NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 21 March 2016

The Expedition 47 crew is at full strength after the arrival of three new crew members Friday night. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will be familiarizing themselves with station systems over the next few days and will be staying in space till September.
All six crew members, including Commander Tim Kopra of NASA, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and British astronaut Tim Peake, spread throughout the orbital laboratory to explore a wide array of advanced space science.

Kopra researched the impact of microbes on a crew member’s immune system and wrapped up a liquid crystal experiment. Peake participated in a secondary immune system study before getting gear ready for a combustion experiment. Malenchenko explored the changes in a crew member’s blood circulation in space, compared to their circulation on the ground.

Orbital ATK is getting ready to launch its Cygnus space freighter to the International Space Station Tuesday night from Florida. The crew is training for its arrival Saturday night when they will capture it and attach it to the Unity module. Cygnus will deliver almost 7,500 pounds of research gear, spacewalk hardware and crew supplies to the Expedition 47 crew.

On-Orbit Status Report

Strata-1 Locker Preparation: On Saturday, Peake removed the EXPRESS Rack 8 locker from the Lab in preparation for the OA-6 Strata-1 installation. Strata-1 investigates the properties and behavior of regolith on small, airless bodies. Regolith is the impact-shattered “soil” found on asteroids, comets, the Moon, and other airless worlds, but it is different from soil here on Earth in that it contains no living material. Strata-1’s goal is to give us answers about how regolith behaves and moves in microgravity, how easy or difficult it is to anchor a spacecraft in regolith, how it interacts with spacecraft and spacesuit materials, and other important properties. It is important to NASA to know how to set anchors in regolith, how to safely move and process large volumes of regolith, and predict and prevent risk to spacecraft and astronauts visiting these small bodies.

Marrow Breath and Ambient Air Sample Setup: Williams prepared and temp stowed Marrow and GSC air sample collection hardware in the crew quarters for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Marrow investigation. The crew takes breath and ambient air samples immediately after waking. This investigation measures the effects of microgravity-induced marrow fat accumulation on red and white blood cells metabolism using breath and ambient air samples to measure carbon monoxide concentration.

Radiation Area Monitor (RAM) Deploy: Williams installed 17 Area Dosimeter throughout the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM) and Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (JLP) for space radiation dosimetry. He also photographed each Area Dosimeter for ground verification purposes. JAXA Area PADLES (Area Passive Dosimeter for Life-Science Experiments in Space) is an investigation that uses area dosimeters to continuously monitor the radiation dose aboard the ISS. Radiation exposure can have significant biological effects on living organisms including the biological investigations being done on ISS in the JEM.

Robonaut: On March 3 during Robonaut troubleshooting the Oscilloscope indicated an error message. Earlier this morning, Kopra ran a procedure and verified that the Oscilloscope is performing nominally. He also pre-staged probes for upcoming Robonaut troubleshooting.

Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) Sample Container Exchange: Kopra removed the OASIS hard drive from the Optics/Illumination and removed the hardware from the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) and stowed. Kopra completed the final science run of the OASIS experiment last week.

Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Manifold Bottle Remove & Replace (R&R): Peake R&Rd a CIR Manifold Bottle on one of four CIR Manifolds. CIR provides sustained, systematic microgravity combustion research and houses hardware capable of performing combustion experiments to further research combustion in microgravity. This is for continuation of the Flame Extinguishment – 2 (FLEX 2) investigation. The FLEX-2 experiment is the second experiment to fly on the ISS which uses small droplets of fuel to study the special spherical characteristics of burning fuel droplets in space. The experiment studies how quickly fuel burns, the conditions required for soot to form, and how mixtures of fuels evaporate before burning. Understanding these processes could lead to the production of a safer spacecraft as well as increased fuel efficiency for engines using liquid fuel on Earth

Multi-Omics Saliva Operations: Peake supported the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Multi-Omics investigation by collecting body samples and inserting the samples in a Minus Eight-degree Freezer for ISS (MELFI) Rack. The Multi-Omics analysis of human microbial-metabolic cross-talk in the space ecosystem investigation evaluates the impacts of space environment and prebiotics on astronauts’ immune function, by combining the data obtained from the measurements of changes in the gut microbiological composition, metabolites profiles, and the immune system.

Microbiome: Kopra completed a body sample collection and stowed the samples in a MELFI Rack. Microbiome investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individual’s Microbiome (the collection of microbes that live in and on the human body at any given time).

Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations: Peake and Williams viewed various videos covering the different sessions of the Habitability experiment. The investigation collects observations about the relationship between crew members and their environment on the ISS. Observations can help spacecraft designers understand how much habitable volume is required and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need.

Orbital 6 (OA-6) On-Board Training (OBT) Offset Grapple Practice: Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Mobile Serving System (MSS) in preparation for OA-6 Offset Grapple practice session. Ground Controllers also performed the MSS Pre-Launch Checkouts. The USOS crew practiced maneuvering the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) into the grapple envelope of the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF). They performed this several times as well as a final run during which Ground Controllers safed the SSRMS to simulate a failure. The crew recovered by switching from the Cupola Robotic Workstation (RWS) to the Lab RWS. After the Offset Grapples Practice session, Ground Controllers reconfigured the MSS for nominal operations and maneuvered the SSRMS to the Node 1 Nadir Active Common Berthing System (ABCM) survey position in preparation for OA-6 capture on March 26.

ARED Maintenance: Williams performed a task to tighten the set screws within the ARED flywheels and main arm fasteners. Two of the four set screws on the left side flywheel were unable to be torqued. However, ground teams accepted closeout of the procedure based on nominal torquing of the remaining set screws which resulted in minimal rotation of those screws.

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

HRF – Blood collection assistance
HRF – Sample Insertion into MELFI
SM Ventilation Subsystem Preventive Maintenance, Group E
FGB ??2 Circulation Fan Cleaning
Vacuum Cleaning SM, DC1, MRM1, MRM2 Dust Filters
Inspection of Air Conditioner for moisture
Formaldehyde Monitoring Kit (FMK) Deployment Operations
Grab Sample Container (GSC) Sampling Operations
HRF – Equipment Stowage
MELFI- Overview OBT
Multi Omics (MO) – Bag retrieval
Handover
Multi Omics (MO) – Checking packages before stowage
Multi Omics (MO) – Sample Collection
Station Support Computer [X] Log Off
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
Multi Omics (MO) – Sample Insertion into MELFI
ROBONAUT check
Multi Omics (MO) – Hardware stowage
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) – Rack Doors Open
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) – Manifold Bottle Replacement
WRS Water Sample Analysis
Counter Measure System (CMS) Exercise Overview
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) – Hardware Setup
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) – Rack Doors Close
Station Support Computer 12 Log In
ARED CMS Introduction
CWC-I Gather
Robotic Workstation (RWS) Setup
MATRYOSHKA-R. Transfer of PADLES Detectors from Soyuz and Handover to USOS / r/g 1706
MATRYOSHKA-R. Photos of Transfer / r/g 1704
DOSIMETER- Dosimeter handover from RS and deployment
COSMOCARD. Setup. Starting 24-hr ECG Recording / r/g 1703
COSMOCARD. Photography of the Experiment Ops / r/g 1702
??? Maintenance
HABIT- Procedure Review
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
Weekly Housekeeping
Cleaning SM and FGB Potok-150 MK Air Purification System Pre-filters
CALCIUM. Experiment Session 1 r/g 1701
HABIT- Prep for the Experiment
On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Offset Grapple
Countermeasures System (CMS) – Tightening ARED Bolts
Greetings Video Recording / r/g 1707
Marrow Breath And Ambient Air Sample Setup – Subject
On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Offset Grapple
OBT- SSRMS Debrief Conference
TOCA – Data Recording
Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) – Hardware Stowage
CSA Generic Frozen Blood Collection Setup
Radiation Area Monitors (RAM) Deployment
Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) – Historical Photo
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
Water Recovery System CWC-Iodine Fill, Initialization
HABIT- Questionnaire
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
Water Recovery System CWC-Iodine Fill Terminate

Completed Task List Items
ESA PMM retrieve
P/TV Red Dragon camera mod
PCS 1553 card R&R

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Offset Grapple practice session support
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 03/22: OA-6 launch, SPHERES review/crew conference, Emergency Roles/Responsilities review, Neuromapping, Airlock, Node 3 bacteria filter R&R
Wednesday, 03/23: SPHERES experiment run, JPM, JLP power panel installation, Cygnus OBT
Thursday, 03/24: Cygnus OBT, Crew handover, Crew orientation

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 – 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) – Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up