NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 July 2016

Two astronauts and one cosmonaut are scheduled to launch July 6 at 9:36 p.m. EDT (7:36 a.m. Baikonur time, July 7) for a two-day ride to the International Space Station.
During their two-day transit from the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the station, the Expedition 48-49 crew will test a variety of upgraded systems on their Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft.

The modified Soyuz is equipped with upgraded thrusters that are fully redundant, additional micrometeoroid debris shielding, redundant electrical motors for the Soyuz’ docking probe and increased power with more photovoltaic cells on the spacecraft’s solar arrays.

Other enhancements for the Soyuz include a new digital video transmitter and encoder to send engineering video of the ship’s approach to the station for docking, a new relay telemetry capability along with an upgraded Kurs automated rendezvous antenna and an improved satellite navigation system to better calculate the Soyuz’ position in space.

Soyuz commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, board engineer Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and board engineer Kate Rubins of NASA will test these systems periodically throughout their 34-orbit journey to the station, the first of at least two missions in which enhanced Soyuz hardware will be tested and verified.

On-Orbit Status Report

62 Progress (62P) Undock: 62P undocked successfully from the Docking Compartment (DC) 1 nadir port Saturday night at 10:48PM CDT. Deorbit burn was at 2:03AM CDT on Sunday followed by atmospheric entry and destruction.

3D Printing in Zero-G Experiment Operations: Following last week’s activities to print the calibration and compression coupons in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), today the ground team continued remotely operating the 3D printer to produce two more 3D printed test coupons, after which the crew removed and stowed both of them. The 3D Printing In Zero-G experiment demonstrates that a 3D printer works normally in space. A 3D printer extrudes streams of heated plastic, metal or other material, building layer on top of layer to create 3 dimensional objects. Testing a 3D printer using relatively low-temperature plastic feedstock on the ISS is the first step toward establishing an on-demand machine shop in space, a critical enabling component for deep-space crewed missions and in-space manufacturing.

Mouse Epigenetics Setup Operations: In advance of the delivery of JAXA’s Mouse Epigenetics experiment on SpaceX (SpX) 9, the crew configured the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Laptop and cleaned inside the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) micro-gravity and 1G Incubator Units (IUs). He then installed the Mouse Habitat Unit (MHU) Interface Units into the CBEF. The goal of Mouse Epigenetics is to aid scientists to better understand the impacts and effects of the spaceflight environment’s long-term effects on genetic activity, from changes in gene expression in individual organs to changes in DNA that can be inherited and expressed in future generations.

Water Processing Assembly (WPA): On Sunday, the WPA shut down during reprocessing due to an Independent Shutdown Monitor (ISM) fault. Subsequent re-attempts to get the WPA’s conductivity to drop resulted in ISM faults. This has happened twice in the last 6 weeks and all were caused by increased delta pressure (dP) across the Microbial Check Valve (MCV). A Flight Investigation Team (FIT) met today to discuss a workaround for flowing through the MCV as well as other troubleshooting options.

Node 2 (N2) Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Inlet Fan: The N2 CCAA inlet fan current was showing an increase prior to the weekend with the expectation of imminent failure within 4-6 days. During the weekend, the current dropped to near nominal operating current so today’s plan to replace the CCAA Fan with an on-orbit spare was deferred. The data is indicative of increased resistance on the fan’s rotating components such as a degraded bearing or Viton Pad within the fan assembly. The drop in current indicates that the fan has overcome whatever mechanical interference that caused the initial increase. Procedures are available to replace the fan if needed.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Battery Maintenance: The crew began recharging Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA), and Pistol Grip Tool (PGT) batteries in the Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) via the Battery Charger Assembly (BCA). Charging will terminate on Friday.

Systems Operations Data File (SODF) Updates: The crew deployed revisions to emergency books, replaced the cue card with printed procedure and stowed discarded books and cue card.

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

XF305 Camcorder Setup
MSPR LAPTOP-AMT-Activation
On-Orbit Hearing Assessment (O-OHA) with EarQ Software
VIBROLAB. Hardware Activation Monitoring / r/g 2703
Air Samples Collection using [A?-1?] Sampler in the SM and FGB r/g 2704
RELAKSATSIYA. Hardware Setup r/g 2707
Air Samples Collection using [A?-1?] Sampler in the SM for Freon Concentration r/g 2704
DOSETRK Questionnaire
Air Samples Collection using ??? Sampler in the SM for Ammonia Concentration r/g 2704
MRLN3/MELF3. Transfer of Samples from MERLIN to MELFI-3
Operatins with the Degassing Assembly (??) r/g 2673
WRS. Water Samples Analysis
BSA Battery Charge (start)
RELAKSATSIYA. Parameters Setting r/g 2707
GLACIER. Consumables Replacement
CBEF. Incubator Unit (IU) Cleaning
RELAKSATSIYA. Observation r/g 2707
RELAKSATSIYA. Closeout Operations and Hardware Teardown r/g 2707
MHU. Rodents Habitat Interface Unit Installation
Sensors Installation Monitoring / Pressure Control and Atmosphere Monitoring System (C???)
On-Orbit Hearing Assessment (O-OHA) with EarQ Software
Synchronization of RS Cameras with ISS Time / r/g 1594
MELF3. Icebrick Installation
TOCA. Data Recording
TOCA. WWB Changeout
3DP. Printer Teardown and Stow
WRM. Water Balance. Placeholder
NAPOR-mini???. [???-1?] Software Installation r/g 2705
??? Maintenance
Soyuz 720 Samsung Tablet Charging (start)
WRM. Water Balance. Placeholder
Unloading Progress 432 (SM Aft) r/g 1812, 1832
Dust Filters R&R and [B1] and [B2] Fans Screens Cleaning in DC1
Systems Operations Data File (SODF) Deploy
NOD2 Clearout in Preparatioan for Dragon 9 Arrival
Transfer of SAMS F05 Sensor from the Stow Location to JEM
Hardware Setup for the PAO Event in the LAB
Crew Prep for the PAO Event / r/g 2710
Video Greetings of the RAS Instutite of Chemical Physics in relation to its 60th anniversary / r/g 2710
Soyuz 720 Samsung Tablet Charging (end)
VIBROLAB. Data Transfer and Downlink / r/g 2703
IMS Delta File Prep
3DP. Printer Teardown and Stow
Countermeasures System (CMS) Sprint Exercise Optional

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 07/06: 47S launch, JEMAL pressurization/leak check, 3D Coupon printing/remove/stow, USOS stowage consolidation, Dragon pre-pack, EWC WAP config/SM WAP stow
Thursday, 07/07: CBEF backup power prep for Mouse experiment, JEM stowage reconfig, Cupola ATU mod kit install, Lab RWS screen R&R
Friday, 07/08: 47S dock, CBEF video cable reconfig, 3D Printing cartridge exchange, Food Pantry install

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