NASA astronaut Jack Fischer checks out science gear inside Japans Kibo laboratory module.

Russias Progress 67 (67P) cargo craft is orbiting Earth and on its way to the International Space Station Friday morning carrying over three tons of food, fuel and supplies. Meanwhile, the three member Expedition 52 crew researched a variety of space science on Thursday while preparing for the arrival of the 67P.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer will monitor the automated docking of the 67P to the Zvezda service module Friday at 7:42 a.m. EDT. NASA TV will broadcast live the resupply ships approach and rendezvous beginning at 7 a.m. The 67Ps docking will mark four spaceships attached to the space station.

Fischer spent the morning photographing mold and bacteria samples on petri dishes as part of six student-led biology experiments that are taking place inside a NanoRacks module. In the afternoon, he removed protein crystal samples from a science freezer, let them thaw and observed the samples using a specialized microscope.

Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson tended to rodents Thursday morning cleaning their habitat facilities and restocking their food. In the afternoon, she moved to human research swapping out samples for the Cardiac Stem Cells study that is exploring why living in space may accelerate the aging process.

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The Russian Progress 67 cargo craft launch ascends to space after a flawless launch Wednesday from Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos

Carrying more than three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the International Space Station crew, the unpiloted ISS Progress 67 cargo craft launched at 5:20 a.m. EDT (3:20 p.m. local time in Baikonur) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying about 258 miles over the south Atlantic southeast of Uruguay.

Less than 10 minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned.The Russian cargo craft will make 34 orbits of Earth during the next two days before docking to the orbiting laboratory at 7:42 a.m. Friday, June 16.

Beginning at 7 a.m. on Friday, NASA Television will provide live coverage of Progress 67s arrival to the space stations Zvezda Service Module.

Watch live on NASA TV and the agencys website.

To join the conversation about the space station and Progress 67 online, follow @space_station on Twitter.

The Progress 67 cargo craft rests atop the Progress MS-06 rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos

Russias Progress 67 (67P) cargo craft stands at its launch pad in Kazakhstan ready for liftoff Wednesday at 5:20 a.m. EDT. NASA TV will broadcast the launch live from the Baikonur Cosmodrome including the docking of the 67P Friday at 7:42 a.m. to the Zvezda service module.

Two external experiments have been extracted from the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship and attached to the outside of the International Space Station. Ground controllers commanded the Canadarm2 to reach inside Dragon, grapple both experiments and install them on EXPRESS logistics carriers.

The first experiment, MUSES, or Multiple User System for Earth Sensing, was removed June 6 the day after Dragons arrival. It was installed two days later on the starboard side of the stations truss structure. MUSES is an Earth-imaging platform that may improve navigation, agriculture and benefit emergency responders and the petroleum industry.

NICER, or Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, was extracted Sunday afternoon and will be installed this evening. It will search for new insights into the physics of neutron stars and help scientists develop a pulsar-based, space navigation system.

A third experiment will be extracted June 17 to test a new advanced solar array. The roll-out solar array, or ROSA, rolls out like a tape measure with solar cells on a flexible blanket. The ROSA, which could power future NASA spaceships and communication satellites, will be stowed back inside Dragons trunk after seven days of data collection while attached to the stations robotic arm.

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The Progress 67 rocket rolls out Sunday to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos

The Expedition 52 crew of two NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut is in its second week aboard the International Space Station. Also, as one station resupply ship completed its mission in space on Sunday another rolled out to its pad for a launch this week.

Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson started Monday measuring her shoulders, back, chest and hips for the Body Measures experiment. Scientists are researching how living in space changes body shape and size which may influence the design of future crew suits.

Jack Fischer of NASA studied how plants sense light and grow in space for the Seedling Growth-3 experiment. He also worked on removing and replacing a bolt that jammed after the last SpaceX Dragon cargo craft left the station back in March. The maintenance work is being done ahead of the departure of the newest Dragon which arrived June 5. Dragon will remain attached to the Harmony module until July 2.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft deorbited into Earths atmosphere Sunday at 1:12 p.m. EST after its release from the station a week earlier. The same day, Russias Progress 67 (67P) cargo ship rolled out to its launch pad in Kazakhstan where it will liftoff Wednesday at 5:20 a.m. EDT. The 67P will dock Friday at 7:42 a.m. to the Zvezda service modules aft port.

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The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm moments after it was captured early Monday.

The three-member Expedition 52 crew is settling down with science and cargo transfers this week after a trio of space ships arrived and departed at the International Space Station. NASA also introduced 12 new astronaut candidates Wednesday who could fly farther into space on newer spacecraft than any astronaut before them.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson looked after a student experiment today that is exploring how molds and bacteria adapt to microgravity. Afterward, she measured the lighting in the Destiny and Kibo lab modules to help engineers understand how light affects the habitability of spacecraft.

Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA installed and activated new science hardware delivered aboard the latest SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. Fischer also joined Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin to prepare the station for the departure and arrival of a pair of Russian cargo ships next week. The Progress 66 resupply ship will depart June 13 followed three days later with a new space delivery aboard the Progress 67 cargo craft. Both spaceships are uncrewed.

On Wednesday, NASA celebrated the introduction of 12 new astronaut candidates. The 2017 class will officially report for duty in August and begin training for potential missions aboard NASA spacecraft as well as SpaceX and Boeing commercial spaceships.

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The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship is installed to the Harmony module. The Progress 66 cargo craft is docked to the Pirs docking compartment and the Soyuz MS-04 crew vehicle is docked to the Poisk module.

A little over two hours after it was captured by Expedition 52 Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon cargo craft was attached to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module of the International Space Station. Ground controllers at Mission Control, Houston reported that Dragon was bolted into place at 12:07 p.m. EDT as the station flew 258 statute miles over central Kazakhstan.

Earlier, the Dragon was grappled by Fischer and Whitson using the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 9:52 a.m. EDT at the completion of a flawless two-day journey for the resupply vehicle following its launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Saturday.

The station crew expects to open Dragons hatch later today to begin transferring time-critical scientific experiments. Dragon will remain attached to the complex until July 2, when it will be detached from Harmony and robotically released for its deorbit back into the Earths atmosphere and a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

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The SpaceX Dragon is seen seconds away from its capture with the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

While the International Space Station was traveling about 250 miles over the south Atlantic ocean east of the coast of Argentina, Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of NASA captured Dragon a few minutes ahead of schedule at 9:52 a.m. EDT.

Following its capture, the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship will be maneuvered by ground controllers operating the International Space Stations robotic arm for installation onto the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module. For updates on installation and more information about the SpaceX CRS-11 mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/spacex.

To join the online conversation about the International Space Station and Dragon on Twitter, follow @Space_Station and use #Dragon.

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The Cygnus cargo craft, with its prominent Ultra Flex solar arrays, is pictured moments after being released from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV

Expedition 52 Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA commanded the International Space Stations Candadarm2 robotic arm to release the Cygnus spacecraft at 9:10a.m. EDT while the space station was flying above the south Atlantic Ocean. Earlier, ground controllers detached Cygnus from the station and maneuvered it into place for its departure.

The spacecraft spent 44 days at the station after delivering approximately 7,600 pounds of supplies andscience experiments to the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 51 and 52 crew members for Orbital ATKs seventh NASA-contracted commercial resupply mission.

Dubbed the SS John Glenn after the iconic Mercury and shuttle astronaut and U.S. Senator from Ohio, Cygnus will remain in orbit for a week in support of theSAFFIREexperiment and the deployment of four small Nanoracks satellites before Orbital ATK flight controllers send commands June 11 to deorbit the spacecraft for its reentry into the Earths atmosphere, where it will burn up over the Pacific Ocean. NASA TV will not provide a live broadcast of the Saffire experiment or the Cygnus deorbit burn and reentry, but imagery from Saffire will be posted onNASA.govas it becomes available.

As Cygnus departs, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched yesterday will close in on the station for its capture by Fischer and Whitson Monday, June 5. Using the Canadarm2 robotic arm, they will grapple the SpaceX cargo spacecraft at 10 a.m. NASA TV coverage will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Get more information about the International Space Station at:http://www.nasa.gov/station

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft onboard, launches from pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Saturday, June 3, 2017. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:07 p.m. EDT, and Dragon has begun its journey to the International Space Station with an arrival scheduled for June 5. Dragon separated from Falcon 9 about 10 minutes after launch, and solar arrays successfully deployed shortly after separation from the second stage. A post-launch news conference is scheduled to begin on NASA TV at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Before Dragon arrives at the space station, the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo spacecraft will depart the station Sunday, June 4. Expedition 52 Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of NASA will be at the controls of the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release Cygnus at 9:10 a.m. NASA TV coverage of the spacecrafts departure will begin at 8:30 a.m.

For more information on the SpaceX CRS-11 mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/spacex. For more information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station.

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The Expedition 51 crew descends to a parachuted landing inside the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft. Credit: European Space Agency

After spending 196 days in space, Expedition 51 crew members Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) landed their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft in Kazakhstan at approximately 10:10 a.m. EDT. Russian recovery teams are helping the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and adjust to gravity after their stay in space.

The duo arrived at the International Space Station on Nov.19, 2016, along with NASAs Peggy Whitson, who will remain on the space station and return home with NASAs Jack Fischer and Roscosmos Fyodor Yurchikhin. That landing is targeted for September.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 52 began aboard the station under Yurchikhins command. Along with Whitson and Fischer of NASA, the three-person crew will operate the station until the arrival of three new crew members. Randy Bresnik of NASA, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli of ESA are scheduled to launch July 28 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

For more information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station.

You can follow the crews activities in space on social media. Follow space station activities via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Originally posted here:

Space Station - blogs.nasa.gov