NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 17 April 2015
The Expedition 43 crew’s delivery arrived Friday aboard the SpaceX Dragon space freighter. Dragon was captured at 6:55 a.m. EDT after a two-day trip and a slow methodical approach. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti guided the Canadarm2 and grappled the Dragon as it floated just 10 meters away from the International Space Station.
The crew will open the hatches to Dragon, which is berthed to the Harmony module, Saturday morning and begin 5 weeks of cargo transfer activities. Aside from crew supplies, Dragon brought new science gear including items for the Rodent Research-2 experiment and the station’s first espresso machine, the ISSpresso, which will provide espresso, tea, consommé and other hot beverages.
A Russian resupply ship is targeted to launch and dock to the space station in less than two weeks. The ISS Progress 59 will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome April 28 at 3:09 p.m. and dock to the Poisk module less than six hours later.
On-Orbit Status Report
SpaceX (SpX)-6 Capture and Berthing: The Dragon vehicle was captured at 5:55 AM CDT today followed by nominal berthing, vestibule outfitting and Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Control Panel Assembly (CPA) removal. Tomorrow, the crew will ingress the vehicle and begin unpacking cargo.
Fine Motor Skills: Kelly and Kornienko performed their Flight Day (FD) 20 Fine Motor Skills session. In this experiment crew members perform a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. The investigation is the first fine motor skills study to measure long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. The goal is to answer how fine motor performance in microgravity trends/varies over the duration of a six-month and year-long space missions; how fine motor performance on orbit compares with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance trends/varies before and after gravitational transitions, including the periods of early flight adaptation and very early/near immediate post-flight periods.
Rodent Research-2 (RR-2) (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)): Virts and Kelly reviewed RR Animal transfer reference materials in preparation for transferring the animals from the transporter to the Habitat. This experiment monitors the effects of the space environment on musculoskeletal and neurological systems of mice as model organisms of human health and disease. Living in microgravity results in significant and rapid effects on the physiology of mice that mimic the process of aging and some diseases in humans on Earth, including muscle atrophy and the loss of bone mineral density. This project will help scientists to discover new molecular targets that can facilitate the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of muscle and bone-related diseases. Long-duration exposure to microgravity will also induce changes in gene expression, protein synthesis, metabolism, and eye structure/morphology that will be identifiable as a series of assessable biomarkers for tracking the onset and progression of disease. In addition, biological specimens from this experiment will be shared with other researchers seeking to understand the effects of various environmental stressors on human health and fitness.
Double cold bag unpack: Virts reviewed double coldbag unpacking procedures in preparation for transferring early destow cold stowage utilization that arrived on Spx-6.
Osteo-4: Cristoforetti reviewed on board training materials in preparation for transfer and experiment configuration tasks associated with the Osteo-4 hardware that arrived on Spx-6. Osteo-4 studies the effects of microgravity on the function of osteocytes, which are the most common cells in bone. These cells reside within the mineralized bone and can sense mechanical forces, or the lack of them, but researchers do not know how. Osteo-4 allows scientists to analyze changes in the physical appearance and genetic expression of mouse bone cells in microgravity.
The Effect of Long-Term Microgravity Exposure on Cardiac Autonomic Function (Biological Rhythms 48): Kelly completed the second 24-hour segment of the 48-hour monitoring session, removed the digital walk Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) body sensors and saved the data for downlink. Biological Rhythms 48 hours studies the effects of long-term microgravity exposure on heart function by analyzing an astronaut’s electrocardiogram for 48 hours. While ISS keeps Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), it remains unknown whether a separate biological rhythm is imposed on long-term flight crews. To study this astronauts wear an Actiwatch sleep monitor for 96 hours and a Holter electrocardiograph for 48 hours in the middle of that sequence.
Circadian Rhythms: Cristoforetti completed the 6th of six 36-hour Circadian Rhythms sessions, doffed the monitoring equipment and downloaded the data. The objective of the experiment is to obtain a better understanding of alterations in circadian rhythms in humans during long-duration spaceflight. Such knowledge will provide insight into the adaptations of the human autonomic nervous system in space over time, and has significant practical implications by helping to improve physical exercise, rest and work shifts as well as fostering adequate workplace illumination in the sense of occupational healthcare in future space missions. The Circadian Rhythms will be measured by monitoring the body’s core temperature. During the first, mid and last session, the armband system will also be used.
Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) Compact Flash (CF) card swap: Kelly installed new CF cards in CGBA-4. Upon completion of the card swap, the CF card performance can be characterized as compared to the CGBA-6 which previously had a CF card swap.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Route and Checkout
Closing USOS Window Shutters
ISS crew and ГОГУ (RSA Flight Control Management Team) Weekly Conference
IMS Tagup
Mini Cam configuration in Cupola
Fine Motor Skills – Experiment Ops
Camcorder Setup to View LAB RWS Monitor 3
MOTOCARD. Experiment Ops
Configuring Lab and Cup RWS for monitoring Dragon Approach
Fine Motor Skills – Experiment Ops
Closing Shutters on windows 6,8,9,12,13,14 prior to SpX-6 berthing
MOTOCARD. Assistance with the Experiment
Dragon – R-bar Approach
BLR48 – Data Saving
Kulonovskiy Kristall Experiment Run.
Dragon – R-bar approach
KULONOVSKIY KRISTALL. Copy and Downlink Data via РСПИ
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor
Cleaning FGB ЦВ1 Circulation Fan Screens
Dragon – SSRMS Capture
Video Footage of Greetings
Video Downlink End
Return of MINICAM to A/L
N2-CBCS – Power On
Node 2 – Port CBM Pre-mate Status Verification
CRHYT – Setup
CBM – Capture and Acquire Bolts
JRNL – Log Entry
Photos of the units located behind FGB panels
BAR. Experiment Ops.
RR – Rodent Research Transfer Review
CRHYT – Stowage
CRHYT – Data Downlink
CBCS – Removal of Centerline Berthing Camera System (CBCS) from Node2 Nadir Hatch
OSTEO4 – Review in preparation for performing the payload activities
Dragon – Node 2 pressurization and leak check
RWS Power Off
IMS and Stowage Conference
Dragon – Node 2 pressurization and leak check
Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Routing
Dragon Vestibule Outfitting
IDENTIFIKATSIYA. Copy ИМУ-Ц micro-accelerometer data to laptop
Node 2 – CBM Controller Panel Assemblies (CPAs) Removal
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor
Double Coldbag (DCB) Unpacking Review
IMS Delta File Prep
Robotics Work Station (RWS) Cupola Crew Restraint (CCR) Removal
Video Footage of Greetings
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS operations
Dragon capture/berthing operations
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 04/18: Dragon ingress, begin cargo transfer, OSTEO4 tray1 ops
Sunday, 04/19: Rodents Research transfer, OSTEO4 tray2 ops, OBT Dragon emergency review
Monday, 04/20: RR refrigerated centrifuge setup, Nanoparticles/Osteoporosis removal from KUBIK, Nematode Muscles fixation
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – Off
Vozdukh – Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – On
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Startup
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up
