NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 3 October 2016
The Expedition 49 crew is getting ready for the mid-October arrival of the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft. The trio is also exploring human research and setting up a student Earth observation experiment.
First-time astronauts Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi are brushing up on the robotic capture techniques necessary to grapple the Cygnus cargo craft. The Cygnus private space freighter is targeted to launch from Virginia between Oct. 9 and 13 and arrive at the International Space Station about 2-1/2 days later.
The duo will be inside the cupola at the robotics controls monitoring Cygnus’ arrival then capturing it with the 57.7 foot long Canadarm2. Ground controllers will then take over robotic operations and remotely attach Cygnus to the Unity module. Cygnus is delivering crew supplies, scientific research and hardware to the station crew members.
Before the pair began training today, Rubins sampled the station’s water for microbes and stowed the Hard to Wet Surfaces research gear. Onishi tested his fine motor skills on a mobile tablet device and logged his diet for the ENERGY experiment.
Commander Anatoly Ivanishin set up the Sally Ride EarthKAM experiment inside a Harmony module window today. The Earth imagery gear allows students to take pictures of Earth from space and share them on the internet.
On-Orbit Status Report
Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKam) Set Up: ISS CDR set up the Sally Ride EarthKam equipment in the Node 2 window which begins a week-long imaging session. The objective of Sally Ride EarthKam is to integrate Earth images with inquiry-based learning to enhance curricula in support of national and state education standards; to provide students and educators the opportunity to participate in a space mission and to develop teamwork, communication, and problem solving skills; to engage teams of students, educators, and researchers in collaborative investigations using remotely-sensed data; and to incorporate the active use of Web-based tools and resources in support of the learning process.
Fine Motor Skills (FMS): FE-5 performed a weekly FMS session which involves the crew performing a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. This investigation is critical during long-duration space missions, particularly those skills needed to interact with technologies required in next-generation space vehicles, spacesuits, and habitats. The crewmember’s fine motor skills are also necessary for performing tasks in transit or on a planetary surface, such as information access, just-in-time training, subsystem maintenance, and medical treatment.
Water Monitoring Suite – Microbial Monitoring System (WMS-MMS): FE-6 performed two MMS runs today. Both samples were obtained from the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) water analysis sample bag and analysis was performed on ISS unfiltered water. The first run utilized a low DNA concentration pouch, the second a high DNA concentration pouch. The WMS is a set of hardware that monitors microbes, silica and organic material in the water supply on the ISS. The hardware ensures crew members can test and monitor the safety of their water supplies on future space missions, especially on long-duration missions to Mars, asteroids or other destinations where Earth-based testing would be difficult or impossible.
ENERGY (Astronaut’s Energy Requirement for Long-Term Space Flight): Over the weekend FE-5 completed Day 3 and Day 4 of the ENERGY experiment and continued with Day 5 today. The 11 day ENERGY experiment will require FE-5 to continue diet logging and wear of the Armband Activity Monitor for the duration of the experiment. In addition, FE-5 took urine and water samples on Saturday and repeated those activities again today. The Energy investigation measures an Astronaut’s Energy Requirements for Long-Term Space Flight, a crucial factor needed for sending the correct amount of the right types of food with space crews. Astronauts often lose body mass with extended stays in space for reasons that remain unclear, although increased exercise as a microgravity countermeasure may be a factor. Knowing details of astronaut metabolism and activity, combined with other conditions, will help ensure that crews are properly nourished on long missions.
Tropical Cyclone: FE-5 set up a camera in Cupola window 1 to provide images of Hurricane Matthew, which was rated as a Category 4 cyclone as of this morning. The Tropical Cyclone investigation is used to capture images of tropical cyclones and hurricanes that are rated at Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A pseudo-stereoscopic method is used to determine the altitudes of the cloud tops near the center (eye) of a cyclone by precisely tracking the apparent positions of cloud features with respect to the Earth and how those positions change over time as an observer (the ISS in this case) passes over the storm. The photographic images will be used to demonstrate that pseudo-spectroscopy can be used to measure the cloud altitudes to sufficient precision so that, when combined with other remote-sensing data, an accurate determination of the intensity of hurricane or cyclone can be made.
Cygnus Robotics On-Board Training (OBT): FE-5 and FE-6 studied materials for Cygnus rendezvous and capture. They will also perform several 30m Approach, 2m Approach and Capture Point (CP) Hold runs using the Robotics On-Board Training (ROBoT).
Cygnus Proximity Communication System (PROX) System Checkout: FE-5 checked out commanding function of the Cygnus Portable Computer System (PCS) Hardware Command Panel (HCP). This checkout verified that commands from PCS HCP are received by PROX.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
ENERGY Diet Log of Breakfast
Personal CO2 Monitor iPad Application Restart
Microbial Monitoring System Hardware Gather
Acoustic Dosimeter Setup Day 1
Microbial Monitoring System MWA Preparation
??? Laptops Antivirus software refresh
EarthKAM Joint Research Node 2 Prep
Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test – Subject
Replacement of expired Germetic Sealant 17??.300?9276-0 repair set with the new one
Microbial Monitoring System Sample Setup
Cygnus PROX Switch ON
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Laptop Setup
MELFI-3 to MELFI-1 Sample Transfer
Hard To Wet Surfaces Image Transfer
Hard To Wet Surfaces Stow
ENERGY Water Sample
Progress 432 [AO] stowage for disposal and IMS Ops
Energy Urine Sample Collection
Microbial Monitoring System Sample
Glacier MELFI Transfer
Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire
Recharging Samsung tablet in 47S
??? maintenance
Microbial Monitoring System Data Transfer
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout
Personal CO2 Monitor Doff
Cygnus PCS HCP Selfcheck (Side B)
EarthKAM Node 2 Setup and Activation-Russian
ENERGY Diet Log of Lunch
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Pre-Treat Tank Remove & Replace
Cygnus PCS HCP Selfcheck (A Side)
DOSIS Mode Switching from Mode 1 to Mode 2
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Crew Medical Restraint System (CMRS) – Checkout
Recharging Samsung tablet in 47S – end
On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session 1
Exercise data D/L via OCA
ENERGY Diet Log of Dinner
Completed Task List Items
PMM Cleanup [Completed Saturday]
Food Consolidation Part 1 [Completed Saturday]
Food Consolidation Part 2 [Completed Sunday]
N1 FWD Seal Clean [Completed Sunday]
CBEF Cable Config [Completed Sunday]
ELF Sample Holder Check [Completed Sunday]
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Prox Checkout for Cygnus
Lab MCA Zero Cal [Cancelled]
N3 MCA Zero Cal
Battery 4B2 Reconditioning
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 10/04: EMU 3006 Checkout, Soyuz Imagery, Cygnus Offset Grapple
Wednesday, 10/05: Fluid Shifts, Vascular Echo Ultrasound, OGS Flow Measurement
Thursday, 10/06: SPHERES preps, MSL SCA Exchange, Fluid Shifts, ELF Troubleshooting
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 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Reprocess
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up
