NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 April, 2021 – Crew-1 Return Delayed
NASA and SpaceX have decided to move Crew-1’s undocking and splashdown from Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1, respectively, following a review of the forecast weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida, which continue to predict wind speeds above the return criteria.
Mission teams from NASA and SpaceX will meet again on Friday to further review opportunities for the safe return of Crew-1. Crew Dragon is in great health on the space station, and teams will continue to look for the optimal conditions for both splashdown and recovery.
Commander Akihiko Hoshide is leading the Expedition 65 crew and will stay in space until October with his Crew-2 crewmates Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and Thomas Pesquet. Also staying behind on the orbital lab are Soyuz MS-18 crewmates Mark Vande Hei of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.
All 11 of the orbital residents stayed busy today with human research studies, lab maintenance, and emergency gear training as the Crew Dragon departure activities were under way.
The station was teeming with science on Thursday with the crew collecting and stowing urine samples, conducting behavioral research, and exploring how affects grip and movement. Fuel bottles supporting combustion experiments were swapped out while new hardware was installed to activate a high-performance space computer study.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads:
Behavioral Core Measures: Crew completed a ROBoT-r (simulated CanadArm manipulation task) research session. The Standardized Behavioral Measures for Detecting Behavioral Health Risks during Exploration Missions (Behavioral Core Measures) experiment initially examined a suite of measurements to reliably assess the risk of adverse cognitive or behavioral conditions and psychiatric disorders during long-duration spaceflight, and evaluated the feasibility of those tests within the operational and time constraints of spaceflight for two crewmembers. Subsequent subjects perform a subset of the original activities to measure the performance capabilities of deconditioned crew members to complete either individual or crew telerobotic operations within the first 24 hours after landing. This information could help characterize what tasks a crewmember who has spent months in weightlessness can reasonably be expected to perform after landing on the surface of Mars.
GRASP: A crewmember performed 3 test sessions of the GRASP experiment in the seated position. Crew members are instrumented with Infra-Red markers distributed on the head, the torso and the hand, then crew members receive instructions and stimulus in the Virtual Reality Helmet and they responded to the stimulus with the VR Remote or with the hand (instrumented). The purpose of the Gravitational References for Sensimotor Performance: Reaching and Grasping (GRASP) investigation is to better understand how the central nervous system (CNS) integrates information from different sensations (e.g. sight or hearing), encoded in different reference frames, in order to coordinate the hand with the visual environment. More specifically, the science team seeks to better understand if, and how, gravity acts as a reference frame for the control of reach-to-grasp.
Spaceborne Computer-2: Crew installed Spaceborne Computer-2 into Express Rack 10B. Following the utility connections, MTL flow was is established. Spaceborne Computer-2 High Performance Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Computer System on the ISS (Spaceborne Computer-2) builds upon the successes of Spaceborne Computer, exploring how commercial off-the-shelf computer systems can advance exploration by processing data significantly faster in space with edge computing and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Spaceborne Computer-2 further tests additional techniques for recovering or mitigating errors in the extreme environment of unprotected solar radiation, galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and other events. Additionally, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) works with the space community and the International Space Station-National Laboratory (ISS-NL) to test and demonstrate that current Earth-based data processing of ISS experimental data can be performed onboard during the anticipated 24 to 36 month mission of Spaceborne Computer-2.
Systems
Spaceborne Computer (SBC)2: On 3/4, the crew could not insert the Torque Locker tool into the SBC2 guide holes, which would secure the payload to the rack. The crew tried several other tools, all with no success and then stowed the hardware. This was a delay of science until the installation could be completed. Today, 4/29, crew successfully installed the SBC2 using SBC2 ground tool that was flown on Crew-2. The SBC2 is a high-performance computer system that will test the ability of proprietary software to harden a computer system to the effects of radiation during spaceflight over a two-year run.
Human Research Facility (HRF) 2 Rack Interface Controller (RIC) Software Update: Today, 4/29, the HRF team was able to successfully update the HRF2 RIC to the latest software version. On 4/9, the crew and ground worked together on a software upgrade in an attempt to recover ground commanding capabilities for the rack. However, the expected response was not seen from the ground and the remaining crew activities were aborted. 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. HRF2 is now in a nominal operational configuration.
Air Reducer-Cylinder Assembly (RCA) Change-Out: This morning, 4/29, the expired Air RCA was changed out with a good Oxygen RCA in Crew-1 Resilience. The swap is intended to maximize the duration on Portable Breathing Assembly (PBAs) as much as possible prior to swapping to an Emergency Mask in an emergency. Earlier in the week photo assessments of a routine Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPs) inspection showed that one Air RCA was considered expired due to low pressure, which was unexpected. Air RCAs are used in support of USCV Ammonia Emergency Response (AER) in lieu of CEBAA(s) (CCV Emergency Breathing Air Assembly, aka Emer Air Supply), and to mitigate elevated Oxygen (O2) concentrations in isolated Dragon vehicles.
Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation (CASA) Duct Removal and Bump Out Collapse: Today, 4/29, the crew successfully removed the CASA duct and collapsed the bump out. This completes the CASA installation activities.
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Crew Dragon System Undock Activation
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain Support 3
HRF Rack 1 Rack Power Up Commanding
Look Ahead Plan
Friday, April 30 (GMT 120)
Payloads:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Antimicrobial Coatings Touch
Food Acceptability Survey
Food Physiology
Systems
Crew Off-Duty Day
Saturday, May 1 (GMT 121)
Payloads:
Urine Setup (NASA)
Systems
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) KU Comm Unit Cable Swap
Crew Off-Duty Day
Sunday, May 2 (GMT 122)
Payloads:
Urine collect and Blood setup (NASA)
Crew Off-Duty Day
Systems
Crew Off-Duty Day
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Actiwatch Plus HRF Rack 1 Setup, Stow, and Swap
Campout Sleeping Bag Deploy / Stow
Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation (CASA) Air Duct Collapse
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Maintenance
Dragon Initial Configuration for Undock
Deploy Sleeping Bag in Dragon
Roll Up and Stow Sleep Bag
Cargo Dragon Station Support Computer Relocate
Crew Dragon Tablet Stow and Sync
Portable Breathing Apparatus (PBA) Swap
Acoustic Monitor Data Transfer
Acoustic Monitor Battery Swap
EXPRESS Rack 10 Payload MTL Flow Rate Adjust
Flight Director/ISS CREW CONFERENCE
Food Physiology Fecal Sample Collection
Food Physiology Fecal Sample Collection Hardware Stow
Food Physiology Fecal Sample Processing Hardware Setup
Food Physiology MELFI Sample Insertion 1
Food Physiology Maintenance Work Area Preparation
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
Descent Private Medical Conference (PMC)
HRF Rack 2 Umbilical Connect
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
HRF Generic Saliva Collection Setup
HRF Generic Urine Collection Male
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Pump Inspection
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Pre-Treat Tank Remove & Replace
Removing power from IWIS RSU (Internal Wireless Instrumentation System Remote Sensor Unit) in PRK by unpowering upstream pane power
ISS Crew Orientation
Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Oxygen Transfer Initiation
Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) O2 Recharge Tank Transfer Termination
Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Transfer Termination
On-board Training (OBT) ISS Emergency Hardware Familiarization
Charging D4 Battery for return
Gather D4 Battery for visiting vehicle return
Phospho-Aging HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection and Run – Subject
Phospho-Aging HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Spin Conclude
Phospho-Aging Generic Frozen Blood Collection Conclude And Stow
Phospho-Aging Generic Sample MELFI Insertion
Phospho-Aging Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
Phospho-Aging Generic Urine Collection Male
Polar Transfer To Crew Dragon (from EXPRESS Rack) Overview
Space Acceleration Measurement System Sensor Recable
Spaceborne Computer-2 Cable Installation
Spaceborne Computer-2 Hardware Gather.
Spaceborne Computer-2 Installation Assist
Spaceborne Computer-2 Installation 1
Spaceborne Computer-2 Installation 2
Waste Hygiene Compartment Audit
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill
