Busy Traffic Week Ahead For International Space Station Crew As Two Cargo Crafts Deliver Supplies
By NASA // February 22, 2017
WATCH LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center Sunday morning with all-around success with launch and landing of the rocket booster engine. (Replay of Saturday’s scrubbed launch attempt)
(NASA) – Two cargo craft are scheduled to deliver several tons of supplies and experiment hardware to the station this week.
SpaceX’s tenth commercial resupply mission lifted off at 9:39 a.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 19. The rocket launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first commercial launch from Kennedy’s historic pad.
Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) and Shane Kimbrough of NASA will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 on NASA TV and the agency’s website, with installation coverage set to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, the unpiloted Russian Progress 66 is scheduled for 12:58 a.m. Wednesday (11:58 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is set to dock to the Pirs docking compartment at 3:34 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24.
Related Story:SUCCESS! SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches From Kennedy Space Center, Sticks Booster Engine Landing
Aboard the station, the crew continued preparations for the arrival of the vehicles and set up several scientific experiments and technology demonstrations.
The Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2) was installed for a technical evaluation. MED-2 aims to demonstrate if small robotic actuators can provide motion and resistance for crew workout sessions, reducing the size and weight of exercise equipment for long-duration space missions.
