Expedition 74 sees vehicle departures and a spacewalk during March

Date:
Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:13:37 +0000

Description:
March was another busy month onboard the International Space Station, with
the Expedition 74 crew The post Expedition 74 sees vehicle departures and a spacewalk during March appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

March was another busy month onboard the International Space Station, with
the Expedition 74 crew overseeing three vehicle departures and one arrival. The crew also conducted the first spacewalk of the year, U.S. Spacewalk 94, and talked with the Artemis II crew on April 7 during their return trip from the Moon.



Departures, arrivals, and reboosts

On March 5, the Canadarm2 robotic arm unberthed the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys (JAXA) HTV-X1 vehicle from the nadir port of the International Space Stations (ISS) Harmony module. Canadarm2 released the vehicle at 17:00 UTC on March 6. JAXAs Kimiya Yui berthed the vehicle to the Station on Oct. 30, and it remained docked to the ISS for 126 days. After undocking, the vehicle was transferred to a high-Earth orbit with a 500 km perigee, where it will conduct a series of technology demonstrations for
three months. After these demonstrations are completed, HTV-X1 will reenter Earths atmosphere and burn up.

On March 12 at 11:06 UTC, Northrop Grummans Cygnus NG-23 undocked from the nadir port on the Unity module. The Cygnus XL spacecraft, named S.S. William Willie C. McCool after a NASA astronaut who was lost on STS-107, spent 175 days docked at the orbiting outpost. Canadarm2 unberthed the vehicle on Nov. 24 to avoid interfering with the approach corridor for Soyuz MS-28s arrival
on Nov. 27. Cygnus XL was reberthed to the same port on Dec. 1, where it remained until its departure on March 12. The vehicle was deorbited on March 14 and subsequently reentered Earths atmosphere, where it disintegrated. Canadarm2 grappling Cygnus NG-23 (Credit: NASA)

The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-31 cargo vehicle departed the Poisk modules zenith
port on March 16 at 13:24 UTC. The spacecraft spent 253 days docked to the orbiting outpost after launching from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 3, delivering 2,625 kg of supplies to the station. See Also Expedition
74 Updates ISS Forum Section NSF Store Click Here to Join L2

Another Russian resupply vehicle, Progress MS-33, launched atop a Soyuz-2.1a on March 22 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 11:59 UTC. The launch was previously scheduled for Dec. 19; however, due to pad damage sustained during the Soyuz MS-28 mission, Roscosmos delayed it until repairs at the launch pad were completed.

After the launch of Soyuz MS-33, NASA reported that one of the Progresss two antennas failed to deploy, leaving the KURS automated docking system unavailable. Once the vehicle rendezvoused with the Station, it stopped 600 m from the Poisk module. Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov then used the Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous Unit (TORU) to manually dock the capsule to the ISS.

On March 13, Progress MS-32, docked to the aft port on the Zvezda module,
used its engines to reboost the ISSs orbit. The burn lasted for 10 minutes
and 30 seconds, increasing the Stations orbital altitude by 0.8 km at apogee and by 1.45 km at perigee leaving the ISS in an orbit of approximately 428
km by 414 km. Over time, atmospheric drag decreases the Stations orbit, requiring visiting vehicles to perform reboosts to prevent its orbit from decaying. Chris Williams during U.S. Spacewalk 94. (Credit: NASA)

U.S. Spacewalk 94

Amid a busy vehicle manifest, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams completed U.S. Spacewalk 94 on March 18. The spacewalk marked Williams first and Meirs fourth, with Meir having previously conducted the first all-female extravehicular activity (EVA) spacewalk with NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch in 2019.

Departing from the Quest airlock, Meir and Williams spent seven hours and two minutes outside the Station. The EVA was originally scheduled for January,
but NASA postponed the EVA after Crew-11s early departure due to a medical concern.

The astronauts prepared the 2A power channel, enabling the installation of
the International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) during a future spacewalk. Redwire Corporation developed these lightweight solar panels,
which are designed to be more powerful and less bulky than traditional in-space arrays. The astronauts also installed a 2A power jumper during the EVA. Tasks like installing a lens on a camera attached to Canadarm2 and swabbing for microorganisms outside the Quest airlock were deferred to a future spacewalk. The astronauts aboard the @Space_Station and the astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft shared a ship-to-ship call today. In this clip, astronaut Christina Koch reflects on the "specialness and preciousness" of Earth. pic.twitter.com/RPSaX4KrJJ

NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 7, 2026



Science experiments and technology demonstrations

Expedition 74 conducted dozens of experiments in March, ranging from human science to technology demonstrations to physics experiments.

On March 4, NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot tested the EchoFinder-2 biomedical device in the Columbus laboratory module. Both astronauts took turns scanning each others abdomens and vascular systems using a device that utilizes augmented reality for ultrasound-guided scanning and artificial intelligence to detect organs. The study aims to reduce the need for ground support as humans fly farther from Earth.

Also on March 4, Kud-Sverchkov performed a physics experiment in which a stream of atoms and molecules was directed at semiconductor materials to observe their responses. This study will help scientists develop advanced structural designs featuring ultra-clean surfaces. Progress MS-34 approaches the Station. (Credit: NASA)

Meir and Hathaway completed vein scans using the Ultrasound-3 device on March 11. The data will support further studies of space-related changes in blood flow and the increased risk of blood clots in astronauts.

Adenot took part in the RelaxPro study on March 23. The rookie astronaut completed a questionnaire, wore an actigraphy device, and provided biological samples for the study. RelaxPro aims to develop relaxation training
protocols, such as mindfulness and meditation, for astronauts during
long-term spaceflight to reduce stress levels.

As the ISS enters its final years, NASA and its international partners continue to conduct impactful research and maintain a continuous presence aboard the orbiting outpost. The Station is scheduled for deorbit no earlier than 2032, with commercial partners expected to operate their own space stations in low-Earth orbit after its decommissioning.

(Lead image: HTV-X1 berthed to the ISS. Credit: NASA)



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Link to news story:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/04/iss-roundup-032026/


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