Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Expedition 65 National Park Service – August 6, 2021 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space station, Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur of NASA discussed life in space during an in-flight interview August 6 with the National Park Service. McArthur launched to the orbiting outpost on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” in April and is in the midst of six-month mission.

** Nauka module’s hatch opened on space station – Peek inside  – VideoFromSpace

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky & Pyotr Dubrov opened the hatch to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module on July 30, 2021. Russia’s Nauka module briefly tilts space station with unplanned thruster fire: https://www.space.com/nauka-module-th…

** Banjo time with Thomas Pesquet! – European Space Agency, ESA

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared this video on social media with the caption: “100 days in space for #MissionAlpha. It feels like a long time ago, but we also installed new toilets shortly after arriving. I was looking at the procedures on the tablet velcroed to my thigh, and yes, this filter looked so much like a banjo, I had to. The same video specialist at ESA who edits the timelapse videos (and much, much more!), Melanie Cowan, spotted this clip from the Space Station onboard camera views, added some music and the result is… perfectly embarrassing! . True story: I actually helped Mark on this day. A little. Maybe. No one knows.” Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by the French space agency @CNES. Follow Thomas: http://bit.ly/ThomasPesquetBlog

** Everything You Need to Know about the Chinese Space Station – Dongfang Hour – YouTube

China has been swiftly assembling its Chinese space station, basically a large 60+ tons space laboratory that will be orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 350-450 km. Over the period 2021-2022 alone, 11 launches will take place, sending 3 core modules of the space station as well as 4 crewed missions (Shenzhou) and 4 cargo missions (Tianzhou). But did you know that China’s crewed spaceflight projects date all the way back to the 1960s? In the episode, we cover “everything you need to know” about the Chinese Space Station, from a historical perspective to a detailed timeline of the station assembly. All the essentials of the CSS should be covered here, but we will have other dedicated episodes to decipher more specific technical details and features of the space station.

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Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Nauka unexpectedly fires thrusters after docking, tilts space station – NASA explains – VideoFromSpace

The Nauka multipurpose module inadvertently began firing its thrusters after docking with the International Space Station. NASA public affairs officer Rob Navias explains. All the astronauts aboard are safe. — Russia’s Nauka module briefly tilts space station with unplanned thruster fire: https://www.space.com/nauka-module-th…

** Watch conversations and footage between Houston and the ISS in the dangerous event that occurred – space googlevesaire

Watch the conversations between Houston and the space station and side shift footage from the direction the Space Station is in during the dangerous event at the International Space Station. At the end of the video, the astronauts also mention that the situation is stable.

** … Expedition 65 International Space Station Update… – NASA Video – A real-time ISS control room report during Thursday, July 29 after the unplanned firings of the thrusters on the Nauka module.

Space Station Stable After Earlier Unplanned MLM Thruster Firing Following the docking of the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), named Nauka, to the International Space Station at 9:29 am EDT Thursday, July 29, Russian cosmonauts aboard the space station conducted leak checks between Nauka and the service module. At 12:45 pm, the flight control team noticed the unplanned firing of MLM thrusters that caused the station to move out of orientation. Ground teams have regained attitude control and the motion of the space station is stable. The crew was never and is not in any danger, and flight controllers in Mission Control Houston are monitoring the status of the space station. Updates on the space station will be provided on NASA.gov and the agency’s social media pages.

** Media Teleconference: International Space Station Update – NASA Video – An audio briefing from NASA on Thursday, July 29th about the anomalous firing of thrusters on the Russian Nauka module, which docked with the station earlier that day.

** Expedition 65 Multipurpose Laboratory Module Nauka Docking – July 29, 2021 – NASA Video

The Russian “Nauka” Multipurpose Laboratory (MLM) docked to the space station July 29 following a launch from the Baikonur Cosmondrome in Kazakhstan on July 21. “Nauka”, the Russian word for science, replaced the Pirs Docking Compartment which undocked from the station July 24 and was deorbited by an unpiloted Progress supply ship after 20 years of service at the orbiting outpost. The Multipurpose Laboratory Module will serve as a research lab, docking port, and airlock for Russian segment spacewalks.

** Expedition 65 Scripps Institution of Oceanography – July 20, 2021 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur of NASA discussed the view of Earth from orbit and other research topics during an in-flight interview July 20 with members of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. McArthur is in the midst of a planned six-month mission aboard the complex, having launched in April on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour”.

** Orbital Flight Test-2: Crew and Science Briefing – NASA’s Kennedy Space Center – An Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) virtual NASA Social “chat with NASA astronauts and learn more about the science launching aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft“.

** Pirs docking compartment departs space station in stunning time-lapse – VideoFromSpace

The Pirs docking compartment and the Russian Progress 77 spacecraft were undocked from the International Space Station on July 26, 2021. Pirs arrived at the orbital outpost in 2001. [Article at Russia discards Pirs docking port to clear way for new space station module | Space.com]

** SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft re-docks with space station after changing ports – VideoFromSpace

SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and  Megan McArthur, JAXA’s Akihiko Hoshide and ESA’s Thomas Pesquet moved the Crew Dragon Endeavour to a new docking port on the International Space Station on July 21, 2021.

** Celebrating 20 Years of International Space Station Spacewalks – NASA Johnson

On July 20, 2001, two NASA astronauts took the first “steps” out of the International Space Station’s Quest airlock, marking the start of two decades of successful spacewalks in support of station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades enabling all of the life and work onboard to take place. On the same date 32 years before this milestone spacewalk outside the space station, two Apollo astronauts were taking historic steps of their own on the lunar surface for the first time. Astronaut Mike Gernhardt tells us what it was like to follow in such momentous footsteps and how crucial innovations, like the airlock and many others, are to the future of human exploration near and far.

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Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Space is Spicier: Peppers Growing on Station – NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

On July 12, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough on the International Space Station added water to NASA’s Plant Habitat-04 (PH-04) experiment in the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), the largest of NASA’s three plant growth chambers on the orbiting laboratory. This activated the experiment, which contains 48 Hatch chili pepper seeds recently sent to station. Astronauts on station and a team of researchers at Kennedy will work together to monitor the peppers’ growth for about four months before harvesting them. This will be one of the longest and most challenging plant experiments attempted aboard the orbital lab. The crew plans to eat some of the peppers and send the rest back to Earth for analysis. Some of the data collected from PH-04 will include the astronauts’ take on flavor and texture of the peppers, along with Scoville measurements to assess the spiciness of the peppers. A research team monitoring a control experiment on the ground at Kennedy will collect similar information for comparison. SpaceX’s 22nd commercial resupply services mission in June delivered PH-04 to the space station. Read the full feature and the fact sheet about the PH-04 experiment. Follow progress on social media. Feature: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/chile-pe… Fact Sheet: https://www.nasa.gov/content/plant-ha…

For information on the NuMex pepper Hatch Valley video footage, please contact New Mexico TRUE at www.newmexico.org

** Cool Flames Created Aboard International Space Station – July 14, 2021 – NASA Video

The hot flame created during a test for the Cool Flames Investigation with Gases experiment is shown burning. After the flame appears to extinguish, a cool flame is created. While too faint to be visible in real time during space station testing, the research team uncovered the presence of cool flames in the data.

** Expedition 65 Inflight with Harlem Link Education Group – July 9, 2021 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, ISS Expedition 65 Commander Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough answered pre-recorded questions from Harlem Link charter school students in New York July 8 in an educational in-flight events. The students represent all five boroughs of New York, ranging in age from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Hoshide and Kimbrough launched in April on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” for a planned six-month mission.

** Space Station Crew Answers Questions From New York State Students – NASA Video

Expedition 65 – NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur and ESA Astronaut Thomas Pesquet answer questions from the Children’s Museum of Saratoga.

** ‘Intelligent’ robotic arm to launch with new space station module – VideoFromSpace

European Robotic Arm (ERA) will be able to “move back and forward by itself, hand-over-hand between fixed base-points,” according to ESA, It will be launched to the International Space Station along with the ‘Nauka’ Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module.

** WATCH Earth Images from the International Space Station.- July 12, 2021 – space googlevesaire

** Spacewalk season timelapse, episode 3 – European Space Agency, ESA

Timelapse video made during ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s second mission to the International Space Station, “Alpha”. ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and @NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough performed three spacewalks in the span of 10 days to install two new solar arrays that will generate more electricity on the International Space Station. The third and final spacewalk for the duo happened on June 25 to finish installing the second pair of new solar arrays. This spacewalk proceeded without problems, and the two new solar arrays are already working and supplying power to the Space Station. The design of the new solar arrays will be used to power the lunar Gateway that will be built in an orbit around the Moon – the next outpost in space for the agencies that run the International Space Station. …

** Science so cool it is freezing! – European Space Agency, ESA

Interviews with the “Cold Stowage” team at @NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, that ensure science on the International Space Station stays cool. Many experiments run on the Space Station require freezing samples for analysis later on Earth, or are sent into space frozen and thawed out in orbit. The European-built MELFI (Minus Eighty Lab Freezer for ISS) keeps these samples at the right temperature. From a virus to algae or muscle biopsies, many samples have been sent and stored in space over a decade years that the freezers have been operating. The technology behind keeping the science cool in space has found its way back to Earth too, limiting losses when transporting liquid gas in tankers. Built by ESA and transferred to NASA and @JAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構, MELFI is a versatile storage freezer. The four compartments can be set at different temperatures ranging from −98 °C to +4 °C to preserve biological samples such as blood and urine that will be returned to Earth.

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Outpost in Orbit:
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Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Watch SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon fly away from space station after undocking – VideoFromSpace

SpaceX’s CRS-22 cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station on July 8, 2021. It is scheduled to splashdown off the coast of Florida on July 9.

** Expedition 65 SpaceX CRS 22 Undocking – July 8, 2021 – NASA Video

Loaded with scientific experiments and supplies, the unpiloted SpaceX CRS-22 cargo ship undocked from the International Space Station July 8, completing a month-long resupply mission to the outpost. With NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough looking on, the SpaceX spacecraft undocked from the space-facing port of the Harmony module, headed for a splashdown in the Atlantic to complete its month-long flight. SpaceX CRS-22 launched last month, delivering several tons of experiments and hardware to the station, including the first pair of ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (IROSAs) that were installed on the port truss of the complex during three spacewalks to augment the station’s power output.

** European Robotic Arm ready for space – European Space Agency, ESA

The European Robotic Arm (ERA) will be launched to the International Space Station together with the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module, called ‘Nauka’. ERA is the first robot able to ‘walk’ around the Russian segment of the Space Station. It has the ability to anchor itself to the Station and move back and forward by itself, hand-over-hand between fixed base-points. This 11-metre intelligent space robot will serve as main manipulator on the Russian part of the Space Station, assisting the astronauts during spacewalks. The robot arm can help install, deploy and replace elements in outer space ERA is 100% made-in-Europe. A consortium of European companies led by Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands designed and assembled it for ESA. The robotic arm is largely funded by the Dutch government.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/EuropeanRoboticArm

** Science so cool it is freezing! – European Space Agency, ESA

Interviews with the “Cold Stowage” team at @NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, that ensure science on the International Space Station stays cool. Many experiments run on the Space Station require freezing samples for analysis later on Earth, or are sent into space frozen and thawed out in orbit. The European-built MELFI (Minus Eighty Lab Freezer for ISS) keeps these samples at the right temperature. From a virus to algae or muscle biopsies, many samples have been sent and stored in space over a decade years that the freezers have been operating. The technology behind keeping the science cool in space has found its way back to Earth too, limiting losses when transporting liquid gas in tankers. Built by ESA and transferred to NASA and @JAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構, MELFI is a versatile storage freezer. The four compartments can be set at different temperatures ranging from −98 °C to +4 °C to preserve biological samples such as blood and urine that will be returned to Earth. …

** Expedition 65 WFLA – July 8, 2021  – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA discussed life and work on the complex and the view of the Earth from orbit during an in-flight interview July 8 with WFLA-TV, Tampa, Florida. The two astronauts launched in April on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” for a planned six-month mission.

** China conducts first spacewalk outside new space station! See the highlights – VideoFromSpace

Chinese astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo performed a spacewalk outside the space station core module Tianhe on July 4, 2021. Full Story: https://www.space.com/china-space-sta... The spacewalkers installed foot restraints and an extravehicular working platform on the mechanical arm,” according to the China Manned Space Agency.

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Outpost in Orbit:
A Pictorial & Verbal History of the Space Station