ISS - Expedition 50 Mission patch.
February 21, 2017
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
Two cargo craft are scheduled to deliver several tons of supplies and experiment hardware to the station this week.
SpaceX’s tenth commercial resupply mission lifted off at 9:39 a.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19. The rocket launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first commercial launch from Kennedy’s historic pad.
Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Shane Kimbrough of NASA will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 on NASA TV and the agency’s website, with installation coverage set to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Image above: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the company’s 10th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 9:39 a.m. EST from the historic launch site now operated by SpaceX under a property agreement with NASA. Image Credit: NASA.
Meanwhile, the unpiloted Russian Progress 66 is scheduled for 12:58 a.m. Wednesday (11:58 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is set to dock to the Pirs docking compartment at 3:34 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24.
Aboard the station, the crew continued preparations for the arrival of the vehicles and set up several scientific experiments and technology demonstrations.
The Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2) was installed for a technical evaluation. MED-2 aims to demonstrate if small robotic actuators can provide motion and resistance for crew workout sessions, reducing the size and weight of exercise equipment for long-duration space missions.
Related links:
Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/862.html
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
Animation (mentioned), Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/dhuot.
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