Cargo Ship Departs as Two Rockets Prepare for Launch

The International Space Station witnessed a flurry of cargo operations and visiting vehicle traffic on Tuesday. A trash-loaded Progress 86 cargo craft undocked from the station’s Poisk module at 4:39 a.m. EDT, marking the end of its six-month stay in space. After undocking, the Roscosmos resupply ship reentered the Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery demise above the Pacific Ocean.

Even as Progress 86 departed, two more spacecraft are counting down to their missions to the orbital outpost in less than a week. First up is the Progress 88 spacecraft, scheduled to lift off at 5:43 a.m. on Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Carrying over three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, the Roscosmos resupply ship will orbit Earth for two days before its automated docking to Poisk at 7:47 a.m. on Saturday.

In preparation for the Progress 88’s arrival, Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub trained on Tuesday, practicing for the unlikely possibility of remotely controlling the spacecraft with the station’s telerobotically operated rendezvous unit (TORU). The TORU device, located in the Zvezda service module, can send commands to control approaching Roscosmos spaceships and be used by cosmonauts to manually guide the vehicles to a docking if necessary.

But this is not all! NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are gearing up for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test launch to the International Space Station aboard the Starliner spacecraft. The experienced space duo is targeted to launch atop an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday. After a daylong trip around the planet, they will dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

NASA TV will broadcast both missions live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Launch and docking coverage will also air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and the agency’s website, ensuring you don’t miss a moment of the action!

While cargo operations and visiting vehicle traffic kept the International Space Station crew busy, they also dedicated time to research and training activities that are crucial for living and working in microgravity.

NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson spent her day inspecting a treadmill and finalizing spacesuit work. She teamed up with fellow NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps to check and clean components on the Tranquility module’s treadmill, photographing the condition of the exercise device for analysis. Maintaining exercise equipment is essential for crew health and fitness in space.

Later, Dyson joined NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick in the Quest airlock, where they finished cleaning cooling loops inside a pair of spacesuits. These suits are being prepared for a trio of maintenance and science spacewalks planned for June, highlighting the crucial role of extravehicular activities (EVAs) in maintaining and upgrading the orbiting laboratory.

Advancing our understanding of how weightlessness affects biology was another focus. NASA astronaut Mike Barratt started his day in the Kibo laboratory module, configuring components on biology habitat hardware and installing the advanced gear on an artificial gravity generating incubator. These experiments aim to unravel the mysteries of how microgravity influences biological processes, with potential applications in developing countermeasures for the adverse effects of spaceflight on human health.

Additionally, Barratt participated in a vision test using a standard eye chart, along with Dominick and Epps. Monitoring crew health and studying the effects of long-duration spaceflight on various physiological systems is a critical aspect of preparing for future deep space exploration missions.

In the Roscosmos segment of the station, Kononenko and Chub balanced their Progress 88 training with scientific activities. Kononenko explored futuristic piloting techniques on a computer, potentially advancing technologies for future spacecraft navigation and control. Meanwhile, Chub attached sensors to himself to monitor his heart activity and blood pressure, contributing to our understanding of the cardiovascular effects of microgravity.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin began his day collecting station air samples for analysis, an important task for maintaining a safe and healthy environment aboard the orbiting laboratory. He then spent the rest of his shift on life support maintenance tasks, ensuring the station’s vital systems continue to function reliably.