Expedition 69 unpacked SpaceX Dragon’s cargo, including roll-out solar panels for the International Space Station.
NASA and UAE flight engineers will manage almost 7,000 pounds of research and hardware items after docking with the Harmony module. The team prepares the solar arrays for a spacewalk using Canadarm2 while continuing scientific research.
Expedition 69 crew members unpacked many tons of goods from the SpaceX Dragon supply plane. The next spacewalk will install two roll-out solar arrays from the resupply ship on the ISS.
Dragon ship moored to Harmony at 5:54 a.m. EDT on Monday, a day after launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. After air and pressure losses, Dragon’s hatch opened after two hours.
After that, NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, and Sultan Alneyadi entered Dragon and began unloading part of the more than 7,000 pounds of science experiments, station gear, and crew supplies.
Ground controllers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to remove Dragon’s unpressurized trunk’s roll-out solar arrays. Canadarm2 will gently move the solar panels to a pallet on the station’s starboard-side truss structure.
The Spacewalk on Friday is Now a Go Thanks to SpaceX’s Successful Cargo Delivery Via Dragon
The robotic transfer prepares the solar arrays for installation and activation on the starboard truss structure during a Friday spacewalk at 9:15 a.m.
Friday’s spacewalkers are Bowen and Hoburg. The two astronauts organized gear and reviewed protocols for the seven-hour spacewalk on Wednesday morning. Rubio and Alneyadi, who will aid spacewalkers from the station, engaged in tool work and protocol evaluations. On Thursday, the quartet will study spacewalk protocols, robotics, and mission specialists.
The four astronauts conducted science experiments and lab operations while preparing for Wednesday’s spacewalk. For a human research investigation, Bowen scanned Hoburg’s eyes using normal optometry equipment. Alneyadi tested an Astrobee flying assistance while Rubio unpacked Dragon.
In Roscosmos, the station’s three cosmonauts did research, electronics repair, and cargo. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev alternated wearing a cap with sensors to measure their brain activity while rehearsing futuristic robotic and spaceship piloting skills on a computer.
Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin tested Zvezda service module power and data connections all day before loading cargo from the ISS Progress 84 space ship.