Dragon Freedom Prepares for Short Relocation Ahead of Cargo Mission

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 03 November 2024 10:43

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 03, 2024

Four Expedition 72 crew members are gearing up for a brief ride to relocate the International Space Station's Dragon Freedom spacecraft this weekend, creating space for an upcoming cargo mission. The crew has also spent the week conducting life science research and performing maintenance tasks aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbu

Dragon Freedom Prepares for Short Relocation Ahead of Cargo Mission
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 03, 2024

Four Expedition 72 crew members are gearing up for a brief ride to relocate the International Space Station's Dragon Freedom spacecraft this weekend, creating space for an upcoming cargo mission. The crew has also spent the week conducting life science research and performing maintenance tasks aboard the orbiting laboratory.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov reviewed relocation procedures on Friday for the Dragon Freedom's upcoming maneuver. The relocation is scheduled to begin at 6:35 a.m. EST on Sunday when Freedom undocks from the Harmony module's forward port. The crew will include Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, joining Hague and Gorbunov for the relocation. The spacecraft will be redocked to Harmony's space-facing port at 7:18 a.m.

Hague and Gorbunov initially arrived at the space station aboard Dragon Freedom as part of SpaceX Crew-9 on Sept. 28. Their return to Earth is planned for February, along with Williams and Wilmore.

The relocation of Dragon Freedom will free up the forward Harmony port for the arrival of a new Dragon cargo mission, which is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 9:29 p.m. on Monday. The cargo Dragon is expected to dock at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, bringing nearly 6,000 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the station. Hague and Wilmore will oversee the arrival of the cargo Dragon.

Flight Engineer Don Pettit will assist with Sunday's relocation, monitoring Dragon Freedom's automated movements from within the station. He joined his crewmates at the end of Friday's shift to coordinate with mission controllers regarding the procedure. Earlier in the day, Pettit and Hague worked together to collect blood samples, spin them in a centrifuge, and store them in a science freezer for later analysis.

Pettit also spent time dismantling parts of the Cell Biology Experiment Facility in preparation for the new experiments being delivered on the next cargo Dragon. Hague continued reviewing the procedure for commanding Dragon during its relocation maneuver on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Commander Williams and Flight Engineer Wilmore were focused on station upkeep, including replacing filters on the Tranquility module's water recycling system and installing a new instrumentation box on the advanced resistive exercise device. The duo also took time to train for the upcoming cargo Dragon mission.

In the Russian segment of the station, Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner assisted Alexey Ovchinin with maintenance tasks in the aft section of the Zvezda service module. Ovchinin spent part of his day studying piloting techniques for future planetary missions, while Gorbunov concluded an experiment observing Earth's atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths before resuming relocation preparations with Hague.