NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 4 October 2016
The Cygnus spacecraft is targeted to launch atop an Antares rocket Oct. 13 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. NASA and Orbital ATK officials successfully completed a flight readiness review and are working towards an Oct. 11 roll out of the vehicle to the launch pad.
This will be the sixth cargo mission to the International Space Station for Orbital ATK which will be packing about 2,400 kilograms of crew supplies and research gear inside Cygnus. While mission managers work on pre-launch activities, the Expedition 49 crew is preparing for Cygnus’ cargo delivery and training for its robotic capture.
Astronauts Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi will monitor Cygnus from the robotics workstation inside the cupola during its approach and rendezvous. When Cygnus reaches a point about 10 meters from the station the duo will command the 57.7-foot Canadarm2 to grapple the resupply ship. Ground controllers will then remotely take control of Canadarm2 and mount Cygnus to the Unity module.
Despite a busy schedule, all three crew members, including Commander Anatoly Ivanishin, continue pressing ahead with ongoing science experiments and station maintenance. Onishi is in the middle of a study documenting his nutritional intake this week while Rubins checked out a U.S. spacesuit today. Ivanishin worked on Russian life support systems and had time set aside for space research.
On-Orbit Status Report
ENERGY (Astronaut’s Energy Requirement for Long-Term Space Flight): Today, FE-5 completed Day 6 of the 11 day ENERGY experiment. As part of today’s activities, he continued logging his dietary intake and wearing the armband that monitors his activities. 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.
Wet Lab Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) SmartCycler: FE-6 conducted a test fill of COTS Smart Tubes to determine whether they could be filled in microgravity without the spilling out of fluids due to ricochet force. The Wet Lab RNA SmartCycler is a research platform for conducting real-time quantitative gene expression analysis aboard the ISS. The system enables spaceflight genomic studies involving a wide variety of biospecimen types in the unique microgravity environment of space.
Personal Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Monitor: FE-5 attached 4 Personal CO2 Monitors to various locations on his clothes, and then wore them for several hours. He then removed the monitors and downloaded data from them. The Personal CO2 Monitor demonstrates a new capability to continuously monitor the astronauts’ immediate surroundings on the ISS. All human spacecraft must be designed with environmental control systems that remove CO2 from the air that their crews breathe, but the space environment can still lead to “pockets” of CO2 that are difficult to detect and remove. The Personal CO2 Monitor is a demonstration of a system capable of unobtrusively collecting and downlinking individual crew members’ CO2 exposure for up to months at a time. The Personal CO2 Monitor also demonstrates use of the Modular Wearable Architecture Base Board, which will support rapid certification of wearable devices in the future.
Cygnus Offset Grapple On-Board Training (OBT): In preparation for Cygnus arrival FE-5 and FE-6 practiced vehicle captures with the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), which had been positioned at the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF) High Hover position in preparation for the training. Following the training, the crew participated in a conference with ground teams to discuss the training session and address any questions.
47 Soyuz Survey: FE-6 downlinked images, taken from the Cupola and Docking Compartment 1 (DC1), of the 47S descent module, currently docked at Mini Research Module-1 (MRM-1). This is a routine survey performed prior to the Soyuz spacecraft departure from the ISS.
Short Extravehicular Mobility Unit (SEMU) 3006 Checkout: Earlier today FE-6 performed a checkout of SEMU 3006, this checkout is required when a new SEMU arrives onboard ISS prior to it being used for an EVA. FE-6 performed a nominal leak check of SEMU 3006. Due to a bad connection between the SEMU and the Space Station Computer (SSC) the data transmission portion of the checkout will need to be rescheduled.
Node 3/Treadmill 2 (T2) Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Line Inspection: An inspection of the T2 MTL hoses in 2011 reveal minor damage to the hoses where they emerge from the standoff. Earlier today FE-6 inspected and photographed the hoses to allow ground specialist to assess if there has been any significant change in the hoses status.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Verification of anti-virus scan results on Auxiliary Computer System (???) laptops
ENERGY Diet Log of Breakfast
Wet Lab RNA SmartCycler Drill Battery Check
Conference of Search and Rescue (????) specialists with returning crew (S-band)
EMU 3006 Post Launch Checkout Part 1
Tropical Cyclone Hardware Closeout
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) WSTA Fill
OTKLIK. Hardware Monitoring
Acoustic Dosimeter Setup Day 2
Condensate Water Processor (???-?2?) R&R
JEM System Laptop Terminal Reboot
ISS CREW/SSIPC Management CONFERENCE
On-Orbit Hearing Assessment (O-OHA) with EarQ Software Setup and Test
Robotics Work Station (RWS) Display and Control Panel (DCP) Checkout
Maintenance Activation of Spare Vozdukh Atmosphere Purification System Emergency Vacuum Valves [??? ???] (004173R, ??1??_3_321_1, in bag II-1/256-1, enclosure for ??? (007223R))
Robotics Work Station (RWS) Display and Control Panel (DCP) Checkout
EMU 3006 Post Launch Checkout Part 2
Test activation of Vozdukh Atmosphere Purification System Emergency Vacuum Valves [Cancelled]
Flushing Progress 433 (DC1) Rodnik H2O Tank 1 Connector ?1
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) WSTA Fill
T2 Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) ITCS Line Wear Inspection
ISS O2 Repress from Progress 432 [AO] ???? Section 1 (start)
ENERGY Diet Log of Lunch
ISS O2 Repress from Progress 432 [AO] ???? Section 1 (terminate)
Photo TV Soyuz Imagery
Filling (separation) of ??? (???) for Elektron or ???-??
Personal CO2 Monitor Payload On Board Training
N1 Nadir Hatch to Unlatch Hardstop
Personal CO2 Monitor iPad Application Install
??? maintenance
Personal CO2 Monitor MultiDevice Don
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
PAO Preparation
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
IMS Delta File Prep
On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Offset Grapple
Onboard Training (OBT) SSRMS Debrief Conference
CONTENT. Experiment Ops
Personal CO2 Data Collection
Wet Lab RNA SmartCycler Tube Fill Test
Personal CO2 Monitor Crew Survey
FLUID SHIFTS. Dilution Measures Setup
ENERGY Diet Log of Dinner
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Battery 4B2 Reconditioning
SSRMS Powerup and Maneuver to Offset Grapple Position
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 10/05: Fluid Shifts, Vascular Echo Ultrasound, OGS Flow Measurement
Thursday, 10/06: SPHERES preps, MSL SCA Exchange, Fluid Shifts, ELF Troubleshooting
Friday, 10/07: SPHERES-Slosh Run, MSPR Leak Check, Emergency OBT Delta Review
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 – Operate
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
