS-09 at 8:42 p.m. Dec. 19, returning home to Earth after a six-and-half-month mission. 

 

 

 

Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev lays cable for the installation of the Icarus animal-tracking experiment on the Zvezda service module during a spacewalk that lasted 7 hours 46 minutes. Fellow cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev (out of frame) joined Prokopyev during the spacewalk which also saw the deployment of four nano-satellites and the retrieval of a materials exposure experiment on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.
Credits: NASA

 

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/coverage-set-for-russian-spacewalk-at-international-space-station

Edited December 11, 2018 by Draggendrop

[Draggendrop Veteran]

One minute there are complaints of some prior Dragon out gassing, when Dragon is the only vehicle parked by a particular sensor...

 

Then we have "home renovations" live in space with thermal material flying everywhere...

 

I couldn't make this stuff up...

 

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In other news...

 

NASA TV to Air International Space Station Crew Landing

 

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Press Release From: NASA HQ 
Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2018

 

Three residents of the International Space Station, including one NASA astronaut, are scheduled to wrap up their stay aboard the orbital laboratory Wednesday, Dec. 19. Live coverage of their return to Earth will air on NASA Television and the agency's website.

 

NASA Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will close the hatch to their Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft and undock from the station's Rassvet module, with a landing scheduled for 12:03 a.m. EST Dec. 20 (11:03 a.m. Kazakhstan time) southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.

 

The crew is completing a 197-day mission spanning 3,152 orbits of Earth and a journey of 83.3 million miles. Auñón-Chancellor and Prokopyev are completing their first flights into space, while Gerst will be returning from his second long-duration mission. With a total of 362 days in orbit, Gerst will hold the flight duration record among ESA astronauts.

 

Coverage of the Expedition 57 departure and landing activities is as follows (all times EST):

 

Tuesday, Dec. 18

4:40 p.m. – Change of command ceremony with Gerst handing over station command to Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos.

 

Wednesday, Dec. 19

4:45 p.m. – Farewell and hatch closure coverage (hatch closure at 5:30 p.m.) 

7:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage (undocking scheduled for 8:40 p.m.) 

10:45 p.m. – Deorbit burn and landing coverage (deorbit burn at 11:10 p.m. and landing at 12:03 a.m. Dec. 20)

 

After landing, the crew will return by helicopter to the recovery staging area in southern Kazakhstan, where they will split up to travel to their respective homes. 

 

At the time of undocking, Expedition 58 will formally begin aboard the station, with NASA's Anne McClain, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Kononenko comprising a three-person crew for just under three months. The next residents to the space station — Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos — will launch aboard Soyuz MS-12 Feb. 28, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, to join Expedition 58 following a six-hour journey. 

http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=53495

 

 

Next Crew Up...

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Expedition 59-60
Launch: Feb. 28, 2019

Crew:
Alexey Ovchinin
Nick Hague
Christina Koch

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/future.html

 

 

 

NASA Astronaut Nick Hague Set for New Space Station Mission After Abort

 

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Editor's note: The sixth paragraph was updated to reflect the accurate reasoning for why NASA recognizes Nick Hague as a flown astronaut. Because Hague and Ovchinin launched and landed in a spacecraft on an intended mission to the International Space Station, NASA considers them to have achieved the status of flown astronauts, making this Hague’s second spaceflight and Ovchinin’s third.

 

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, who was forced to abort his recent mission to the International Space Station, is scheduled to launch again Feb. 28, 2019, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

 

Hague will launch with Alexey Ovchinin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, who was his commander and crewmate on the aborted mission in October, and NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft. The trio will join the station’s Expedition 59 crew and return to Earth in October 2019 as members of Expedition 60. Hague and Koch will serve as flight engineers for Expeditions 59 and 60. Ovchinin will serve as a flight engineer on Expedition 59 and the commander of Expedition 60.

 

Hague will be available for media interviews at 7 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 7. To schedule an interview, media must contact Megan Sumner at megan.c.sumner@nasa.gov or 281-483-5111 by noon Thursday, Dec. 4.

 

All three crew members will participate in a news conference at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The news conference will air live on NASA TV and the agency’s website. To participate in person, media must contact Johnson’s newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m. on Dec. 11 for credentials. To participate by phone, media must contact Johnson’s newsroom by 1:45 p.m. Dec. 12. 

 

During their mission, the station crew will take part in about 250 research investigations and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth to advance scientific knowledge of Earth, space, physical, and biological sciences. Science conducted on the space station continues to yield benefits for humanity and will enable future long-duration human and robotic exploration on missions to the Moon and Mars. The crew also is scheduled to be onboard during the first test flights of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches to U.S. soil.

 

This will be Koch’s first spaceflight. Hague and Ovchinin were scheduled to join the station’s Expedition 57 crew on Oct. 11, but were forced to abort their mission when their Soyuz’s rocket booster experienced a malfunction shortly after launch. Because Hague and Ovchinin launched and landed in a spacecraft on an intended mission to the International Space Station, NASA considers them to have achieved the status of flown astronauts, making this Hague’s second spaceflight and Ovchinin’s third.

more at the link...

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronaut-nick-hague-set-for-new-space-station-mission-after-abort