Videos: “Space to Ground” & other space habitat reports – May.22.2023

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

** Ax-2: Expanding access to low-Earth orbit – Axiom Space

Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home. More information about Axiom can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/axiom_space
Instagram: https://instagram.com/axiom.space

** Ax-2 Mission | Approach and Docking – Axiom Space

On Monday, May 22 at 9:12 a.m. ET, SpaceX’s Dragon autonomously docked with the International Space Station. Approximately 15.5 hours earlier at 5:37 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched the spacecraft and Ax-2 to orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 20 science and technology experiments in areas such as human physiology, physical sciences, and STEAM to help expand knowledge to benefit life on Earth in areas such as healthcare, materials, technology development, and enable industrial advances.

** SpaceX’s Ax-2 Crew Dragon captures brilliant space station views during docking approach – VideoFromSpace

See SpaceX Crew Dragaon Freedom’s view of the International Space Station during it’s approach to the International Space Station on May 22, 2023. The capsule docked shortly afterwards carrying the Axiom Space Ax-2 crew members Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Watch them launch: https://www.space.com/spacex-ax-2-pri…

** Private Ax-2 crew’s space station welcome ceremony – 600th astronaut gets wings! – VideoFromSpace

Axiom Space Ax-2 crew commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi were welcomed aboard the International Space Station shortly after their SpaceX Crew Dragon docked. Watch them launch: https://www.space.com/spacex-ax-2-pri…

The Ax-2 crew received their astronaut wings from Peggy Whitson.

** Space Station Astronaut Discusses Life in Space with Students in Washington D.C. – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview May 18 with students at the National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, D.C. Rubio is in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions.

** America’s Future: Commercial Space Destinations – NASA Johnson

As NASA transitions from the space station and sets its sights on the Moon, America will maintain leadership in LEO by enabling a new generation of commercial partnerships…

Through the Commercial LEO Development Program, NASA is working with industry partners to develop the first generation of commercial space destinations.

This new orbital economy will allow the U.S. to maintain a continuous human presence in space, while enabling new opportunities for commercial partners – to discover scientific breakthroughs, stimulate commerce, and share the experience of spaceflight for generations to come.

https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/low-…

** Andreas Mogensen next mission to the International Space Station | Huginn Mission – European Space Agency, ESA

The name of Andreas’s second mission to the Space Station is ‘Huginn’. Inspired by Norse mythology, the name is taken from one of two ravens who serve the god Odin. Called Huginn and Muninn, these two birds sit on Odin’s shoulders and are sent flying across the world at dawn. They return at night to inform him of the many events they have seen and heard. In Old Norse, ‘Huginn’ means ‘thought’ and ‘Muninn’ means ‘mind’ or ‘memory’.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen is going on his first long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Andreas will be the pilot on the SpaceX Crew Dragon that will carry him and the rest of Crew-7 to the Space Station – a first for a European!
Representing Europe in space, Andreas will carry out science throughout his mission and bring back the knowledge to Earth, for the benefit of humankind.

Visit esa.int/huginn for more information on the Huginn mission.

** Shenzhou-15 Astronaut Gives Lecture on Automatic Transfer of Payload on Space Station – CCTV Video News Agency

Shenzhou-15 astronaut Zhang Lu in space gave an online public lecture on an extravehicular mission involving automatic transfer of a particle detector outside the spacecraft.

** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) – NASA

Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8

Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov