NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 21 March 2014

Today: Conjunction with Object #27391 Status: The Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) that was tentatively planned due to this high concern conjunction was cancelled. Ground teams tracked the object closely and determined that the probability of collision with the object had dropped significantly enough that the PDAM maneuver was not required. Time of closest approach has now passed.
Conjunction with Object #19448 Status: Ground teams received updated tracking data for a possible conjunction with Object #19448. The conjunction is of high concern and ground controllers will be tracking it throughout the evening. If a debris avoidance maneuver is needed, a Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) would be executed using 53Progress (P) docked to the Service Module (SM) at approximately 4:30am CDT Sunday. If PDAM is required, there would be no impact to the 38Soyuz (S) launch planned for March 25th.

In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Pre-Treat Tank Remove and Replace (R&R): The crew completed the second shock treatment of the internal urine components of the WHC using water and WHC pre-treat. This shock was intended to clean and to deter further microbial growth in the WHC components as well as the components between the WHC and the Urine Processing Assembly (UPA). Following the shock treatment Flight Engineer (FE) 5 Mastracchio replaced the Pre-Treat Tank that was suspected of being diluted and at the end of its life. After today’s activities, the Pre-Treat Bad Quality Light is no longer illuminated and the WHC was restored to the nominal configuration of feeding the UPA.

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Lab Aft Port Intermodule Ventilation (IMV): To improve Intermodule ventilation between Node 3 and the US Lab and eliminate/improve short circuiting, Commander (CDR) Wakata modified the IMV ducting in the US Lab so that the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtered air from Node 3 is introduced to the Lab’s return ducting instead of into the Lab cabin at the Aft Port diffuser. Re-routing the air will put the air directly in to the Lab Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) return ducting and thus directly in to the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) path for removing CO2. This will aid in managing CO2 levels.

Columbus (COL) Audio Terminal Unit (ATU) 2 Remove and Replace (R&R): Mastracchio performed this R&R as a result of the USOS Audio Subsystem issues experienced last month. Ground teams identified Passive Built-in Test (PBIT) faults associated with fiber optic bus B and traced to this ATU following extensive troubleshooting. Following activation of the newly installed ATU, the PBITs returned, however the Flight Control Team was able to clear the PBIT indications. A subsequent Active Built-In Test (ABIT) showed no signs of degradation on Audio Busses ‘A’ or ‘B’. Ground teams will continue to monitor the system to verify the PBIT indications do not return.

Body Measures Investigation: Wakata, with the help of Mastracchio, conducted his Flight Day 135 session of Body Measures. Wakata set up body marker instrumentation and took calibration and body pose pictures, along with circumference measurements. Wakata then recorded a neutral body posture video. The goal of this study is to gather data to better understand the magnitude and variability of changes due to microgravity and fluid shifts within the human body during long-duration space flight. Results of the investigation may result in changes to space suit fit and sizing, workstation design, etc. for future missions to maximize performance, prevent injury, and reduce crew time to accommodate their anthropometrics.

FLame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)-2 Operations: Mastracchio removed the Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) alignment guides, which isolated the rack and will allow ground teams to conduct another FLEX-2 test point via ground commanding. Propanol and glycerol will be used for this test point. FLEX-2 uses small droplets of fuel to study the special burning characteristics of fire in space. The FLEX-2 experiment studies the rate and manner in which fuel is burned, the conditions that are necessary for soot to form, and the way in which a mixture of fuels evaporate before burning. The results from these experiments will give scientists a better understanding how fires behave in space and will provide important information that will be useful in increasing the fuel efficiency of engines using liquid fuels.

Today’s Planned Tasks

Morning Inspection [Complete]
Laptop RS1(2) Reboot [Complete]
SM ??? (Caution & Warning Panel) Test [Complete]
RSS1,2 Reboot / r/g 1009 [Complete]
Daily Planning Conference (S-band) [Complete]
ISS crew and ???? (RSA Flight Control Management Team) r/g 5124 [Complete]
Lab Aft Port IMV Fan Cleaning [Complete]
IMS Tagup (S-band) [Complete]
EDV Connection to UPA [Complete]
WHC Shock (Part 2) [Complete]
MATRYOSHKA-R. r/g 5133 [Complete]
WHC Pretreat tank R&R [Complete]
ATU2 R&R in Columbus [Complete]
BODYM – Experiment Ops [Complete]
??-1 Flow Sensor Position Check [Complete]
??? 422 Stowage and IMS Ops / r/g 5106 [Complete]
BODYM – Assistance with the Experiment [Complete]
??? 422 Stowage and IMS Ops / r/g 5140 [Complete]
CIR Alignment Guide removal [Complete]
Lab Aft Port IMV Fan Cleaning [Complete]
IMS Update [Complete]
??? Maintenance [Complete]
WHC – Activation [Complete]
Daily Planning Conference (S-band) [Complete]
Flight Director/ISS Crew Tagup [Complete]
Journal Entry
Task List

ARED Cylinder Evac [Complete]
Dragon Robot self-study [In work]
WHC KTO Replace
WHC EDV R&R
Roscosmos report
Uragan photo
Econ photo
EVA FPS Tool Gather [In work]
ICE2 TM4 T/S Part 1
ICE2 TM4 T/S Part 2
SSC14 BIOS Set [Complete]
AC vacuum bag R&R
COL1F2 ZSR audit
EVA UIA Filter Flush R&R
JPM1F6ZSR audit
WSTA Fills
Ground

Nominal Commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Saturday, 03/22: Weekly cleaning, Crew off duty
Sunday, 03/23: Crew off duty
Monday, 03/24: CFE-ICF6, ACE sample prep, JEM IMV fan cleaning
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Off
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Operate
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full up