NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 October 2016

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough assumed command of the International Space Station from Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency at 3:37 p.m. EDT Friday in a traditional Change of Command ceremony.
Expedition 50 will officially begin under Kimbrough’s command when the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Ivanishin, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency undocks from the space station on Saturday, October 29.

NASA Television will air live coverage of the departure and landing activities, beginning at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. Hatch closure on the Soyuz is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.

The trio is scheduled to return to Earth Saturday at 11:59 p.m. EDT (9:59 a.m. Oct. 30, Kazakhstan time). They will land in their Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

Together, the Expedition 49 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science aboard humanity’s only orbiting laboratory.

Rubins, who has a degree in molecular biology, contributed to several new studies taking place for the first time aboard the space station, including the Biomolecule Sequencer experiment. By managing that experiment on station, she became the first person to sequence DNA in space. This capability could enable astronauts to diagnose an illness, or identify microbes growing in the space station and determine whether they represent a health threat.

Ivanishin handed over the command of station to NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough earlier today. When the spacecraft undocks from the station tomorrow, Expedition 50 will formally begin.

On-Orbit Status Report

Veg-03 Wick Opening: FE-3 opened the wicks on the plant pillows to allow for better growth capability. The overall goal of Veg-03 is to further demonstrate proof-of concept for the Veggie plant growth chamber and the planting pillows. Future long-duration missions into the solar system, finally culminating on Mars, will require a fresh food supply to supplement crew diets, which means growing crops in space. Previous investigations focused on improving productivity in controlled environments, but the limited quarters of the space shuttle and International Space Station made it difficult to conduct large-scale crop production tests. Veg-03 expands on previous validation tests of the new Veggie hardware, which crew members will soon use to grow cabbage, lettuce and other fresh vegetables in space. Tests determine which types of microorganisms are present in space-grown cabbage, providing baseline data for future crop-growing efforts. Behavioral health surveys assess the impact of growing plants on crew morale and mood.

RapidScat Survey Performed – Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) were maneuvered through 13 RapidScat observations points. RapidScat engineers guided robotics ground controllers through pan/tilt/zoom operations for both the SSRMS tip elbow and SPDM body 1 and 2 cameras. Ground personnel’s review of the imagery to assess potential MMOD damage is forecast by the end of November.

Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) Pressure Control and Pump Assembly (PCPA) Replacement: Last week, pressure sensors inside the PCPA detected a rise in pressure during a UPA process cycle. Review of data by the UPA specialist indicates that the PCPA has failed. Today, the crew removed the failed PCPA and replaced it with one of the two spares currently onboard. UPA is currently in standby while the system is being configurated for a UPA process run.

Crew Quarters (CQ) Cleaning: Prior to departure on Saturday FE-5 and FE-6 cleaned the Starboard and Deck CQs. The activity includes cleaning of the intake and exhaust ducts, fans and airflow sensors.

Change of Command: The Change of Command ceremony was held to hand over control of the ISS from current ISS CDR Anatoly Ivanishin to Shane Kimbrough. Following the Change of Command, the new Commander’s Soyuz (48S) crew becomes the prime crew for emergencies and the departing Soyuz (47S) crew becomes the non-prime crew. During the Change of Command event, the entire crew discussed their roles and responsibilities for the timeframe between the Change of Command event and the departure of the Soyuz.

Loss of Joint Station LAN-2 (JSL-2) Return Link – Yesterday there was a loss of JSL-2 return link that impacted all payloads utilizing Ku-Internet Protocol capability. The Ku-band Communications Unit (KCU)-1 Network 2 Card was power cycled and the JSL-2 Return Link was successfully recovered.

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

Signing ISS RS Handover Protocol
Strata Status Check
OTKLIK. Hardware Monitoring
Transfer Operations – Prepack of US items to be loaded into Soyuz
Comm check and operation from Soyuz 731 via RGS (VHF)
IMS Tagup (S-band)
Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Installation
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
LBNP Exercise (CLOSEOUT).
Handover of Increment 49/50 Crew
Vacuum Pressure Gauge Accuracy Check
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Crew Quarters (CQ) Starboard Cleaning
CARDIOVECTOR. Experiment Ops
Preventive Maintenance of MRM2 Passive Docking Assembly [???] and Soyuz 732 Active Docking Assembly [ACA] Hatch Sealing Mechanisms
Pressure Control & Pump Assembly (PCPA) Hardware Gather
CARDIOVECTOR. Photography of the Experiment Ops
Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) Pressure Control & Pump Assembly (PCPA) Remove and Replace
Soyuz 731 Samsung Tablet Recharge, Initiate
POLYGEN. Closeout Ops
Soyuz 731 Samsung tablet recharging, terminate
POLYGEN. Video of fruit flies w/blocked access to food / r/g 3731
VEG-03 Wick Open
BIOPLENKA. Removal of Cryogem-03 after Completion of the Experiment
Preventive Maintenance of MRM1 Passive Docking Assembly [???] and Soyuz 731 Active Docking Assembly [ACA] Hatch Sealing Mechanisms
FGB panel 426 lock R&R
Personal Medication Stow
Transfer Operations – Prepack of US items to be loaded into Soyuz
Soyuz 731 Equipment Stowage for Return
REGENERATSYIA-1. Container transfers to Soyuz 731
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Crew Quaters (CQ) Deck Cleaning
ISS Crew Orientation (Replacement of ????-2? Gas-Liquid Mixture Filter)
Replacement of ????-2? Gas-Liquid Mixture Filter
Flushing Progress 433 (DC1) Rodnik H2O Tank 1 and Tank 2 H2O connectors ?1, B2
??? maintenance
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)
Soyuz 731 Transfer Operations Status Report (S-band)
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
Space Headaches – Weekly Questionnaire
Change of Command Ceremony (Ku-Band)
Communication and Tracking (C&T) On-Call Crew Quarters Configuration

Completed Task List Items
Remove and Replace Waste Hygeine Compartment (WHC) ???-Y
Unpack USOS items that arrived on 48S
48S IMAK Unpack
Biomolecule Sequencer Sample Init 8

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
UPA PCPA Calibration
UPA Pump Down
ETVCG Survey of P4 Integrated Equipment Assembly (IEA)

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 10/29: 47S Undock and Landing
Sunday, 10/30: Crew Off Duty
Monday, 10/31: 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 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Idle
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