NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 26 January 2018 – New Canadarm2 Latching End Effector Problem

During a spacewalk on Jan. 23, 2018, Expedition 54 flight engineers Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle replaced a Latching End Effector (LEE-B) on the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
An issue preventing the LEE from transitioning to an operational state on one of two redundant sets of communications strings was detected. The spacewalking crew demated and remated the connectors and ground teams were able to power up the arm to an operational state on its secondary communications string leaving the arm operational but without a redundant communications string.

After extensive troubleshooting by teams from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the decision was made by space station managers to use the scheduled Jan. 29 spacewalk to reinstall the LEE removed on the Jan. 23 spacewalk to restore fully redundant capability to the robotic arm. CSA and its robotics specialists are continuing diagnostics over the weekend to gain additional insight. If data is obtained that could be used to solve the issue, Monday’s spacewalk could be postponed.

Note: This issue was resolved with a software patch and the spacewalk was postponed.

On-Orbit Status Report

European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) Preparation for Plant Gravity Perception Operations: To prepare the EMCS for the Plant Gravity Perception investigation, the crew replaced the empty EMCS Air Mix Supply Module located on the lower left side of the EMCS holding structure with a full Air Mix Module and then opened the EMCS Gas Valves for ground commanding. Later, the experiment containers (ECs) on the EMCS rotors were replaced with new ECs and the first of three Plant Gravity Perception experiment runs began. The Plant Gravity Perception investigation germinates normal and mutated forms of thale cress, a model research plant, to study the plants’ gravity and light perception. Results provide new information about plants’ ability to detect gravity and how they adapt to an environment without it, which benefits efforts to grow plants for food on future missions. The EMCS is an experiment facility that is dedicated to studying plant biology in a reduced gravity environment. It supports the cultivation, stimulation, and crew-assisted operation of biological experiments under controlled conditions. The facility has performed multi-generation (seed-to-seed) experiments and studies the effects of gravity and light on early development and growth, signal perception and transduction in plant tropisms.

Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device (SLAMMD) Hardware Setup and Control Run: The crew set the calibration arm, attached the calibration mass, and then set the software to implement a control run and a payload body mass measurement. The SLAMMD follows Newton’s Second Law of Motion by having two springs generate a known force against a crewmember mounted on an extension arm, the resulting acceleration being used to calculate the subject’s mass. The device is accurate to 0.5 pounds over a range from 90 pounds to 240 pounds.

Space Headaches: The crew completed the weekly questionnaire for the ESA Space Headaches investigation. The Space Headaches 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.

Intramodule Ventilation (IMV) Cleaning: The crew performed cleaning of the IMV Cone Screen located in the Node 1-Node 3 vestibule. This Cone Screen protects debris from entering the IMV Fan located in Node 3. As part of this activity, the crew also cleaned the air duct diffusers.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Operations: Today the crew continued to prepare for the EVA planned for Monday. They have charged batteries, configured tools, set up cameras, reviewed procedures, and discussed the tasks with ground teams. The goals of this EVA have changed as a result of the failure of the new Latching End Effector (LEE) that was installed on EVA 47 (executed this past Tuesday). The new LEE is not operating as expected, so the crew will return the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to its original configuration.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

ISS Crew and ???? (RSA Flight Control Team) weekly conference
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Inventory Management System (IMS) conference
Photo TV GoPro Setup
Study of cardiovascular system under measured physical CYCLE Ergometer load.
POC Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software Review
??? maintenance
Photo T/V (P/TV) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Exercise Video Setup
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Termination
Specific EVA Procedures Study.
European Modular Cultivation System Air Mix Supply Module Replacement
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
SLAMMD Hardware Control Run
Audit of ??-2 treadmill spares
European Modular Cultivation System Gas Valve Open
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Terminate
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Installation
OCT Laptop Power Cable Reseat
HRF2 Supply Kit Resupply
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout
Preparation for pressurized Orlan suits transfer from DC1 to ??? Training
BIORISK TEST. Preparing the bag for adjusting platform and 2 rubberized bags (???)
ARED HARDWARE MOVE: Bogen Arm/Handrail relocate
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Dry Run with Two Pressurized Orlan Suits Transfer to ???.
Food Locker Discard
Manufacturing Device ABS Print Removal, Clean and Stow
In-Flight Maintenance Intramodule Ventilation (IMV) Cleaning
Space Headaches – Weekly Questionnaire
Configuring ??? to initial state after pressurized Orlan suits dry run
Earth Imagery from ISS Nikon Target Operations
Photo/TV – Flash Audit
Photo/TV Lens Bumper Ring Installation
Exchange AstroPi USB power cable
WHC Pressure Sensor Trash
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB)/Metal Oxide (METOX) Installation
Portable Repress Tank (???) No.17 (00056724R, ???734) Setup in [??]. In Soyuz 734 install ??? No.10 ?.2 (00038983R, ???2_?1_402)
IMS Update
Columbus Video Camera Assembly 1 Adjustment
Plant Gravity Perception/EMCS Experiment Container Replace
Plant Gravity Perception/EMCS Historical Documentation Photography

Completed Task List Activities
None

Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Standard commanding.

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 01/27: Weekly Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 01/28: EVA cuff checklist config, tool config, procedure review and conference, Crew Off Duty
Monday, 01/29: USOS EVA 48

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”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off