NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 July 2015
The International Space Station is at full strength now with six crew members from Japan, Russia and the United States. The newly-expanded orbital team got together today to review their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency in space.
New station residents Oleg Kononenko, Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui will be familiarizing themselves with their new home in space over the next few days. While they adapt to their new workplace the trio will also be getting up to speed with daily science research and orbital maintenance tasks.
Lindgren spent some time with the Veggie botany experiment before working on a spacesuit battery. Yui explored protein crystal growth with the potential to help scientists create advanced drugs on Earth then moved on to cargo transfers from the brand new Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft. Kononenko looked at the effect of space radiation on viruses, researched protein crystals and checked out Russian space hardware.
On-Orbit Status
Reaction Self-Test: Kelly and Kornienko continued with their daily Reaction Self-Test to document changes due to the sleep shift required for the 43 Soyuz docking. The crew performed a test upon wakeup and will complete a second test prior to their scheduled sleep period. Reaction Self-Test is a portable, five-minute task that enables astronauts to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while in space. Sleep restrictions and residual effects from sleep medications, slam shifts that change the sleep/wake cycle, and effects from spacewalks can cause fatigue and degrade astronaut performance. Periodically during the mission, and in association with major events, an astronaut performs a reaction-time test on a computer to measure changes in responses.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Protein Crystal Growth (PCG): Yui installed the JAXA PCG in the Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) located in the Ryutai rack. Ground controllers will continue the experiment through commanding and monitoring data. The JAXA PCG experiment attempts to grow crystals of biological macromolecules by the counter-diffusion technique. The main scientific objective of the JAXA PCG experiment is to make high quality protein crystals in a microgravity environment.
Veggie Hardware Validation Test (Veg-01): Lindgren watched an On-Board Training (OBT) video, then added water to the plant pillows and root mat. The primary goal of the Veg-01 testing is to demonstrate plant growth in the Veggie hardware using lettuce as a test species. Plants will be grown in two different sizes of arcillite, a calcined clay media. This test will help compare root zones of the two media sizes to determine water and root distribution in the different sized particles to provide recommendations for future Veggie investigations. Shoot samples will also provide information on growth anomalies when compared with ground controls as well as information on microbial growth and food safety. Photographs will be used to assess plant growth rates and plant health. A data logger will record the environment within the Veggie hardware. Crew questionnaires will provide insight into the appropriateness and thoroughness of the crew procedures for Veggie hardware and plant growth operations.
LAB Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) Remove and Replace (R&R): The RPC that powers Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Air Selector Valves (ASVs) 1-6 has experienced trips since early 2014. Data analysis indicates a true overcurrent event signifying a fault downstream of the RPC. The trips are irregular so standard troubleshooting methods to identify the suspect ASV have been unsuccessful. Lindgren and Kelly R&Rd the RPCM to eliminate it as the source of the trips and attempt to restore reliable power to the ASVs. The RPC has been closed and ground teams are monitoring.
Chip Measurement System (CMS): Kelly cleaned battery corrosion from one of the Draeger CMS. Corrosion was found by the crew in the battery compartment during a scheduled Emergency On-Board Training (OBT) on July 9. The CMS battery compartment will be air dried for a day followed by new batteries being installed tomorrow.
Treadmill 2 (T2) False Fire Annunciation: T2 annunciated a false fire today by the smoke detector located in the rack behind T2. All ISS safing responded correctly. CSA-CP readings were taken in the atmosphere as well as the fire port. All values were zero and it was declared a false fire. One of the crewmembers had just started to run on T2 when the event occurred.
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Maintenance: Lindgren and Kelly completed this regularly scheduled maintenance earlier this morning. They greased the Vibration Isolation System (VIS) rails and rollers and inspected the X-rotation dashpots and main arm bearings.
Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review: With the arrival of the 43S crew, all 6 crew members discussed priorities in the event of an emergency response and how to achieve safety of the crew as well as safe configuration of the ISS. Topics covered included crew actions during emergency retreat in the Soyuz, ISS Commander responsibilities, and communication and coordination among crew members and with ground teams.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Self-Reaction Test. Reaction Time Test (morning)
ISS crew and ???? (RSA Flight Control Management Team) weekly conference r/g 9391
CONSTANTA-2. Thermostat Activation at +4 deg ? / r/g 9415
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 9277
CMS – ARED Quarterly Maintenance
ISS Crew Adaptation
IMS Tagup (S-band)
Installation of ???2?3 on ??? 717
Reviewing EVA-41 procedure, preliminary timeline, viewing DVD. / r/g 9414
?? 717 Transfers and IMS Ops / r/g 9410
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill
CONSTANTA-2. Transfer and Setup in ??? No.4 (+ 4 deg ?) / r/g 9416
FAGEN. Kit Transfers to Soyuz / r/g 9421
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
FAGEN. Setup of MCK Kit No.4 in TBU-V No.4 thermostat r/g 9421
RPCM R&R in LAB as part of IFM
KRISTALLIZATOR. Transfer of two JAXA bags – PCG from ?? and Inspection / r/g 9417
KRISTALLIZATOR. Photo of PCG Kits Handover / r/g 9418
Receiving and Installing Kits
Pretreat and Water Dispenser (????) Replacement No.1406041
??? Activation after Replacement
STRUKTURA. Luch-2 Hardware Transfer from ??. / r/g 9413
STRUKTURA. Process Activation, Photography and Setup / r/g 9413
HMS Defibrillator Inspection
VEG – Onboard Training
IFM-CMS – Battery Cleaning
VEG-01 – Water refills
Audio Recording for Nauka 2.0 TV Channel / r/g 9423
ISS HAM Radio Power Up
Crew’s Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review
??? 425 (Aft) Transfers and IMS Ops / r/g 9288
IMS Delta File Prep
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill
Preventive maintenance of MRM1 ???-? hatch sealing mechanism and ??? 717 hatch
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 9277
Unpack items from 43S
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Battery Recharge Terminate
Handover of Increment 43 Crew
MELFI – Experiment Ops Review
SHD – Weekly Questionnaire
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
SHD – Weekly Questionnaire
Crew conference with Astronaut Office
Flight Director / ISS Crew Tagup
Self-Reaction Test. Reaction Time Test (evening)
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Lab RPCM R&R support
PMM EEPROM Refresh
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 07/25: Crew off duty, housekeeping
Sunday, 07/26: Crew off duty
Monday, 07/27: EVA FPS process review/conference/tool gather, Microbiome, VEG-01 watering
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – Off
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
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) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Warm Up
