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Business as usual on the International Space Station

It’s business as usual aboard the International Space Station while the Expedition 16 crew awaits hardware from Japan, Canada and Europe.

A multitude of ongoing activities is keeping the station crew busy. Science inside the Destiny lab, HAM radio sessions with ground participants, Russian maintenance and upcoming mission preps occupy the crew’s timeline.

Commander Peggy Whitson KC5ZTD has been activating the Microgravity Science Glovebox to study how special fluids behave when exposed to a magnetic field.
French astronaut and flight engineer Léopold Eyharts FX0STD held a Ham Radio session with students in Toulouse, France.
Cosmonaut and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko RK3DUP continues maintenance and oxygen repress activities from the Russian side of the space station.

Image above: Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle, “Jules Verne,” undergoes pre-flight processing before being integrated into the Ariane 5 rocket in Kourou, French Guiana. Photo credit: ESA

Meanwhile, Europe’s new station resupply ship, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, is scheduled for launch Saturday at 11:03 p.m. EST. Space shuttle Endeavour is set for launch on Tuesday, March 11 at 2:28 a.m.

Endeavour will deliver the first part of Japan’s new laboratory and Canada’s new robotic arm extension called Dextre.