NASA Unpacks 'Trunk' of SpaceX Cargo Capsule

The grapple bars delivered to the Space Station by SpaceX's Dragon capsule were unloaded today (March 6). CREDIT: NASA TV

NASA engineers used a robotic arm to unpack the first exterior cargo ever delivered to the International Space Station by an American-built commercial supply ship. A robotics team at NASA Mission Control in Houston remotely controlled the space station's 58-foot (17 meters) Canadarm2 robotic arm to unload two so-called grapple bars from the unpressurized "trunk" of the privately built unmanned Dragon space capsule. The Dragon's trunk is a cylindrical cargo section beneath the spacecraft's re-entry module.

Russian Cargo Craft Docks to Station

An unpiloted Russian cargo ship carrying nearly three tons of supplies for the Expedition 34 crew docked to the International Space Station less than six hours after launch Monday. 

The ISS Progress 50 resupply ship docked with the station’s Pirs docking compartment at 3:35 p.m. EST, delivering 1,764 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 3,000 pounds of spare parts, experiment hardware and logistics equipment --- 2.9 tons of supplies in all. The space freighter launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EST (8:41 p.m. Kazakhstan time) on an accelerated, four-orbit journey to rendezvous with the station.

Secret of Zero-G Fingernail Clipping

Robotic Refueling Demo Set to Jumpstart Expanded Capabilities in Space

The six-member Expedition 34 crew conducted an emergency escape drill Monday morning. The evacuation drill in the International Space Station simulates an emergency event such as a fire, pressure leak or toxic chemical release. The 3-hour drill requires the crew to split up and enter the docked Soyuz vehicles they arrived in.

Station Crew Does Maintenance as Soyuz Rolls to Launch Pad

The Soyuz rocket is erected into position after being rolled out to the launch pad by train on Dec. 17, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Dec. 19 and will send Expedition 34 Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA, Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko and Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

Final launch preparations are under way at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as three Expedition 34 flight engineers get ready for their launch to round out the standard six-person crew on the International Space Station. 

Earth's Highest Mountain Photographed From Space Station

Mount Everest was photographed from orbit by Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko last week, showing the peak of Earth's highest mountain.CREDIT: Malenchenko/Russian Federal Space Agency 

Plants in Space

Samples from the Seedling Growth investigation aboard the International Space Station help researchers study the impact of the microgravity environment on plant growth. (NASA) 

Why is NASA conducting plant research aboard the International Space Station? Because during future long-duration missions, life in space may depend on it. 

ISS Update: Packing and Preparing Space Food (Part 2)

Public Affairs Officer Amiko Kauderer talks with NASA Food Scientist Vickie Kloeris at Johnson Space Center's Space Food Laboratory. They are inside the Packaging Room that filters out contaminants and packages food for the astronauts. Beverages, freeze-dried food and snacks such as cookies and M&Ms are packaged here.

ISS Update: Packing and Preparing Space Food (Part 1)

Public Affairs Officer Amiko Kauderer talks with NASA Food Scientist Vickie Kloeris at Johnson Space Center's Space Food Laboratory. They talk about preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for the residents of the International Space Station.

Expedition 34 Thanksgiving Message

Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford shares a Thanksgiving message from the International Space Station. Ford demonstrates how the crew will spend the holiday on orbit and describes the menu he and his two crewmates will share on Thursday. Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin joined Ford to send their best wishes in Russian

ISS Tour: Labs, Exercise Bike & Space Suits | Video

Expedition 34

Image above: Pictured on the front row are NASA astronaut Kevin Ford (left), commander; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, flight engineer. Pictured from the left (back row) are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin, Roman Romanenko and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, all flight engineers. Photo credit: NASA

Expedition 33 Post-Landing Activities

Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineers Aki Hoshide and Yuri Malenchenko are greeted by local and space officials at an airport in Kostanay, Kazakhstan, after completing their mission. They landed after 127 days in space and 125 days aboard the station on Sunday Nov. 18, 2012.

Expedition 33 Crew Sunita Returns

Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide land in Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft after more than four months aboard the International Space Station.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS LAND SAFELY IN KAZAKHSTAN

Three members of the Expedition 33 crew undocked from the International Space Station and returned safely to Earth Sunday, wrapping up a mission lasting more than four months.

NASA Television to Air Soyuz Landing Coverage Nov. 18

NASA Television will provide live coverage as three of the crew members on the International Space Station come back to Earth Sunday, Nov. 18. 

Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA, Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko will undock their Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft from the station, heading for a pre-dawn landing in Kazakhstan, northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk at 7:53 p.m. CST (7:53 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Nov. 19). Their return will wrap up 127 days in space since their launch from Kazakhstan on July 15, including 125 days spent aboard the station. 

Spacewalkers Troubleshoot Ammonia Leak

Commander Suni Williams (right) and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide participate in Thursday's spacewalk outside the International Space Station Credit: NASA TV

Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide wrapped up a 6-hour, 38-minute spacewalk at 3:07 p.m. EDT Thursday. 

During the spacewalk which began at 8:29 a.m., Williams and Hoshide ventured out to the port side of the International Space Station’s truss to configure the 2B solar array power channel’s photovoltaic thermal control system (PVTCS) to support ground-based troubleshooting of an ammonia leak. 

The spacewalking duo isolated the photovoltaic radiator on the P6 truss from the PVTCS, shutting off the flow of ammonia in and out of it and rerouting the ammonia flow through a spare radiator so the PVTCS can continue operation. Over the following weeks and months, flight controllers at Mission Control Houston will monitor telemetry to see if the leak continues. 

If rerouting the ammonia through the spare radiator stops the leak, mission managers will evaluate whether to leave the fix as-is or replace the photovoltaic radiator on a future spacewalk. If the leak continues, additional troubleshooting will be required. 

Williams now has a total of 50 hours, 40 minutes of spacewalking time over seven spacewalks. Thursday's spacewalk puts her fifth on the all time list of cumulative spacewalking time. She holds the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut. This was the third spacewalk for Hoshide, who now totals 21 hours and 23 minutes. He holds the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut. 

This was the 166th spacewalk in support of station assembly, totaling 1,049 hours and 1 minute -- the equivalent of 44 days.

Source: NASA

ISS raises orbit to avoid space garbage

The International Space Station (ISS) has completed an emergency maneuver to avoid possible collision with space debris, the Russian Mission Control Center said Thursday.

The orbit of the ISS, corrected with the engines of the Progress M-16M cargo spacecraft docked to the station, was raised by 0.5 km to a range from 408.4 km in perigee to 429 km in apogee, in order to stagger the defunct U.S. satellite Iridium-33.

Expedition 33 - 34 Crew Members

                                           Next Station Crew Preps for Launch

NASA astronaut Kevin Ford (left), Expedition 33 flight engineer and Expedition 34 
commander; Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy (center) and Flight Engineer Evgeny 
Tarelkin (right) clasp hands Sept. 21, 2012 in front of a Soyuz vehicle mock-up as they 
wrap up two days of final qualification exams at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center 
in Star City, Russia. 

The trio is scheduled to launch Oct. 23 in their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft from the 
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a five-month mission on the International 
Space Station.

Source: NASA

Expedition 32 Landing

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergie Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.

Source: NASA