Space life

The Earth begins illuminating during an orbital sunrise as spacewalkers (lower right) Sultan Alneyadi and Stephen Bowen  work outside the space station. Credit: NASA TV NASA astronaut Steve Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi concluded their spacewalk at 4:12 p.m. EDT after 7 hours and 1 minute. Bowen and Alneyadi laid cables and installed insulation on mounting brackets on the starboard truss of the station for the installation of the next pair of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays ( iROSAs ). The astronauts were unable to free up an electronics box located on the truss associated with a degraded S-band communications antenna. The antenna removal was deferred to a future spacewalk ahead of its planned return to Earth. The installation is part of a series of spacewalks to augment the International Space Station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). Four iROSAs have been installed so far...

Astronauts (from left) Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi try on and test out the their spacesuits ahead of a spacewalk planned for Friday, April 28. NASA astronaut Steve Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi began a spacewalk at 9:11 a.m. EDT to prepare for future installation of upgraded solar arrays on the starboard side of the station’s truss. The astronauts will then retrieve S-band antenna equipment and bring it inside the space station for refurbishment. The spacewalk is part of a series to augment the station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays ( iROSAs ). Four of the new arrays have been installed so far, and two additional arrays will be mounted to the installed platforms during future spacewalks following their arrival this year on SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA. Bowen serves as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV 1) and is wearing a suit with red stripes. Alneyadi serves as extr...

Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from left) Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi prepare their spacesuits for an upcoming spacewalk to continue station power upgrades. NASA Television coverage of today’s spacewalk with NASA astronaut Steve Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi now is underway and also is available on the NASA app , the space station blog and the agency’s website . The two Expedition 69 crew members are preparing to exit the  International Space Station ‘s Quest airlock for a spacewalk expected to begin at about 9:15 a.m. EDT and last approximately six-and-a-half-hours. Bowen and Alneyadi will prepare for future installation of upgraded solar arrays on the starboard side of the station’s truss. The astronauts will then retrieve S-band antenna equipment and bring it inside the space station for refurbishment. The spacewalk is part of a series to augment the station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (...

The International Space Station was pictured Oct. 4, 2018, from the departing Expedition 56 crew during a flyaround aboard the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft. Credit: Roscosmos/NASA The International Space Station partners have committed to extending the operations of this unique platform in low Earth orbit where, for more than 22 years, humans have lived and worked for the benefit of humanity, conducting cutting-edge science and research in microgravity. The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA (European Space Agency) have confirmed they will support continued space station operations through 2030 and Russia has confirmed it will support continued station operations through 2028. NASA will continue to work with its partner agencies to ensure an uninterrupted presence in low Earth orbit, as well as a safe and orderly transition from the space station to commercial platforms in the future. “The International Space Station is an incredible partnership with a ...

Astronaut Stephen Bowen poses for a picture during a spacewalk on March 2, 2011, when he was conducting hardware maintenance on the outside of the space station. The Expedition 69 crew is ready for a spacewalk set to begin on Friday to upgrade the International Space Station ’s power generation system. In the meantime, fitness evaluations and robotic tests rounded out the schedule aboard the orbital outpost on Thursday. Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) are finalizing their tool collections and Quest airlock configurations the day before their six-and-a-half hour spacewalk begins. They staged their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, inside Quest and finished studying the procedures they will use to route power cables and retrieve an antenna on the station’s starboard truss structure . The external hardware work will ready the space station for its next set of roll-out solar arrays due to be installed after...

Astronauts (from left) Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi try on and test out the their spacesuits ahead of a spacewalk planned for Friday, April 28. As spacewalk preparations are under way aboard the International Space Station , the Expedition 69 crew is continuing its advanced microgravity research while maintaining orbital lab systems. Two astronauts are readying their tools today for a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk planned to start at 9:15 a.m. EDT on Friday. NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen will be going on his eighth career spacewalk with first-time spacewalker and astronaut Sultan Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates). The duo will work in the vacuum of space on the starboard side of the station’s truss structure routing power cables and retrieving a communications antenna. The cable work is being done in advance of the installation of the station’s fourth roll-out solar array. The iROSA, or International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, is due to be delivered on...

Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from left) Stephen Bowen and Sultan Alneyadi prepare their spacesuits for an upcoming spacewalk to continue station power upgrades. Four Expedition 69 astronauts aboard the International Space Station worked throughout Tuesday preparing for a spacewalk and cleaning space biology hardware. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts had an off-duty day following several days of their own spacewalk preparations. Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) spent Tuesday configuring their Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits, to get ready for a spacewalk set for 9:15 a.m. EDT on Friday. The duo also organized their spacewalking tools and inspected the tethers that will keep the spacewalkers safely attached to the station. The pair were joined in the afternoon by NASA Flight Engineers Woody Hoburg and Frank Rubio reviewing spacewalk procedures with mission controllers on the ground. The two spa...

Astronaut Stephen Bowen is pictured waving during the seventh spacewalk of his career on March 2, 2011. Two astronauts on the Expedition 69 crew are gearing up for a spacewalk at the end of the week. Meanwhile, two cosmonauts are standing down after their spacewalk planned for Tuesday was postponed. Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) are preparing for a spacewalk scheduled for 9:15 a.m. EDT on Friday. The duo in their Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits, will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space continuing to upgrade the orbital outpost’s power generation system. International Space Station managers will appear on NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website , at 2 p.m. today to discuss Friday’s spacewalk. The two astronauts spent the day checking their spacesuits for leaks and proper fit verification with assistance from NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg . Hoburg, along with NASA Flight Engineer Fr...

The Cygnus space freighter is pictured moments after being released from the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic completing its stay at the space station. Credit: NASA TV At 7:22 a.m. EDT, Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was released from the Canadarm2 robotic arm which earlier detached Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station ’s Unity module. At the time of release, the station was flying southwest of Ireland. The Cygnus spacecraft successfully departed the space station more than five months after arriving at the microgravity laboratory to deliver about 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations , commercial products, hardware, and other cargo for NASA. Following a deorbit engine firing later Friday evening, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Cygnus arrived at the space station Nov. 10, following a launch on Northr...

The Cygnus space freighter, loaded with 8,200 pounds of cargo, is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its installation to the Unity module on Nov. 9, 2022. Live coverage of the departure of Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website , and the NASA app , with its release from the robotic arm scheduled for 7:20 a.m. EDT. Coverage will conclude following departure from station. Flight controllers on the ground sent commands earlier Friday morning for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port, and then maneuver the spacecraft into position for its release. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi will monitor Cygnus’ systems during its departure from the space station. Following a deorbit engine firing later Friday evening, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecra...

The Cygnus cargo craft is pictured moments after being captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Nov. 9, 2022. Credit: NASA TV Fluid physics research and cargo craft departure activities kept the Expedition 69 astronauts busy aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The cosmonauts were also back to work following an extended sleep period after they completed a spacewalk to move and install hardware on the orbital outpost. All four astronauts worked throughout the day on a new technology study demonstrating the potential of using a liquid-based carbon dioxide removal system in space. UAE (United Arab Emirates) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi kicked off the experiment Thursday morning setting up hardware and performing a test run to verify liquid flows. Next, NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg performed a variety of experiment runs observing different ways to control liquids in weightlessness. Finally, NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio took over th...

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev’s helmet camera captures Earth views and cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin at work during the April 18 Russian spacewalk to install a radiator on the Nauka science module. Credit: NASA TV. Human research and fluid physics were the main science experiments taking place aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday for four Expedition 69 astronauts. The three cosmonauts aboard the orbital outpost slept in following an overnight spacewalk to move and install hardware. The latest space biology experiment taking place on the station explores how living long-term in weightlessness affects an astronaut’s eyes and brain. The lack of gravity causes blood and cerebrospinal fluid to shift toward the head creating ocular and cranial pressure. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg studied that phenomena Wednesday morning and ways to offset the space-caused symptoms by collecting their blood pressure measurements and scanning their chests with the Ultrasound ...

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the space station during a spacewalk today to move a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka module. Credit: NASA TV Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk on Tuesday, April 19, at 5:35 a.m. EDT after seven hours and 55 minutes. Prokopyev and Petelin completed their major objectives, which included relocating a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module with assistance from European robotic arm operator cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. This was the fourth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the second for Petelin. It is the third spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 260th spacewalk  for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. The two Roscosmos cosmonauts will also conduct a spacewalk on Tuesday, April 25, to relocate an experiment airlock from Rassvet to Nauka. An additional spacewalk is planned on Thursday, May 4, to deploy the radiator on Nau...

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work on the outside of the Rassvet module during a spacewalk on Nov. 17, 2022. Credit: NASA TV Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin began a spacewalk at 9:40 p.m. EDT to relocate a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module with assistance from European robotic arm operator cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television, the  NASA app , and the agency’s  website . Prokopyev is wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the fourth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the second for Petelin. It is the third spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 260th spacewalk  for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  ...

Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev (left) is conducting his fifth career spacewalk. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin (right) is conducting his third spacewalk. NASA Television coverage is underway for today’s spacewalk with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. The duo, with assistance from European robotic arm operator cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, will relocate a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module on the International Space Station Coverage of the spacewalk is on NASA Television the NASA app , and agency’s website . Prokopyev and Petelin will exit out of the Poisk module at about 9:30 p.m. EDT Prokopyev is wearing the Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the fourth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the second for Petelin. It is the third spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 260th spacewalk  for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. Learn more about statio...

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are pictured conducting a six-hour and 25-minute spacewalk in their Orlan spacesuits on Nov. 17, 2022. The Expedition 69 cosmonauts are sleeping in today resting up for a logistics spacewalk set to begin tonight. Meanwhile, the rest of the International Space Station crew continued cleaning biology research hardware, conducted an eye and brain study, and serviced a pair of spacesuits. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin have completed their spacewalk preparations and are getting a good night’s sleep before beginning a spacewalk at 9:30 p.m. EDT today . The pair from Roscosmos will exit the Poisk module ‘s airlock in their Orlan spacesuits and spend about six hours and 40 minutes moving a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module . Fellow cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev will assist the spacewalkers from inside the station operating the European robotic arm and maneuvering the radiator from Ra...

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev is pictured in his Orlan spacesuit during a spacewalk outside the Zvezda service module on Aug. 15, 2018. Spacewalk preparations are under way at the International Space Station as two cosmonauts get ready for the first of three spacewalks set to begin on Tuesday. The rest of the Expedition 69 crew is cleaning up following the departure of a U.S. cargo craft while also working on a pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are set to begin their second spacewalk together at 9:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday . The duo spent Monday reviewing the tasks required to move a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module during the planned six-hour and 40-minute excursion. Prokopyev and Petelin also set up their spacewalking tools, installed components on their Orlan spacesuits, and organized the Poisk module ’s airlock where they will exit the station. Roscosmos Flight ...

The Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) Growth and Extinction Limits (GEL) experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) studies flame growth and extinction in an effort to improve fire safety in space. This image shows a sequence of snapshots taken about 3 seconds apart. Gel samples from the investigation are returning to Earth for further analysis on the SpaceX CRS-27 cargo Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 4:58 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 15, off the coast of Tampa, Florida, marking the return of the company’s 27th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The spacecraft carried approximately 4,300 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth. Some of the scientific investigations that Dragon is carrying include: Space tomato harvest: Samples from the Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the Internationa...

A SpaceX cargo Dragon undocked from the International Space Station at 11:05 a.m. EDT on April 15, 2023, as the station was flying over the Indian Ocean. It will return nearly 4,300 pounds of scientific samples and hardware for NASA. Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, Dragon undocked at 11:05 a.m. from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module. At the time of undocking the station was flying over the Indian Ocean. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Saturday, April 15. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog. Dragon arrived at the space station March 16 as SpaceX’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA, delivering more than 6,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware. It was launched March 14 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Compl...

A SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the International Space Station carrying more than 6,200 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and other cargo on March 16, 2023. Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station  is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website , and the NASA app . Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, Dragon will undock at 11:05 a.m. EDT from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Saturday, April 15. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog. Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog , @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as th...

The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station 260 miles above the Bay of Bengal on March 16, 2023. NASA and SpaceX officials have given the “go” for the science- and cargo-packed Dragon cargo craft to undock from the International Space Station and return to Earth.  While the Expedition 69 crew finalizes Dragon cargo operations, preparations are still underway for a busy period of spacewalks set to begin on Tuesday. An array of experiment hardware and research samples will return to Earth for analysis after Dragon undocks from the Harmony module ’s forward port at 11:05 a.m. EDT on Saturday . Dragon will parachute to a splash down off the coast of Florida several hours later where support personnel from NASA and SpaceX will retrieve the vehicle. The 4,300 pounds of return cargo packed inside Dragon will then be extracted at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where the completed research and station hardware will be shipped to scientists and engineers aro...

The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the station 261 miles above the Indian Ocean on March 16, 2023. Biology research, cargo packing, and spacewalk preparations continue aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 69 crew goes into a very busy April. NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg have been working on a variety of space experiments since their delivery aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on March 16 . The two astronauts, with assistance from NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio , are finalizing one experiment today by packing space biology samples and research hardware inside Dragon for its return to Earth this weekend. The completed study will help scientists understand how an astronaut’s body adapts to living long-term in weightlessness. They will continue more science-packing activities on Friday. The three NASA astronauts, including UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi , will also be on duty Saturday morning completing ...