Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:
** Soyuz Crew Ship Docks to Station With Expedition 65 Trio – NASA Video
The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos docked to the International Space Station at 7:05 a.m. EDT while both spacecraft were flying about 262 miles above northern China.
** NASA Television Video File – Expedition 65 Docking/Hatch Open and Welcome Ceremony – April 9, 2021 – NASA Video
Expedition 65 Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos and Mark Vande Hei of NASA arrived at the International Space Station April 9, docking their spacecraft to the Rassvet module on the Russian segment of the complex. They completed the three-hour journey after launching earlier in the day in their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A few hours after docking, Novitskiy, Dubrov and Vande Hei opened hatches between the two spacecraft and were greeted by station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Kate Rubins, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
** Astronaut Moments: Mark Vande Hei, Living and Working in Space – NASA Johnson
Mark Vande Hei launched to the International Space Station for the second time on April 9 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch occurs just three days before the 60th anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s launch to become the first human in space and the 40th anniversary of the first launch of NASA’s space shuttle. As members of the Expedition 64/65 crew, Vande Hei and his two Russian crewmates Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are on deck to work on hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science, and Earth science. During his previous spaceflight, he accumulated 168 days in space and spent 26 hours and 42 minutes suited up outside of the space station over the course of four spacewalks.
** Expedition 64 Inflight with Rice Space Institute – April 8, 2021 – NASA Video
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Mike Hopkins of NASA discussed life and research on board the orbital laboratory during an in-flight educational event April 8 with students from the Rice University Space Institute in Houston. Rubins is in the final week of her six-month mission on the station before she returns to Earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, while Hopkins is preparing to return to Earth later this month on the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle Resilience.
** Expedition 64 Inflight Houston Sports Authority – April 7, 2021 – NASA Video
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 64 Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Shannon Walker of NASA discussed life and research aboard the orbital laboratory during an in-flight event with the Houston Sports Authority April 7 to mark the World Transplant Games, a global endeavor to highlight transplant technology. Rubins is in the final week of her six-month mission on the station before she returns to Earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, while Walker is set to assume command of the complex next week for two weeks before she return to Earth later this month on the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle Resilience.
** NLRA 2021-6: In-Space Production Applications: Tissue Engineering and Biomanufacturing – ISS National Lab
On April 8, 2021, the ISS National Lab held a webinar to provide further background on NLRA 2021-6 and to answer any questions.
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