NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 January, 2021

Four Expedition 64 astronauts are going into the weekend preparing for a spacewalk on Monday for battery and high definition camera work.
The other International Space Station residents will spend their time on research, maintenance and exercise.

Spacewalkers Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover will partner with astronauts Kate Rubins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA over the weekend for spacewalk reviews, spacesuit checks and tool configurations. The quartet will also call down to mission controllers to discuss their readiness for Monday’s spacewalk.

The spacewalking duo will set their spacesuits to battery power about 7 a.m. EST signifying the official start time of their excursion. NASA TV will begin its live coverage at 5:30 a.m.

Hopkins’ and Glover’s first task Monday is to exit the Quest airlock and translate to the Port-4 truss structure for battery work. There they will install the final adapter plate and connect it to the final lithium-ion battery which is being robotically installed in advance of the spacewalk. This work will complete battery upgrades on the orbiting lab that had begun on previous station missions.

Next, the duo will maneuver to the opposite side of the station toward their starboard truss worksite and remove and replace high definition cameras then route ethernet cables. Finally, they will install a wrist vision camera on the Kibo laboratory module’s robotic arm.

During the spacewalk preparations on Friday, NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker tested the comfort of the experimental AstroRad radiation protection vest during an exercise session. She then installed tracking gear on an Astrobee robotic free flyer being tested for its ability to assist astronauts.

Walker later joined Rubins as crew medical officer and scanned the eyes of Hopkins and Noguchi with an ultrasound device. The ultrasound scans look at the crew member’s cornea, lens and optic nerve to gain insights into eye and vision health in space.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads

AstroRad Vest: The crew performed exercise while wearing the AstroRad Vest. The AstroRad vest is a personal protective equipment (PPE) device which functions as a radiation shield for astronauts. The AstroRad shields astronauts from space-borne ionizing radiation in an efficient way, provides operational simplification, and allows for the use of recycled material on-board the vehicle. The concept behind the AstroRad evolved from a commercially available device, the 360 Gamma shield, made by StemRad Ltd., which is an effective wearable shield for first responders to radiation incidents on the Earth.

Recon RFID-Enabled Autonomous Logistics Management-2 (RFID): The crew installed the RFID Recon Reader on the Astrobee Free Flyer and performed a functional checkout before putting the Flyer back into its nominal configuration. RFID-Enabled Autonomous Logistics Management-2 (REALM-2) (RFID Recon) uses a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and antennas attached to a robotic free-flyer named Astrobee to identify RFID-tagged cargo on the International Space Station to determine its presence and location in order to help the crew find items quickly and efficiently. RFID tags are similar to barcodes, except they are electronic, do not require line-of-sight, and are able to respond through wireless communication.

Human Research Facility-2 (HRF-2): The crew removed the current HRF Centrifuge Tube Carriers from the HRF Centrifuge in HRF Rack 2 and replaced them with new carriers. Human Research Facility-2 (HRF-2) provides an on-orbit laboratory that enables human life science researchers to study and evaluate the physiological, behavioral and chemical changes induced by spaceflight. Research performed using HRF-2 provides data to help scientists understand how the human body adapts to long-duration spaceflight.

Systems

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The crew continued preparations for the upcoming ISS Upgrades II EVA on Monday, February 1. They installed and checked out the Rechargeable EVA Battery assembly (REBA) and the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB)/Metal Oxide (METOX) into the EMUs. They also performed a procedure review and configured tools necessary for the EVA. The crew also performed a Full Water Tank dump and fill to purge gas buildup in the EMU Water Tanks.

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Initiation and termination – As part of regularly scheduled preventative maintenance, the crew performed a manual WHC flush tank fill. By using a post-flight analysis bag to capture any pressure relief, also known as the burp, they depressurized the flush water tank and water valve block to protect the dose pump. This pump is critical as it injects the pre-treat required to properly recycle waste urine.

Completed Task List Activities:

None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) Thermal Amine Scrubber (TAS) Troubleshooting
Command and Control Software (CCS) Mobile Transporter (MT) Diagnostic Buffer Collection List (DBCL) Dump
Mobile Transporter (MT) Translation
Primary Power System (PPS) Longeron Shadowing Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) Enable
HRF Rack 1 Rack Power Up Commanding
Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM) Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism (FRAM) Operations [ACTIVE]
Look Ahead Plan

Saturday, January 30 (GMT 030)
Payloads:

VEG-03J Plant Chk/H2O (NASA)
Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
Sunday, January 31 (GMT 031)
Payloads:

Off Duty
Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Monday, February 1 (GMT 032)
Payloads:

ESA EPO PAXI History (ESA)
ESA COL EPM rack Measure and photos for future router install (ESA)
Glacier 1 Experiment relocate (NASA)
VEG-03J chk/H2O (NASA)
MERLIN-3 Experiment Relocate and MERLIN-1 install (NASA)
AC-Touch and photo (NASA)
Systems:

ISS Upgrades II EVA
SSRMS EVA Support
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Astrobee On
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Full Water Tank Dump and Fill
Photo TV Battery Charge Initiation
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
HRF Centrifuge Lid And Tube Carrier Replacement
On-board Training (OBT) EVA Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session
AstroRad Vest Exercise Test
Antimicrobial Coatings Touch
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
RFID Recon Installation and Checkout
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan
Photo TV Battery Charge Swap
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Terminate
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB)/Metal Oxide (METOX) Installation
Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Initiation
VEG-03 Plant Check/Water
Dragon/ISS Crew Conference
Additional Glove Inspection Photos