NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 15 July 2015

The three Expedition 44 crew members commemorated today the July 15, 1975, launch of the Apollo and Soyuz spaceships that would dock two days later. The day before, the crew celebrated the successful Pluto flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft.
Then it was back to work as the station residents continued space research and orbital maintenance inside the International Space Station. One-Year crew member Scott Kelly explored the benefits of shorter, more impactful exercise routines for the Sprint study then tended to plants being grown for the VEG-01 experiment.

Commander Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew member Mikhail Kornienko started their day on electronics work. Kornienko then moved on to cargo transfers and inventory updates before working on the Vizir photography study exploring new Earth observation techniques. Padalka wrapped up his day with more Russian maintenance.

In Kazakhstan, three new Expedition 44 crew members are counting down to their July 22 launch to the station inside the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft. At the Baikonur Cosmodrome engineers are inspecting the Soyuz spacecraft before its roll out to the launch pad next week.

On-Orbit Status Report

NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) Operations: Overnight and this morning ground teams deployed 6 more Cubesats for a total of 12 of 16 planned. Final deployments are scheduled for 5:50 PM CDT today and 12:30 AM CDT tomorrow. The complement consists of 14 Planet Lab Doves, 1 Arkyd-3 and 1 Centennial-1 satellite.

Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training Study (Sprint) Volume of Oxygen Utilized (VO2) Exercise Session: Kelly performed his Sprint exercise session on the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS). He donned Electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes, Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) hardware, and Portable Pulmonary Function System (PPFS) calibrations and executed the VO2 protocol. The Sprint investigation evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crewmembers during long-duration missions. Upon completion of this study, investigators expect to provide an integrated resistance and aerobic exercise training protocol capable of maintaining muscle, bone and cardiovascular health while reducing total exercise time over the course of a long-duration space flight. This will provide valuable information in support of investigator’s long term goal of protecting human fitness for even longer space exploration missions.

Syringe inspection of Plant Gravity Sensing 2 (PGS-2): Earlier this month when Kelly removed a seed paper kit from a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) he noted an anomaly with the seeds which was due to contamination in the dish. Today he inspected the condition of the culture medium in the syringe of Plant Gravity Sensing. This task continues the investigation into the PGS-2 contamination.

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Slosh: Kelly stowed charged batteries and installed additional batteries for charging for the upcoming SPHERES Slosh session scheduled for Friday. The investigation uses small robotic satellites to examine how liquids move around inside containers in microgravity. A water bottle’s contents slosh around differently in space than on Earth, but the physics of liquid motion in microgravity are not well understood, which affects computer simulations of liquid rocket fuel behavior. Middle school and high school students control the SPHERES to study how liquids behave inside containers in space, which increases the safety and efficiency of future rockets.

VEG-01: Kelly thinned seedlings so that each Veg-01 Plant Pillow contains one plant and refilled the root mat water in the Veggie facility as scheduled. Veggie provides the necessary lighting and nutrient delivery for efficient plant growth in space. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of ‘Outredgeous’ Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seedlings in the spaceflight environment. It is also used to determine the effects of the spaceflight environment on composition of microbial flora on the plants and the Veggie facility.

General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) Desiccant Pack Swap: Kelly removed desiccant from Glacier-5 and replaced with fresh desiccant as part of standard conditioning.

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Status: N3 CDRA has been commanded to standby in preparation for tomorrow’s maintenance to recover the Air Selector Valve (ASV) 104. After the ASV 104 R&R, the crew will conduct additional N3 CDRA Leak Check steps. The Lab CDRA is currently operating to remove CO2. Onboard ppCO2 is currently at 2.0 mmHg.

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

24-hour BP Monitoring (end) r/g 9337
SPHERES – Battery Charging
SPRINT – Hardware Warmup
JEM Mesh Cover Grille Cleaning
24-hour BP Monitoring (start) r/g 9337
Installation of Voltage Converter ??28-120 r/g 9328
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 9277
SPRINT Experiment Ops
Installation of Voltage Converter ??28-120 r/g 9328
WHC – Fill (start)
Initiate condensate tank offload to CWC
WHC – Fill (end)
Station Support Computer (SSC) 20 and 23 Loading Preparation for the arriving crew
TV Greetings / r/g 9347
Termination of Condensate Tank Offload to CWC
SPHERES – Battery Charging
SPRINT – Payload Closeout Ops
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill
Installation of Voltage Converter ??28-120 r/g 9328
??? 428 (DC1) Transfers and IMS Ops / ??? 428 Transfer Ops [???] + r/g 9239, 9253
43S Crew SSC Laptops – Wireless connection
SPHERES – Battery Charging
VEG-01 – Plant thinning
VEG-01 – Water refills
Replacement of ??2? (??025?) in FGB ??-9??-8 system with a new ???-??8 r/g 9333
VIZIR. Experiment Ops with ???-? P/L. (S-band) / r/g 9345
SPHERES – Battery Charging
GLCR5 – Desiccant Pack Swap
JRNL – Journal Entry
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops / r/g 9343
ABOUT GAGARIN FROM SPACE. HAM Radio Session / r/g 9344
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 9277
SPRINT – Close-out Ops and Stowage
SPHERES – Battery Charging
Crew Discretionary Conference
Completed Task List Items

None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Cubesat deploys
43S SSC crew config
SPRINT VO2 ops
OASIS video
Lab CDRA activation
N3 CDRA deactivation
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Thursday, 07/16: JEMRMS/CubeSat activities, SPHERES Slosh review, N3 CDRA ASV 104 R&R and leak check
Friday, 07/17: SPHERES Slosh run
Saturday, 07/18: Crew off duty, housekeeping
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

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