ISS - Expedition 36 Mission patch / JAXA - H-II Transfer Vehicle HTV-4 patch.
Sept 8, 2013
Three Expedition 36 crew members are preparing for their return home Tuesday night. A Japanese cargo craft that left the International Space Station on Wednesday will deorbit Saturday morning over the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the six-member station crew continues its focus on international science and maintenance while exercising to counter the effects of long-duration microgravity.
Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy and Alexander Misurkin finalized their Soyuz descent training Friday. They are scheduled to land in their Soyuz TMA-08M Tuesday at 10:59 p.m. EDT (8:59 a.m. Wednesday Kazakhstan time).
Vinogradov will ceremonially hand over control of the station to Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin at 2:25 p.m. Monday in a traditional Change of Command Ceremony. When Expedition 36 undocks, Yurchikhin will officially become Expedition 37 commander staying behind with Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano. The station residents staying behind reviewed their emergency roles and responsibilities during the upcoming crew exchange.
Luca Parmitano photographed HTV-4 departure. Image credit: NASA
As the station says goodbye to two vehicles and a departing trio, a new cargo craft and a new crew are being readied for launches this month. Orbital Sciences is preparing its Cygnus commercial cargo craft for a Sept. 17 demonstration mission to the station. In Russia, Expedition 37/38 crew members Oleg Kotov, Mike Hopkins and Sergey Ryazanskiy are counting down to their Sept. 25 launch.
Read more about Orbital Sciences: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/cargo/orbitalsciences-index.html
A variety of science is taking place on the orbital laboratory sponsored by both public and commercial organizations. Microgravity science takes advantage of the weightless environment for research not possible on Earth to improve life and expand knowledge.
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Image above: Luca Parmitano works inside the Destiny laboratory with Karen Nyberg (background) working inside the Unity node. Image Credit: NASA TV.
Cassidy, photographed samples collected for the BCAT-C1 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test) experiment. That study observes nano-particles dispersed in liquids with potential benefits for different industries such as foods and electronics. Nyberg joined Parmitano for spinal scans using ultrasound and electrocardiogram gear. The scanning data is downlinked real-time to Earth for study by medical investigators.
Read more about BCAT-C1: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/649.html
Read more about Ultrasound-2: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/749.html
Image above: Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle orbits Earth after being released from the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA.
Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle “Kounotori-4” is poised to reenter Earth’s atmosphere Saturday ending a month long stay in space. In anticipation of the Kounotori-4’s fiery descent over the Pacific Ocean, Cassidy set up three cameras inside the cupola to capture the event.
Station Releases a White Stork and Awaits a Swan
The Expedition 36 crew released Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle-4 (HTV-4) cargo craft Wednesday at 12:20 p.m. EDT ending its one-month stay at the International Space Station. Expedition 36 Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg, operating from the station’s cupola robotics work station, used the Canadarm2 to release the cargo craft. Robotic ground controllers at Mission Control, Houston unberthed the HTV-4 from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at 8:07 a.m.
Image above: The Canadarm2 prepares to release Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle-4. Image Credit: NASA TV.
HTV-4 will maneuver to a safe distance away from the station where it will be commanded by Japanese flight controllers to deorbit on Saturday, Sept. 7. The craft, now loaded with trash, will burn up as it reenters the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
For more information about the International Space Station (ISS), visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/gallery/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credit: NASA.
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