NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 10 December 2015
Three International Space Station crew members are preparing to return to Earth early Friday after 141 days in space.
Expedition 45 Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren of NASA, Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will land in their Soyuz spacecraft at 8:12 a.m. EST, northeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
NASA Television coverage begins at 1 a.m. Friday as they bid the station farewell, enter the Soyuz, and close the hatches. So far, the crew’s return is on track, and the space station is in good shape.
Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA, along with crewmates Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos, will operate the station for four days until the arrival of three new crew members.
NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 15 and arrive at the station about 6 hours later.
Kelly and Kornienko are on the first joint U.S.-Russian one-year mission, an important stepping stone on NASA’s journey to Mars.
NASA Television coverage times for Soyuz activities are listed below. These activities also will stream online at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.
Here is a timeline of the Expedition 45 undocking and landing.
EST EVENT
1:00 a.m. NASA TV: Expedition 45 farewell & hatch closure coverage
1:25 a.m. Soyuz TMA-17M/space station hatch closure
4:30 a.m. NASA TV: Expedition 45 Soyuz TMA-17M undocking coverage
4:48 a.m. Soyuz undock command sent
4:49 a.m. Soyuz TMA-17M undocks from space station
4:52 a.m. Soyuz manual separation burn
7:00 a.m. NASA TV: Expedition 45 Soyuz TMA-17M deorbit burn and landing coverage
7:19 a.m. Soyuz TMA-17M deorbit burn (4 minutes, 41 seconds duration)
7:46 a.m. Soyuz module separation (altitude 87 miles)
7:49 a.m. Soyuz atmospheric entry (altitude 62 miles)
7:57 a.m. Command to open parachute (6.7 miles)
8:12 a.m. Expedition 45 Soyuz TMA-17M landing northeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan
Join the conversation on Twitter @space_station.
On-Orbit Status Report
The ISS crew is sleep shifting today in support of Soyuz 43 (43S) undock and landing tomorrow. Crew sleep will begin at 9:00am CST this morning. 43S undocking is scheduled to occur early Friday morning at 3:49am CST.
Orbital ATK (OA)-4 Status: The crew started their day by outfitting the Node 1 to Cygnus vestibule, removing Controller Panel Assemblies (CPAs), and opening the Node1 and Cygnus hatches. Once the hatches were open, they obtained an air sample and installed Inter-module Ventilation (IMV) ducting. They also photo documented overall cargo configuration. No issues were observed with the cargo. Cygnus cargo operations are scheduled to start next week.
Crew Departure Preparation: Yui and Lindgren continued packing their personal items in preparation for crew return to Earth on 43S tomorrow. The personal items will return by way of 43S, SpX-8, and SpX-9 vehicles.
Twins Study: In support of the Twins Study, Kelly continued his week-long Flight Day 240 daily saliva collection and also made a urine collection. This investigation is an integrated compilation of ten different studies led by multiple investigators. The studies take advantage of a unique opportunity to look at the effects of space travel on identical twins, with one of them experiencing space travel for a year while the other remains earth-bound for that same year. The study looks at changes in the human body that are important in the fields of genetics, psychology, physiology, microbiology, and immunology.
Sprint Ultrasound: Kelly performed his Return minus 7 day (R-7) thigh and calf ultrasound scans today with assistance from Lindgren and guidance from the Sprint ground team. Ultrasound scans are used to evaluate spaceflight-induced changes in the muscle volume. The Sprint investigation evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crewmembers during long-duration missions. Upon completion of this study, investigators expect to provide an integrated resistance and aerobic exercise training protocol capable of maintaining muscle, bone and cardiovascular health while reducing total exercise time over the course of a long-duration space flight. This will provide valuable information in support of the long term goal of protecting human fitness for even longer space exploration missions.
Dose Distribution Inside the ISS – 3D (DOSIS 3D): Kelly deinstalled the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) DOSIS 3D passive detectors from the Columbus module for return on the 43S vehicle. Data from the various active and passive radiation detectors installed in the ISS are used in the determination of the radiation field parameters absorbed dose and dose equivalent inside the ISS. A concise three dimensional (3D) dose distribution map of all the segments of the ISS will be developed, based on this data and data from JAXA and NASA monitoring devices.
Microbiome Water Sample Handover: Lindgren handed the Microbiome water sample collected on Tuesday to Kononenko for return on the 43S vehicle.
Veg-01: Kelly refilled the Veg-01 plant pillows with water. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility. For this run, Zinnias will be grown for 60 days and are expected to produce flowers.
Ras Labs-CASIS-ISS Project for Synthetic Muscle: Resistance to Radiation (Synthetic Muscle): Lindgren took a set of historical photos of the synthetic muscle samples. The purpose of this investigation is to measure the effects of radiation on proprietary synthetic muscle materials in space and earth environments. Robots made of these materials could provide assistance to humans in space, enhance survivability of robots during deep space travel, and provide support in extreme radiation environments on Earth.
Sleep Log: Kornienko recorded a Sleep Log entry today after waking. The Sleep ISS-12 experiment monitors ambient light exposure and crew member activity and collects subjective evaluations of sleep and alertness. The investigation examines the effects of space flight and ambient light exposure on sleep during a year-long mission on the ISS.
Space Headaches: Yui and Lindgren completed their weekly Space Headaches questionnaires today. Headaches can be a common complaint during spaceflight. The Space Headaches experiment will provide information that may help in the development of methods to alleviate associated symptoms and improvement in the well-being and performance of crew members in space.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Morning Inspection. SM ??? (Caution & Warning Panel) Test / Manual Controls [???]
SLEEP – Questionnaire
Morning Inspection, Laptop RS1(2) Reboot
RSS 1, 2 Reboot
TWIN – Saliva Sample Collection
NEIROIMMUNITET. Saliva Test
HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion
TWIN – Urine Sample Collection
HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion
Soyuz 717 Samsung Tablet Recharge – initiate
High Definition (HD) Camcorder Setup to capture Cygnus Hatch Opening
Removal of Node 1 Nadir CBM Controller Panel Assembly (CPA)
ISS crew and ???? (RSA Flight Control Management Team) weekly conference
PILOT-T. Preparation for the experiment
On MCC GO De-installation of ??251?1? from Soyuz 717 Orbital Compartment
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill
USND2 – Hardware Activation
Crew Departure Prep
PILOT-T. Experiment Ops
SPRINT – Hardware prep and installation
Cygnus – Configuration for Vestibule Ingress
SPRINT – Operator Assistance with the Experiment
NEIROIMMUNITET. Closeout Ops
Handover of USOS water samples to RS to be packed into P/L container for return on Soyuz 717
Soyuz 717 Return Stowage Ops (Payload Container)
Progress 428 (DC1) Stowage Ops with IMS Support
Acoustic Dosimeter Stow
DOSIS 3D – Removal of Passive Dosimeters in Columbus
Handover of DOS3D dosimeters to RS to be packed into P/L container for return on Soyuz 717
TWIN – Saliva Collection Kit
Cygnus Ingress
Cygnus (OA-4) Air Sampling using ??-1? sampler prior to Air Duct Installation
Checking Charger Connection to ??28-120 Invertor
Cygnus – Cargo Photography
Soyuz 718 Samsung Tablet Recharge – Initiate
Video Footage of Greetings
USND2 – Hardware Deactivation
PILOT-T. Closeout Ops
Audio-Answers to the Questions from Nauka I Zhizn magazine
Crew Departure Prep
??? Maintenance
Crew Departure Prep
Soyuz 717 Samsung Tablet Recharge – terminate
Refilling Root Mat with Water
Soyuz 717 Cargo Container Stowage Completion Report
TWIN – Urine Sample Collection
Checkout fixed fuse position on Soyuz 717 Neptune-ME control panel front
Private Medical Conference
Taping over fuses on Soyuz 717 [CA] Neptune-M D&C Panel
HRF – Sample MELFI Insertion
Soyuz 718 Samsung Tablet Recharge – terminate
Soyuz 717 [??] Cooldown Ops Prior to Descent
Signing ISS RS Handover Protocol
SHD – Questionnaire
TWIN – Post-Experiment Hardware Stowage
Comm Check and Operations from Soyuz 717 via RGS
SHD – Questionnaire
SYN_MUSCL – Photography
Evening Work Prep
Installation of inserts to ease opening of SM interior panel locks (Unstow ???????? ??????????? (Structural Elements) kit (004890R), ???1???_4_427_1, ??? No.1112 (004106J))
Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media
ECON-M. Observation and Photography
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Nominal System Commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 12/11: 43S Undock and Landing, Twin Study, Cygnus Emergency Procedure Review
Saturday, 12/12: Crew Off Duty, Weekly Cleaning
Sunday, 12/13: Crew Off Duty
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – Off
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off
