Expedition 32 Landing

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergie Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.

Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

Soyuz Landing Coverage Planned for NASA Television

Joshua Buck

Headquarters, Washington                                        

202-358-1100

jbuck@nasa.gov

 

Kelly Humphries

Johnson Space Center, Houston

281-483-5111

kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of events surrounding three International Space Station crew members who are scheduled to end four months on the orbiting laboratory with a landing in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Sept. 16.

Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA and Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of the Russian Federal Space Agency will undock their Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft from the space station at 7:09 p.m. EDT, heading for a landing at 10:53 p.m. (8:53 a.m. Kazakhstan time Sept. 17) north of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Their return will wrap up 125 days in space since their launch from Kazakhstan on May 15, including 123 days on the station.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 33 formally will begin aboard the station under the command of NASA's Sunita Williams. She and her crewmates, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will tend to the station as a three-person crew for a month until the arrival of three new crew members in mid-October, including NASA astronaut Kevin Ford.

NASA Television coverage on Sept. 16 and 17 of the Expedition 32 landing and post-landing activities will include:

Sept. 16:

3:30 p.m. -- Farewells and hatch closure (hatch closure at 3:55 p.m.).

6:45 p.m. -- Undocking and departure (undocking at 7:09 p.m.).

9:30 p.m. -- Deorbit burn and landing (deorbit burn at 9:56 p.m.; landing at 10:53 p.m.).

Sept. 17:

10:30 a.m. -- Video File of landing and post-landing activities

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more information about the International Space Station and its crews, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

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NASA TV to Cover Departure of Japanese Cargo Ship From Space Station Sept. 12

Joshua Buck

Headquarters, Washington     

202-358-1100

jbuck@nasa.gov

 

Kelly Humphries

Johnson Space Center, Houston

281-483-5111

kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of the third Japanese "Kounotori" H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) cargo ship's departure from the International Space Station in two broadcasts Wednesday, Sept. 12. The first, covering unberthing, will begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT, and the second, covering release, will begin at 11:30 a.m.

HTV-3, launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) July 21, arrived to the orbiting laboratory July 27 with several tons of supplies and experiments. Departure, originally planned for Sept. 6, was delayed to accommodate a second spacewalk by Expedition 32 Flight Engineers Sunita Williams of NASA and Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA on Wednesday.

Hoshide and fellow Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA will be at the controls of the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to unbolt and disengage the cargo craft from the station's Harmony module. A few hours later the astronauts will release the cargo craft, which will be moved a safe distance away from the complex. JAXA flight controllers later will fire the spacecraft's engine, initiating its destructive entry back through Earth's atmosphere.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more information about the International Space Station and its continuing research activities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

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The Italian Boot

This oblique, night time panorama of much of Europe was photographed by one of the Expedition 32 crew members aboard the International Space Station flying approximately 240 miles above the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 18, 2012.

The country of Italy is visible running diagonally southward from the horizon across the center of the frame, with the night lights of Rome and Naples being visible on the coast near the center. Sardinia and Corsica are just above left center of the photo, and Sicily is at lower left. The Adriatic Sea is on the other side of Italy, and beyond it to the east and north can be seen parts of several other European nations.

Image Credit: NASA

Next Space Station Spacewalk to Be Broadcast on NASA TV

Joshua Buck

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1100

jbuck@nasa.gov

 

Kelly Humphries

Johnson Space Center, Houston

281-483-5111

kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- In the wake of an unsuccessful attempt to install a replacement power-switching unit on the truss of the International Space Station, two crew members will venture outside for a second time in six days to complete the work. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the spacewalk beginning at 6 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, Sept. 5. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin about 7:15 a.m.

Expedition 32 flight engineers Sunita Williams of NASA and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency again will don U.S. spacesuits and exit the Quest airlock to complete the installation of a spare Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU). The MBSU is a boxy, 236-pound component that relays power from the station's solar arrays to its systems. An 8- hour, 17-minute spacewalk on Aug. 30 -- the third longest in history -- ended with the spacewalkers unable to finish bolting the switching unit into its housing on the truss.

This spacewalk will be the 165th in support of space station assembly and maintenance, the sixth in Williams' career and the second for Hoshide. Williams will wear the spacesuit bearing red stripes. Hoshide will be clad in the spacesuit with no markings. 

NASA will conduct a multi-center news conference following the conclusion of Wednesday's spacewalk. The news conference will be broadcast on NASA TV and include space station program and mission operations representatives. News media representatives who would like to participate by telephone must call the newsroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston 15 minutes before the news conference begins. Priority will be given to journalists participating in person. Questions by phone will be taken as time permits. Journalists should check the NASA TV schedule Wednesday for the news conference start time.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

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