International Space Station (Updates)

13,544 · March 18, 2016

At last, the LIVE feed is up and running:

/fingers crossed

13,544 · March 18, 2016

It's now less than 30 min left before the launch!

Come on, baby!

13,544 · March 18, 2016

"The flight is normal."

LOL at the pink stuffed owl.

13,544 · March 18, 2016

13,544 · March 18, 2016

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That Owl was great! You could see how the cord got stretched more and more with the g loads increasing and the staging was something else entirely. With the astronauts strapped in their seats and all other stuff bolted and strapped to the walls the staging events normally look rough but with the owl there it showed just how violent the jolt is when going from 5-6g to 0g in an instant.

Congrats on the launch to all involved!

6,181 · March 19, 2016

Wow..excellent work for @Mirumir! Well done...I got tied up and missed everything, till I saw the eye candy. That owl is way too cool, I like my owls.....

Thanks much for all the work.

I'll just add a bit of data...

Mission of Soyuz TMA-20M

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The launch of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft took place as scheduled on March 19, 2016. A Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from Pad 5 at Site 1 in Baikonur Cosmodrome at 00:26:39.355 Moscow Time (5:26 p.m. EDT or 09:26 GMT on March 18). Commander Aleksey Ovchinin occupied central seat inside the descent module of the Soyuz spacecraft, with Oleg Skripochka to his left and Jeffrey Williams to his right.

The launch vehicle propelled by the simultaneous thrust of four engines of the first stage and one engine of the second stage headed east to align its ascent trajectory with the orbital plane inclined 51.67 degrees toward the Equator. Slightly less than two minutes into the flight, the ship's emergency escape system separated, immediately followed by four boosters of the first stage. The second (core) stage of the booster continue firing for less than five minutes into the flight. Moments before its separation, the four-chamber engine of the third stage ignited, firing through a lattice structure connecting two boosters. Following the separation of the core booster, the tail section of the third stage split into three segments and fell away.

The spacecraft separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle around nine minutes into the flight, at 00:35:27 Moscow Time (5:35 p.m. on March 18) in an orbit with following parameters:

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Docking

Upon reaching orbit, the Soyuz TMA-20M ended up 31.6 degrees away from the ISS. At the time, the station was orbiting the Earth in a 403.51 by 421.29-kilometer orbit with an inclination 51.65 degrees.

The mutual position of the two spacecraft was allowing docking on the day of the launch (March 19) within six hours after liftoff. The Soyuz conducted four orbital maneuvers, which were to bring the spacecraft into the vicinity of the station by the beginning of the fifth orbit of the Soyuz TMA-20M mission:

Orbit No.

Time

Firing duration

delta V

Period

Inclination

Resulting perigee

Resulting apogee

1

01:12:24

49.3 seconds

19.62 m/s

89.31 minutes

51.64 degrees

227.42 kilometers

266.81 kilometers

2

01:56:47

31.4 seconds

12.37 m/s

89.74 minutes

51.64 degrees

260.25 kilometers

286.28 kilometers

2

02:29:48

18.3 seconds

7.00 m/s

89.98 minutes

51.67 degrees

261.15 kilometers

300.99 kilometers

2

02:59:47

18.3 seconds

7.00 m/s

90.23 minutes

51.64 degrees

280.91 kilometers

303.20 kilometers

Following its orbit corrections, Soyuz TMA-20M began an autonomous rendezvous with the ISS around 04:03:38 Moscow Time on March 19 (9:03 p.m. EDT).

The final maneuvers, including flyaround, a short station-keeping period and berthing, were scheduled to be initiated at 05:47:09 Moscow Time on March 19 (10:47 p.m. EDT on March 18) in fully automated mode.

The docking of Soyuz TMA-20M with the ISS was scheduled on the day of the launch at 06:11:47 Moscow Time (11:11 p.m. EDT on March 18). The actual first contact between the two spacecraft took place at 11:09:55 p.m. EDT on March 18.

The spacecraft docked at the zenith port of the MIM2 Poisk module on the Russian segment of the outpost.

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Soyuz TMA-20M primary and backup crew:

Primary crew Backup crew

Jeffrey Williams, Commander, Expedition 48, NASA Sergei Ryzhikov (Roskosmos)

Aleksey Ovchinin, Soyuz commander, Flight engineer (Roskosmos) Andrei Borisenko (Roskosmos)

Oleg Skripochka, Flight engineer (NASA) Robert Kimbrow (NASA)

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss-soyuz-tma20m.html

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New Crew Launches and Heads to Space Station

The Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft launches on time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV

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Below is a schedule of the remainder of the trip to the orbiting laboratory:

6:12 p.m. DV1 (19.62 m/s)

6:56 p.m. DV2 (12.37 m/s)

6:57 p.m. Daily Orbit 2 RGS AOS

7:18 p.m. DV3 (4.630 m/s)

7:19 p.m. Daily Orbit 2 RGS LOS

8:02 p.m. DV4 (8.801 m/s)

8:27 p.m. Daily Orbit 3 RGS AOS

8:45 p.m. Daily Orbit 3 RGS LOS

9:02 p.m Automated Rendezvous start

9:05 p.m. USOS to RS MCS Handover: LVLH(177.0,357.1,0.7)

9:08 p.m. Impulse 1 (20.927 m/s)

9:10 p.m. ISS mnvr to dock attitude: LVLH(165.0,0.0,0.0)

9:31 p.m. Impulse 2 (0.056 m/s)

9:34 p.m. Soyuz Kurs-A activation

9:34 p.m. Ham radio deactivate NLT (VHF-2 voice activation)

9:34 p.m. Range = 200 km: Soyuz VHF-2 voice link

9:36 p.m. SM Kurs-P activation

9: 51 p.m. Sunrise at Launch Site

9:54 p.m. Impulse 3 (33.919 m/s)

10:00 p.m. Daily Orbit 4 RGS AOS

10:00 p.m. Range = 80 km: Valid Kurs-P range data

10:06 p.m. Sunrise

10:16 p.m. Daily Orbit 4 RGS LOS

10:21 p.m. Range = 15 km: Kurs-A & Kurs-P short test

10:28 p.m. Robonaut deactivate NLT (TV activation)

10:28 p.m. Range = 8 km: Soyuz TV activation

10:31 p.m. SCAN & Rapidscat inhibit NLT (range = 6 km)

10:36 p.m. Impulse 4 (7.196 m/s)

10:28 p.m. ICS inhibit NLT (range = 2 km)

10:30 p.m. NASA TV Docking Coverage Begins

10:38 p.m. Ballistic Targeting Point

10:41 p.m. Impulse 5 (6.048 m/s)

10:44 p.m. Impulse 6 (2.005 m/s)

10:47 p.m. Flyaround mode start

10:56 p.m. Stationkeeping start

11:00 p.m. Final Approach start

11:02 p.m. ISS inertial snap-and-hold window open

11:04 p.m. Ku-band mask enable NLT (range = 60 m)

11:04 p.m. Sunset

11:11 p.m. Docking

11:11 p.m. ISS to free drift at docking

11:12 p.m. ISS inertial snap-and-hold window close

11:25 p.m. Soyuz & MRM2 hooks closed: ISS mnvr to LVLH(177.0,358.4,0.7)

11:36 p.m. Daily Orbit 5 RGS AOS

11:39 p.m. Sunrise

11:54 p.m. Daily Orbit 5 RGS LOS

12:05 a.m. RS to USOS MCS Handover

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/18/new-crew-launches-and-heads-to-space-station/

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Grandpa astronaut to break Scott Kelly's space record

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A grandfather of three is poised to blast into space and the record books on Friday, becoming the American astronaut who has spent the longest time in space, NASA said.

Jeff Williams, 58, is the first American to make three long-duration flights to orbit, and will break a US record set by astronaut Scott Kelly earlier this year.

By the end of his half-year mission at the orbiting International Space Station, Williams "will become the American with the most cumulative days in space -- 534," NASA said.

Kelly, 52, spent nearly a year in space and returned to Earth earlier this month with a total of 520 days in space, as part of an experiment to test the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the body and mind ahead of a potential future mission to Mars.

The all-time record for cumulative days spent in space is held by Russian cosmonaut Genny Padalka, who racked up 879 days over his career and wrapped up his final mission in September 2015.

more at the link...

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Grandpa_astronaut_to_break_Scott_Kellys_space_record_999.html

and thanks again Mirumir...great job!

6,181 · March 20, 2016

Soyuz docks with space station with fresh crew

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A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two cosmonauts and a veteran NASA astronaut blasted off from Kazakhstan Friday, chased down the International Space Station and glided to a smooth automated docking, boosting the lab’s crew back to six.

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The combined station crew faces an especially busy first few weeks in space. Orbital ATK plans to launch a Cygnus cargo ship atop an Atlas 5 rocket Tuesday night from Cape Canaveral that will deliver more than 7,000 pounds of supplies and equipment.

A Russian Progress supply ship is scheduled for launch from Baikonur on March 31, followed by launch of a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule from Cape Canaveral on April 8 that will deliver an experimental inflatable module that will be attached to the station’s Tranquility module.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, supplied by a company owned by motel magnate Robert Bigelow, could offer a low-cost approach to building commercial space stations or habitats for deep space missions.

“We’re very excited anticipating the BEAM coming up on SpaceX and deploying it as an experiment,” Williams said. “BEAM is a technology demonstration. It’s an inflatable module, so it’s volume is smaller when it launches than when it’s utilized in space. It takes less room, and that technology has great promise for the launching of future spacecraft.”

The Soyuz TMA-20M spaceship approaches the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/ESA/Tim Peake

http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/03/19/soyuz-docks-with-space-station-with-fresh-crew/

Soyuz TMA-20M docking highlights

video is 2:34 min.

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NASA is sending a 3D printer to space that you can use

This is the printer that we discussed a few pages back....

made-in-space-amf1.jpg?w=744&h=496

Made in Space’s Additive Manufacturing Facility / Image courtesy of Made in Space

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NASA is preparing to send its first commercial manufacturing facility to the International Space Station (ISS). The 3D printing company Made in Space has partnered with NASA to send their Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) to the space station on a launch scheduled to take place next Tuesday.

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Users on Earth can pay to use AMF, a 3D printer specially designed to operate in a microgravity environment, to print products on the space station. Once it arrives, Made in Space will be able to command AMF remotely from their headquarters in the NASA Ames Research Park.

Spencer Pitman, head of product strategy at Made in Space, told TechCrunch that the company has already secured 20 paying customers for AMF.

Their customers include high schools that are hosting space-related design challenges, universities that will print medical research components, and companies that will print commercial parts for satellites and other spacecraft.

“We will even be printing a 3D printable exercise device for Autodesk and wrenches for Lowe’s,” Pitman said.

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Printing on AMF can help companies avoid the costly certification process and reduce the wait time to get to orbit. However, a 3D printer requires printing material which is just as costly as anything else to send to orbit. Because of this, Pitman said that the cost to 3D print on AMF will depend on the amount of print bed space taken up and generally ranges from $6,000 to $30,000, although there are discounts for STEM education initiatives.

So while 3D printing in space doesn’t come cheap, it could potentially be an attractive alternative for certain customers in unique situations. If anything, it’s an interesting new option that hasn’t been available up until now.

AMF is scheduled to launch on board the Cygnus cargo ship on Tuesday, March 22nd at 11:05 pm EST.

more at the link...

http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/19/nasa-is-sending-a-3d-printer-to-space-that-you-can-use/

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Stuffed animals in space: An appreciation

IMAGE: NASA TV

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A small stuffed owl blasted off to the International Space Station with a trio of space explorers Friday, catapulting it into our hearts at the same time.

The little owl was a gift given to Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin by his daughter before launching on the Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft to the station.

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The tiny gravity-monitoring owl is far from the first stuffed toy to fly to orbit.

"The tradition of carrying small toys as weightless indicators dates back to the very first time a human was launched into space 55 years ago next month," Robert Pearlman, a space historian and the editor of collectSPACE.com, told Mashable.

"Yuri Gagarin launched on Vostok 1 with a small doll and a tradition was born."

A plush R2-D2 was used as the talisman on a Soyuz mission in 2015.

And a 2014 crew used a stuffed snowman Olaf from the movie Frozen as their gravity talisman.

"My youngest daughter is 8 years old and she selected that as a talisman," cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov said during a pre-launch news conference.

Another snowman also flew to space more recently aboard the Soyuz carrying astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko to the station for a yearlong mission in 2015.

The snowman belongs to Gennady Padalka, the commander of the Soyuz that brought the three crewmembers to space.

“I do have a lucky charm,” Padalka said before launch. “It’s a snowman. I’ve taken it with me on my last three flights. My youngest daughter gave it to me, so I’ll take it along this time as well.”

Cosmonauts have also used a plush Angry Bird toy and a Smokey Bear among others as talismans.

http://mashable.com/2016/03/19/stuffed-animals-nasa-space-station-soyuz/#ZkvUOPhb9qq3

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Earth from Space: Yuma, Arizona

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This false-colour Sentinel-2A image captured on 20 August 2015 takes us to the city of Yuma in the United States, in southwestern Arizona.

Visible in the image in scattered greys, Yuma is home to some 90 000 people. Situated along the Colorado River, the Mexican frontier lies just west of it and California lies to the north.

The fence forming the border is visible as a fine and perfectly straight line, running from left to right through the image between the irrigation canal and the irrigated fields west of the city. Just north of the canal, a small square marks a water reservoir for irrigating the fields in this highly arid region.

Founded in 1854, Yuma is the centre of large irrigation districts that converted parts of the desert into rich farmland.

Earth from Space: Yuma, Arizona. ESA

http://spaceref.com/earth/earth-from-space-yuma-arizona.html

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Women Have Always Been NASA Pioneers

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If you ask someone about the history of NASA, they will likely talk about the Apollo moon landings, the space shuttle, the Hubble Space telescope, or landing on Mars. But the people of NASA, especially the women, behind these great achievements remain little known.

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One of those pioneers, Dr. Thora Halstead, passed away last week. Thora was a mentor to many, and her work benefited thousands. She’s been credited with helping to establish the field of space biology before there was such a discipline, and the mentors of many of today’s scientists working in the field can credit Thora with direct mentorship or inspiration.

Thora’s numerous experiments and more than 40 published papers explored how the cells of living organisms respond to a low-gravity environment. As we move closer to Mars, we see that work in many ways, from the VEGGIE experiment that has produced the first lettuce crop in space, or research to show us how plants communicate within their systems in microgravity. Thora also founded the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology (ASGSB), a 500-plus member society with worldwide scientific community membership (now the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research). The legacy of exchange and collaboration that she began will continue to advance space biology for years to come.

By remembering the contributions that the women of NASA have already made, hopefully we can help to inspire the next generation of Thora Halsteads. There have been many. Katherine Johnson, for instance, was recently recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to NASA’s earliest days. A mathematician, her calculations helped the Mercury program soar, and helped land those Apollo astronauts on the moon. As an African American woman, she helped open the doors to many who followed, including Dr. Christine Darden who, in 1967, began crunching numbers and writing some of the complex programs for engineers at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia and developed a computer program for minimizing sonic boom.

Our first class of astronauts to include females was selected in 1978. While the legendary Dr. Sally Ride eventually became the first American woman to fly to space, her fellow classmates Dr. Shannon W. Lucid, Dr. Margaret Rhea Seddon, Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Dr. Judith A. Resnik, and Dr. Anna L. Fisher (who became the first mother in space) also went on to make their mark in space. Many of the women who helped their space shuttles return to flight again and again on many missions were also women, working diligently behind the scenes.

Dr. Joan Vernikos, former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Program, pioneered research on how living in a microgravity environment affected the health of astronauts. Jeanne Crews was an engineer at NASA from the mid-1960s onward and helped us achieve many of the space program’s early milestones. Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, an astronomer known as “the Mother of Hubble,” not only helped design the great observatory, she worked tirelessly to get NASA and the Congress to make it happen.

Several women have served as NASA’s Chief Scientist, including Dr. France Cordova, Dr. Kathie Olsen, Dr. Shannon Lucid and, currently, Dr. Ellen Stofan.

Many women have led NASA in senior management positions, from Dr. Carolyn Huntoon, the first female center director, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, who currently leads Johnson, Lesa Roe, who led our Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and is now NASA’s deputy associate administrator, Dr. Harriet Jenkins, a mathematician who also served as NASA’s assistant administrator for equal opportunity programs, and Shana Dale, the agency’s first female deputy administrator – who has been followed by Lori Garver and Dr. Dava Newman.

more at the link...

https://blogs.nasa.gov/newman/2016/03/20/women-have-always-been-nasa-pioneers/

6,181 · March 22, 2016

NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 18 March 2016

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NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---18-march-2016.html

Space to Ground: Records Are Meant to be Broken: 03/18/2016

video is 2:10 min.

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New Trio Adapts to Station, Cygnus Ready at Launch Pad

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The Expedition 47 crew is at full strength after the arrival of three new crew members Friday night. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will be familiarizing themselves with station systems over the next few days and will be staying in space till September.

All six crew members, including Commander Tim Kopra of NASA, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and British astronaut Tim Peake, spread throughout the orbital laboratory to explore a wide array of advanced space science.

Kopra researched the impact of microbes on a crew member’s immune system and wrapped up a liquid crystal experiment. Peake participated in a secondary immune system study before getting gear ready for a combustion experiment. Malenchenko explored the changes in a crew member’s blood circulation in space, compared to their circulation on the ground.

Orbital ATK is getting ready to launch its Cygnus space freighter to the International Space Station Tuesday night from Florida. The crew is training for its arrival Saturday night when they will capture it and attach it to the Unity module. Cygnus will deliver almost 7,500 pounds of research gear, spacewalk hardware and crew supplies to the Expedition 47 crew.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/21/new-trio-adapts-to-station-cygnus-ready-at-launch-pad/

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Dhar Kugrang in The Himalayas As Seen From Orbit

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This image of the Dhar Kugrang region in the Indian Himalayas showin snow, glaciers, and ravines was taken during Expedition 43 on 11 APril 2015.

Date taken 2015.04.11
Time taken 11:09:31 GMT
ISS nadir point: 31.7° N, 79.7° E
Photo center point: 31.9° N, 78.7° E
Nadir to Photo Center: West
Spacecraft Altitude: 216 nautical miles (400km)

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/dhar-kugrang-in-the-himalayas-as-seen-from-orbit.html

Dhar Kugrang NASA

6,181 · March 23, 2016

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 21 March 2016

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The Expedition 47 crew is at full strength after the arrival of three new crew members Friday night. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will be familiarizing themselves with station systems over the next few days and will be staying in space till September.

All six crew members, including Commander Tim Kopra of NASA, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and British astronaut Tim Peake, spread throughout the orbital laboratory to explore a wide array of advanced space science.

Kopra researched the impact of microbes on a crew member's immune system and wrapped up a liquid crystal experiment. Peake participated in a secondary immune system study before getting gear ready for a combustion experiment. Malenchenko explored the changes in a crew member's blood circulation in space, compared to their circulation on the ground.

Orbital ATK is getting ready to launch its Cygnus space freighter to the International Space Station Tuesday night from Florida. The crew is training for its arrival Saturday night when they will capture it and attach it to the Unity module. Cygnus will deliver almost 7,500 pounds of research gear, spacewalk hardware and crew supplies to the Expedition 47 crew.

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Strata-1 Locker Preparation: On Saturday, Peake removed the EXPRESS Rack 8 locker from the Lab in preparation for the OA-6 Strata-1 installation. Strata-1 investigates the properties and behavior of regolith on small, airless bodies. Regolith is the impact-shattered "soil" found on asteroids, comets, the Moon, and other airless worlds, but it is different from soil here on Earth in that it contains no living material. Strata-1's goal is to give us answers about how regolith behaves and moves in microgravity, how easy or difficult it is to anchor a spacecraft in regolith, how it interacts with spacecraft and spacesuit materials, and other important properties. It is important to NASA to know how to set anchors in regolith, how to safely move and process large volumes of regolith, and predict and prevent risk to spacecraft and astronauts visiting these small bodies.

Marrow Breath and Ambient Air Sample Setup: Williams prepared and temp stowed Marrow and GSC air sample collection hardware in the crew quarters for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Marrow investigation. The crew takes breath and ambient air samples immediately after waking. This investigation measures the effects of microgravity-induced marrow fat accumulation on red and white blood cells metabolism using breath and ambient air samples to measure carbon monoxide concentration.

Radiation Area Monitor (RAM) Deploy: Williams installed 17 Area Dosimeter throughout the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM) and Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (JLP) for space radiation dosimetry. He also photographed each Area Dosimeter for ground verification purposes. JAXA Area PADLES (Area Passive Dosimeter for Life-Science Experiments in Space) is an investigation that uses area dosimeters to continuously monitor the radiation dose aboard the ISS. Radiation exposure can have significant biological effects on living organisms including the biological investigations being done on ISS in the JEM.

Robonaut: On March 3 during Robonaut troubleshooting the Oscilloscope indicated an error message. Earlier this morning, Kopra ran a procedure and verified that the Oscilloscope is performing nominally. He also pre-staged probes for upcoming Robonaut troubleshooting.

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Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Offset Grapple practice session support
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 03/22: OA-6 launch, SPHERES review/crew conference, Emergency Roles/Responsilities review, Neuromapping, Airlock, Node 3 bacteria filter R&R
Wednesday, 03/23: SPHERES experiment run, JPM, JLP power panel installation, Cygnus OBT
Thursday, 03/24: Cygnus OBT, Crew handover, Crew orientation

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - On
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-21-march-2016.html

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 03/22/16

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Orbital 6 (OA-6) Launch: Cygnus is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center tonight at 10:05PM CDT. Capture is scheduled for Saturday, March 26 at 5:40AM CDT with ingress on Sunday, March 27 and the beginning of cargo transfer operations.

NeuroMapping: Kopra completed a NeuroMapping Neurocognitive test on a Human Research Facility (HRF) laptop. The experiment studies whether long-duration spaceflight causes changes to the brain, including brain structure and function, motor control, and multi-tasking; as well as measuring how long it takes for the brain and body to recover from those possible changes. Previous research and anecdotal evidence from crewmembers returning from a long-duration spaceflight suggests that movement control and cognition are affected in microgravity.

Marrow: Williams completed his Launch plus 4 day (L+4) blood, breath and air samples after waking today for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Marrow investigation. This investigation studies the effect of microgravity on human bone marrow. It is believed that microgravity, like long-duration bed rest on Earth, has a negative effect on the bone marrow and the blood cells that are produced in the marrow. The extent of this effect, and its recovery, are of interest to space research and healthcare providers on Earth.

Dose Tracker: Peake completed entries for medication tracking which documents the medication usage of crew members before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including side effect qualities, frequencies and severities. The data is expected to either support or counter anecdotal evidence of medication ineffectiveness and unusual side effects experienced during flight. It is also expected that specific, near-real-time questioning about symptom relief and side effects will provide the data required to establish whether spaceflight-associated alterations in pharmacokinetics (PK) or pharmacodynamics (PD) is occurring during missions.

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, and Experimental Satellites (SPHERES): Peake charged and swapped several sets of batteries to support the SPHERES investigation activities scheduled this week. SPHERES are bowling-ball sized spherical satellites. They will be used to test a set of well-defined instructions for spacecraft performing autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers. Three free-flying spheres will fly within the cabin of the ISS, performing flight formations. Each satellite is self-contained with power, propulsion, computers and navigation equipment. The results are important for satellite servicing, vehicle assembly and formation flying spacecraft configurations.

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Ground Activities

All activities are on schedule unless otherwise noted.

Bacteria filter R&R support
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Wednesday, 03/23: SPHERES experiment run, JPM, JLP power panel installation, Cygnus OBT

Thursday, 03/24: Cygnus OBT, Crew handover, Crew orientation

Friday, 03/25: Cygnus capture review/rendezvous conference, OBT ISS emergency hardware familiarization

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component   Status
Elektron   Off
Vozdukh   Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”)   On
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”)   Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab   Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3   Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab   Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3   Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)   Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)   Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab   Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3   Warmup

https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2016/03/22/iss-daily-summary-report-032216/

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Science Packed and Ready for Tonight’s Cygnus Launch

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Officials in Florida are forecasting a 90% chance of favorable weather for tonight’s launch of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus space freighter to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the crew explored advanced space science today and reviewed their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency aboard the station.

Cygnus is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:05 p.m. EDT/3:05 a.m. UTC. The cargo mission will deliver nearly 7,500 pounds of science gear, crew supplies and vehicle hardware Saturday morning to the Expedition 47 crew.

Among the science being delivered aboard Cygnus is a pair of unique experiments exploring different fields. The Gecko Gripper study will research systems that use grippers with unique properties of adhesion. The Meteor study will observe meteor shows from the space station and explore their chemistry.

The orbiting crew today looked at how living in space affects a crew member’s physiology and performance. They looked at brain function, bone marrow and red blood cells. The crew also explored the effects of medicine on orbit and the habitability factors of a spacecraft.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/22/science-packed-and-ready-for-tonights-cygnus-launch/

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Global Orbital View from Metop-B

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A new view of the world as seen from EUMETSAT's Metop-B weather satellite in polar orbit 817 km above the Earth.

The Metop satellites collect detailed global observations of the atmosphere, oceans, and land. Copyright: 2016 EUMETSAT.

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/global-orbital-view-from-metop-b.html

EUMETSAT
Earth

--------------------------------

'So you say there's a chance': Yuri's Night offers patch for astronaut applicants

Quote

March 22, 2016 – Right now, spread out across the United States, there are some 18,300 people who share one thing in common: they all submitted applications to become the next U.S. astronauts.

So many people applied — almost three times as many as NASA's earlier record — that Yuri's Night, the world space party that celebrates the past, present and future of human spaceflight, thinks that it merits a badge of honor, literally.

more at the link...

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-032216a-yuris-night-beanastronaut-patch.html

Yuri's Night logo depicting cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

6,181 · March 25, 2016

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 23 March 2016

nasa_iss_on_orbit_status_report_032316_9

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra stows hardware from the OASIS experiment aboard the International Space Station. OASIS, which stands for Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands In Space, studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity. Credit: NASA.

Quote

Many of the crew's activities on Wednesday continued preparation for the arrival of Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo craft, which launched successfully Tuesday night at at 11:05 p.m. EDT.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams prepared one of the station's payload racks for the new Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF). The AMF enables the production of components on the ISS for both NASA and commercial objectives. Parts, entire experiments, and tools can be created on demand.

Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra and flight engineer Tim Peake continued their refresher training for the upcoming Cygnus grapple where Kopra will capture the vehicle using the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

On Saturday, March 26, the Cygnus spacecraft will catch up to the orbiting laboratory. Kopra and Peake will capture Cygnus at about 6:40 a.m. NASA TV coverage of capture of Cygnus will begin at 5:30 a.m. Installation operations are expected to begin at 9:25 a.m. and NASA TV coverage will resume at 9:15 a.m.

Quote

Robonaut Troubleshooting: Kopra set up a camcorder to capture standard definition video downlinks of Robonaut operations in the US Lab. He used the oscilloscope, multimeter and current probe to help guide ground teams with this troubleshooting by disengaging the controller card and successfully powering Robonaut without the controller card. The data collected from today's activity will be analyzed by the ground to determine the cause of the fault in the power supply. Robonaut is a humanoid robot designed with the versatility and dexterity to manipulate hardware, work in high risk environments, and respond safely to unexpected obstacles. Robonaut is comprised of a torso with two arms and a head, and two legs with end effectors that enable the robot to translate inside the ISS by interfacing with handrails and seat track. In the future, it will perform tasks both inside and outside the ISS. The Robonaut Teleoperations System enables Robonaut to mimic the motions of a crewmember wearing specialized gloves, a vest and a visor providing a three-dimensional view through Robonaut's eyes.

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, and Experimental Satellites (SPHERES): Peake set up the EXPRESS Laptop Computer (ELC) and SPHERES work area and loaded the SPHERES and Avionics Stack with test session specific programs before beginning a test run. After completing the test session, Peake downloaded the data and disassembled the SPHERES and Docking Port hardware before re-assembling the Vertigo Goggles. SPHERES are bowling-ball sized spherical satellites that will be used inside the ISS to test a set of well-defined instructions for spacecraft performing autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers. Three free-flying spheres will fly in the cabin of the ISS, performing flight formations. Each satellite is self-contained with power, propulsion, computers and navigation equipment. The results are important for satellite servicing, vehicle assembly and formation flying spacecraft configurations.

Space Automated Bioproduct Lab 1 (SABL1) Locker Troubleshooting: SABL was to undergo a two week checkout of the new facility in the Lab but the SABL hardware was powered off after the hardware temperature rose beyond the nominal range. Today Williams set up the XF305 Camcorder and removed SABL1 from the EXPRESS Rack 8 (ER8). He successfully repaired a dent in the inlet screen, then powered up SABL1 outside the ER to verify nominal fan/screen operation. SABL1 was re-installed in the ER and both SABL1 and 2 were powered on. The Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Quick Disconnect (QD) leaked during installation of SABL2, but stopped after the crew tightened it during their operations today. SABL is required for use with the Micro-10 investigation that has hardware arriving on SpX-8. SABL supports a wide variety of experiments in the life, physical and material sciences with a focus on supporting research of biological systems and processes. It is capable of supporting life science research on microorganisms, small organisms, animal cells, tissue cultures and small plants.

Manufacturing Device - Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) Locker Preparation: In preparation for the Manufacturing Device that arrives on OA-6, Williams removed the ER locker, installed the vent closeout panel, and completed the Solid State Power Control Module (SSPCM) Access hole gray tape installation. The AMF enables the production of components on the ISS for both NASA and commercial objectives. Parts, entire experiments, and tools can be created on demand utilizing the AMF. It is also capable of producing parts out of a wide variety of thermopolymers including engineered plastics.

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities are on schedule unless otherwise noted.

Robonaut troubleshooting support
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Thursday, 03/24: Cygnus OBT, Crew handover, Crew orientation
Friday, 03/25: Cygnus capture review/rendezvous conference, OBT ISS emergency hardware familiarization
Saturday, 03/26: Cygnus capture/berth

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-23-march-2016.html

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Stressed in space

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Living in space is a wonderful experience but it can take its toll on an astronaut's body - half of astronauts return with weaker immune systems from the International Space Station. ESA astronaut and medical doctor Andre Kuipers remembers his six-month mission: "Back on Earth, I felt a hundred years old for a few months."

Many ESA experiments are looking into why this happens and the most recent - Immuno - reveals some striking changes in astronaut immune systems.

Stress is a response of the body as it adapts to hostile environments. This broad definition includes stress from speaking in front of an audience, stress from a wound or stress from living in weightlessness in a fragile spacecraft far from home.

The "feelings" are produced by the central nervous system working closely with our immune system. Stress in the central nervous system invariably influences the immune system and vice versa - people with stressful jobs seem more likely to get sick.

The Immuno experiment had a triple-pronged approach: a questionnaire asked astronauts to assess their own levels of stress while stress-related hormones were measured through saliva and urine samples, and blood samples were taken to analyse immune cell reaction to such environmental stress.

more at the link...

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Stressed_in_space_999.html

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Crew Preparing for Saturday Delivery

Expedition 47 astronauts (from left) Jeff Williams, Tim Kopra and Tim Peake share a light moment with reporters on Earth. Credit: NASA TV

Quote

A new shipment of science, spacewalk gear and crew supplies is on its way to the International Space Station. The Expedition 47 crew is preparing for its arrival while continuing research and maintenance operations onboard the orbital laboratory.

The Cygnus space freighter is refining its orbital path to the station to complete a Saturday delivery to the Harmony module. Astronauts Tim Kopra, Tim Peake and Jeff Williams are training for the robotic capture of Cygnus using Canada’s 57.7 foot Canadarm2. NASA TV will provide coverage of the Cygnus rendezvous and capture beginning Saturday at 5:30 a.m. EDT/9:30 a.m. UTC.

Meanwhile, the crew is moving on with advanced experiment work exploring how living in space affects a crew member’s body. The orbital science activities also have the potential to improve life on Earth.

Peake continued more immune system research today for the Multi-Omics investigation. Peake and Kopra then partnered up for the Habitability Factors experiment. Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Yuri Malenchenko worked together on the Cardiovector blood circulation study. Malenchenko then joined Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka researching how crew members adapt to moving around in weightlessness.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/24/crew-preparing-for-saturday-delivery/

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Nighttime Lights in a US Megalopolis | Space Wallpaper

NASA

Quote

New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond and Norfolk make up this glittering image of the Northeast Corridor. The image taken from the ISS, shows a megalopolis that is home to nearly 20 percent of the United States' population. Two Russian cargo ships on the International Space Station can be seen. [See more images from the ISS.]

Credit: NASA, International Space Station

lots of sizes at...

http://www.space.com/32364-nighttime-lights-in-a-us-megalopolis.html

6,181 · March 26, 2016

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 March 2016

nasa_iss_on_orbit_status_report_032416_9

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Timothy Peake participates in the Airway Monitoring experiment. With dust particles present in the International Space Station atmosphere, Airway Monitoring studies the occurrence and indicators of airway inflammation in crewmembers, using ultra-sensitive gas analyzers to analyze exhaled air. This helps to highlight any health impacts and to maintain crewmember well-being on future human spaceflight missions, especially longer-duration missions to the Moon and Mars for example, where crewmembers will have to be more self-sufficient in highlighting and avoiding such conditions. Credit: NASA/ESA

Quote

A new shipment of science, spacewalk gear and crew supplies is on its way to the International Space Station. The Expedition 47 crew is preparing for its arrival while continuing research and maintenance operations onboard the orbital laboratory.

The Cygnus space freighter is refining its orbital path to the station to complete a Saturday delivery to the Harmony module. Astronauts Tim Kopra, Tim Peake and Jeff Williams are training for the robotic capture of Cygnus using Canada's 57.7 foot Canadarm2. NASA TV will provide coverage of the Cygnus rendezvous and capture beginning Saturday at 5:30 a.m. EDT/9:30 a.m. UTC.

Meanwhile, the crew is moving on with advanced experiment work exploring how living in space affects a crew member's body. The orbital science activities also have the potential to improve life on Earth.

Peake continued more immune system research today for the Multi-Omics investigation. Peake and Kopra then partnered up for the Habitability Factors experiment. Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Yuri Malenchenko worked together on the Cardiovector blood circulation study. Malenchenko then joined Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka researching how crew members adapt to moving around in weightlessness.

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

OBT RoBOT support
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Friday, 03/25: Cygnus capture review/rendezvous conference, OBT ISS emergency hardware familiarization
Saturday, 03/26: Cygnus capture/berth
Sunday, 03/27: Cygnus ingress, cargo transfer ops

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-24-march-2016.html

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 03/25/16

Quote

Crew Off Duty: Today was a half duty day and Monday will be a full off duty day for the USOS crew. This is to pay the crew back for performing Cygnus operations this weekend.

Orbital 6 (OA-6): Kopra and Peake participated in a Cygnus rendezvous conference with ground teams to prepare for OA-6 capture tomorrow at 5:40AM CDT and berthing approximately 3 hours later. Vehicle ingress and cargo transfer operations will occur on Sunday.

Emergency Hardware Familiarization: Kopra and the 46S crew reviewed locations of equipment and positions of valves used in emergencies in both Russian and US segments. The crew conferred with ground teams at Mission Control Center (MCC) – Houston, MCC-Moscow, Columbus Control Center and JAXA Control Center during the review. They also practiced donning and purging emergency masks and demonstrated ability to communicate with the ground while wearing the masks.

Quote

Ground Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Cygnus PROX GPSR data monitoring
Cygnus rendezvous conference
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Saturday, 03/26: Cygnus capture/berth

Sunday, 03/27: Cygnus ingress, cargo transfer ops

Monday, 03/28: Crew off duty

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component   Status
Elektron   Off
Vozdukh   Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”)   Off
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”)   On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab   Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3   Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab   Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3   Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)   Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)   Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab   Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3   Full Up

https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2016/03/25/iss-daily-summary-report-032516/

-------------------------

NASA ISS Space to Ground Weekly Report - 25 March 2016

Quote

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-iss-space-to-ground-weekly-report---25-march-2016.html

Space to Ground: Rising Cygnus, Falling Stars: 03/25/2016

video is 2:10 min.

-------------------------

Crew Preparing for Saturday Delivery

Expedition 47 astronauts (from left) Jeff Williams, Tim Kopra and Tim Peake share a light moment with reporters on Earth. Credit: NASA TV

Quote

A new shipment of science, spacewalk gear and crew supplies is on its way to the International Space Station. The Expedition 47 crew is preparing for its arrival while continuing research and maintenance operations onboard the orbital laboratory.

The Cygnus space freighter is refining its orbital path to the station to complete a Saturday delivery to the Harmony module. Astronauts Tim Kopra, Tim Peake and Jeff Williams are training for the robotic capture of Cygnus using Canada’s 57.7 foot Canadarm2. NASA TV will provide coverage of the Cygnus rendezvous and capture beginning Saturday at 5:30 a.m. EDT/9:30 a.m. UTC.

Meanwhile, the crew is moving on with advanced experiment work exploring how living in space affects a crew member’s body. The orbital science activities also have the potential to improve life on Earth.

Peake continued more immune system research today for the Multi-Omics investigation. Peake and Kopra then partnered up for the Habitability Factors experiment. Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Yuri Malenchenko worked together on the Cardiovector blood circulation study. Malenchenko then joined Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka researching how crew members adapt to moving around in weightlessness.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/24/crew-preparing-for-saturday-delivery/

----------------------------

Earth from Space: Etosha, Namibia

Quote

The Sentinel-2A satellite takes us over northern Namibia in this image from 18 September 2015. The most prominent feature is the Etosha salt pan. It is believed that a lake was first formed tens of millions of years ago.

More recently - mere thousands of years ago - the Kunene River would have flowed through this area, filling the large lake before tectonic movement changed the river course. The lake then dried up, leaving behind some 4800 sq km of exposed minerals.

Today only the Ekuma River, seen flowing down from the upper left, feeds water into the pan - but very little water actually flows in as it seeps into the riverbed.

Part of the wider Etosha National Park, the pan is a designated Ramsar wetland of international importance. It is the only known mass breeding ground for flamingos in Namibia, seeing as many as one million flamingos at a time during the wet season when rain water forms pools in parts of the pan.

http://spaceref.com/earth/earth-from-space-etosha-namibia.html

esa_earth_from_space_Etosha_032516_945.j

Earth from Space: Etosha, Namibia. ESA

6,181 · March 27, 2016

Video: Cygnus Cargo Supply Spacecraft Safely Reaches the ISS

Quote

The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft that launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida March 22 arrived at the International Space Station March 26 carrying almost 7,500 pounds of food, supplies and science experiments for the six crew members aboard the orbital outpost.

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/video-cygnus-cargo-supply-spacecraft-safely-reaches-the-iss.html

Cygnus Cargo Supply Spacecraft Safely Reaches the ISS

video is 3:38 min.

This video is from roll out to docking

Dock to Dock - Cygnus OA6 - ISS Resupply - 03-22-2016

video is 7;58 min.

This article has some great images...

Photos: Cygnus goes from Cape Canaveral to the space station

http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/03/26/photos-cygnus-goes-from-the-cape-to-the-space-station/

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Cygnus Installed to Station’s Unity Module

the International Space Station’s configuration consists of five spacecraft docked to the orbital laboratory including the new Cygnus cargo ship installed to the Unity module. Credit: NASA

Quote

The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship was bolted into place on the International Space Station’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 10:52 a.m. EDT.

The spacecraft’s arrival will support the crew members’ research off the Earth to benefit the Earth. The Cygnus is delivering more than 7,700 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory to support dozens of approximately 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 47 and 48.

Beginning with this mission, Cygnus is equipped with a NanoRacks External Cygnus Deployer for CubeSats that will provide opportunities for small satellites to be deployed from Cygnus after the vehicle departs from the ISS.

The spacecraft will spend more than a month attached to the space station before separating from the station. After completion of its primary ISS resupply mission, Cygnus depart a safe distance from the station before deploying the satellites, and begin its destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere in May 2016, disposing of about 3,000 pounds of trash.

Join the conversation on Twitter by following @Space_Station and the hashtag #Cygnus. To learn more about all the ways to connect and collaborate with NASA, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/26/cygnus-installed-to-stations-unity-module/

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Orbital View of Currents and Waves Off Of The Baja Coast

Baja Oceanic Currents NASA

Quote

Tim Kopra @Astro_Tim "Currents and waves off the Baja coast. @Space_Station #Mexico #Explore" iss047e002034 (03/04/2016)

http://spaceref.com/earth/orbital-view-of-currents-and-waves-off-of-the-baja-coast.html

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Los Angeles As Seen From Orbit

Los Angeles NASA/ESA

Quote

Tim Peake @Astro_TimPeake "#Boating off the Baja coast. @Space_Station #Explore #Mexico"

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/los-angeles-as-seen-from-orbit.html

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San Francisco As Seen From Orbit

San Francisco NASA/ESA

Quote

Tim Peake @Astro_TimPeake San Francisco. Nice pass down the west coast of USA - San Francisco to LA in a few seconds!

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/san-francisco-as-seen-from-orbit.html

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Robotic Arm Grabs Space Delivery After Three Day Mission

A computer overlay with engineering data provides video of the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvering to capture the Orbital ATK Cygnus space freighter. Credit: NASA TV

Quote

Using the International Space Station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra successfully captured Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo vehicle at 6:51 a.m. EDT. The space station crew and the robotics officer in mission control in Houston will position Cygnus for installation to the orbiting laboratory’s Earth-facing port of the Unity module.

NASA TV coverage of the installation will begin at 9:15 a.m. Installation of the Cygnus spacecraft to the space station is expected to be completed by 9:25 a.m.

Among the more than 7,700 pounds of supplies aboard Cygnus are numerous science and research investigations and technology demonstrations, including Saffire-I, which will provide a new way to study a large fire on an exploration craft. Such studies have not been possible in the past because the risks for performing such studies on spacecraft with astronauts aboard are too high.

Saffire-1 will remain on the spacecraft once all the other supplies are unloaded, and the vehicle will be attached to the space station for about two months. Once it departs and the spacecraft is a safe distance from the space station, engineers will remotely conduct the first Saffire experiment before the Cygnus’ destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Before detaching from the station, Cygnus will also be filled with about 3,000 pounds of trash, which will be burned up over the Pacific Ocean.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/26/robotic-arm-grabs-space-delivery-after-three-day-mission/

13,544 · March 27, 2016

3 hours ago, Draggendrop said:

Cygnus Installed to Station’s Unity Module

the International Space Station’s configuration consists of five spacecraft docked to the orbital laboratory including the new Cygnus cargo ship installed to the Unity module. Credit: NASA

Wow, it's getting bigger and bigger! They've really hauled a lot of stuff up there already!

6,181 · March 29, 2016

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 March 2016

Quote

Crew Off Duty: Today was a half duty day and Monday will be a full off duty day for the USOS crew. This is to pay the crew back for performing Cygnus operations this weekend.

Orbital 6 (OA-6): Kopra and Peake participated in a Cygnus rendezvous conference with ground teams to prepare for OA-6 capture tomorrow at 5:40AM CDT and berthing approximately 3 hours later. Vehicle ingress and cargo transfer operations will occur on Sunday.

Education Payloads Operations (EPO) - AstroPi File Transfer and De-installation: Peake copied files from the AstroPi Micro standard definition card to an SSC for downlink prior to deinstalling AstroPi in Node 2. AstroPi is composed of RaspberryPi B+, Sense HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) and a camera module. Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that enables students to explore computing and learn how to program. Two AstroPi are on board: AstroPi Vis, with visible light camera, and AstroPi IR, with an infrared camera. Both AstroPi programs were written by the winners of a student competition and collect data from sensors (i.e., inertial movement, barometric pressure, relative humidity and temperature) which will be shared with schools.

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Cygnus PROX GPSR data monitoring
Cygnus rendezvous conference
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 03/26: Cygnus capture/berth
Sunday, 03/27: Cygnus ingress, cargo transfer ops
Monday, 03/28: Crew off duty

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-25-march-2016.html

--------------------

International Space Station Calendar

Quote

Date Event

March 18/19, 2016 Soyuz TMA-20M Launch & Docking (Ovchinin, Skripochka, Williams)

March 23, 2016 Cygnus OA-6 Launch atop Atlas V

March 26, 2016 Cygnus OA-6 Rendezvous, Capture & Berthing to Node 1

March 29. 2016 Progress M-29M Undocking from Zvezda

March 31, 2016 Progress MS-2 Launch atop Soyuz

April 2, 2016 Progress MS-02 Docking to Zvezda

April 4, 2016 Dragon SpX-8 Launch atop Falcon 9

April 6, 2016 Dragon SpX-8 Capture & Berthing to Harmony

April Satellite Deployment (STMSAT-1)

April /May U.S. EVA-36 & 37 (TBD)

May 1, 2016 Dragon SpX-8 Departure & Landing

May 20, 2016 Cygnus OA-6 Unberthing, Release

May 31, 2016 Cygnus OA-5 Launch atop Antares 230

May/June BEAM Module Installation

http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/

----------------------------------

Full Moon Lights Up Himalayan Valley As Seen From Space

Himalayan Valley NASA/ESA

Quote

Tim Peake @Astro_TimPeake Himalayan valley under a Full Moon As Seen From The Space Station Credits: ESA/NASA

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/full-moon-lights-up-himalayan-valley-as-seen-from-space.html

-----------------------

Fishing Boats At Night Off The Coast of Bankok As Seen From Orbit

Fishing Boats NASA/ESA

Quote

Tim Peake @Astro_TimPeake A sea of green fishing boats lights up the night.

A view of Bangkok (the bright city at left) to Ho Chi Minh City (the two bright dots) and Cam Ranh (the brightest patch at the right edge, in Vietnam. The land bottom left is Malaysia, the central city along the coastline is Besut. The photo was taken over Sumatra, looking north.

Credits: ESA/NASA

http://spaceref.com/onorbit/fishing-boats-at-night-off-the-coast-of-bankok-as-seen-from-orbit.html

--------------------------------

Space Station Flies Over Roman Ruins in Stunning Skywatcher Photo

ISS-CidadeRomanaAmmaia-Claro.jpg?interpo

The International Space Station flies over the Roman city of Ammaia in this image taken by astrophotographer Miguel Claro in the summer of 2015.
Credit: Miguel Claro

Quote

The International Space Station flies over the ancient Roman city of Ammaia (in modern day Portugal) in this stunning skywatcher image.

This image was taken by astrophotographer Miguel Claro in the summer of 2015. Claro took the image at "one of the remaining ruins from the Southern Gate Tower of the Roman City of Ammaia," he told Space.com in an email. "At the right side of the moon it is visible the planet Venus."

The International Space Station is a microgravity laboratory and a facility for astronomical, environmental and geological research. The station flies at an average altitude of 248 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. It circles the globe every 90 minutes at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h).

Quote

Ammaia was a bustling Roman town during the first century B.C. Excavations in the area reveal a town that included running water, a forum, baths, a bridge over the river Sever, as well as monumental gates. Nobility from the region had access to imported luxury goods, fine jewelry and marble. Many items from the ancient region are in collections at museums across the world.

http://www.space.com/32070-space-station-over-roman-ruins-skywatcher-image.html

4,811 · March 29, 2016

The hustle and bustle continues! Full arrival/departure manifest, especially the Russian schedule. Four day turnaround on Zvezda's berth.

That's how we like the ISS -- busy. :yes:

13,544 · March 29, 2016

The next baby is being prepared for the launch on the 31st:

6,181 · March 30, 2016

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 March 2016

Quote

Today: Crew Off Duty: Today was a full off duty day for the USOS crew. This is to pay the crew back for performing Cygnus operations over the weekend.

Orbital 6 (OA-6) Capture and Berthing: Cygnus was successfully captured and berthed to the ISS on Saturday. The crew ingressed the vehicle on Sunday, spent 12.5 hours performing cargo transfer operations and cleared the entire corridor of the Cygnus vehicle. In addition, the following activities were completed:

Rodent Research 3 Eli Lilly (RR-3) Gather: Williams gathered and organized consumables needed for RR-3 operations which will occur in three blocks of time. Items were gathered to maximize efficiency for each of those time periods.

Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations: Kopra completed a session of the Habitability experiment, recording and submitting a walk-through video documenting observations of an area or activity providing insight related to human factors and habitability.

NanoRacks Platform-2 Modules Install: Williams installed Modules 16, 18, and 21 in NanoRacks Platform-2. Module 16 is the parent for three sub-module experiments; Water Purification Through Reverse Osmosis, Protein Crystallization, and High Temperature Dispersion in Microgravity. Module 18 is the parent for sub-module experiments Plant Inoculation Against Fungal Pathogens in Microgravity and Magnetic Field & Background Radiation Monitoring. Module 21 is the parent for three sub-experiments; Silver Crystal Growth, Memory Loss, Wisconsin Fast Plant Growth in a Vibration Environment.

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA): On Saturday, the UPA was taken to standby due to high P16 pressure, indicating condensation in the bowl. Later that day, after the system pumped down and dried out, a successful process cycle was completed.

On Board Training (OBT) Cygnus Rendezvous Debrief: Today the USOS crew participated in a debrief with ground teams to cover questions and comments related to Cygnus capture and berthing.

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
63P docking video test
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 03/29: Dragon OBT, 46S unpack, EFU Adaptor/GPS/Wheel Demo Unit Installation, SLM Ops
Wednesday, 03/30: 61P undock, ENERGY equipment gather, FINE Motor Skills, Cardio Ox, Safety Video
Thursday, 03/31: 63P launch, SPRINT VO2 ops, EMU swap, ENERGY Ops, Dragon OBT

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - Off
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-25-march-2016-1.html

------------------------------

Cargo Missions Lined Up for Space Deliveries

The Progress 63 spacecraft is at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: RSC Energia

Quote

It will be rush hour at the International Space Station for the next two weeks as a pair of spaceships gets ready to launch new science, hardware and crew supplies to the Expedition 47 crew. As the crew prepares for the new shipments, they are already working on the latest research delivered Saturday on the newest Cygnus space freighter from Orbital ATK.

The Progress 61 resupply ship has been packed and is ready to undock from the Zvezda service module taking out the trash Wednesday morning. It will be replaced Saturday afternoon when the Progress 63 cargo craft arrives at the same Zvezda port. The 63P will launch Thursday at 12:23 p.m. EDT/4:23 p.m. UTC from Kazakhstan and will be covered live on NASA TV.

SpaceX is getting its Falcon 9 rocket ready in Florida for the April 8 launch of the Dragon cargo craft. Dragon will arrive at the station two days later. Once it is captured and installed to the Tranquility module, there will be six spacecraft attached to the space station for the first time.

The newest spacecraft at the station, Cygnus, arrived Saturday loaded with new science including the Gecko Gripper experiment. The crew began work on the advanced adhesive study today that could enable new touch-to-stick methods and catch and release technologies such as robotic crawlers that walk and work on the outside of spacecraft.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/29/cargo-missions-lined-up-for-space-deliveries/

---------------------------------

Progress cargo craft rolled out for launch to space station

Quote

The second of three robotic resupply ships going to the International Space Station in two weeks has arrived at its launch pad in Kazakhstan for liftoff Thursday aboard a Soyuz rocket.

The Progress MS-02 cargo carrier and its Soyuz booster rolled out of an assembly hangar at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at dawn Tuesday, riding a specialized rail car across the spaceport’s barren steppe before arriving at its launch pad.

Ground crews hoisted the rocket vertical atop the launch mount, and clamshell-like service towers folded around the booster to give workers access for final preflight checks.

The Progress MS-02 spacecraft is packed with more than 2.5 metric tons (5,500 pounds) of provisions for the space station’s crew, experiments, fuel, water and air.

The three-stage Soyuz rocket is set for liftoff Thursday at 1623:58 GMT (12:23:58 p.m. EDT) to begin a two-day, 34-orbit pursuit of the space station.

Fueled by a mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen, the Soyuz rocket will put the Progress MS-02 spaceship into a preliminary orbit about nine minutes after liftoff. The automated spacecraft’s own engines will shift its orbit to match that of the space station ahead of a radar-guided final approach Saturday.

Linkup with the orbiting outpost’s Zvezda service module is set for 1801 GMT (2:01 p.m. EDT) Saturday.

Russian technicians enclose the Progress MS-02 spacecraft inside the Soyuz rocket’s payload fairing. Credit: Roscosmos

Photo credit: Roscosmos

This one is neat, illusion of resting on the ladder....

Photo credit: Roscosmos

Lots of images at the link...great photo shoot...

http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/03/29/progress-cargo-craft-rolled-out-for-launch-to-space-station/

-------------------------------

Soyuz rocket to launch Progress MS-02

Progress MS-02 during pre-launch processing.

Quote

A Soyuz-2-1a rocket carrying the Progress MS-02 cargo ship is scheduled to lift off from Pad 6 at Site 31 in Baikonur on March 31, 2016, at 19:23:58 Moscow Time (12:23 p.m. EDT). After a nine-minute ascent to orbit, the spacecraft should separate from the third stage of the launch vehicle at 19:32 Moscow Time (12:32 p.m. EDT).

Inside, the ship will carry supplies for the 47th long-duration expedition on the ISS.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module, SM, the part of the Russian segment of the ISS on April 2, 2016, at 21:01 Moscow Time (2:01 p.m. EDT).

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/progress-ms02.html

4,811 · March 30, 2016

Ahhh .... :yes: /me smells the odor of spent rocket fuel and lots of hard work

I friggin' love how busy things are with the ISS (and Space in general) the past few years. The launch cadence has picked up very nicely on all sides, and with Vostochny coming on-line soon it'll get even more busy. Wallops Island is gonna be back in business soon; and at the Cape, SpaceX is putting 39-A back in service with a huge refit and upgrade. 2017 will really be the year that SpaceX hits their stride.

Hopefully ATK's upgraded Launch Vehicle is everything they hope it is -- they need to get back in the game with their own gear. We'll find out soon.

13,544 · March 30, 2016

If you'd like to know a bit more about ISS Zvezda module (which tomorrow's rocket is gonna dock to three days later), click here. What's caught my attention is that it's basically an improved version of MIR and was in fact called MIR-2 during the production.

39,247 · March 30, 2016

Time to get Bigelow ramped up to B330 and Olympus....

@Jeff_foust

Scimemi: we have a “window” for the end of the ISS, not strictly ending in 2024. There is an engineering-based end date of 2028 currently.

Which means events could drive an earlier date.

4,811 · March 30, 2016

2 hours ago, DocM said:

Time to get Bigelow ramped up to B330 and Olympus....

@Jeff_foust

Scimemi: we have a “window” for the end of the ISS, not strictly ending in 2024. There is an engineering-based end date of 2028 currently.

Which means events could drive an earlier date.

I agree with getting Bigelow's gear ramped up.

Something I'd like to put out there for consideration, however, is this:

Some portions of the ISS are approaching "middle age". We know this. What about the prospects of a Refit? I'd love to see the ISS get a refurb and rehab to extend its' useful service life rather than simply tossing it aside and deorbiting it. There's plenty of room for the ISS to get upgrades.

I know it's easier and more practical to build new modules on Earth, launch them and then base a new Station off of that; but I hate waste -- and the ISS is already up there.

Just a thought.

39,247 · March 30, 2016

Much of the ISS tech is 2 decades old, and replacing it with modern parts would involve disassembly of module segments which were not intended to be disassembled - a real can of worms.

This is more work and expense than just building a new station using Bigelow habitats and nodes, which are designed to be easily replaced.

8,533 · March 30, 2016

Just now, DocM said:

Much of the tech is 2-3 decades old, and replacing it would involve disassembly of module segments which were not intended to be disassembled - a real can of worms.

This is more work and expense than just building a new station using Bigelow habitats and nodes, which are designed to be easily replaced.

It might be easier to slowly expand ISS, attach a new core module to the expansion then start to decommission older segments?

39,247 · March 30, 2016

Which means replacing all the solar arrays, batteries and power processors because they're half as efficient as modern panels and hardware, and expansion means more power. Now let's discuss the outdated ECLSS and other too small items which are already high maintenance.

6,181 · March 30, 2016

IMHO, the ISS has, and still is, serving her purpose till "end of life". At that point, we are talking about 2 and 3 decade old designs, which has maintenance creep with age. The most cost effective solution is to transfer the newest science gear, if needed, to a newer hab, if one is in orbit at the time. Otherwise I am afraid that the most cost effective solution is to send her down for "rapid scheduled disassembly" .

It's sad talking like this about ....you know who.....

-----------------------------

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 March 2016

Quote

It will be rush hour at the International Space Station for the next two weeks as a pair of spaceships gets ready to launch new science, hardware and crew supplies to the Expedition 47 crew. As the crew prepares for the new shipments, they are already working on the latest research delivered Saturday on the newest Cygnus space freighter from Orbital ATK.

The Progress 61 resupply ship has been packed and is ready to undock from the Zvezda service module taking out the trash Wednesday morning. It will be replaced Saturday afternoon when the Progress 63 cargo craft arrives at the same Zvezda port. The 63P will launch Thursday at 12:23 p.m. EDT/4:23 p.m. UTC from Kazakhstan and will be covered live on NASA TV.

SpaceX is getting its Falcon 9 rocket ready in Florida for the April 8 launch of the Dragon cargo craft. Dragon will arrive at the station two days later. Once it is captured and installed to the Tranquility module, there will be six spacecraft attached to the space station for the first time.

The newest spacecraft at the station, Cygnus, arrived Saturday loaded with new science including the Gecko Gripper experiment. The crew began work on the advanced adhesive study today that could enable new touch-to-stick methods and catch and release technologies such as robotic crawlers that walk and work on the outside of spacecraft.

Quote

Exposed Facility Unit (EFU) Adapter, Global Positioning System (GPS)/Wheel Demo Unit Installation: Peake opened the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Air Lock (AL) inner hatch and extended the Slide Table into the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM). Then, with assistance from Williams, he installed the EFU adapter to the Slide Table. The EFU adapter is a new type of facility platform that is used as an interface between JEM EFU and payloads. Up to 2 payloads can be attached to the EFU adapter by Inter-Vehicular Activity (IVA) in the JPM. Peake also installed the GPS/Wheel demo unit to the EFU adapter and retracted the Slide Table from the JPM back to the JEMAL.

Dragon On-Board Training (OBT): In preparation for SpX-8 arrival currently planned for April 10, the USOS crew practiced capturing the vehicle. During the session, the crew practiced a 30 meter (30M) approach, two Capture Point hold runs and 2m runs.

Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion Products (CPA-CP) Maintenance: Kopra completed this routine maintenance to replace the battery packs in all CSA-CPs and zero calibrate all units.

Sound Level Meter (SLM) Operations: Kopra measured the acoustic environment in the habitable areas of the ISS including the JPM, Node 2, US Lab, Service Module and Functional Cargo Block (FGB), by taking sound level readings. The data was downlinked to the ground for analysis.

Quote

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Elektron activation

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 03/30: 61P undock, ENERGY equipment gather, FINE Motor Skills, Cardio Ox, Safety Video
Thursday, 03/31: 63P launch, SPRINT VO2 ops, EMU swap, ENERGY Ops, Dragon OBT
Friday, 04/01: ENERGY ops, SPRINT VO2 ops, EVA loop scrub

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:
Component - Status
Elektron - On
Vozdukh - Manual
[СКВ] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off
[СКВ] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Full Up

http://spaceref.com/international-space-station/nasa-international-space-station-on-orbit-status-29-march-2016.html

----------------------------

Russian Cargo Craft Departs Before New Supplies Arrive

The March 30, 2016, departure of the Progress 61 cargo craft leaves four spacecraft attached to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Quote

The Russian ISS Progress 61 cargo spacecraft undocked from the aft port of the International Space Station’s Zvezda Service Module at 10:15 a.m. EDT, clearing the port for the arrival of a new Russian resupply vehicle this weekend.

The Progress 61 vehicle arrived at the International Space Station on October 1 with three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the station crew, and now loaded with trash, was undocked to move a safe distance away from the station for a series of engineering tests by Russian flight controllers. The craft will be deorbited on April 8 to harmlessly burn up over the Pacific Ocean.

The departure of the Progress 61 vehicle sets the stage for tomorrow’s launch of the new ISS Progress 63 cargo ship from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:23 p.m. EDT. NASA Television coverage of the launch will begin at 12 p.m., and can be see online at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

Launch of the Progress 63 vehicle will mark the second cargo ship in as many weeks scheduled to arrive at the station. The Progress is scheduled to dock automatically to Zvezda Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT. Next up after that — the scheduled launch of the SpaceX Dragon vehicle on April 8 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Its arrival at the complex on April 10 as the third resupply vehicle for the station in three weeks will result in some 12 tons of cargo for the station’s residents from Progress, Dragon and the Orbital ATK Cygnus ship that arrived at the station on March 26.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/30/russian-cargo-craft-departs-before-new-supplies-arrive/

Russian Progress Cargo Craft departs Space Station for week-long Free Flight

http://spaceflight101.com/progress-m-29m-undocking/

----------------------------

[ISS] Progress M-29M Undocks from ISS ahead of Progress MS-2 Launch

video is 1:37 min.

-------------------------------------

Russia Swaps Cargo Ships This Week

Gantry towers surround the Progress 63 rocket at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: RSC Energia

Quote

A Russian resupply ship left the International Space Station this morning and will be quickly replaced Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, the Expedition 47 crew went about its full schedule of advanced space science and orbital lab maintenance.

The Progress 61 (61P) cargo craft undocked this morning from the Zvezda service module loaded with trash. It is headed for a fiery disposal Friday, April 8th, over the Pacific Ocean. The 61P will be replaced after the Progress 63 (63P) spaceship launches Thursday at 12:23 p.m. EDT/4:23 p.m. UTC. The 63P will dock to the same Zvezda port Saturday at 2 p.m. with more than 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies. Both launch and docking activities will be covered live on NASA Television.

NASA astronauts Tim Kopra and Jeff Williams explored how working in space affects detailed, interactive tasks when using a touch-based computer tablet. Kopra then helped familiarize Williams with station systems and operations. Earlier in the day, British astronaut Tim Peake assisted Williams for ultrasound scans of his arteries for the Cardio Ox experiment.

Veteran station cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Oleg Skripochka continued researching how international crew members interact with each other and ground controllers from around the world. First-time cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin explored plasma features in the Earth’s ionosphere. He also joined Malenchenko for the Biocard heart study.

The next cargo craft after the 63P will be the SpaceX Dragon when it arrives on April 10. This will be the first time since February 2011 six spacecraft are attached to the space station. The Orbital ATK Cygnus is the newest spacecraft installed at the station’s Unity module port after being captured Saturday.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/03/30/russia-swaps-cargo-ships-this-week/

Russia set to launch Progress MS-2/63P resupply mission to ISS

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/03/russia-launch-progress-ms-263p-iss/

---------------------------

Russian Space Station Cargo Ship Launch, Docking to Air on NASA TV

Quote

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of an unpiloted Russian cargo spacecraft, Progress 63P, to resupply the International Space Station.

Launch of the spacecraft carrying three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 47 crew is scheduled for 12:23 p.m. EDT (10:23 p.m.

Baikonur time) on Thursday, March 31, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA TV coverage will begin at noon.

Progress 63P is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 2 p.m. on April 2. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 1:15 p.m. This will be the second of three cargo ships that will arrive at the station in as many weeks, flanked by Orbital ATK's Cygnus craft and SpaceX's Dragon vehicle.

The two-day rendezvous for the Progress is deliberately planned to enable Russian flight controllers to test new software and communications equipment for the new vehicle configuration that will be standard for future Progress and piloted Soyuz spacecraft.

The ISS Progress 61 cargo vehicle, currently docked at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module, will depart the station on Wednesday, March 30. Its undocking will not be broadcast on NASA TV. Loaded with trash, the older Progress will be used for engineering tests before it is deorbited on Friday, April 8 to burn up over the Pacific Ocean.

The new Progress will spend more than six months at the station before departing in mid-October for its deorbit into the Earth's atmosphere.

The NASA Television schedule is available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/prnewswire-space-news.html?rkey=20160324DC55794&filter=1639

----------------------

VR 'Space Invaders' on ISS - It’s 1978 Again In Orbit | Video

Quote

It’s been 38 years since Tomohiro Nishikado created the classic arcade game and now astronauts aboard the International Space Station entered the game virtuallly with "Project Sidekick." They are testing tech that NASA hopes to use to be able to "look over the shoulder" and overlay information. NASA added special effects in the video for fun.

http://www.space.com/32417-vr-space-invaders-on-iss-its-1978-again-in-orbit-video.html

Space invaders – in space!

video is 0:23 min.

Orbit No.	Time	Firing duration	delta V	Period	Inclination	Resulting perigee	Resulting apogee
1	01:12:24	49.3 seconds	19.62 m/s	89.31 minutes	51.64 degrees	227.42 kilometers	266.81 kilometers
2	01:56:47	31.4 seconds	12.37 m/s	89.74 minutes	51.64 degrees	260.25 kilometers	286.28 kilometers
2	02:29:48	18.3 seconds	7.00 m/s	89.98 minutes	51.67 degrees	261.15 kilometers	300.99 kilometers
2	02:59:47	18.3 seconds	7.00 m/s	90.23 minutes	51.64 degrees	280.91 kilometers	303.20 kilometers

Primary crew	Backup crew
Jeffrey Williams, Commander, Expedition 48, NASA	Sergei Ryzhikov (Roskosmos)
Aleksey Ovchinin, Soyuz commander, Flight engineer (Roskosmos)	Andrei Borisenko (Roskosmos)
Oleg Skripochka, Flight engineer (NASA)	Robert Kimbrow (NASA)

6:12 p.m.	DV1 (19.62 m/s)
6:56 p.m.	DV2 (12.37 m/s)
6:57 p.m.	Daily Orbit 2 RGS AOS
7:18 p.m.	DV3 (4.630 m/s)
7:19 p.m.	Daily Orbit 2 RGS LOS
8:02 p.m.	DV4 (8.801 m/s)
8:27 p.m.	Daily Orbit 3 RGS AOS
8:45 p.m.	Daily Orbit 3 RGS LOS
9:02 p.m	Automated Rendezvous start
9:05 p.m.	USOS to RS MCS Handover: LVLH(177.0,357.1,0.7)
9:08 p.m.	Impulse 1 (20.927 m/s)
9:10 p.m.	ISS mnvr to dock attitude: LVLH(165.0,0.0,0.0)
9:31 p.m.	Impulse 2 (0.056 m/s)
9:34 p.m.	Soyuz Kurs-A activation
9:34 p.m.	Ham radio deactivate NLT (VHF-2 voice activation)
9:34 p.m.	Range = 200 km: Soyuz VHF-2 voice link
9:36 p.m.	SM Kurs-P activation
9: 51 p.m.	Sunrise at Launch Site
9:54 p.m.	Impulse 3 (33.919 m/s)
10:00 p.m.	Daily Orbit 4 RGS AOS
10:00 p.m.	Range = 80 km: Valid Kurs-P range data
10:06 p.m.	Sunrise
10:16 p.m.	Daily Orbit 4 RGS LOS
10:21 p.m.	Range = 15 km: Kurs-A & Kurs-P short test
10:28 p.m.	Robonaut deactivate NLT (TV activation)
10:28 p.m.	Range = 8 km: Soyuz TV activation
10:31 p.m.	SCAN & Rapidscat inhibit NLT (range = 6 km)
10:36 p.m.	Impulse 4 (7.196 m/s)
10:28 p.m.	ICS inhibit NLT (range = 2 km)
10:30 p.m.	NASA TV Docking Coverage Begins
10:38 p.m.	Ballistic Targeting Point
10:41 p.m.	Impulse 5 (6.048 m/s)
10:44 p.m.	Impulse 6 (2.005 m/s)
10:47 p.m.	Flyaround mode start
10:56 p.m.	Stationkeeping start
11:00 p.m.	Final Approach start
11:02 p.m.	ISS inertial snap-and-hold window open
11:04 p.m.	Ku-band mask enable NLT (range = 60 m)
11:04 p.m.	Sunset
11:11 p.m.	Docking
11:11 p.m.	ISS to free drift at docking
11:12 p.m.	ISS inertial snap-and-hold window close
11:25 p.m.	Soyuz & MRM2 hooks closed: ISS mnvr to LVLH(177.0,358.4,0.7)
11:36 p.m.	Daily Orbit 5 RGS AOS
11:39 p.m.	Sunrise
11:54 p.m.	Daily Orbit 5 RGS LOS
12:05 a.m.	RS to USOS MCS Handover

Date	Event
March 18/19, 2016	Soyuz TMA-20M Launch & Docking (Ovchinin, Skripochka, Williams)
March 23, 2016	Cygnus OA-6 Launch atop Atlas V
March 26, 2016	Cygnus OA-6 Rendezvous, Capture & Berthing to Node 1
March 29. 2016	Progress M-29M Undocking from Zvezda
March 31, 2016	Progress MS-2 Launch atop Soyuz
April 2, 2016	Progress MS-02 Docking to Zvezda
April 4, 2016	Dragon SpX-8 Launch atop Falcon 9
April 6, 2016	Dragon SpX-8 Capture & Berthing to Harmony
April	Satellite Deployment (STMSAT-1)
April /May	U.S. EVA-36 & 37 (TBD)
May 1, 2016	Dragon SpX-8 Departure & Landing
May 20, 2016	Cygnus OA-6 Unberthing, Release
May 31, 2016	Cygnus OA-5 Launch atop Antares 230
May/June	BEAM Module Installation

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