Advanced Science Gear Work Ahead of Vehicle Rush Hour at Station

ISS — Expedition 60 Mission patch.

July 17, 2019

Three Expedition 60 crewmates aboard the International Space Station spent the day servicing a variety of research hardware. Back on Earth, three different rockets are preparing to replenish the orbiting lab with a new crew and more science and supplies.

NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Nick Hague have been working on an array of science gear today supporting numerous advanced microgravity experiments.

Koch installed the HERMES facility researching the dynamics of asteroid and planetary surfaces with no atmospheres. She then checked out the Photobioreactor that explores microalgae as a means to support hybrid life support systems.

Image above: The Earth’s limb and the atmospheric glow highlight the thin blue atmosphere back lit by the Sun’s rays during a period between night and day. The light of the moon and the starry Milky Way drape the background as the International Space Station orbited 257 miles above the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. Image Credit: NASA.

Hague was over in the Kibo laboratory module this morning configuring backup software for the Japanese robotic arm that maneuvers external experiments. After lunch, Hague replaced gear inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to support safe flame and fuel research in space.

The orbiting laboratory is gearing up for a high traffic period at the end of July. Two new Russian spaceships and a U.S. cargo craft will be occupying three different ports bringing the station crew up to full speed.

Saturday will see the launch and arrival of three new Flight Engineers aboard the Soyuz MS-13 crew ship. Astronauts Drew Morgan and Luca Parmitano and cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov will lift off Saturday at 12:28 p.m. EDT from Kazakhstan and dock to the Zvezda service module at 6:50 p.m.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

Next, the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is scheduled to launch from Florida at Sunday at 7:35 p.m. Hague and Koch will be at the helm of the robotics workstation in the cupola to capture Dragon on Tuesday at 11 a.m. with the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Finally, Russia’s Progress 73 (73P) space freighter will replace the Progress 72 when it departs the Pirs docking compartment July 29. The 73P is due to blast off July 31 on a short two-orbit trip before automatically docking to Pirs with food, fuel and supplies for the station inhabitants.

Related links:

Expedition 60: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition60/index.html

HERMES: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7732

Photobioreactor: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7426

Kibo laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory

Combustion Integrated Rack: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=317

High traffic period: https://www.nasa.gov/launchschedule/

Zvezda service module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html

Canadarm2 robotic arm: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mobile-servicing-system.html

Progress 72: https://go.nasa.gov/2IaDAKd

Pirs docking compartment: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/pirs-docking-compartment

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

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