Station Performs Maneuver; Science and Cargo Transfer Continues
Image above: A view of Cape Farewell, Greenland, photographed by an Expedition 17 crew member on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Two of the four of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) engines fired for five minutes and two seconds Wednesday to avoid any possibility of the International Space Station coming too close to a spent Russian rocket. The successful maneuver began about 12:10 p.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, the Expedition 17 crew members aboard the station worked with science experiments and continued the transfer of cargo.
Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko conducted a status check on the PLANTS-2 experiment that researches the growth and development of plants in microgravity. He'd harvested and replanted in that experiment on Monday.
Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff performed maintenance on the station’s stationary bicycle. The cycle is one of several exercise devices crew members use to help counteract the effects of long-term exposure to weightlessness in space.
The crew members also continued to unload cargo from the ATV and stowed station trash in it. The ATV is set to undock from the station in September and burn in the Earth’s atmosphere.
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Inspections, Exercise and ATV Preps for Station Crew
Image above: Commander Sergei Volkov works on the station’s treadmill in the Zvezda service module. Credit: NASA
Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov inspected windows in the International Space Station’s Russian segment for flaws. Volkov photographed the windows to compare their condition with photos from previous missions and document any new defects such as scratches and discoloration. The photographs will be downlinked to the ground for review.
Volkov and station flight engineers Oleg Kononenko and Greg Chamitoff continue their exercise routines with sessions on the station’s treadmill and Resistive Exercise Device. The exercises, using several devices, are aimed at countering effects of lengthy spaceflight.
Chamitoff talked with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. for its Catalyst science program. Australian participants, who included students from Sydney Girls High School, were at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. Its Seeds in Space project was among topics discussed.
Europe’s Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is being loaded with trash and discarded items before leaving the station Sept. 5. The ATV is undergoing final preparations before it undocks from the Zvezda service module and re-enters Earth’s atmosphere to burn up over the Pacific Ocean.
The Progress 29 unpiloted cargo carrier is scheduled to undock from the station with its load of discards Sept. 1. A new unpiloted cargo carrier, the Progress 30, is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Sept. 10.