NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 21 July 2015

Three new International Space Station crew members are making final preparations a day before their launch to the orbital laboratory. They will join the orbiting Expedition 44 trio which is busy today with a variety of advanced microgravity experiments to benefit life on Earth and future space crews.
An international crew from Russia, Japan and the United States is in Kazakhstan as their Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft rests on its launch pad counting down to a 5:02 p.m. EDT launch on Wednesday (3:02 a.m. Baikonur time Thursday). Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren will take a six-hour ride to the space station and dock to the Rassvet mini-research module. They will stay on orbit until December.

Waiting for their new crewmates are One-Year crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko and Expedition 44 Commander Gennady Padalka. Kelly was assisted early Tuesday by Padalka as he conducted ultrasound scans on his leg for the Sprint exercise study. Kelly later watered plants for the Veg-01 botany study then worked on the MERLIN science freezer/incubator.

Padalka worked on Progress resupply ship cargo transfers and inventory updates. Kornienko studied cell cultivation for the Kaskad biology study before moving on to radiation research for the Matryeshka-R BUBBLE experiment.

On-Orbit Status Report

Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training Study (Sprint) Ultrasound: Kelly, with Padalka assisting, configured video, Ultrasound 2 machine, and donned the calf and thigh reference guides for his Flight Day 120 Sprint Ultrasound. Kelly then performed thigh and calf scans with guidance from the Sprint ground team. Ultrasound scans are used to evaluate spaceflight-induced changes in the muscle volume. The 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.

JEM Airlock (JEMAL) Operations: Kelly repressed and leak checked the JEMAL following the successful completion of the NanoRack Cubesat Deployer-5 (NRCSD5) operations.

Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons (Radi-N): Kelly retrieved the deployed eight bubble detectors for Radi-N and handed them over to Kornienko to log the data. The objective of this investigation is to better characterize the ISS neutron environment and define the risk posed to the crewmembers’ health and provide the data necessary to develop advanced protective measures for future space flight. For each session, 8 detectors are initialized and deployed in predetermined locations for measurements: a set of 6 spectrometric detectors and two control detectors are placed on a wall of an ISS Segment. After 7 days the detectors are collected and read using the BUBBLE reader.

Node 3 Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Leak Check Status: Yesterday, Kelly located a likely source of the leak in N3 CDRA during the inspection with Ultrasonic Leak Detector (ULD). This leak was discovered following the installation of the new CDRA beds back in May of this year. Ground teams will be reviewing the data and developing a leak repair task for the crew to perform in the future. Overnight, the N3 CDRA was activated and operated nominally following the replacement of Air Selector Valve (ASV) 104, and it is actively scrubbing Carbon Dioxide (CO2). ASV Spares Correction – Yesterday’s Daily Summary Report stated that the next CDRA ASV spare is expected to arrive on HTV-5 which is incorrect. The next pristine spare is expected to arrive NET Orb-4. There are two degraded spares that can be cleaned on-orbit if needed.

FLame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)-2J: Yesterday, Ground Controllers resumed operations of FLEX-2J. After two successful runs of Test Point (TP)-1, soot was observed to be accumulating along the fiber. Ground controllers attempted to investigate the extent of the soot deposits along the fiber to determine if the soot could be removed. During the investigation through manual commanding, a hardware interference between the fiber arm tip and the needle occurred and resulted in a break in the fiber. A fiber replacement activity is required prior to resumption of operations.

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Return Grille Cleaning: Kelly removed return grille mesh covers and cleaned inside the return grilles of the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM) and Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section (JLP).

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Last night Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the MSS and maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to grapple the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) using Latching End Effector B (LEE-B). This grapple was done in Gear Box Limping (GBL) mode as part of the checkout of this feature which was designed to reduce the rigidization force required to capture a fixed grapple fixture. The SPDM was then released from the Lab Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) and backed away to the grapple position. The SPDM LEE was given a slight offset and its snares were then closed on the Lab PDGF pin and opened again. This was performed three more times and the SPDM LEE re-captured the Lab PDGF. These operations were to help characterize the enhanced Force-Moment Sensor (FMS) thermal drift filter in preparation for FMS use during H-II Transfer Vehicle 5 (HTV5) Exposed Pallet (EP) insertion operations next month.

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

Self-Reaction Test. Reaction Time Test (morning)
Verification of anti-virus scan results on Auxiliary Computer System (???) laptops
JEM Mesh Cover-Return Grille Cleaning
Locating unit 800? No.2393751401
CARDIOVECTOR. Experiment Ops.
??? Maintenance
JEMAL – Pressurization
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor
JEMAL – Leak Check after Pressurization
SEISMOPROGNOZ. Downlink data from Control and Data Acquisition Module (????) HDD (start)
CARDIOVECTOR. Experiment Ops.
USND2 – activation of Ultrasound Hardware and Camcorder
SPRINT – Hardware Setup and Configuration
SPRINT – Experiment Assistance
FLUID SHIFTS. ???? Cable Installation and Connection.
FLUID SHIFTS. Closeout Ops.
IMS Delta File Prep
USND2 – Hardware Deactivation and Closeout Ops
PAO Hardware Setup
Purging Elektron-VM Liquid Unit (??) after Shutdown
PAO crew prep
PAO Event with A Year Long Mission crew
??? 425 (Aft) Transfers and IMS Ops
VEG-01 – Water refills
MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE-dosimeter gathering and measurements.
MERLIN Desiccant Kit Replace
RADIN – Retrieval of dosimeters from deployed locations
MATRYOSHKA-R. Receiving BUBBLE-dosimeter detectors from USOS.
RADIN – Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons Hardware Handover from the Russian Crew
MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE-dosimeter collection and measurements
SEISMOPROGNOZ. Download data from Control and Data Acquisition Module (????)
Video Footage for Nauka 2.0 TV Channel
Physical Fitness Evaluation (on treadmill)
RGN – Recycle Tank water drain into EDV
Node 1 Stowage Reconfiguration [Deferred]
CONTENT. Experiment Ops
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor
Self-Reaction Test. Reaction Time Test (evening)
Completed Task List Items

None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

JEM return grille cleaning support
SPRINT Ultrasound ops
JEMAL pressurization
N3 MCA Full Calibration
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Wednesday, 07/22: 43S launch/dock, Fine Motor Skills, Russian EVA Tool Gather
Thursday, 07/23: Off Duty following 43S dock
Friday, 07/24: Lab RPCM R&R, JAXA PCG install, Emergency Roles & Responsibilities review, CMS Battery Clean
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – Off
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 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 – Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Warm Up