Space Stations

NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 July 2015

By Marc Boucher
Status Report
July 2, 2015
Filed under , , ,
NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 July 2015
The ISS Progress 60 cargo craft going vertical at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos.
Roscosmos

The next Russian resupply ship to launch to the International Space Station rolled out to its launch pad today. The crew is also preparing for Japan’s next cargo mission due in August.
The ISS Progress 60 (60P) cargo craft is at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad preparing for a 12:55 a.m. EDT launch Friday from Kazakhstan. The 60P is delivering more than 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies to the crew and will dock to the Pirs docking compartment.

NASA astronaut and One-Year crew member Scott Kelly worked Wednesday to also get the station ready for another cargo craft, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kounotori HTV-5, due for launch Aug. 16. It will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan for a four day trip to the station where it will be grappled and berthed to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node.

The two cosmonauts, Commander Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew member Mikhail Kornienko, were on the Russian side of the orbital lab conducting science and maintenance. The duo explored the dynamic forces the station experiences caused by mission events such as vehicle dockings and spacewalks including internal activities like physical exercise.

On-Orbit Status Report

ISSpresso: Kelly performed troubleshooting on the ISSpresso. He was instructed to remove a deformed capsule lodged in the chamber and proceed with a nominal brewing. The ISSpresso machine is a technical demonstration experiment that has the capability to provide hot beverages including espresso and still maintain the crema when dispensed in space.

Capillary Effects of Drinking in the Microgravity Environment (Capillary Beverage): Microgravity affects the way fluids behave, and as such, crew members must drink from special sealed bags instead of using straws or normal cups. Capillary Beverage studies the process of drinking from specially designed Space Cups that use fluid dynamics to mimic the effect of gravity. In this instance of Capillary Beverage, Kelly used Black Kona Coffee to demonstrate how a complex fluid reacts to the cup’s special designs in an attempt to mimic the gravitational flow of a liquid through capillary forces. High definition video was used to capture the data and will be analyzed on the ground.

Journals: Kelly authored a Journal entry today in support of the Behavioral Issues Associated with Isolation and Confinement: Review and Analysis of Astronaut Journals experiment. Journals provides information on behavioral and human issues that are relevant to the design of equipment and procedures and sustained human performance during extended-duration missions. Study results provide information to help prepare for future missions to low-Earth orbit and beyond.

Habitability: Kelly is scheduled to use the iShort tablet application to capture observations regarding the habitability onboard the ISS. Habitability assesses the relationship between crew members and their environment in order to better prepare for future long-duration spaceflights to destinations such as Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) and Mars. The ultimate goal is to understand how much habitable volume is required for vehicle internal design and layout, and if mission duration impacts the volume needed. Observations during the 1-year mission, as well as 6-month missions, can help spacecraft designers understand how much habitable volume is required, and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need. The iShort application will enable ground support teams and human factor engineers to study and evaluate the design of the ISS and use these results for future spacecraft.

Rodent Research Inventory: Kelly continued his review of on-orbit consumables and hardware required for Rodent Research operations. The information gathered during this inventory is being used to determine what cargo is required for future manifests to support Rodent Research. Following the loss of SpaceX-7, upmass availability is at a premium and this data point will provide ground teams with the knowledge of what is required to fly to the ISS while minimizing duplication.

Acoustic Dosimeter Operations: Kelly set up the Acoustic Dosimeter to take sound measurements on the ISS. For crew-worn sessions the dosimeter was donned directly after crew wake and will be worn for 24 hours after which measurements will be recorded. For static deploy sessions, dosimeters will be deployed in the Node 3 and Cupola for approximately 24 hours.

Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) Console Checkout: Kelly completed a checkout of the JEMRMS Console. During the checkout the Camera Control Panel (CCP), Remote Interface Panel (RIP), RMS monitor and hand controllers were activated. This activity is in preparation for HTV5 operations planned in August.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Inspecting RS Structural Elements Shell Surfaces using ???-2? device. / r/g 9204, 9218
Audio Dosimeter Preparation
JEMRMS – Final Activation before JEMRMS console checkout
ISSpresso Brewing
VIZIR. Battery charge preparation and initiation / r/g 9217
JEMRMS – Console checkout
JEMRMS – Deactivation preparation after JEMRMS checkout
Capillary Beverage MWA Preparation
Capillary Beverage P/L Deployment
SM Ventilation System Preventive Maintenance r/g 8393
Capillary Beverage Test Operations
Data prep on monitoring RSOS structural surfaces for downlink / r/g 9204
UDOD. Experiment ops using DYKNANIYE-1 and SPRUT-2 sets. / r/g 9210
Capillary Beverage Stowage
Journal – Survey Completion
Habitability And Human Factors. Observations Subject.
Node 2 Nadir hatch reconfig to nominal, fully latched configuration
LAB and Cupola Display and Control Panel (DCP) Powerdown
Audit Life Science Hardware stowed in the COL AFT locations.
VIZIR. Battery Charge / r/g 9217
IMS Delta File Prep
ABOUT GAGARIN FROM SPACE. HAM Radio Session / r/g 9211
Stow Earlier Installed Formaldehyde Monitoring Kit (FMK)
VZAIMODEISTVIYE-2. Experiment Ops / r/g 9213
Vacuum Pressure Gauge Accuracy Check / r/g 9212
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill
VIZIR. Battery Charge
Completed Task List Items

None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

METEON commanding
JEMRMS ops
OASIS video
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Thursday, 07/02: Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus MWA Prep, CIR Hardware Review/hardware gather, HRF2 Supply Kit Resupply, Reconnection of MagVector Umbilicals to COL1F2 UIP
Friday, 07/03: JEMRMS BDS Reconfig/checkout, Acoustic Dosimeters data transfer/stow, BCAT Intervalometer Change, MDCA h/w replace, 60P Launch (184/04:55 GMT, 7/2 23:55 CDT)
Saturday, 07/04: Crew off duty, housekeeping
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – On
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up

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