Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is “go” to undock from the Worldwide House Station at 6:04 p.m. EDT immediately, Sept. 6. On orbit, the Expedition 71 crew wrapped the week with well being and local weather analysis and penciled in a while for orbital cleansing.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams closed the hatch on Starliner for the ultimate time at 1:29 p.m. Thursday. The duo might be on deck to watch the spacecraft’s departure later this night because it undocks from the forward-facing port of the Concord module at 6:04 p.m. EDT and lands about six hours later in New Mexico.
Wilmore and Williams will stay aboard the orbital outpost till February when they’re scheduled to return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with Crew-9. Starliner’s departure protection begins at 5:45 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the company’s web site.
Forward of departure operations, Wilmore and Williams spent the day unloading cargo from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, which arrived to the orbital outpost in early August. Afterward, the duo acquired an ultrasound examination of their necks, clavicles, and shoulders, guided by NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps.
Epps spent the day on a mess of maintenance duties. She configured masks for station residents to make use of in case of an emergency, then moved into the Columbus module to examine and clear air duct screens, the cabin depressurization meeting, and air high quality monitor vents.
NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Tracy C. Dyson spent their day on an array of payload operations. Barratt and Dominick eliminated and stowed robotics {hardware} for the Nanoracks-GITAI S2 investigation. In the meantime, Dyson eliminated samples from the Tender Matter Dynamics experiment container then changed the fuel lure plug on the thermal management system within the Tranquility module.
Dominick additionally spent a while within the cupola, pointing his digicam towards the Moon to {photograph} illuminations from Earth reflecting off the lunar floor for the Earthshine investigation. Measuring adjustments in Earth’s mild mirrored from the Moon might assist scientists replace their local weather fashions and inform the design of future atmosphere-observing satellites.
Present station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub labored individually to evaluate microbial development in microgravity. Kononenko collected floor samples within the Zarya module for evaluation whereas Chub photographed station surfaces being handled with an experimental disinfectant. Their crewmate, Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin, accomplished some orbital cleansing all through the Roscosmos phase. Afterward, Kononenko used the Ultrasound 2 {hardware} to scan Grebnekin’s eyes and afterward, assisted Chub with a cardiovascular scan.
Be taught extra about station actions by following the house station weblog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, in addition to the ISS Fb and ISS Instagram accounts.
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