NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 May 2016

The final preparations are under way for Thursday morning’s expansion of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) from the Tranquility module. Back on Earth, a veteran cosmonaut and a pair of first time space flyers are getting ready for their mission in June.
NASA astronaut Jeff Williams performed leak checks and installed hardware to monitor and support BEAM expansion set to begin Thursday at 6:10 a.m. EDT (10:10 a.m. UTC). The expansion could potentially start earlier. NASA Television will broadcast the expansion activities live beginning at 5:30 a.m. Crew entry into BEAM, which has an expanded habitable volume of 565 cubic feet (16 cubic meters), is planned for June 2.

A new trio of International Space Station crew members is in Russia ready for final qualification exams for a mission set for launch June 24. Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin will command the new Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi. The Expedition 48-49 crew members are scheduled for a four-month stay aboard the orbital lab.

The crew orbiting in space now explored working with detailed tasks and interacting with touch-based computer screens for the Fine Motor Skills study. They continued stowing gear after completing the Rodent Research-3 bone and muscle atrophy experiment. Other experiments today looked at Earth photography techniques, interactions between space crews and teams on the ground as well as more eye checks.

On-Orbit Status Report

Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) High Definition (HD) Video Drawer Checkout: Following yesterday’s installation of the new HD video drawer and two HD video monitors, the crew continued the upgrade process for the MSG video equipment by completing checkout activities. After the hardware was set up and powered, the video signals were routed using the HD Video Drawer Graphical User Interface (GUI) located as a remote desktop application on the MSG Laptop Computer. The MSG HD video hardware was stowed following completion of the checkout activities.

Fine Motor Skills: A series of interactive tasks were completed for the Fine Motor Skills investigation. This investigation is the first fine motor skills study to measure long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth’s gravity.

Dose Tracker: The crew completed entries for medication tracking. This investigation documents the medication usage of crew members before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including side effect qualities, frequencies and severities. The data is expected to either support or counter anecdotal evidence of medication ineffectiveness during flight and unusual side effects experienced during flight. It is also expected that specific, near-real-time questioning about symptom relief and side effects will provide the data required to establish whether spaceflight-associated alterations in pharmacokinetics (PK) or pharmacodynamics (PD) is occurring during missions.

Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations: The crew recorded and submitted a walk-through video documenting observations of an area or activity providing insight related to human factors and habitability. The investigation collects information 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.

Bigelow Expandable Aerospace Module (BEAM) Vestibule Outfitting: The crew completed Node 3 (N3) Aft vestibule pressurization and leak check, opened the hatch, and completed installation and hardware deployment in N3 Aft BEAM Vestibule for all of the equipment required to support tomorrow’s planned BEAM deployment. Completed tasks were:

– Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Control Panel Assembly (CPA) and Center Disc Cover (CDC) removal,
– ground strap installation,
– deployment of BEAM deployment controller with associated cables except for power cable,
– deployment of multimeter with BEAM Resistive Thermal Device (RTD) jumper,
– installation of BEAM Vestibule data cable.
– BEAM ingress is scheduled for June 2.

OA-6 Cargo Transfer Operations: Today the crew completed OA-6 unpack.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

MORZE. Evaluation using SPRUT-2
Calf Volume Measurement / r/g 2338
FINEMOTR Operator Assistance with the Experiment
Folding ARED Platform
Node 3 Aft Pressurization and Leak Check
RR-HAB BAG Rodent Research Habitat Stowage Bag Retrieval Sample Insertion into bags
COSMOCARD. Closeout Ops / r/g 2335
Node 3 Aft Hatch Opening
Rodent Research (RR) Camcorder Setup
FINEMOTR Experiment Ops
Stowage of Rodent Research Habitat Module
Removal and transfer of CBM disk cover
MORZE. Psycho-physiological Evaluation: Tsentrovka, SENSOR Tests
Removal of Node 3 Nadir CBM Controller Panel Assembly (CPA)
Study of veins in lower extremities / r/g 2337
Rodent Research (RR) Module Stowage
OCT Hardware Setup
??? Maintenance
WRS Sample Collection
BEAM Ground Strap Installation
HABIT Habitability Walk-Through Video
Inspection and Photos of space behind SM panels / r/g 2334
DOSETRK Data Input
MORZE. Psycho-physiological Evaluation: SUPOS Test
BEAM Vestibule Outfitting Part 1
VIZIR. Experiment Ops with ????? Hardware r/g 2352
MORZE. Psycho-physiological Evaluation: Cattell’s Test
Health Management System (HMS) Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Subject
Health Management System (HMS) Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Operator
MORZE. Psycho-physiological Evaluation: Strelau Test
OCT Hardware Stowage
Rodent Research (RR) Camcorder Setup
BEAM Deployment Dynamic Sensors (DDS) Setup
MORZE. Closeout Ops
Robotic Work Station (RWS) Setup
ARED Footplate Unfold to Nominal Position
Potable Water Collection in SM for In-Flight Chemical and Microbial Analysis
HMS Defibrillator Inspection
MSG Video Recording
Stowage of Rodent Research Habitat Module
TOCA Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Analysis
DOSETRK Data Input
JEM Remote Sensor Unit Battery R&R
Rodent Research (RR) Module Stowage
HABIT Preparing for the experiment
PK4 HD Data Download
Life On The Station Photo and Video / r/g 2000
PK4- Preparation for Data Download
Water Processing using MCD
Inspection and Cleaning of Laptops RS2, RS3
???? comm system switchover to the primary set
On MCC Go Inspection and Cleaning of RS1 Laptop
Inspection and Photos of space behind SM panels / r/g 2334
AUT Sample Retrieval from MELFI
AUT R2 Sample fixative application
TOCA Data Recording
MSG Video Recording
Countermeasures System (CMS) Sprint Exercise, Optional
IMS Delta File Prep
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops / r/g 2349
MORZE. Experiment setup / r/g 2348
MSG Hardware Deactivation
USOS High Definition (HD) Video setup for PAO
Crew Prep for PAO/ r/g 2356
TV Greetings to the Participants of Pressa-2016 Festival r/g 2356

Completed Task List Items
WHC KTO R&R

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
BEAM activities
SPDM OTCM checkout
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 05/26: BEAM leak check, inflation, deploy, EMCS water pump tube install, Cygnus cargo transfer
Friday, 05/27: Vascular Echo ultrasound, Ocular Health, Cygnus cargo transfer
Saturday, 05/28: Crew off duty, housekeeping

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 – Standby
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