December 23, 2024

Space Station Crew Preps for Boeing Starliner During Human Research and Robotics

Astronaut Jessica Watkins became acquainted with Astrobee procedures and swapped elements in the stations waste and health compartment situated in the Tranquility module. Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti from ESA (European Space Agency) invested throughout the day Friday checking the rHEALTH ONE medical gadget for its capability to identify cells, microbes, and proteins in microgravity.
Over in the stations Russian segment, Commander Oleg Artemyev worked throughout Friday moving water from the ISS Progress 80 freight craft into the Zvezda service module. He also loaded old station equipment for disposal inside the ISS Progress 79 resupply ship.

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Illustration. Credit: NASA
The International Space Station (ISS) is getting prepared to welcome Boeings brand-new Starliner team ship due to raise off next week on the companys Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. The seven-member Expedition 67 crew continued its human research study and robotics work today.
NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines continued training for the arrival of the Starliner spacecraft targeted for 7:10 p.m. EDT (4:10 p.m. EDT) on Friday, May 20. Starliner will lift off atop the Atlas-V rocket from United Launch Alliance at 6:54 p.m. EDT (3:54 p.m. PDT) on Thursday, May 19, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The International Space Station flies into an orbital sunset at an elevation of 266 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Africa. Credit: NASA
Lindgren and Hines also started the day collecting and stowing their blood samples for later analysis. Hines then triggered the Astrobee robotic free-flyer assistants inside the Kibo laboratory module. Lindgren later stowed the toaster-sized, cube-shaped robots after the self-governing gadgets spent the day demonstrating ways to detect and repair faulty station hardware.

NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines continued training for the arrival of the Starliner spacecraft targeted for 7:10 p.m. EDT (4:10 p.m. EDT) on Friday, May 20. Starliner will raise off atop the Atlas-V rocket from United Launch Alliance at 6:54 p.m. EDT (3:54 p.m. PDT) on Thursday, May 19, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Over in the stations Russian segment, Commander Oleg Artemyev worked throughout Friday transferring water from the ISS Progress 80 freight craft into the Zvezda service module.