The Soyuz MS-24 crew ship is docked to the Rassvet module in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 267 miles above the Tasman Sea in between Australia and New Zealand. At left, is the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter and one of its prominent cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays. Credit: NASA
The Expedition 70 crew is unpacking the SpaceXCommonly known as SpaceX, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company that was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, the company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX's ultimate goal is to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft following its arrival early Saturday morning. Meanwhile, the orbital residents are also continuing their research and maintenance activities following the International Space StationThe International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in orbit around the Earth that serves as a research laboratory and spaceport for international collaboration in space exploration. It was launched in 1998 and has been continuously occupied by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world since 2000. The ISS is a joint project of five space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). It orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles), and provides a unique platform for scientific research, technological development, and human space exploration.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>International Space Station’s debris avoidance maneuver last week.
Unloading and Installation of Time-Sensitive Experiments
The hatches are open between Dragon and the orbital outpost following its arrival on Saturday. NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA Flight Engineers Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara monitored Dragon’s arrival and entered the cargo spacecraft less than two hours after its docking. The duo along with Commander Andreas Mogensen and Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa spent a busy weekend unloading time-sensitive experiments for installation and activation aboard the orbital outpost.
As the International Space Station entered orbital nighttime 260 miles above the Southernmost Point of Alaska, shadows can be seen reaching a wall of clouds colored coral from the Sun. Credit: NASA
Continued Transfers and Research on Monday
The foursome worked throughout Monday transferring science freezers stocked with research samples from Dragon into the station and kicking off some of the new investigations. Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) and Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) configured space biology hardware and began offloading some of the 6,500 pounds of new crew supplies and hardware.
Assistance and Maintenance by O’Hara and Moghbeli
O’Hara and Moghbeli assisted the two international astronauts with both the science freezer work and the cargo transfers during the morning. O’Hara then spent the afternoon servicing components on a biological printer, the BioFabrication Facility (BFF), that is testing the printing of organ-like tissues in microgravity. Moghbeli set up new life science hardware, helped with the BFF work, and maintained standard life support and electronics hardware.
Routine Emergency Procedure Review
At the end of the day, the four astronauts joined the space station’s three cosmonauts reviewing updated emergency procedures while the new Dragon cargo spacecraft is docked to the Harmony module’s forward. Dragon will stay attached to Harmony until early December when it will return to Earth filled with station hardware and completed research for retrieval and analysis.
Russian Cosmonauts’ Activities
Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko began his day inside the Poisk airlock checking pressurization gear, then inspected windows on the Zvezda service module, and finally jogged on Zvezda’s treadmill for a fitness evaluation. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub spent much of his day testing a 3D printer to make tools and supplies without depending on cargo missions from Earth. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov deactivated a camera remotely controlled by students on Earth, inspected RoscosmosRoscosmos, also known as the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, is the Russian government agency responsible for space activities, including the development and operation of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and space stations. It was formed in 2015 through the merger of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and the United Rocket and Space Corporation. Roscosmos is responsible for Russia's space program and works closely with other international space agencies on joint projects, such as the International Space Station. The agency is also involved in a wide range of space-related activities, including scientific research, earth observation, telecommunications, and manned spaceflight.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Roscosmos laptop computers, and cleaned ventilation systems.
ISS Debris Avoidance Maneuver
On November 10, the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module engines were fired for five minutes and 16 seconds beginning at 10:07 a.m. to maneuver the complex away from the predicted track of an orbital debris fragment. The maneuver did not affect the rendezvous and docking of NASA’s SpaceX 29th commercial resupply mission, which docked to the space station at 5:07 a.m. on November 11 after launching two days prior.
Source: SciTechDaily
