Videos: “Space to Ground” + Other ISS reports – Nov.20.2020

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

** SpaceX’s CRS-21 Mission to the Space Station: What’s On Board – NASA

The 21st SpaceX cargo resupply mission that will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carries a variety of critical research and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station. The mission will be the first on an upgraded version of the company’s Dragon cargo spacecraft that can carry more science payloads to and from the orbiting laboratory. The craft’s cargo includes critical materials that support research ranging from heart disease to asteroid mining and a new commercial airlock as part of NASA’s goal to achieve a sustainable economy in low-Earth orbit. Learn more here: https://go.nasa.gov/3pzkkt8

** NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 For All Recap – NASA

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience successfully docked to the International Space Station at 11:01 p.m. EST Monday, transporting NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission lifted off Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7:27 p.m. on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is the first of six certified, crew missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will conduct science and maintenance during a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return in spring 2021. It is scheduled to be the longest human space mission launched from the United States. The Crew Dragon spacecraft is capable of staying in orbit for at least 210 days, as a NASA requirement.

** NASA Leaders Share Update Following NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 Arrival at the International Space Station – NASA

Tune in to hear NASA leadership discuss the successful launch and docking of Crew Dragon “Resilience” following the arrival of the Crew-1 astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Soichi Noguchi at the International Space Station. This is the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket, following certification by NASA for regular flights to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Learn more about the mission by visiting https://www.nasa.gov/crew1

** Russian Spacewalk #47 Animation – NASA Johnson

Working outside the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos will conduct the eighth spacewalk of the year at the orbital outpost, using the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Russian segment as an airlock for the first time. Among other tasks to be performed during the excursion, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov will begin the decommissioning of the venerable Pirs Docking Compartment by disconnecting a telemetry cable linking Pirs to the Zvezda Service Module and connecting it to Poisk. Pirs, which was launched in September 2001 and has served as a docking port and a spacewalk airlock for the past two decades, is scheduled to be replaced next year by the new “Nauka” Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module that will be launched on a Russian Proton rocket. The spacewalk will be the first for both Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov and the 232nd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.

** How Crew Dragon Will Approach & Dock To ISS (Short!) – Scott Manley

I have a much longer video on proximity operations, but since this is highly relevant, here’s a quick explainer of this final approach maneuvers for today’s planned docking of Dragon.