STS-132 Space Shuttle Mission to Station Complete

Space shuttle Atlantis descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:48 a.m. EDT Wednesday, concluding the successful STS-132 mission to the International Space Station.

Atlantis undocked from the station Sunday after spending 7 days and 54 minutes docked to the orbiting laboratory. STS-132 was the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.

Image above: The newly-installed Rassvet Russian Mini-Research Module-1 is pictured with space shuttle Atlantis performing its flyaround of the International Space Station just after undocking. Credit: NASA

The third of five shuttle missions planned for 2010, this was the last scheduled flight for Atlantis. The mission delivered the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the station. Also known as Rassvet ("dawn" in Russian), the module provides additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

› Read more about the STS-132 mission

International Space Station Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov opened the hatch of the Mini Research Module-1, named Rassvet, Thursday.

The 11,000-pound module was attached to its permanent home on the Russian segment of the station May 18.

The new module will host a variety of biotechnology and biological science experiments and fluid physics and educational research. Rassvet contains a pressurized compartment with eight workstations, including a glove box to keep experiments separated from the in-cabin environment; two incubators to accommodate high- and low-temperature experiments; and a special platform to protect experiments from onboard vibrations.

Attached to its exterior is an experiment airlock that will be used on another Russian laboratory module set for delivery in 2012.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Crew Prepares for Visiting Vehicles

Aboard the International Space Station Monday, the Expedition 23 crew members oversaw the undocking of the ISS Progress 36 cargo craft and reviewed procedures for the upcoming relocation of the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft.

The ISS Progress 36 cargo ship undocked from the aft end of the Zvezda service module at 7:16 a.m. EDT and fired its thrusters to move to a safe distance away from the International Space Station. Russian engineers will conduct systems tests with the craft until it is deorbited around July 1.

The crew spent time reviewing procedures for the undocking of the Soyuz TMA-17 from Zarya’s Earth-facing port on Wednesday. With Commander Oleg Kotov at the controls, alongside fellow crew members Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi, the TMA-17 will redock to Zvezda’s free aft end port, which previously was home to the Progress 36.

Image above: The ISS Progress 36 cargo ship is seen shortly after undocking from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV

The Soyuz relocation opens up the Earth-facing port of Zarya for the installation of the new Rassvet mini-research module-1. The module will be delivered by space shuttle Atlantis, which is slated to launch Friday on the STS-132 mission. Rassvet, which means “dawn” in Russian, will provide additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian spacecraft.

Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson held a conference with STS-132 crew members on Earth regarding robotics operations for the mission.

Creamer worked with the plant research experiment known as Cambium, which seeks definitive evidence that gravity has a direct effect on the cells located under the inner bark where secondary growth occurs in willow seedlings.

Meanwhile, Noguchi worked on a second plant experiment called Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis at Different Gravity Levels. Also known as WAICO, this European Space Agency experiment studies the interaction of circumnutation (the successive bowing or bending in different directions of the growing tip of the stems and roots) and gravitropism (a tendency to grow toward or away from gravity) in microgravity and Earth gravity of Arabidopsis thaliana.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

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Crew Keeps Eye on Science, Prepares for Progress Docking

With systems aboard the International Space Station performing well Tuesday, the orbiting Expedition 23 crew tackled a variety of experiments, conducted a periodic fire drill and prepared for the docking of an unpiloted Russian cargo craft.

With the launch of the new ISS Progress 37 cargo ship from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan set for 1:15 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov reviewed procedures for manual rendezvous techniques with TORU, the Russian telerobotically operated rendezvous system. The crew can use TORU to monitor the Progress’ approach for docking or take control of the process if difficulties arise. Scheduled to dock Saturday, Progress 37 is loaded with 2.6 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, propellant and supplies for the Expedition 23 crew.

Image above: Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov is pictured near fresh fruit floating freely in the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The old ISS Progress 35 that undocked from the station’s Pirs docking compartment Thursday was deorbited Tuesday as its engines fired for a final time at 2:05 p.m., sending the craft to a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.

As part of a periodic medical exam, Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson, T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi performed ultrasound scans of each other’s eyes. Through diagnostic telemedicine, flight surgeons on Earth can use the data collected during these exams to measure and assess any changes in crew health.

Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko, who spent much of his morning performing routine daily servicing on systems in the Zvezda service module, joined the rest of the Expedition 23 crew after lunch for a fire drill to practice initial crew actions in response to an emergency.

The station’s residents also had several opportunities for Earth observation and photography as they orbited the world every 90 minutes. Two sites in South Africa were suggested to the crew for photography, including Cape Town, which is experiencing extensive immigration and a building boom as the city prepares to host the Soccer World Cup in June.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

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