NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 17 February 2016

The International Space Station raised its orbit again today as three crew members prepare for a March 1 landing while another trio gets ready for a March 19 launch. Meanwhile, advanced research continued inside the orbital laboratory to improve life on Earth and for future space residents.
Today’s orbital reboost places the station at the correct altitude for the March 1 undocking of Soyuz Commander Sergey Volkov and One-Year crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko. Their undocking will leave the Poisk module’s docking port vacant where a trio of Expedition 47 crew members will dock two-and-a-half weeks later inside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft.

Today, the Expedition 46 crew participated in a variety of human research exploring how the heart adapts to life in space, the risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts and how microgravity affects an astronaut’s vision. The crew also sampled the station’s air and surfaces for microbes to learn how to prevent contamination in future spacecraft.

Another spacecraft is being prepared for departure Friday morning when it will be released from the grips of the 57.7 foot long Canadarm2 robotic arm. The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft is being loaded with trash before NASA astronauts Kelly and Tim Kopra release Cygnus using the robotics controls inside the seven-window cupola. NASA Television will cover the activities live Friday beginning at 7 a.m. EST.

On-Orbit Status Report

Biological Rhythms 48-Hour: Kelly began his third and final Biological Rhythms experiment today, preparing and starting the Actiwatch and donning a Holter Monitor to collect Electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements for 48 hours. 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 the ISS station maintains Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as its time zone, 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.

Cardio Ox: Kopra, with Peake as the operator, performed a Flight Day 60 Cardio Ox ultrasound measurement session. The goal 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 risk in astronauts. Twelve crewmembers 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 are obtained at the same time points, as well as through 5 years after landing, as an indicator of cardiovascular health.

Ocular Health Testing: Today Kopra and Peake completed their Flight Day 60 Ocular Health testing by performing ocular and cardiac ultrasound scans. The Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers. Researchers believe that the measurement of visual, vascular and central nervous system changes over the course of this experiment and during the subsequent post-flight recovery will assist in the development of countermeasures, clinical monitoring strategies, and clinical practice guidelines.

Russian Joint Research (RJR) Microbiological Sampling: Today Kornienko used the Microbial Air Sampler (MAS) and Surface Sample Kit (SSK) to take surface and air samples in the ISS to support a microbiological assessment of the ISS. These activities are performed as part of a joint cooperative research program between NASA and the Russian Space Agency. The results of incubation and analysis of these samples will be used to identify ISS locations and surfaces prone to microbial contamination and will provide a scientific basis for decisions about future microbial monitoring on ISS and on future spacecraft used for human exploration.

Orbital ATK (OA)-4 Departure Preparation: Kelly and Kopra reviewed material associated with Cygnus departure then utilized a Robotic Trainer in order to practice nominal and off nominal release scenarios. Later in the afternoon the crew completed transferring US and Russian trash into the Cygnus vehicle in preparation for Friday’s departure.

ISS Reboost: This morning, the ISS successfully performed a reboost using the Progress 61 thrusters. The burn duration was 11 minutes long in order to achieve a delta-V of 1.05 meters per second. This reboost was the third in a series of reboosts to target the planned conditions for Soyuz 44 landing and Soyuz 46 4-Orbit Rendezvous next month.

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

BIOME – Questionnaire Completion
BLR48 – Card Preparation
Russian Joint Research (RJR) – Collecting Surface Samples using SSK
Gathering Node 1 Nadir CBM Controller Panel Assembly (CPA)
Crew Departure Prep
Closing USOS Window Shutters
Ocular Health (OH) – Prep for Ultrasound Scan
Ocular Health (OH) – Ultrasound Scans
Ocular Health (OH) – Ultrasound 2 Scans
Closing window 6,8,9,12,13,14 shutters
LBNP Exercise (PRELIMINARY)
Ocular Health (OH) – Ultrasound 2 Data Export
Changeout of ???-?2? purification column assembly (???)
FPEF – Connector Removal
Ocular Health (OH) – Ultrasound 2 Scan (Closeout Ops)
Onboard Training (OBT) – Cygnus Release and Departure Review
Transferring Data from Cargo Environment Sensor
Changeout of ????-2? Water Conditioning Unit Purification Columns (?? ???)
OH – Ocular Health Cardiac Operations
Ocular Health (OH) – Operator Assistance with the Experiment
BLR48 – Setup/Don Hardware and Start Video Recording
Complete the Dose Tracker Application – Subject
BLR48 – Electrode Placement (Operator)
CARDOX – Experiment Ops
Flushing Water conditioning unit purification columns (?? ???) – Start
LBNP Exercise (PRELIMINARY)
Handover of Russian Cargo Items to US crew for disposal via Cygnus
Hardware prepack for return and disposal on Soyuz 718
Russian Joint Research (RJR) – Microbiology Air Sampling (MAS) on the ISS
Cygnus Cargo Operations
USND2 – Hardware Deactivation
HABIT – Experiment Ops
JRNL – Journal Entry
Onboard Training (OBT) – Cygnus OBT-ROBoT RELEASE
??? Maintenance
Crew Departure Prep
Cygnus Cargo Operations
Changeout of Dust Filter ??1-4 Cartridges in SM (???1???_4_419_1 bag 431-7
CIR – Upper Rack Doors Open
CIR – Hardware Removal and Relocation
Hardware prepack for return and disposal on Soyuz 718
CIR – Upper Rack Doors Close
CONTENT. Experiment Ops
IMMUNO. Preparing Saliva-Immuno Kit for the experiment
Cygnus cargo conference
VEG-01 – Equipment Deactivation
Increment 45 Plaque Hanging
On MCC GO Flushing Water conditioning unit purification columns (?? ???) – Terminate

Completed Task List Items
Storytime – Sea Level

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Nominal System Commanding
System Commanding associated with ISS Reboost

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 02/18: Node 1 CPA Install, Cygnus Hatch Closure, Microbiome, Cognition Test, RWS DCP Checkout, ELF Cartridge Install
Friday, 02/19: OA-4 unberth, EMU water conductivity test, Neuromapping setup
Saturday, 02/20: Crew Off Duty, Weekly Cleaning

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Override
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) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up