NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 23 March 2017 – 40th U.S. Spacewalk on Tap

Two astronauts are getting the Quest airlock and their equipment ready for a Friday morning spacewalk. The cosmonauts continued their human research program today exploring the various affects of living in space.
Spacewalkers Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will exit the Quest airlock Friday at 8 a.m. EDT to begin setting up the International Space Station for future commercial crew missions. The duo will work outside for about 6.5 hours on the first of three spacewalks scheduled to take place over the next two weeks.

Friday’s major tasks include disconnecting cables from the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 ahead of its relocation from the Tranquility module to the Harmony module on Sunday. The latching end of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator will also be lubricated and computer relay boxes with commercial crew software upgrades will be replaced. NASA TV will cover the spacewalk activities live beginning Friday at 6:30 a.m.

Cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Oleg Novitskiy collected their blood, saliva and urine samples today for a metabolism study and an immunity experiment. Researchers will analyze these samples to learn how microgravity affects humans and provide countermeasures to keep crew members healthy.

On-Orbit Status Report

Space Headaches Questionnaire: The crew performed their weekly questionnaire, answering questions utilizing the Data Collection Tool. This European Space Agency (ESA) investigation collects information that may help in the development of methods to alleviate associated symptoms and improvement in the well-being and performance of crewmembers in space. Headaches during space flight can negatively affect mental and physical capacities of crewmembers that can influence performance during a space mission.

MagVector Closeout: The crew completed closeout and cleanup activities for Science Run#9 of MagVector. The run was initiated on March 16, 2016 and has been ongoing for a week. MagVector and the venting system will be subsequently deactivated until a new science run is initiated. Cleanup steps included verifying the experiment has finished and moving the external USB memory drive to an Space Station Computer (SSC) for downlink and powering off the MagVector. The investigation studies how Earth’s magnetic field interacts with an electrical conductor. Using extremely sensitive magnetic sensors placed around and above a conductor, researchers can gain insight into ways that the magnetic field influences how conductors work. This research not only helps improve future ISS experiments and electrical experiments, but it could offer insights into how magnetic fields influence electrical conductors in general – the backbone of our technology.

Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) LAS52A3B-A RPC 4 Remove & Replace (R&R): On March 17, 2017, this RPC which powers Common Video Interface Unit (CVIU) 4 failed to close when commanded. The fault signature was indicative of a Field Effect Transistors (FET) Controller Hybrid (FCH) failure. The crew was successful in replacing the RPCM this morning, restoring functionality to RPC 4 and CVIU 4.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #40 Preparations: The crew completed the following in preparation for tomorrow’s EVA:

Configured 2 EVA GoPro cameras.
Relocated Station Support Computers (SSCs) 8 and 9 in the US Lab for EVA video.
Updated procedures in the EVA Systems Checklist book.
Configured EVA tools.
Performed procedures review followed by a conference with ground teams.
Prepared Equipment Lock, EMUs, and required ancillary hardware.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Test video recording for RT TV channel
Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media
URAGAN. Observation and photography
EKON-M. Observations and photography
Biochemical Urine Test
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Reminder for On-Orbit Fitcheck Verification (OFV)
NEUROIMMUNITET. Saliva Sample. Psychological Test (morning)
Biochemical Urine Test
NEUROIMMUNITET. Venous blood sample processing (smear).
KORREKTSIYA. NEUROIMMUNITET. Venous blood sample processing using Plasma-03 centrifuge
Insertion of Russian experiments blood samples into MELFI
URISYS Hardware Stowage
On MCC GO Regeneration of ??? ?2 Micropurification Cartridge (start)
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination
Changeout of Replaceable Condensate Removal Lines [????].
Replacing ???-3 Smoke Detectors in FGB
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
NEUROIMMUNITET. Psychological Test
Relocate Station Support Computers (SSCs) 8 and 9 in the US Lab
NEUROIMMUNITET. Hair Samples Collection
Recharging Soyuz 733 Samsung PC Battery (if charge level is below 80%)
In-flight Maintenance (IFM) LAB1S5 Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) Remove and Replace
BIOCARD. Experiment Session
EVA Systems book and Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cuff Checklist Print
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
PILLE dosimeter data download and placement before USOS EVA
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Terminate Soyuz 733 Samsung PC Battery Charge (as necessary)
Recharging Soyuz 732 Samsung PC Battery (if charge level is below 80%)
USB Jumpdrive Return and PPS1 Reconfiguration
RGN WSTA Fill
Robotic Workstation (RWS) Setup
Changeout of Replaceable Condensate Removal Lines [????]
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) iPad Contingency Procedures preparation
Photo TV GoPro Setup
MOTOCARD. Experiment Ops
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation
RS Comm Panel Head set and PTT switch audit
Terminate Soyuz 732 Samsung PC Battery Charge (as necessary)
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Audit.
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops
Space Headaches – Weekly Questionnaire
NEUROIMMUNITET. Saliva Sample. Psychological Test
On MCC GO Regeneration Micropurification Unit (???) ?2 Absorption Cartridge

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
EVA preparation activities

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 03/24: EPIC MDM/SPDM Lube EVA, Orbital-7 Launch
Saturday, 03/25: Crew off duty, EMU water recharge, EVA debrief, Fluid Shifts h/w gather
Sunday, 03/26: Crew off duty, N2 CBCS powerup, PMA3 relocate

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) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – ReProcess
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up