ISS - Expedition 69 Mission patch.
April 20, 2023
Fluid physics research and cargo craft departure activities kept the Expedition 69 astronauts busy aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The cosmonauts were also back to work following an extended sleep period after they completed a spacewalk to move and install hardware on the orbital outpost.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA
All four astronauts worked throughout the day on a new technology study demonstrating the potential of using a liquid-based carbon dioxide removal system in space. UAE (United Arab Emirates) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi kicked off the experiment Thursday morning setting up hardware and performing a test run to verify liquid flows. Next, NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg performed a variety of experiment runs observing different ways to control liquids in weightlessness. Finally, NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio took over the experiment and performed the last flow observation of the day before powering off the research hardware.
During the mid-afternoon after completing their fluid research activities, Alneyadi and Hoburg partnered together configuring the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter for its departure. Bowen started the closeout work on Thursday morning depressurizing the vestibule between Cygnus and the station’s Unity module. Ground controllers will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus from Unity and release it at 7:20 a.m. EDT on Friday after five-and-a-half months at the station. Alneyadi will be on duty monitoring the U.S. cargo craft’s departure. Cygnus will then reenter Earth’s atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean for a fiery, but safe demise.
Image above: The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm as ground controllers remotely install the cargo craft to the International Space Station's Unity module. The space station was orbiting into a sunset 257 miles above the Indian Ocean off the coast of the African nation of Tanzania. Image Credit: NASA.
The next spacewalk is set for Tuesday, April 25, at 5:40 p.m. when Roscosmos Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will once again exit the Poisk airlock in their Orlan spacesuits. The duo will spend about six hours moving an experiment airlock from the Rassvet module then installing it on the Nauka science module. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev will also be back on duty during the spacewalk operating the European robotic arm from inside the station and maneuvering the experiment airlock.
Related article (NASA):
NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman Cygnus Departure from Station
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-northrop-grumman-cygnus-departure-from-station
Related links:
Expedition 69: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition69/index.html
Liquid-based carbon dioxide removal system: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8436
Cygnus space freighter: https://go.nasa.gov/3hry8X9
Unity module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/unity
Canadarm2 robotic arm: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mobile-servicing-system.html
Poisk airlock: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2
Rassvet module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/rassvet
Nauka multipurpose laboratory module: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Animation (mentioned), Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
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