Новости МКС

[tnt22]

 Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 2 мин. назад

After Dragon and #Starliner, NASA will look to schedule the remaining EVAs (spacewalks) for Station in January timeframe. #NASA #SpaceX #CRS19 #Falcon9 #Dragon

[tnt22]

 Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 1 мин. назад

38 science investigations enabled by Dragon's launch. Bringing back 54 experiments. #NASA #SpaceX #CRS19 #Falcon9 #Dragon

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/12/03/crew-training-for-two-new-cargo-missions-launching-this-week/

Crew Training for Two New Cargo Missions Launching This Week

Mark Garcia
Posted Dec 3, 2019 at 4:20 pm


Astronaut Luca Parmitano carries the new thermal pump system that was installed on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during the third spacewalk to upgrade the AMS.

The Expedition 61 crew aboard the International Space Station is focusing on a pair of upcoming cargo deliveries after completing a spacewalk on Monday.

SpaceX will launch its 19th Dragon resupply ship aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday at 12:51 p.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon is delivering nearly three tons of cargo to the orbiting lab including new science hardware such as the
Confined Combustion study, Japan's Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) and the AzTechSat-1 cubesat developed by Mexican students.

Commander Luca Parmitano and Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan are training to capture Dragon with the Canadarm2 robotic arm when it arrives Saturday at 5:58 a.m. Robotics controllers will take command of the Canadarm2 and then install Dragon to the Harmony module's Earth-facing port.

Parmitano and Morgan wrapped up a spacewalk on Monday having replaced a thermal pump system on the station's cosmic particle detector. They joined fellow astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch at the end of the day Tuesday with a call to Mission Control about their spacewalk experience.

The space station is also preparing for the arrival of Russia's Progress 74 (74P) cargo craft set for launch on Friday at 4:34 a.m. The 74P will take a three-day trip to the station and dock Monday Dec. 9 at 5:38 a.m. Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka checked out the tele-robotically operated rendezvous unit (TORU) today in the unlikely event they would need to remotely maneuver the 74P to a docking.

[tnt22]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-launching-rits-a-robot-hotel-to-the-international-space-station

Dec. 3, 2019

NASA Launching RiTS, a 'Robot Hotel' to the International Space Station

Sometimes robots need a place to stay in space, too. NASA is attaching a "robot hotel" to the outside of the International Space Station with the upcoming launch of the Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a protective storage unit for critical robotic tools.

RiTS is set to launch on Dec. 4 aboard the 19th SpaceX commercial resupply mission. Its first residents will be two Robotic External Leak Locators (RELL). Outfitted with mass spectrometers capable of "sniffing" out the presence of gases such as ammonia, these robotic tools are used to detect leaks fr om the station. Two RELL units are on board the station right now: the first RELL launched in 2015, and it proved to be such a success that a second RELL was launched as a backup earlier this year.

"For each of its stored tools, RiTS will provide heat and physical protection from radiation and micrometeroids, or tiny, high-speed objects hurtling through space," said Mark Neuman, RiTS hardware manager. "Its thermal system maintains ideal temperatures for the instruments, helping them stay functional." Having this housing unit in place will also help the space station's robotic arm, Dextre, easily locate, grab and put back these important tools.


RELL Engineering Development Unit (left) pictured alongside RiTS flight unit that will fly to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX-19.
Credits: NASA

In space, storage is especially important. Keeping RELL inside the station takes up space that could be used for other scientific hardware and experiments.

Additionally, the process of deploying RELL takes much longer when the tool is not externally stored. RELL is a robotic tool operated remotely by mission controllers on the ground, created to facilitate space station repairs, but requires crew schedule and airlock availability to bring RELL outside the station with the use of station's Dextre robotic tool.

Once outside the station, RELL currently needs to wait 12 hours in space before it can be used. This allows for RELL's extremely sensitive gas analyzer to clear itself of water vapor and other gases from inside the station, essentially giving the instruments a clean slate. Because of this extensive process, it could take multiple weeks or even months from the time a leak is suspected, to the time RELL is deployed, to then find out wh ere it is coming from. With RiTS, this entire process would only depend on Dextre's availability, greatly expediting the search for leaks.

To keep spacecraft like the International Space Station cool, NASA uses a complicated network of ammonia pumps, reservoirs and radiators — like a much more advanced housing air conditioning system. This vast network has thousands of feet of tubing and hundreds of joints.

However, over its lifetime, the space station has accumulated occasional small ammonia leaks at its joints, often as a result of micrometeroids. While not a safety risk to the crew, these microscopic leaks can impact the cooling system's efficiency, which relies on ammonia to maintain habitable temperatures for the crew and equipment on board.

"This hardware will significantly reduce time and cost for the station crew to deploy leak detection capabilities using Dextre." said NASA Senior Systems Integration Lead Chris Craw. "With RiTS, we'll have easier and faster access to RELL, which can help ensure our astronauts' safety in space."

After its launch, RiTS will be installed through a special spacewalk by astronauts, and it will then stay on the outside of the station. RiTS even mounts to the robotic platform that moves Dextre up and down the external rails on station and ensures a RELL tool will always be accessible.


RiTS spacewalk install procedures being tested in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Credits: NASA

Human and robotic collaborations like these can be applied to more than just the space station, including potential exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. For example, RiTS and RELL's capabilities could be employed to detect potential leaks occurring from future human habitats on lunar and other planetary surfaces, as well as the Lunar Gateway.

RiTS was developed by the Satellite Servicing Projects Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

By Isabelle Yan
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Last Updated: Dec. 3, 2019
Editor: Rob Garner

[tnt22]

https://tass.ru/kosmos/7258571

4 ДЕК, 01:37
У российских космонавтов на МКС на новогодние праздники будет один выходной
Космонавты смогут отдохнуть только 1 января

МОСКВА, 4 декабря. /ТАСС/. Российские космонавты, которые находятся на МКС, отдохнут на Новый год только 1 января. Об этом сообщили ТАСС в пресс-службе Роскосмоса.

"На новогодние праздники у космонавтов Роскосмоса будет один выходной - 1 января", - отметили в госкорпорации.

Как пояснили в Роскосмосе, в остальные дни "космонавты работают в обычном режиме".

У россиян новогодние каникулы начнутся 1 января, на работу после праздников они выйдут 9 января.

Сейчас на МКС находятся российские космонавты Александр Скворцов и Олег Скрипочка, астронавты NASA Кристина Кук, Эндрю Морган и Джессика Меир, а также представитель Европейского космического агентства Лука Пармитано (Италия).

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

ISS National Lab Mission Overview, SpaceX CRS-19

ISS National Lab

3 дек. 2019 г.

The International Space Station (ISS) is poised to receive a multitude of critical research and supplies as part of SpaceX's 19th commercial resupply services mission (SpaceX CRS-19) to the orbiting laboratory. This video provides an overview on some of the investigations destined for the ISS National Lab on this mission.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvdEohK-tL0?feature=oembed (2:42)

[tnt22]

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-television-to-air-space-station-cargo-ship-launch-docking

Dec. 3, 2019
MEDIA ADVISORY M19-131

NASA Television to Air Space Station Cargo Ship Launch, Docking


The Russian Progress 72 cargo craft is pictured shortly before undocking from the Pirs docking compartment of the International Space Station on July 29, 2019. The Progress 74 spacecraft is scheduled to launch Dec. 6, 2019, and dock at the same compartment two days later.
Credits: NASA

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station beginning at 4:15 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 6.

The Russian Progress 74 is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz rocket at 4:34 a.m. (2:34 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The spacecraft is expected to dock to the Pirs compartment on the station's Russian segment at 5:38 a.m. Monday, Dec. 9. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 4:45 a.m.

Progress 74 will remain docked at the station for more than seven months, departing in July 2020 for its deorbit into the Earth's atmosphere.

-end-

Last Updated: Dec. 3, 2019
Editor: Karen Northon

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/12/03/spacex-cargo-mission-combines-mighty-mice-fires-and-beer/

SpaceX cargo mission combines mighty mice, fires and beer research
December 3, 2019 | Stephen Clark


NASA astronaut Jessica Meir works with an experiment on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

A nest of genetically-engineered mice, a research study to observe the behavior of fires in space, and an experiment that could lead to brewing beer in microgravity are among more than 5,700 pounds of cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule awaiting launch fr om Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station Wednesday.

Scientists will use the mice to study an experimental drug that could combat muscle and bone loss in astronauts and other vulnerable populations.

Eight of the 40 mice launching to the space station have been genetically-engineered to lack myostatin, a protein that acts to limit muscle growth in animals. The muscle-bound, myostatin-free mice — or "mighty mice" — will be joined by four other groups of rodents, including groups that will be given an experimental drug in space to block myostatin activity and promote muscle growth.

All 40 mice will return to Earth alive on the Dragon capsule in early January. Scientists will administer the same myostatin protein blocker to some of the mice after they are back on the ground to assess how the drug affects their rate of recovery.

"The focus of this project is going to be to determine whether getting rid of myostatin in mice that we send to the International Space Station can prevent, or at least mitigate, the loss of muscle due to microgravity," said Se-Jin Lee, professor at the Jackson Laboratory and University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and principal investigator for the rodent research experiment.

The drug trial to be administered to the mice on the space station also inhibits activin, a protein that regulates bone mass.

"By blocking activin with this drug, bone density increases significantly," said Emily Germain-Lee, a co-investigator on the experiment and professor at University of Connecticut School of Medicine. "And as you probably know, astronauts who spend a lot of time in space lose not only muscle mass, but also bone mass.

"Anything that can be done to prevent muscle and bone loss would be very important to maintaining the health of astronauts during space travel," Germain-Lee said. "But ... loss of bone mass is also a huge health problem for people here on Earth. There are actually lots of diseases that lead to bone loss in both children and adults. And, of course, osteoporosis is a big health issue for people who are elderly or bedridden.

"By testing this experimental drug in life subjected to microgravity, we hope to be able to test the therapeutic strategies for combating both the bone loss and muscle loss that occur in lots of different conditions," Germain-Lee said.

The resupply launch Wednesday will signal the start of SpaceX's 19th cargo mission to the space station, ferrying more than a ton of experiment hardware inside the pressurized compartment of the company's Dragon spacecraft. The supply ship will also launch with provisions for the space station's six-person crew, spare parts, tools, an ultra-sensitive Japanese Earth-imaging camera, and a flock of small tech demo CubeSats.

SpaceX ground teams were loading time-critical payloads late Tuesday into the Dragon capsule mounted to the Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad. Technicians planned to close the Dragon spacecraft's hatch and raise the 213-foot-tall (65-meter) launcher vertical at pad 40 before dawn Wednesday.


The Dragon spacecraft set to launch Wednesday is seen here on a previous visit to the space station. Credit: NASA

... The cargo freighter will arrive at the station early Saturday, assuming an on-time launch Wednesday.

Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA flight engineer Drew Morgan will man the space station's Canadian-built robot arm to capture the Dragon supply ship Saturday. The robotic arm will position the Dragon spacecraft on the station's Harmony module, wh ere astronauts will open hatches and begin unpacking the cargo inside the supply ship's internal compartment.

The Dragon cargo capsule set for launch Wednesday will make its third voyage to the space station, following two previous round-trip flights in 2014 and 2017.

Here is a break-down of the Dragon spacecraft's 5,769-pound (2,617-kilogram) supply load. The figures below do not include the mass of cargo packaging, which is included in NASA's overall payload mass:

[/li]
• Science Investigations:    2,154 pounds (977 kilograms)
  
• Vehicle Hardware:                675 pounds (306 kilograms)
  
• Crew Supplies:                     564 pounds (256 kilograms)
  
• Spacewalk Equipment:        141 pounds (65 kilograms)
  
• Computer Resources:           33 pounds (15 kilograms)
  
• Unpressurized Payloads: 2,037 pounds (924 kilograms)
  

The Dragon spacecraft will carry an experiment for Anheuser-Busch to test the malting ability of barley seeds in microgravity. The company eventually wants to brew beer in space.

Gary Hanning, director of global barley research at Anheuser-Busch, said the company's malting experiment is the third in a series of investigations looking at how the environment of space affects brewing processes."

"This series has been constructed to look at the impact of space environment on the germination process of barley," Hanning said. "So the germination processes is taking seed and creating the new plant from that, and so that's a very key step in the life cycle of any plant, and particularly important to malting barley. So much of our research on earth is focused on seed germination and the environmental impacts that would affect seed germination, as well as physiological effects."

Hanning said Anheuser-Busch's experiments in space have given the company's research team a new perspective.

"From our previous studies on the space station, we've noted that the gene expression — that's the genes that are turned on or turned off and to what degree — are different on the space station then they are on Earth," he said. "We think it's a response to the stress, because it's an abnormal environment, so there's a stress related there. So ogene expression is a part of that cascade of events as part of germination."

The experiment launching on SpaceX's next cargo mission will look at hardware solutions to support barley malting on the space station.

"Malting is basically a biological process," Hanning said. "It is to convert barley into a product called malt, which is used in a lot of food and beverage applications. Malting is actually a three-step process," he added, beginning with the steeping, or hydration, of barley grains, followed by germination and drying.

The Anheuser-Busch experiment will launch with just 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of barley grains, separated into two units.

Another research payload aboard the Dragon spacecraft will allow scientists to observe flame behavior in confined spaces in microgravity.

The Dragon capsule's external cargo bay is loaded with a Japanese Earth-imaging instrument with high spectral sensitivity. The Hyperspectral Imager Suite, or HISUI, instrument will image Earth's surface in 185 spectral bands, allowing scientists to distinguish between the composition and type of a range of vegetation, soil, rocks, snow, ice, and human-made objects like buildings, roads and other structures.

Using the robotic arm, the HISUI instrument will be mounted to a fixture outside the station's Japanese Kibo lab module. It's a follow-up to the Japanese-developed ASTER instrument on NASA's Terra satellite, which launched in 1999.

[tnt22]

https://tass.ru/kosmos/7263675

4 ДЕК, 15:57
NASA установит блок для хранения автоматических приборов на внешней стороне МКС
Блок будет доставлен на станцию 7 декабря грузовым кораблем Dragon

ВАШИНГТОН, 4 декабря. /ТАСС/. Американское космическое ведомство NASA установит на внешней поверхности Международной космической станции (МКС) специальный блок RiTS (Robotic Tool Stowage), предназначенный для хранения автоматических приборов. Об этом NASA сообщило во вторник на своем сайте.

В блоке, прозванном "отелем для роботов", будет храниться оборудование, которое не используется астронавтами на постоянной основе. Это позволит освободить помещения внутри станции, указали в NASA.

"Теплозащитная система блока обеспечит хранение аппаратов в оптимальных температурных условиях. Кроме того, RiTS способен защитить их от радиации и микрометеоритов", - указал руководитель проекта разработки "отеля для роботов" Марк Ньюмэн.

RiTS будет доставлен на станцию 7 декабря грузовым кораблем Dragon калифорнийской компании SpaceX. Старт корабля с космодрома на мысе Канаверал (штат Флорида) запланирован на 4 декабря. На его борту находятся три тонны различных грузов для экипажа МКС, включая материалы для проведения научных экспериментов.

В RiTS первыми поместят два прибора RELL (Robotic External Leak Locator - Внешний роботизированный локатор утечек). С помощью этого аппарата можно определить источник утечки аммиака в системе охлаждения различных устройств на МКС, в том числе в системе жизнеобеспечения астронавтов.

По словам представителей NASA, астронавтам, если возникнет необходимость использовать RELL, не нужно будет выходить в открытый космос, чтобы вернуть оборудование на МКС, поскольку с этой задачей позволит справиться "рука"-манипулятор Dextre.

В настоящее время на станции работают россияне Александр Скворцов и Олег Скрипочка, американцы Эндрю Морган, Кристина Кук и Джессика Меир , а также представитель Европейского космического агентства итальянец Лука Пармитано.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

What Launches to Space On SpaceX's 19th Cargo Mission?

NASA

4 дек. 2019 г.

On its 19th resupply mission, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will deliver cutting-edge scientific experiments to crew members aboard the International Space Station.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/w6BP5H7VOIU (5:26)

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex/2019/12/04/crs-19-launch-scrubbed-due-to-winds/

CRS-19 Launch Scrubbed Due to Winds

Danielle Sempsrott
Posted Dec 4, 2019 at 12:20 pm

This morning's launch attempt has been scrubbed due to winds. The next launch opportunity will be at 12:29 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 5. Launch coverage for the SpaceX CRS-19 mission to the International Space Station will begin at 12 p.m. EST on NASA Television and the agency's website. A launch of the SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft on Thursday will result in its arrival at the space station on Sunday, Dec. 8.

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2019/12/03/iss-daily-summary-report-12032019/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/03/2019

Rodent Research-14 (RR-14):

The crew completed cleaning and teardown of the Life Science Glovebag. Rodent Research–14, Microgravity as a Disruptor Of The 12-hour Circatidal Clock (RR-14), uses mice to test the hypothesis that disruptions in a microgravity environment to the circadian rhythm sleep/wake cycle will affect the body on a cellular and key organ level. The importance of this 12-hour clock has been established as a mechanism that controls stress-responsive pathways. The unique environment of the ISS provides an ideal setting to challenge this. In short, exposing cellular systems in mice to the stress of microgravity provides an opportunity to study the response of the 12-hour body clock from cellular adaptation and its effect(s) on organismal behavior.

[свернуть]

BioFabrication Facility (BFF):

The crew reviewed procedures for the upcoming BFF cassette installation operations. The BFF is dedicated to manufacturing human organs and tissues in space, primarily for use by patients on Earth. Besides printing tissue, the BFF also can help maintain the health of deep space exploration crews by producing food and personalized pharmaceuticals on demand.

[свернуть]

SpX-19 Dragon Rendezvous Training:

Today, the ISS crew completed Dragon Rendezvous Review On-board proficiency training that is designed to prepare the crew on the Dragon mission profile, the Dragon rendezvous crew procedures and the crew interface utilized for monitoring and commanding the Dragon spacecraft. Currently, SpX-19 is scheduled to launch on December 4 and will arrive at the ISS on December 7.

[свернуть]

AMS-02 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Post Operations:

Today, the ISS crew spent some time on the Post EVA recovery efforts including recharging the Li-Ion batteries for the Extravehicular Activity Mobility Units (EMU). Additionally the EMU Metox canisters, used for metabolic CO2 removal, regeneration was initiated which is a baking process that removes the CO2 from saturated canisters. The crew also recharged the EMU suits with fresh water in preparation for the next EVA as well as participating in a Post EVA Debrief with ground support specialists.

[свернуть]

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations:

Today, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) was maneuvered to a translate config and the Mobile Transporter (MT) was translated from Worksite 2 to Worksite 6. The SSRMS will be walked-off to Node 2 for the crew's SSRMS Offset Grapple onboard training (OBT). Later this afternoon, the MT will be translated back to Worksite 2 in preparation for SpaceX-19 arrival.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/12/04/spacex-delays-launch-one-day-russia-rolls-out-new-cargo-rocket/

SpaceX Delays Launch One Day, Russia Rolls Out New Cargo Rocket

Mark Garcia
Posted Dec 4, 2019 at 8:12 pm


Russia's Progress 74 cargo rocket rolls out its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Energia

The Expedition 61 crew will wait an extra day for the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the Progress 74 (74P) cargo craft from Roscosmos rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

High upper level winds forced SpaceX to scrub today's launch of its 19th Dragon resupply ship aboard a Falcon 9 rocket today. Mission personnel are now targeting a launch less than 24 hours later on Thursday at 12:29 p.m. EST from Florida.

Commander Luca Parmitano and Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan will capture Dragon with the Canadarm2 robotic arm when it arrives Sunday at approximately 6 a.m. Dragon will deliver nearly three tons of cargo including new experiments such as the Confined Combustion study, Japan's Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) and the AzTechSat-1 cubesat developed by Mexican students.

The duo along with NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Christina Koch had a light-duty day today. The quartet focused on housecleaning duties in the station's U.S. segment following a busy period of spacewalks and space biology research.

The 74P resupply rocket from Russia is now standing vertical at the launch site in Kazakhstan having rolled out early Wednesday morning from its processing facility. It will blast off Friday at 4:34 a.m. loaded with new station hardware and crew supplies. Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka will monitor its arrival on Monday when the 74P automatically docks to the Pirs docking compartment on Monday at 5:38 a.m.

[tnt22]

НОРАД определился с объектами запуска с борта МКС ( J-SSOD #12) 20 ноября с.г.
 

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex/2019/12/05/spacex-successfully-launches-19th-resupply-services-mission-to-space-station/
https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2019/12/05/spacex-successfully-launches-19th-resupply-services-mission-to-space-station/

SpaceX Successfully Launches 19th Resupply Services Mission to Space Station

Danielle Sempsrott
Posted Dec 5, 2019 at 1:26 pm


A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida at 12:29 p.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2019, for the company's 19th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-19) mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

Critical supplies, equipment and material are on their way to the International Space Station following the successful launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The company's uncrewed Dragon spacecraft lifted off atop the Falcon 9 at 12:29 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 on Dec. 5, 2019, for the 19th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-19) mission.

"It's always great when we can get a new vehicle on its way to the space station, so we're very excited," said Kenny Todd, space station operations integration manager. "We're looking forward to getting the Dragon on board here in the next couple of days."


SpaceX's 19th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Dec. 5, 2019, at 12:29 p.m. EST.

On this spacecraft's third trip to the space station, Dragon will deliver supplies and material that will directly support dozens of science and research investigations taking place during Expeditions 61 and 62. The spacecraft also is carrying the Japanese government's Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI), a next-generation, hyperspectral Earth imaging system.

A little over two minutes after launch, the rocket's first stage successfully separated from the vehicle, returning to land on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Atlantic Ocean. Then, Dragon separated from the Falcon 9 completely. The spacecraft is now in orbit with its solar arrays deployed, which will help power it on its solo journey to the orbiting laboratory.


"We had a beautiful launch off Space Launch Complex 40 today," said SpaceX's Andy Tran. "All around it's been a successful mission so far."

Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the space station Dec. 8, with live coverage on spacecraft rendezvous and capture beginning at 4:30 a.m. EST on NASA TV and the agency's website. Upon its arrival, European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano, Expedition 61 commander, will grapple the spacecraft, with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan acting as his backup. The agency's Jessica Meir will monitor telemetry during Dragon's approach.

Following spacecraft capture – scheduled for approximately 6 a.m. – mission control in Houston will send commands to the station's robotic arm to rotate and install Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the space station's Harmony module. Coverage of the robotic installation will begin at 8 a.m. EST. Dragon will remain at the orbiting laboratory for about a month before returning to Earth with more than 3,800 pounds of research and return cargo. Upon its arrival, the spacecraft will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/12/05/us-space-freighter-heads-to-station-russian-cargo-craft-follows/

US Space Freighter Heads to Station, Russian Cargo Craft Follows

Mark Garcia
Posted Dec 5, 2019 at 3:23 pm


A mission controller in Houston watches the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship blast off from Florida.

The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is on its way to the International Space Station packed with science and supplies for the Expedition 61 crew. Russia's Progress 74 cargo craft will soon follow the U.S. spaceship with a launch set for Friday morning.

Dragon blasted off from Florida on Thursday at 12:29 p.m. EST carrying nearly three tons of cargo. Included in the space shipment are new science experiments such as the Confined Combustion study, Japan's Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) and the AzTechSat-1 cubesat developed by Mexican students.

Astronauts Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan will capture Dragon with the Canadarm2 robotic arm when it arrives Sunday at approximately 6 a.m. Robotics controllers on Earth will take over the Canadarm2 and remotely install Dragon to the Harmony module.

Russia's' Progress 74 resupply rocket stands at its launch pad in Kazakhstan counting down to a Friday launch at 4:34 a.m. It will arrive Monday loaded with new station hardware and crew supplies. Cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Skripochka will monitor the 74P's automated docking to the Pirs docking compartment at 5:38 a.m.

Back inside the orbiting lab, a variety of space biology research took place today to understand how weightlessness affects the human body long term. Morgan and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir collected and spun their blood samples in a centrifuge for the Fluid Shifts study. Meir then joined Parmitano for eye checks during the afternoon.

Parmitano started his morning installing cell research hardware in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. NASA Flight Engineer Christina Koch serviced the Bio-Monitor, a wearable device that monitors a crewmember's vital signs real-time.

[tnt22]

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/spacex-dragon-heads-to-space-station-with-nasa-science-cargo-0

Dec. 5, 2019
RELEASE 19-092

SpaceX Dragon Heads to Space Station with NASA Science, Cargo


SpaceX launches its 19th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station at 12:29 p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Credits: NASA TV

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after launching at 12:29 p.m. EST Thursday. Dragon will deliver more than 5,700 pounds of NASA cargo and science investigations, including studies of malting barley in microgravity, the spread of fire, and bone and muscle loss.

The spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and is scheduled to arrive at the orbital outpost on Sunday, Dec. 8. Coverage of the spacecraft's approach and arrival at the space station will begin at 4:30 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Dragon will join three other spacecraft currently at the station. Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) will grapple Dragon with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan acting as a backup. NASA's Jessica Meir will assist the duo by monitoring telemetry during Dragon's approach. Coverage of robotic installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 8 a.m.

This delivery, SpaceX's 19th cargo flight to the space station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract, will support dozens of new and existing investigations. NASA's research and development work aboard the space station contributes to the agency's deep space exploration plans, including future Moon and Mars missions.

Here are details about some of the scientific investigations Dragon is delivering:

A Better Picture of Earth's Surface
The Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) is a next-generation, hyperspectral Earth imaging system. Every material on Earth's surface – rocks, soil, vegetation, snow/ice and human-made objects – has a unique reflectance spectrum. HISUI provides space-based observations for tasks such as resource exploration and applications in agriculture, forestry and other environmental areas.

Malting Barley in Microgravity
Malting ABI Voyager Barley Seeds in Microgravity tests an automated malting procedure and compares malt produced in space and on the ground for genetic and structural changes. Understanding how barley responds to microgravity could identify ways to adapt it for nutritional use on long-duration spaceflights.

Spread of Fire
The Confined Combustion investigation examines the behavior of flames as they spreads in differently shaped confined spaces in microgravity. Studying flames in microgravity gives researchers a better look at the underlying physics and basic principles of combustion by removing gravity from the equation.

Keeping Bones and Muscles Strong
Rodent Research-19 (RR-19) investigates myostatin (MSTN) and activin, molecular signaling pathways that influence muscle degradation, as possible targets for preventing muscle and bone loss during spaceflight and enhancing recovery following return to Earth. This study also could support the development of therapies for a wide range of conditions that cause muscle and bone loss on Earth.

Checking for Leaks
NASA is launching Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a docking station that allows Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) units to be stored on the outside of space station, making it quicker and simpler to deploy the instruments. The leak locator is a robotic, remote-controlled tool that helps mission operators detect the location of an external leak and rapidly confirm a successful repair. These capabilities can be applied to any place that humans live in space, including NASA's lunar Gateway and eventually habitats on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations providing opportunities for U.S. government agencies, private industry, and academic and research institutions to conduct microgravity research that leads to new technologies, medical treatments and products that improve life on Earth. Conducting science aboard the orbiting laboratory will help us learn how to keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.

For almost 20 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. As a global endeavor, more than 230 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 2,500 research investigations from researchers in 106 countries.

-end-

Last Updated: Dec. 5, 2019
Editor: Karen Northon

[tnt22]

https://ria.ru/20191206/1562034917.html

Американский скафандр вновь прохудился в открытом космосе
02:15 06.12.2019

МОСКВА, 6 дек – РИА Новости. Небольшое количество воды было обнаружено в скафандре американского производства, который астронавт Европейского космического агентства итальянец Лука Пармитано использовал во время выхода в открытый космос 2 декабря, сообщил РИА Новости официальный представитель НАСА.

"Небольшое количество жидкости (примерно 10 миллилитров при визуальной оценке) было обнаружено на ограниченном участке в месте соединения системы жидкостного охлаждения и вентиляции Луки Пармитано с его скафандром", - сказал собеседник агентства.

Он отметил, что, скорее всего, утечка идет со стороны скафандра, причем на его других участках воды или влаги обнаружено не было. Представитель НАСА заверил, что предположительно неисправный элемент можно будет заменить запасным, который уже имеется на борту Международной космической станции. На следующие выходы в открытый космос с американского сегмента МКС этот случай повлиять не должен.

Ранее в НАСА уже сообщали РИА Новости, что во время предыдущего выхода в космос 15 ноября произошел аналогичный инцидент – небольшое количество жидкости было обнаружено в правом ботинке скафандра американского астронавта Эндрю Моргана.

Во время выхода в открытый космос в ходе первого полета Пармитано на МКС в 2013 году с ним произошла аналогичная история, но тогда утечка приняла гораздо больший масштаб. Его совместный с американским астронавтом Кристофером Кэссиди выход даже пришлось прервать раньше времени. Пармитано чуть более чем через час после начала работ за бортом сообщил о том, что вода поступает с задней части шлема. К тому моменту, как астронавты вернулись на станцию, в шлеме итальянца скопилось практически 2,5 литра воды. Впоследствии комиссия НАСА выяснила, что из-за засорения насоса охлаждающего контура вода пошла через вентиляционное отверстие.

[Lesobaza]

УКАЗ

За неоднократные погружения в условиях открытого космоса и за проявленные при этом выдержку, стойкость, мужество и героизм
НАГРАДИТЬ
гражданина Италии Пармитано Луку Сальво нагрудным знаком "Отличный подводник".

Указ объявить во всех кораблях и флотилиях подводно-космических войск.

За глубоко- и высоко-уважаемых!!
Ура, товарищи!!

[tnt22]