May 4, 2024

From Astrobee Robots to Spacewalks: A Busy Week at the International Space Station

The International Space Station has actually received 8,200 pounds of science products via Northrop Grummans Cygnus area truck, and the crew is now working on different investigations and upkeep tasks. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio worked throughout Monday unpacking some of the 8,200 pounds of science and products delivered aboard Northrop Grummans Cygnus area freighter on Friday, August 4. Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked on a set of various space physics examinations on Monday. NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg began his day on science upkeep work switching out research gear and inspecting a rack in the Columbus lab module. Hoburg also joined his crewmates and helped Rubio as he unloaded cargo from inside Cygnus.

Space Physics Investigations
Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked on a pair of different area physics investigations on Monday. Bowen switched out samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace that checks out the thermophysical properties of products subjected to heats in microgravity. Alneyadi set up brand-new hardware in the Microgravity Science Glovebox to enhance the innovation of producing semiconductor crystals.
Northrop Grummans Cygnus freight craft is imagined from the International Space Station as it approaches while orbiting 261 miles above the coast of the Garabogazköl Basin in Turkmenistan on August 4, 2023. Credit: NASA
Lab and Equipment Maintenance
NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg began his day on science upkeep work swapping out research equipment and checking a rack in the Columbus lab module. He likewise serviced brand-new Cold Atom Lab hardware inside the Destiny lab module. The Cold Atom Lab observes the quantum habits of atoms chilled to temperature levels near outright absolutely no. Hoburg also joined his crewmates and helped Rubio as he unloaded freight from within Cygnus.
Upcoming Spacewalk
2 cosmonauts are in last preparations for the years 10th spacewalk out of the station set to begin at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday. Leader Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will leave the Poisk airlock in their Orlan spacesuits and spend about six and a half hours installing micrometeoroid orbital particles shields and relocating hardware. The duo from Roscosmos invested Monday setting up interactions gear and inspecting their spacesuits for leaks. This will be Prokopyevs and Petelins sixth spacewalk together since their very first on November 17, 2022.
Northrop Grummans Cygnus freight craft is visualized moments after it was recorded by the Canadarm2 robotic arm managed by NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg from inside the International Space Station on August 4, 2023. Credit: NASA
Life Support Tasks and Safety Measures
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev invested his day mainly on life support tasks. He started Monday replacing heat exchanger fans in the Nauka science module. In the afternoon, Fedyaev worked on the Zvezda service modules Elektron oxygen generator that splits reclaimed water into oxygen and hydrogen.
On August 5, the Progress 83 spacecrafts thrusters fired for three minutes, 16 seconds in a planned avoidance maneuver to supply the International Space Station an additional step of range away from a predicted track of a debris fragment.
The thruster shooting took place at 10:03 p.m. EDT, and the maneuver had no effect on station operations, consisting of the trajectory phasing for either the upcoming Roscosmos Progress 85 freight launch on Tuesday, August 22, or the SpaceX Crew-7 launch on August 25.

Northrop Grummans Cygnus cargo craft is imagined minutes far from being recorded by the Canadarm2 robotic arm managed by NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg from inside the International Space Station on August 4, 2023. Credit: NASA
The International Space Station has actually gotten 8,200 pounds of science supplies through Northrop Grummans Cygnus space freighter, and the team is now working on different examinations and upkeep tasks. Two cosmonauts are preparing for a spacewalk arranged for Wednesday, and life assistance maintenance and debris avoidance procedures have been carried out. The current events have not affected the planned freight launches for later in the month.
A U.S. cargo craft is open for organization at the International Space Station and 2 cosmonauts are tailoring up for a spacewalk on Wednesday, August 9. The Expedition 69 team likewise kicked off the work week checking out high-temperature physics and methods to make semiconductor crystals.
Cargo Delivery and Unpacking
NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio worked throughout Monday unloading some of the 8,200 pounds of science and products provided aboard Northrop Grummans Cygnus area truck on Friday, August 4. A number of the new experiments include examinations looking at the development of 3D neuron cell structures and an Astrobee robotic free-flyer to help astronauts. News team supplies consist of food, water, life support gear, and spacewalking hardware.