Expedition 71 thread

[Yellowstone10]

More CubeSat info - Object WQ, another one from the NRCSD27 deployment on 18 April 2024, also reentered on August 29 along with Object WP. It was never officially identified in the Celestrak data set.

Objects WS through WY have been added to the catalog following deployment of 7 Cubesats on J-SSOD#31.

[ddspaceman]

Crew Studies Space Effects on Humans, Prepares Spaceships for Departure

Mark Garcia Posted on September 4, 2024

On Wednesday, the crew aboard the International Space Station continued researching ways to protect the human body from the effects of spaceflight and packed a pair of spaceships for return to Earth.

One common symptom of living in space is called “puffy face” and is the result of body fluids moving toward a crew member’s head caused by living in weightlessness. NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps explored ways to prevent that phenomena that may create health issues including changes in eye structure and vision. The duo first conducted eye checks, then collected blood samples, before Dominick put on a pair of thigh cuffs with assistance from Epps. The thigh cuff is being tested for its ability to reverse the space-caused headward fluid shifts. During the test, a variety of sensors, the Ultrasound 2 device, and blood pressure checks collected Dominick’s health data to determine the effectiveness of the thigh cuff.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent the day loading cargo inside the Boeing Starliner spacecraft for return to Earth. The pair removed Starliner’s crew seats, which will later be reinstalled, for better access when storing the extra cargo, then photographed and inspected the spaceship’s cabin ahead of its hatch closure scheduled for Thursday. Afterward, the veteran astronaut duo conducted a vision test reading characters off an eye chart so eye doctors could assess their visual acuity, or vision sharpness.

The uncrewed Starliner is scheduled to undock from the Harmony module’s forward port at 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday and land in New Mexico about six hours later. Undocking coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. Friday on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the orbital outpost until February when they are scheduled to return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the Crew-9 mission.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt spent their day on a host of standard maintenance tasks on the orbital outpost. Dyson videotaped cable configurations in the Kibo laboratory module, collected and stowed biological samples for analysis, then swapped out orbital plumbing hardware. Barratt configured computer tablets, assisted with the Starliner cargo packing, then transferred files stored on an ultrasonic inspection device to a space station computer.

Expedition 71 Commander Oleg Kononenko from Roscosmos began collecting station hardware and science gear that will soon be packed aboard the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module. He, Dyson, and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub are planning to return home aboard the Soyuz spacecraft in late September. Chub worked throughout Wednesday photographing station surfaces being treated with an experimental disinfectant then collecting air samples for microbial analysis. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin explored futuristic piloting techniques on a computer before setting up Earth observation hardware to image Earth’s atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/09/04/crew-studies-space-effects-on-humans-prepares-spaceships-for-departure/

Stars Glitter Above an Atmospheric Glow

iss071e547091 (Aug. 22, 2024) -- In this long-duration shot taken by NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, stars glitter above a yellow-green atmospheric glow crowning Earth's horizon. The International Space Station was soaring 262 miles above Western Australia as this photo was taken.

[Yellowstone10]

The JEM RMS is grappling the Small Fine Arm (SFA) from its position on the Exposed Facility.

[Targeteer]

I'm getting an ISS visible pass shortly with the Tiangong station 1 minute ahead.  I wonder if the stations can see each other?

PS-- awesome sight with Tiangong appearing to move faster.   

[Yellowstone10]

JEM RMS has picked up the SFA, but doesn't appear to have done anything with it yet.

[ddspaceman]

Ed Van Cise
@Carbon_Flight
My team and I worked with Butch and Suni to finalize the config of the return cargo in Calypso this morning. This afternoon they will do a final check of the cabin and close the hatches between it and @Space_Station. Still on track for undock and landing tomorrow evening.

Landing will be at about 23:03 CDT tomorrow.

https://twitter.com/Carbon_Flight/status/1831696438054568094

[Yellowstone10]

Crew reports that the CST-100 IVA hatch is closed.

[Yellowstone10]

APAS hatch now also closed. Next up is vestibule depress.

[Yellowstone10]

Node 2 forward hatch is now also closed.

[Yellowstone10]

ISS completed a reboost this afternoon, which led to some amusing commentary between Matthew Dominick and the ground controllers regarding an impromptu experiment to see how well (if at all) the accelerometers in their iPads could measure the burn. Sounds like the change was hard-to-impossible to see on the iPad's screen display, but Matt's going to export the .csv results and downlink it to see if the numbers show anything.

CAPCOM concluded with - "We will defer to TOPO's displays for now, though, if that's OK."

[ddspaceman]

NASA Astronaut Matt Dominick talks with Scientific American - Thursday, September 5, 2024

[ddspaceman]

Starliner Nears Departure, Crew Focuses on Space Research

Mark Garcia Posted on September 5, 2024

Mission managers have given the first “go” for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft to undock from the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday and land in New Mexico about six hours later. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finished packing Starliner with cargo and configuring its cabin for return. The duo closed Starliner’s hatch for the final time Thursday afternoon readying the spacecraft for its uncrewed departure.

Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the orbital outpost until February when they are scheduled to return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the Crew-9 mission. Starliner’s departure coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. Friday on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

In the meantime, a multitude of science occurred aboard the orbital outpost on Thursday with the crew exploring microgravity’s effect on the heart and breathing, space botany, fire safety, and Earth observations. Scientists on the ground analyze the research data for unique insights on improving human health on and off the planet as well as promoting Earth and space industries.

Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson kicked off her day wearing a sensor-packed headband and vest while pedaling on an exercise cycle inside the Destiny laboratory module. Her cardio-respiratory data was recorded to a computer helping scientists understand how weightlessness affects a crew member’s blood pressure and breathing.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt photographed and watered plants growing for the C4 Photosynthesis in Space experiment inside the Columbus laboratory module’s Veggie space botany facility. The investigation observes space-caused photosynthesis and plant metabolism changes in two types of grasses growing inside the EXPRESS Rack’s Veggie research device. Results may inform bioregenerative life support systems on future spacecraft and boost fundamental knowledge of botanical processes on Earth.

Fire safety on spacecraft is just as critical and important as fire safety on Earth. However, flames and materials burn differently in the weightless environment requiring a different approach to fire protection. Researchers are using the space station’s Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) to safely study flames in space to learn how to protect spacecraft and space habitats. NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps swapped components and removed burnt samples inside the CIR for a series of experiments exploring space flammability and fire suppression in microgravity.

Pointing his camera out a window in the cupola and toward the Moon, NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick photographed light reflecting off the lunar surface illuminated from Earth, also called earthshine. Measuring changes in Earth’s light reflected from the Moon may help scientists update their climate models and inform the design of future atmosphere observing satellites.

Roscosmos Commander Oleg Kononenko spent his day preparing for upcoming Soyuz spacecraft operations. The five-time station resident is collecting cargo that will soon be packed in the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft for its departure in late September. Afterward, the veteran cosmonaut readied the Poisk module for the Sept. 11 docking of the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship bringing to the orbital lab NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner. Flight Engineers Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin split their day conducting a variety of Roscosmos research and lab maintenance tasks. Chub and Kononenko also participated in eye checks at the end of the day on Thursday.

The ISS Progress 89 cargo craft docked to the Zvezda service module’s rear port fired its thrusters at 3:45 p.m. for 13 minutes today raising the space station’s altitude. The orbital reboost is the third and final maneuver setting up the proper phasing for the arrival of the Soyuz MS-26 next week and Starliner’s undocking opportunity on Friday.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/09/05/starliner-nears-departure-crew-focuses-on-space-research/

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the Harmony module’s forward port.

[ddspaceman]

I'm sure 420.69 is just a coincidence 

Katya Pavlushchenko
@katlinegrey
#ISS orbit correction was performed on September 5 at 19:45 UTC in preparation for the #SoyuzMS25 departure and #SoyuzMS26 arrival. The engines of #ProgressMS28 fired for 781.98 seconds with an impuls of 1.42 m/s and increased the station’s altitude for 2.48 km up to 420.69 km.

https://twitter.com/katlinegrey/status/1831806321378910488

[Yellowstone10]

JEM RMS is retrieving the i-SEEP2 experiment platform from its current location on EFU-11. (JAXA's biweekly schedule indicates that they're retrieving ExBAS, a space exposure experiment.)

[ddspaceman]

NASA
@NASA
Join us for an orbital sunrise 🌍

Astronaut @dominickmatthew captured this time-lapse from the @Space_Station as the orbiting laboratory passed over Europe.

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1831803633794494772

[ddspaceman]

sen
@sen
We are now commissioning our 4K cameras on the International Space Station. This is a timelapse of one of the views we are seeing from our horizon camera...🌎

https://twitter.com/sen/status/1831693269790503027

[Targeteer]

NASA Astronaut Matt Dominick talks with Scientific American - Thursday, September 5, 2024

There was an interesting note during Matt's interview.  He is not using T2, the treadmill, during his stay.  The size and complexity of T2 shows a treadmill might not be a viable option during long duration missions in the solar system.  A comparison will be done when he returns to see if not running for 6+ months shows a significant difference in physical degradation.

[jacqmans]

First metal part 3D printed in space
06/09/2024

ESA’s Metal 3D Printer has produced the first metal part ever created in space.

The technology demonstrator, built by Airbus and its partners, was launched to the International Space Station at the start of this year, where ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen installed the payload in the European Drawer Rack of ESA’s Columbus module. In August, the printer successfully printed the first 3D metal shape in space. 

This product, along with three others planned during the rest of the experiment, will return to Earth for quality analysis: two of the samples will go to ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands (ESTEC), another will go to ESA’s astronaut training centre in Cologne (EAC) for use in the LUNA facility, and the fourth will go to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

As exploration of the Moon and Mars will increase mission duration and distance from Earth, resupplying spacecraft will be more challenging.  Additive manufacturing in space will give autonomy for the mission and its crew, providing a solution to manufacture needed parts, to repair equipment or construct dedicated tools, on demand during the mission, rather than relying on resupplies and redundancies.

ESA’s technology demonstrator is the first to successfully print a metal component in microgravity conditions. In the past, the International Space Station has hosted plastic 3D printers.

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/1831977905251029134

[ddspaceman]

Matthew Dominick
@dominickmatthew
We recently received some neutral density filter films that temporarily go over the windows in the cupola. They act like sunglasses for the windows. These filters allow us to shoot video and photos from inside the cupola that are exposed for both the inside and outside. For camera nerds, the filters are ND 1.2 dimming the outside light by four full stops (4 EV). We got to test it out with the interview below. I am digging up a comparison video as well where one window has a filter and the other does not. 



https://twitter.com/dominickmatthew/status/1832063224084156419