NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 30 June 2016
Two cosmonauts are resting today before they test a new system by flying a cargo ship back to its port early Friday. Commander Jeff Williams spent the morning testing a pair of free-floating satellites known as SPHERES.
Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will test a new telerobotically operated rendezvous system also called the TORU. The duo will use the TORU to manually guide the Progress 62 cargo ship back to the Pirs docking port after it undocks Friday at 1:36 a.m. EDT. The redocking maneuver is planned to take 34 minutes and will be broadcast live on NASA TV beginning at 1:15 a.m.
Williams cleaned the battery compartments of the SPHERES satellites and searched for the source of ultrasound noise affecting their performance. The tiny satellites are the size of bowling balls and are operated inside the space station to test formation flying techniques, control algorithms and other technology demonstrations. Middle school students on the ground also compete to test their satellite control algorithms using the SPHERES as part of the Zero Robotics competition.
On-Orbit Status Report
62 Progress (62P) [????] Test: 62P will undock and redock to Docking Compartment (DC)1 as part of end-of-mission activities. Undock is scheduled for tomorrow at 12:36AM CDT. As part of the test, manual mode will be used to redock the vehicle. Final undock is scheduled for July 2, at 10:48PM CDT.
Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Maintenance Run: Yesterday during SPHERES maintenance setup, the crew discovered corrosion on the battery terminals in the battery compartments of beacons 1, 2, and the spare beacon. Today the crew successfully removed the corrosion from beacons 1 and 2 and initiated the maintenance run. The first part of the run provided data that may aide ground teams in improving communication between satellites. The second portion of the run was not completed due to a hard drive installation issue, resulting in no data collection. However the issues were resolved and teams estimate that a majority of the desired data was collected from today’s activities. SPHERES are bowling-ball sized satellites that provide a test bed for development and research into multi-body formation flying, multi-spacecraft control algorithms and free-flying physical and material science investigations. Up to three self-contained free-flying satellites can fly within the cabin of the ISS, performing flight formations, testing of control algorithms or as a platform for investigations requiring this unique free-flying test environment. Each satellite is a self-contained unit with power, propulsion, computers, navigation equipment, and provides physical and electrical connections (via standardized expansion ports) for Principle Investigator (PI) provided hardware and sensors.
Node 2 (N2) Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Inlet Fan: On June 5, the N2 CCAA inlet fan failed off due to high current draw. The failure is attributed to increased mechanical resistance to rotation. The fan was restarted and its current draw decreased. Review of data after the failure indicated a slow rise in current over several days preceding the failure. The fan current data is now showing a similar rise and may trigger a shutdown within 4-6 days. Ground teams are monitoring the fan current and are prepared for the crew to replace the N2 CCAA inlet Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU), which includes the fan, if necessary.
Express Logistics Carrier (ELC) Software Update: The software update to ELC version 4 for the ExPCAs (Express Carrier Avionics) on the 4 ELCs was completed yesterday. The new software improves the process for modifying configurations and adds capabilities for future payloads on the ELCs.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
ABOUT GAGARIN FROM SPACE. HAM Radio Session with Ufa r/g 2669
SPHERES Battery Stowage
SPHERES. Maintenance Run
??? Maintenance
SPHERES Data Export
Dragon Prepack
PAO Hardware Setup
Crew Prep for PAO
PAO Event
Daily Planning Conference
USOS Window Shutter Close
ISS HAM – RADIO Deactivation
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
SPHERES support
Nominal ground commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 07/01: 3D Printer Coupon prints and retrievals, ARED quarterly maintenance, T2 acoustic blanket install & SLM measurements
Saturday, 07/02: Crew day off, housekeeping
Sunday, 07/03: Crew off duty
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”) – On
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
