NASA Space Station Status Report 19 August, 2022 – Dragon Cargo Droid Departs The International Station

At 11:00 a.m. EDT, flight controllers on the ground sent commands to release the uncrewed SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module. At the time of release at 11:05 a.m., the station was flying about 259 miles over the Pacific Ocean.

The Dragon spacecraft successfully departed the space station one month after arriving at the orbiting laboratory to deliver about 4,000 pounds of scientific investigations and supplies.

Tomorrow, ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, will command a deorbit burn. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA TV will not broadcast the de-orbit burn and splashdown, and updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.

Dragon arrived at the space station July 16, following a launch two days prior on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the company’s 25th commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA.

On-Orbit Status Report

SpaceX-25 Undock and Return: Cargo Dragon SpaceX-25 (SpX-25) undocked from the ISS today at 10:00 AM CT to return cargo and payloads to the ground concluding the 33-day mission aboard the ISS. SpX-25 will complete departure phasing throughout the day, jettison the Trunk for destructive re-entry, deorbit, and then splash down off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday, August 20, at approximately 1:53 PM CT.

Systems: 

Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Inspection: Today, the ISS crew completed regularly scheduled maintenance on the ARED Vibration Isolation System (VIS) Rails and Rollers, Upper Stop Cables, and X-Rotation Dashpots. The crew also provided feedback on ARED performance while the ARED Lift Bar was moving between Lower Stops and Upper Stops. This quarterly maintenance allows the ARED exercise device to keep operating nominally as well as verifying if any wear and tear exists on the hardware.

Cargo Dragon Departure Activities: Prior to departure, the crew packed Double Cold Bags into the SpX-25 vehicle and verified the final cargo arrangement. The crew then configured Cargo Dragon for departure, final egress, and Dragon hatch closure. After departure, the crew tore down equipment for monitoring, relocated the Station Support Computer (SSC) back to its nominal location and replaced the stowage in the Node 2 Forward Endcone.

Completed Task List Activities: 

• None

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

• Dragon Forward Configuration for Departure
• Dragon Vestibule Depressurization
• Dragon Departure
• Attitude Control System (ACS) Configuration for Dragon Post Undocking from PMA2

Look Ahead Plan 

Saturday, August 20 (GMT 232)
Payloads:

• XROOTS (NASA)

Systems:

• Russian EVA Tool Transfer
• Crew Off-Duty

Sunday, August 21 (GMT 233)
Payloads:

• Crew Off-Duty

Systems:

• Crew Off-Duty

Monday, August 22 (GMT 234)
Payloads:

• Astro-Pi Lens Change and Transfer to Node 2 (ESA)
• NUTRISS Measurements (ESA)
• XROOTS Fluid Recovery and Inspection (NASA)

Systems:

• Crew Medical Restraint System (CMRS) – Checkout
• AQM Sieve Cartridge Remove and Replace

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

• Columbus CMAU ZBook Stow
• Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Inspection
• Cryo Chiller Sample Cartridge Installation
• Cold Stowage Double Coldbag Pack 1 & 2
• Double Coldbag Transfer to Dragon
• Crew Dragon Cargo Closeout
• Dragon Egress in Preparation for Departure.
• Dragon Departure Photos
• Docking Dragon Monitoring Tools Setup
• Cargo Dragon Station Support Computer Relocate
• Dragon Monitoring Tools Teardown
• Swap SSC (Station Support Computer) 20 and 12 Swap
• Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS EveryWear (EVW) Nutrition Tracking
• HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collections
• HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection Pack, Handover and Stow
• HRF Generic MELFI Sample Operations
• HRF Generic Saliva Collection
• [not statused] HRF Generic Saliva Stow
• Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference
• Confocal Space Microscopy (Microscope) Cover Set
• Confocal Space Microscopy (Microscope) Sample Removal
• Node2 Forward Stowage Replace
• Photo TV High Definition (HD) Dragon Video Setup
• JAXA Payload Laptop Terminal 4 (PLT4) Relocation
• Radio Frequency Identification Logistics Power Cycle
• Urine Transfer System Offload EDV Swap
• VIP Event in High Definition (HD) – COL