Station Crew Installs Exposed Experiments; Conducts Science

(NASA) – The Expedition 20 crew members installed experiments using the Japanese robotic arm and performed a variety of science-related tasks Thursday as they orbited the Earth aboard the International Space Station.

Flight Engineers Nicole Stott and Frank De Winne used the Japanese robotic arm to grapple experiments from a pallet attached to the exterior of the station and install them on the Exposed Facility or “porch” of the Kibo module.

Flight Engineer Nicole Stott exercises on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

On Wednesday, they removed the pallet from the newly arrived Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) and attached it to the exterior of the Kibo exposed facility using the station’s robotic arms. The empty pallet will be transferred back to the HTV Friday for disposal when the cargo craft is deorbited in late October or early November.

Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt stowed equipment in the docked Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft and made preparations for their departure after a six-month stay aboard the station. They are scheduled to leave aboard the Soyuz on Oct. 10 and land in Kazakhstan the next day.

Padalka and Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko worked with a Russian experiment that uses robotic simulations on a laptop computer to test how long-duration spaceflight can affect a crew member’s ability to complete manual control tasks.

Romanenko also inspected and photographed windows throughout the station and had time set aside to work in the Zvezda service module performing routine maintenance activities and tagging up with specialists on the ground.

Flight Engineer Robert Thirsk assisted Barratt in the Integrated Cardiovascular experiment, which studies the effects of long-term spaceflight on the heart and flow of blood in a crew member’s body. They also continued to unload and stow cargo from the HTV.