NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 19 January 2015

Today: External Thermal Control System (ETCS) Loop B Recovery Status: Over the weekend, ground teams finished repressurizing and recovering ETCS Loop B and the systems which were deactivated as a result of Wednesday’s safeing response. The Loop B Interface Heat Exchangers (IFHX) have been reintegrated, which allows internal heat rejection on Loop B.
Cardio Ox: Crew setup and configured ultrasound hardware. Wilmore, acting as Crew Medical Officer (CMO) and with the help of the Cardio Ox ground team performed the ultrasound scans and blood pressure measurements supporting Cristoforetti’s flight day 60 Cardio Ox session. The objective of Cardio Ox is to determine whether biological markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress are elevated during and after space flight and whether this results in an increased, long-term risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts. Twelve crewmembers will provide blood and urine samples to assess biomarkers before launch, 15 and 60 days after launch, 15 days before returning to Earth, and within days after landing. Ultrasound scans of the carotid and brachial arteries will be obtained at the same time points, as well as through 5 years after landing, as an indicator of cardiovascular health

Drain Brain: Cristoforetti set up and configured the Pulmonary Function System (PFS) equipment, and performed the Drain Brain protocol self-scans with guidance from the Drain Brain ground team. On Earth, blood flows down from a person’s brain back toward the heart thanks in part to gravity, but very little is known about how this flow happens without gravity’s effects. Many crewmembers report headaches and other neurological symptoms in space, which may be related to the absence of gravity acting on blood flowing through the veins. Drain Brain uses a special neck collar to measure blood flow from the brain, to help researchers understand which physical processes in the body can compensate for the lack of gravity to ensure blood flows properly.

Micro-5 Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG): Virts completed teardown and stowage of the Micro-5 hardware. This prepared the MSG for accepting the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixture (CSLM) experiment.

Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures-4 (CSLM-4): Virts reviewed the on board training materials prior to hardware gather and set up of the CSLM-4 components in the MSG work volume. CSLM-4 is a materials science investigation that studies the growth and solidification processes (i.e., coarsening) in lead-tin solid-liquid mixtures that contain a small amount (low volume fraction) of tin branch-like (i.e., dendritic) structures, some of which possess many arms. During sample heating, the growth at the tip of each dendrite continues over time, whereas side branches, behind the tip, develop during constant temperature (i.e., isothermal) conditions. By understanding how temperature and time control the growth of such dendrites, researchers hope to develop more efficient and economical means of producing higher quality products derived from the casting of molten metals.

Skin-B: Cristoforetti conducted her fourth Skin-B data collection using the Tewameter probe to measure the skin barrier function; the Visioscan Camera to measure skin surface topography; and the Corneometer probe to measure skin hydration. The Skin-B experiment will improve understanding of skin aging, which is slow on Earth but very much accelerated in space. This will also provide insights into the aging process in other (similar) bodily tissues in general. The data could help in determining impact on astronauts on future missions to the Moon and Mars for example where environmental conditions are more challenging.

Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) 3010 & 3011 Loop Scrub: Wilmore configured EMU Suits 3010 & 3011 for loop scrubbing. The fan in EMU 3011 failed to start up during the activity, and work on that suit was deferred while ground teams develop a forward plan. The work on EMU 3010 was performed nominally. Once the 3010 suit was configured, Wilmore initiated ionic and particulate filtration (scrubbing) and conducted biocidal maintenance (iodination) on the suit and Airlock cooling water loops. Samples of the coolant water were obtained before and after the loop scrub activity to determine the effectiveness of the filtering. A portion of the water sample was utilized for a conductivity test and the remaining water will be sent to the ground for chemical analysis. Neither EMUs 3010 nor 3011 are planned to be used during the upcoming EVAs.

Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Right Upper Stop Cable Remove & Replace (R&R): This morning, Wilmore performed an R&R of the Right Upper Stop Cable on ARED using a degraded spare. The cable being changed out was reported as severed last week. An additional right upper stop cable spare arrived onboard SpaceX-5. Today’s change out activity removes load limits for certain ARED exercises that use the upper stops and returns ARED to its typical configuration.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Inspection of ??-? connector on ???-?? separator pump in ??? behind panel 139 and line 5182-03 from Pretreat And Water Dispenser (????) to ??? in its transparent section.
Doffing of Wearable Monitoring Vest
Micro5 hardware teardown from MSG
ACS – configuration for high pressure (O2)
EMU cooling loop cleaning initiation
RS1 Laptop activation. Tagup with specialists
PAO Symbolic Activity
Drain Brain (DB) – Hardware Setup and Activation
USND2 – Hardware Setup and Activation
CARDOX – Preparation Steps and Hardware Setup
Evaluation of Orthostatic Stability with LBNP.
????1, ????2 Dust Filter Replacement and MRM1 Gas-Liquid Heat Exchanger (???) Cleaning.
Checkout of 1553 bus switching at ???1
CARDOX – Experiment Ops
Retrieval of samples from POLAR and insertion in Glacier-2
24-hour ECG (start)
CARDOX – Blood Pressure Operations
CSLM-2. Hardware setup for experiment ops, part 1
CARDOX – Blood Pressure Operations
EMU water sampling post cooling loop cleaning
SKNB – Connecting hardware to the Laptop and performing measurements
Symbolic Activity
PK4 Plasma Kristal – Connecting gas supply
VIZIR. Experiment Ops
Checkout of 1553 bus switching at ???1
CSLM-2 hardware checkout, part 1
Recycling tank fill
WRS – water sample analysis
EMU Iodinate Term & EMU Deconfig
Video for Roscosmos TV Studio
On MCC Go: Checkout of 1553 bus switching at ???1
ACS -configure O2 system to nominal configuration
PROBOY. Document review and equipment gathering
??1, ??2 Dust Filter Replacement and ?1, ?2 Fan Grille Cleaning in DC1
Checkout of 1553 bus switching at ???1
PK4 – Disconnecting gas supply / ESA PODF, See OSTPV
ISS RS Atmosphere Analysis Using ??? ????-4?
CSLM2 – hardware checkout, part 2
????-4? Real-Time Gas Monitoring Analyzer (???) Power Off, Connecting to another power outlet
??-21 Prep. Cryogem-03 Unit setup
Counter Measure System (CMS) Harmful Contaminant Measurements in SM
CSLM2 – hardware checkout, part 1
TOCA – data recording
FREZEBLOCK – retrieval of ice blocks from MELFI
HRF – Hardware Setup
CSLM2 – Hardware Checkout, part 2
??-21 Prep. Ecosfera Battery Charge
Completed Task List Items

ARED Cable R&R
ARED video capture and downlink of first ARED exercise post cable R&R
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Nominal commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Tuesday, 01/20: EMU Conductivity Test, Fruit Fly Ops, Bone Densitometer, EMU Swap installing 3003 and 3005
Wednesday, 01/21: APEX-03 Payload Harvest, Ocular Health, Cargo Ops, T-Cell, NanoRacks Plate Reader Remove
Thursday, 01/22: CATS External Payload Transfer, Cargo Ops, Ocular Health, Epigenetics, Emergency OBT
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

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