Новости МКС

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Expedition 56 Inflight Interview with Dakota State University - August 27, 2018

NASA Video

Опубликовано: 27 авг. 2018 г.

(24:28 )

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2018/08/27/iss-daily-summary-report-8272018/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 8/27/2018

Moon Imagery:

Спойлер

Today the crew took photographs of the full Moon and downlinked them for evaluation on the ground. If a spacecraft loses communication with the ground or with NASA's Deep Space Network, its crew must navigate just as ancient mariners did, using the moon and stars. The Moon Imagery investigation collects pictures of the moon from the ISS, which are then used to calibrate navigation software to guide the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle in case its transponder-based navigation capability is lost. Crewmembers photograph the moon's phases during one 29-day cycle, providing images of varying brightness to calibrate Orion's camera software.

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Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEMAL) Operations for the German Space Agency (DLR) Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS):

Спойлер

Today the crew depressurized and vented the JEMAL. Later today the JEMAL Slide Table will be extended to the exterior of the ISS and the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) will be used to remove DESIS from the Slide Table and install it on the Multiple User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) external facility. The DESIS investigation is expected to verify and enhance commercial space-based hyperspectral (from the visual to near infrared spectrum) imaging capabilities for Earth remote sensing. Requested images are transferred to a hosted cloud that provides user access. DESIS has a number of commercial and humanitarian applications.

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Grip:

Спойлер

The crew completed the first of three Grip operations in the seated position today. ESA's Grip investigation tests how the nervous system takes into account the forces due to gravity and inertia when manipulating objects. Results from this investigation may provide insight into potential hazards for astronauts as they manipulate objects in different gravitational environments, support design and control of haptic interfaces to be used in challenging environments such as space, and provide information about motor control that will be useful for the evaluation and rehabilitation of impaired upper limb control in patients with neurological diseases.

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BioServe Protein Crystallography (BPC)-1:

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The crew performed microscope operations today for the BPC-1 investigation. They removed the BPC-1 samples from the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL), made observations, photographed the sample wells with the microscope, and returned the samples to the SABL. BPC-1 seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting protein crystal growth in real time onboard the ISS. Crewmembers add solutions to the hardware, observe the crystals that form and adjust for follow-on experiments. This approach gives scientists the ability to optimize crystal growth in microgravity instead of waiting for samples to return and then launching them again.

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WetLab-2 Parra:

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Today the crew completed a session for the WetLab-2 Parra investigation. WetLab-2 Parra tests a passive method to remove air bubbles from a liquid sample (e.g., extracted ribonucleic acid [RNA]  for dispensing. Excessive air bubbles in the sample chamber introduces noise in the data acquired during SmartCycler analysis.

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SpaceTex-2 and Metabolic Space:

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A crewmember donned Thermolab equipment, a heart rate monitor, and a SpaceTex shirt for ESA's SpaceTex-2 investigation. He also donned Metabolic Space equipment and completed an exercise session using the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS). SpaceTex fabrics provide a higher rate of sweat evaporation and a corresponding higher evaporative heat loss compared to conventional cotton fabrics used by astronauts on the ISS. Metabolic Space provides a technology demonstration for a measurement system worn by astronauts that supports cardio-pulmonary diagnosis during physical activities of astronauts living onboard the ISS, while maintaining unrestricted mobility.

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Lighting Effects:

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The crew conducted a Visual Performance Test for the Lighting Effects investigation today. They stowed the hardware in their crew quarters, set the light to the correct mode, turned all other light sources in the crew quarters off, and performed a Numerical Verification Test, followed by a Color Discrimination Test. The Lighting Effects investigation studies the impact of the change from fluorescent light bulbs to solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with adjustable intensity and color and aims to determine if the new lights can improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance.

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ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Unstow:

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Today the crew removed hardware from the Airlock that is not needed for the upcoming EVAs or the ESA Airway Monitoring experiment. The ESA Airway Monitoring experiment, planned next week in the US Airlock, uses a special test gas that could damage the MetOx and Contamination Detection Kit necessitating its relocation prior to the experiment. The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Battery R&R EVAs are currently scheduled on the 20th and 26th of September and preparation activities are on-going.

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Nitrogen (N2)/Oxygen(O2) Recharge System (NORS) O2 Transfer Setup and Initiation:

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Today the crew installed a NORS O2 tank, mated the O2 Fill Hose to the NORS Manifold, and initiated a gas transfer to the High Pressure O2 system. Termination of this recharge, and a subsequent transfer of O2 to the Low Pressure O2 system, will occur later this week

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Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event:

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Today Ricky Arnold participated in a live PAO event with Dakota State University (DSU). This event, part of a series of activities centered around the theme Science and Engineering in Zero or Low Gravity Environments, was held in conjunction with students from the Madison Central School District (MCSD) and will serve as a launching point for undergraduate courses at DSU in the Fall 2018 semester.

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К #18332 и #18333

Oleg Artemyev‏Подлинная учетная запись @OlegMKS 1 ч. назад

Во время празднования Дня рождения командира МКС @Astro_Feustel мы решили установить новый космический рекорд... 6 человек в одной каюте


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Space Station Commander Feustel talks with Sky Sports - August 28, 2018

NASA Video

Опубликовано: 28 авг. 2018 г.

(28:43)

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/08/28/station-gears-up-for-japan-cargo-mission-and-us-spacewalks/

Station Gears Up for Japan Cargo Mission and US Spacewalks

Mark Garcia
Posted Aug 28, 2018 at 2:02 pm


NASA astronaut Drew Feustel is pictured June 14, 2018, during a spacewalk to install high-definition cameras to provide enhanced views of SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew spacecraft approaching the International Space Station.

September is scheduled to be a busy month for the Expedition 56 crew aboard the International Space Station. Japan is preparing to launch its seventh resupply mission and three astronauts are gearing up for two spacewalks next month.

Спойлер

Today, a pair of astronauts familiarized themselves with the robotics maneuvers they will use when they capture Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-7) on Sept. 14. The HTV-7, also called the Kounotori, will launch Sept. 10 from the Tanegashima Space Center loaded with crew supplies, new science hardware and critical spacewalk gear.

Commander Drew Feustel will be supported by Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor inside the Cupola as he controls the Canadarm2 to reach out and grapple the HTV-7. Robotics controllers on the ground will then take over and install Kounotori on the Harmony module's Earth-facing port. NASA TV will broadcast live all of Kounotori's launch, rendezvous and capture activities.

A pair of spacewalks will take place soon after the Kounotori arrives when robotics controllers begin removing new batteries from the Japanese resupply ship. The six lithium-ion batteries, replacing 12 older nickel-hydrogen batteries, will be installed on the space station's Port 4 truss structure power channels during the two spacewalks on Sept 20 and 26.

Gerst will participate in both spacewalks. Commander Drew Feustel will join him on the first spacewalk. Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold will go out on the second spacewalk. Gerst and Feustel began inspecting and resizing their U.S. spacesuits this morning. Feustel then moved on checking spacesuit gloves and helmets before finally collecting spacewalk tools.

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Японский модуль«Kibo» МКС: 27 августа из модуля была выгружена и установлена снаружи МКС гиперспектральная камера наблюдения Земли DESIS, разработанная немецким аэрокосмическим центром (DLR).

JAXAウェブ‏Подлинная учетная запись @JAXA_jp 2 ч. назад

「きぼう」の利用状況と今後の予定 スペシャルトピックス： 国際宇宙ステーション「きぼう」日本実験棟エアロックを使用して、 ドイツ航空宇宙センター(DLR)の地球観測カメラDESISを8月27日に船外に搬出しました。 「きぼう」のエアロックは他国の実験にも活用されています。 https://bit.ly/2wolwFP 

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http://www.interfax.ru/world/627018

13:40, 29 августа 2018

Стенки японского модуля МКС снова начали покрываться испариной

Москва. 29 августа. INTERFAX.RU - Система терморегулирования на японском модуле Международной космической станции (МКС) Kibo вновь дала сбой, сообщил "Интерфаксу" источник в органах контроля и управления станцией.

"Спустя неделю после замены протекшего клапана научной стойки Express Rack 5, который, как считалось, был причиной утечки воды из внутренней системы терморегулирования модуля, проблема вновь вернулась. На стенках модуля вновь проступают капли, а датчики фиксируют медленную утечку воды", - сказал источник.

Ранее источник в ракетно-космической отрасли сообщил "Интерфаксу", что в японском модуле американского сегмента МКС возникли проблемы с системой терморегулирования: в обитаемый отсек из системы проникает около 20 мл воды в сутки.

Астронавты вынуждены были бороться с испариной, которой стенки модуля покрывались едва ли не ежедневно, используя бумажные салфетки и полотенца.

Позднее астронавты предположили, что причина может крыться в неисправной научной стойке. Было решено ее изолировать. В дальнейшем был обнаружен и заменен протекающий клапан стойки и тогда на некоторое время утечка прекратилась.
...

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2018/08/28/iss-daily-summary-report-8282018/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 8/28/2018

ExPRESS Rack (ER) 5 Payload Isolation:

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On August 23rd, the ER5 Subsystem Valve was removed and replaced (R&R'd) after a Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) leak had been isolated to ER5. Earlier today, the crew disconnected the supply and return lines to the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL) and Plant Habitat facilities after JAXA specialists determined a leak is still present. Today's activities, which isolated both payload facilities from the ER's MTL interface, will assist experts in determining the source of the JEM MTL slow leak.

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Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEMAL) Operations for the German Space Agency (DLR) Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS):

Спойлер

Last night the JEMAL Slide Table was extended to the exterior of the ISS and the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) were used to remove DESIS from the Slide Table and install it on the Multiple User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) external facility. Today the Slide Table was brought back into the JEM and the Payload Mounting Assembly (PMA) hardware removed from it. The DESIS investigation is expected to verify and enhance commercial space-based hyperspectral (from the visual to near infrared spectrum) imaging capabilities for Earth remote sensing. Requested images are transferred to a hosted cloud that provides user access. DESIS has a number of commercial and humanitarian applications.

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Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME):

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The crew opened the Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) and replaced two ACME controllers. The ACME experiment series being performed in the CIR includes five independent studies of gaseous flames. The primary goals of ACME are to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in routine fuel combustion activities on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.

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Rodent Research-7 (RR-7):

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Today the crew restocked the rodent habitats. They also stowed fecal pellets and food bar/Habitat swabs in a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The RR-7 investigation examines how the space environment affects the community of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract of mice (also known as the microbiota). It also looks at microgravity's effects on multiple physiological systems known to be affected by the microbiota, including the gastrointestinal, immune, metabolic, circadian, and sleep systems. These studies should help explain mechanisms underlying interactions between these systems and the role of the microbiota in these interactions.

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Tropical Cyclone:

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The crew configured the camera settings in the Cupola to support the capture of untended images of Tropical Cyclone Lane. The Tropical Cyclone investigation is normally used to capture images of tropical cyclones and hurricanes that are rated at Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A pseudo-stereoscopic method is used to determine the altitudes of the cloud tops near the center (eye) of a cyclone by precisely tracking the apparent positions of cloud features with respect to the Earth and how those positions change over time as an observer (the ISS in this case) passes over the storm. The photographic images will be used to demonstrate that pseudo-spectroscopy can be used to measure the cloud altitudes to sufficient precision so that, when combined with other remote-sensing data, an accurate determination of the intensity of hurricane or cyclone can be made.

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Grip:

Спойлер

The crew completed the second of three Grip operations in the seated position today. ESA's Grip investigation tests how the nervous system takes into account the forces due to gravity and inertia when manipulating objects. Results from this investigation may provide insight into potential hazards for astronauts as they manipulate objects in different gravitational environments, support design and control of haptic interfaces to be used in challenging environments such as space, and provide information about motor control that will be useful for the evaluation and rehabilitation of impaired upper limb control in patients with neurological diseases.

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US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize:

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Today the crew resized EMU 3003 and 3004 in preparation for the upcoming EVA. Each EMU contains exchangeable components allowing each astronaut to adjust EMU fit to their individual preference. EMU 3003 was resized for Drew Feustel and EMU 3004 was resized for Alexander Gerst.

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Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations:

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Today the crew gathered and configured various tools and tethers needed for the upcoming H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Battery R&R EVAs in September. They also verified that the EMU Glove heaters were functional and that the EMU TV Camera as receiving power from the Rechargeable EVA Battery Assemblies (REBAs). The first EVA in the pair is scheduled for 20 September while the second planned EVA is scheduled on September 26th.

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Eye Exams:

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Today the crew completed the first of four days of routine eye exams using a Fundoscope. Eye exams are performed regularly onboard in order to monitor crewmembers eye health. Eyesight is one of the many aspects of the human body that is affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/08/29/orbital-residents-supporting-human-research-and-life-support-maintenance/

Orbital Residents Supporting Human Research and Life Support Maintenance

Mark Garcia
Posted Aug 29, 2018 at 12:58 pm


Expedition 56/57 crew members (clockwise from top) Alexander Gerst, Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Sergey Prokopyev pose for a portrait inside the Bigelow Expandable Aerospace Module (BEAM).

The six residents aboard the International Space Station today continued exploring how living in space impacts their bodies. The Expedition 56 crew also worked on science hardware and life support gear to ensure the orbital complex is in tip-top shape.

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Three astronauts helped doctors understand what is happening to their eyes in the weightless environment of microgravity. One crew member has also worked all week on a pair of European experiments researching what happens during exercise and cognition on long-term missions in space.

NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Serena Auñón-Chancellor joined ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst for more regularly scheduled eye checks today. Arnold led the morning's retina scans using optical coherence tomography on the other two crewmates. Later in the afternoon, Auñón-Chancellor and Gerst swapped medical roles and peered into each other's eyes looking out the optic disc and macula with a fundoscope.

Gerst continued working out today in a custom t-shirt in a specialized fabric testing its comfort and thermal relief for the SpaceTex-2 study. He then moved on to the GRIP study exploring how microgravity impacts an astronaut's cognition when working with tools and interfaces aboard spacecraft.

Commander Drew Feustel worked on the Materials Science Research Rack today replacing gear inside the refrigerator-sized device that can heat research samples to a temperature of 2500° F. Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev spent the afternoon checking the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal device for leaks in the Russian segment of the station.

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Alexander Gerst‏Подлинная учетная запись @Astro_Alex 7 ч. назад

Sweating for science. You can probably tell that SpaceTex & Metabolic Space are some of my favourite experiments. In any case, they will help a lot of people on Earth to stay healthy.
#LiveBetter #Horizons

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Торт на Дне Рождения командира МКС Эндрю Фьюстела 25 августа

Oleg Artemyev

Опубликовано: 29 авг. 2018 г.

Поздравление с тортиком Эндрю Фьюстела

(0:58 )

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 14 мин. назад

ARTICLE: First patents filed from commercial research on Space Station, crew readies for busy period -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/08/first-patents-filed-commercial-research-iss-crew-busy-period/ ...

- By Chris Gebhardt (@ChrisG_NSF) (ISS Render by @kogavfx for NSF).

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[opinion]

Forums L2 Sign Up SLS/Orion SpaceX Commercial ISS International Other First patents filed from commercial research on Space Station

Две компании подали заявки на патенты на материалы, получаемые в космосе. Впервые за всё время эксплуатации МКС. В том числе, три заявки от Проктэр энд Гэмбл.

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STEMonstrations: Water Filtration

NASA Johnson

Опубликовано: 29 авг. 2018 г.

Water filtration plays a key part in crew survival aboard the International Space Station. In this episode, Expedition 56 Commander Drew Feustel discusses the water recovery system used to recycle crew waste water for consumption. Use the lesson plan that coincides with this video to invigorate your STEM classroom. Be sure to visit https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation for more educational resources that explore the research and technology of the International Space Station.

(3:10)

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DESIS

DLR - English‏Подлинная учетная запись @DLR_en 28 авг.

Installation of DLR's hyperspectral camera in space

https://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-29560/year-all/#/gallery/31849 ...

#horizons @Astro_Alex @ISS

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Отчёт за 29 августа здесь (администрация ФНК случайно перенесла в тему Утечка на МКС 30.08.2018)

https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2018/08/30/iss-daily-summary-report-8302018/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 8/30/2018

Out-of-Spec ISS Cabin Pressure Decrease:

Спойлер

Last night, the ISS cabin pressure started dropping at the rate of one mmHg/hr. This morning the crew performed leak isolation steps via a series of hatch closures and determined the leak was in the Soyuz 55S habitation module [БО]; a pressure check of the 55S descent module was nominal. Further investigation with the Ultrasonic Leak Detector (ULD) revealed a 2 mm hole behind a panel in the Soyuz Toilet [ACY]. After completing a 10mm repress using 70P Progress, the Russian crew installed of a patch over the hole and ISS stack pressure appears to have stabilized. Ground teams continue to monitor and have started another repress, using Progress resources, to bring ISS atmosphere back to nominal levels.

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H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Proximity Communication System (PROX) Review and Checkout:

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Today the crew checked PROX Baseband functionality and performance by sending commands to a HTV Simulator at a ground site in Tanegashima, Japan. HTV missions use the PROX system for communication with ISS via a Portable Computer System (PCS) version of the Hardware Command Panel (HCP). This week's checkout is required to meet the Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) required prior to HTV-7 launch planned on 10 September.

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Space to Ground: Potential Game Changer: 08/31/2018

NASA Johnson

Опубликовано: 31 авг. 2018 г.

Видео недоступно
Видео удалено пользователем, который его добавил.

Новое, исправленное, видео
(2:06)

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/08/31/crew-plans-quiet-labor-day-weekend-after-repair-work/

Crew Plans Quiet Labor Day Weekend After Repair Work

Mark Garcia
Posted Aug 31, 2018 at 11:34 am


The Soyuz MS-09 crew spacecraft from Roscosmos is pictured docked to the Rassvet module as the International Space Station was flying into an orbital night period.

The Expedition 56 crew resumed a regular schedule of work Friday on the International Space Station after spending the day Thursday locating and repairing a leak in the upper section of one of the two Russian Soyuz vehicles attached to the complex.

With the station's cabin pressure holding steady, most of the crew pressed ahead with a variety of scientific experiments. Station Commander Drew Feustel of NASA prepared tools to be used in a pair of spacewalks late next month to complete the change out of batteries on the port truss of the outpost. Six new lithium-ion batteries will be transported to the station in September on the Japanese HTV Transfer Vehicle, or HTV-7 cargo craft, that will replace a dozen older nickel-hydrogen batteries in a duplication of work conducted last year on the station's starboard truss.

Flight controllers at the Mission Control Centers in Houston and Moscow, meanwhile, continued to monitor pressure levels on the station following the patching of a small hole Thursday in the orbital module, or upper portion of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. The Soyuz is docked to the Rassvet module on the Earth-facing side of the Russian segment. The tiny hole created a slight loss in pressure late Wednesday and early Thursday before it was repaired by Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos.

The crew plans a quiet weekend before embarking on a busy schedule of research and routine maintenance work next week.

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http://tass.ru/kosmos/5512308

Экипажу МКС дали отдых на выходные после ремонта пробоины на "Союзе"

Космос | 31 августа, 21:54 UTC+3

МОСКВА, 31 августа. /ТАСС/. Экипаж Международной космической станции (МКС) будет отдыхать в предстоящие выходные дни после ремонта пробоины на пилотируемом корабле "Союз МС-09". Об этом сообщается в официальном блоге Национального управления США по аэронавтике и исследованию космического пространства (NASA).

"Экипаж планирует тихий уик-энд, прежде чем приступать к напряженному графику исследований и регулярных работ по техническому обслуживанию [станции] на следующей неделе", - говорится в сообщении.

При этом специалисты Центров управления полетами в подмосковном Королеве и Хьюстоне продолжают контролировать уровень давления на МКС и на "Союзе" после ремонта пробоины на российском пилотируемом корабле.

В ночь на четверг на борту МКС было зафиксировано падение давления из-за утечки воздуха. Позже было установлено, что это произошло из-за двухмиллиметровой пробоины в бортовом отсеке пилотируемого корабля "Союз МС-09", пристыкованного к станции.

К вечеру четверга российским космонавтам удалось закрыть пробоину герметиком и восстановить давление на борту станции, после чего Центр управления полетами распорядился приостановить работы до утра. В пятницу заплату покрыли еще одним слоем герметика. После закрытия пробоины давление на станции остается стабильным.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/31/station-crew-faces-busy-schedule-as-commercial-crew-schedule-ramps-up/

Station crew faces busy schedule as commercial crew schedule ramps up
August 31, 2018 | William Harwood

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION


The entire six-member Expedition 56 crew gathers in the Cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," for a team portrait. In the front row, from left, are NASA astronauts Serena Auñon-Chancellor, Commander Drew Fuestel and Ricky Arnold. Behind them, from left, are Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Oleg Artemyev. At the top of the group is astronaut Alexander Gerst of ESA. Credit: ESA

An impromptu repair job Thursday appears to have stopped a leak in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station, and the crew was back on its normal schedule Friday carrying out research and making preparations for the arrival of a Japanese cargo ship next month.

The International Space Station schedule is unusually hectic in the coming months, with regularly scheduled Soyuz crew ferry flights, unpiloted cargo missions and upcoming test flights by Boeing and SpaceX to prove their commercial crew ships are finally ready for routine astronaut ferry flights as NASA's contract for seats aboard the Soyuz winds down.

Ever since the shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to ferry U.S. and partner astronauts to and from the space station while developing the new commercial spacecraft.

NASA's latest contract with the Russian space agency, which puts the cost of a Soyuz seat at around $81 million, extends through the launch of Soyuz MS-13/59S next July 10, which will carry a cosmonaut, a NASA flight engineer and an Italian astronaut to the lab for a six-month stay.

That will ensure at least one U.S. astronaut is aboard the station through January 2020 whether the new U.S. ferry ships fly on time next year or not. Russian news reports Friday indicated the contract expires in April, but NASA officials said the July flight has been on the books for months and nothing has changed.

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As it now stands, Boeing and SpaceX each plan to complete one unpiloted test flight and one mission with astronauts on board before the Russian contract expires. If all goes well, one or both U.S. spacecraft will begin operational crew ferry flights later in 2019.

But if the companies run into problems and subsequent delays, NASA could be forced to negotiate for additional Soyuz seats for U.S. astronauts or seek Russian concurrence to extend one or more missions to the station, thus stretching out the launch schedule.

Neither option will be easy to implement, and NASA managers are counting on SpaceX and Boeing to get the commercial crew ships off the ground as soon as safely possible. In the meantime, the Russians will be pressing ahead with normal crew rotation flights.

On Oct. 4, Soyuz MS-08/54S commander Oleg Artemyev, Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold plan to return to Earth to close out a 196-day mission. Six days later, on Oct. 11, the Soyuz MS-10/56S spacecraft is scheduled for launch with Alexey Ovchinin and Tyler "Nick" Hague aboard.

Soyuz spacecraft are designed to crews of three, but in this case a cosmonaut, one of two specially trained to work with a new Russian laboratory module, was pulled from the MS-10 flight because the lab's launch has been delayed.

In late November, SpaceX hopes to launch its commercial crew Dragon ferry ship on an unpiloted test flight to the station. The capsule is expected to rendezvous with the laboratory and autonomously dock with the outpost before returning to Earth with a Pacific Ocean splashdown about a month later.

Then on Dec. 13, Sergey Prokopyev, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA flight engineer Serena Serena Auñón-Chancellor, launched June 6, will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-09/55S spacecraft, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to wrap up a 189-day flight.

They will be replaced by the Soyuz MS-11/57S crew, made up of commander Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. They are scheduled for launch on Dec. 20, a few days before the SpaceX ferry ship is expected to undock for landing.

Then, in late December or January, Boeing hopes to launch its Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted demonstration flight that will mirror SpaceX's, complete with an autonomous rendezvous and docking. If all goes well with those flights, the companies will press ahead with preparations to launch the crew Dragon and Starliner on piloted test flights later in the spring.

On April 5, the Soyuz MS-12/58S spacecraft will deliver Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Christina Koch to the station, temporarily boosting the lab's crew to seven. Again, a third crew member was pulled from the mission by the Russians because of delays launching the new laboratory module. The module is currently expected to fly in the November 2019 timeframe.

In any case, after the MS-12 launch, Ovchinin and Hague will return to Earth leaving five aboard the lab complex.


From left to right: Suni Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Mike Hopkins, and Victor Glover. Credit: NASA

It is roughly around this time that SpaceX hopes to launch the crew Dragon on its first piloted test flight, carrying shuttle veterans Bob Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the space station. They plan to test a variety of manual and automated procedures to verify the spacecraft's readiness to begin routine crew ferry flights later in the year.

According to current schedules, Boeing may be ready to follow suit with the first piloted flight of its Starliner spacecraft in the early summer timeframe. On board will be Eric Boe, Nicole Mann and Boeing vice president Chris Ferguson, commander of the final shuttle mission in 2011.

NASA already has modified Boeing's contract to protect the option of extending the first crewed Starliner flight, making it a long-duration operational mission if significant delays are encountered in the commercial crew program. NASA may exercise a similar option with SpaceX.

However it plays out, the final currently contracted Soyuz flight with NASA-sponsored astronauts aboard is scheduled for launch July 10 when the Soyuz MS-13/59S spacecraft carries Alexander Skvortsov, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Drew Morgan into orbit. Parmitano, a station veteran, will command Expedition 61.

Two more Soyuz launches are planned before the end of 2019.

While the advent of U.S. commercial crew ships will end NASA's sole reliance on the Russians for crew transportation it will not end it.

The station requires at least one U.S. astronaut and one cosmonaut aboard at all times to operate their respective systems. Because of the possibility of an emergency that could force a Soyuz or U.S. commercial crew ship to depart early, two cosmonauts are expected to launch each year aboard American spacecraft while two astronauts fly aboard the Soyuz.

That strategy will ensure at least one American astronaut and at least one cosmonaut are on board the station at all times, even if a medical emergency or some other problem forces one ferry ship to depart ahead of schedule.

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