NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 11 May 2016
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 2:51 p.m. EDT, about 261 miles southwest of Long Beach, California, marking the end of the company’s eighth contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.
A boat will take the Dragon spacecraft to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo will be removed and returned to NASA within 48 hours. Dragon will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing. Dragon is currently the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return a significant amount of cargo to Earth at this time.
Dragon is returning more than 3,700 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from a variety of technological and biological studies about the International Space Station. The Microchannel Diffusion study, which investigated fluids at the nanoscale, or atomic level, holds promise for a wide range of technologies. Nanofluidic sensors could measure the makeup of space station air, or be used to deliver drugs to specific places in the body, for example. This type of research is possible only on the space station, where Earth’s gravity is not strong enough to interact with sample molecules, so they behave more like they would at the nanoscale. Knowledge gleaned from the investigation may have implications for drug delivery, particle filtration and future technological applications for space exploration.
On-Orbit Status Report
SpX-8 Unberth/Splashdown: Dragon unberthed successfully at 6:00 AM CDT with release at 8:12 AM CDT. Prior to unberth, flight computer FC1-C had an error flag indication, however, SpX and NASA teams confirmed that the error did not impact the Guidance Navigation and Control parameters needed for release and departure. Splashdown occurred at 1:52 PM CDT, less than 3 km off from the landing target point. The capsule has been lifted out of the water and is onboard the recovery boat.
Sprint Ultrasound 2 Operations: The crew set up a camera and video, configured Ultrasound 2, placed reference marks on the calf and thigh of right leg, donned Sprint (Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training Study) thigh and calf guides, and perform thigh and calf scans with guidance from the Sprint ground team. When the scan is complete, the crew transfer data from Ultrasound 2 to the Ultrasound 2 USB Drive. 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.
Fine Motor Skills: A series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet was completed for the Fine Motor Skills investigation. This is the first fine motor skills study to measure long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity.
Dose Tracker: The crew completed entries for medication tracking. This investigation documents the medication usage of crew members before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including side effect qualities, frequencies and severities. The data is expected to either support or counter anecdotal evidence of medication ineffectiveness during flight and unusual side effects experienced during flight. It is also expected that specific, near-real-time questioning about symptom relief and side effects will provide the data required to establish whether spaceflight-associated alterations in pharmacokinetics (PK) or pharmacodynamics (PD) is occurring during missions.
Meteor Software Image Loads and UltraBay Adapter Installation: The crew attempted to load the software image prior to running four Meteor DVDs, however the software load was unsuccessful. The crew reported that the computer could not boot from any device which is consistent with earlier software loading problems. The crew took a picture of the boot screen, left DVD 1 in the laptop and suspended operations. They left the laptop and hard drive connected in Window Observational Research Facility (WORF) and switches to the laptop power supply and WORF were left on to allow for future ground commanded troubleshooting.
Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Reconfiguration: As part of the ongoing effort to reduce ppCO2, earlier this morning the crew worked in Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)1 to better direct IMV airflow back into the Russian Segment. This activity consisted of reconfiguration of existing IMV hardware in PMA1 as well as installation of a new IMV Duct Tee and a 5 foot IMV duct.
Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) Checkout: C2V2 checkouts continued today with checkouts of the GPS ancillary data, broadcast ancillary data, audio and video on the return link, plus voice checks with crew and Electronic Systems Test Laboratory (ESTL). Testing will conclude tomorrow.
Ku Communications Unit (KCU) 1 Audio Video Interface Card (AVIC) failure – Today, the KCU-1 AVIC failed to diagnostic mode. This resulted in a temporary loss of all 6 video downlinks and two of the Space to Ground (S/G) audio channels. Ground controllers performed a reset of the AVIC, and all video downlinks and S/G 3 & 4 links were recovered nominally. This issue was seen once in 2015 and recovered in the same manner.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Dragon Vestibule Configuration for Demate
ALBEDO. FSS battery charge (start) / r/g 2206
Dragon/Node 2 Vestibule Depress
Cygnus Cargo Operations
Filling (separation) of EDV (KOV) for Elektron or EDV-SV r/g 2129
Closing Window Shutters 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 / r/g 6965
??? Maintenance
Psychological Evaluation Program (WinSCAT)
DAN. Experiment Operator Assistance r/g 0119
DAN. Experiment Ops. r/g 0119
METEOR Laptop Software Load [Aborted]
RADIOSKAF. Hardware deactivation/ r/g 2185
ISS HAM RADIO Power Down
DAN. Experiment Photos / r/g 2208
Water Recovery System (WRS) Drain Waste Water Tank, initiate
Node 2 Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Demate
BAR. Experiment Ops / r/g 2204
Cygnus Cargo Operations Conference
Dragon/Node 2 Vestibule Depress
DOSETRK Questionnaire Completion
Life On The Station Photo and Video / r/g 2000
Water Recovery System (WRS) Drain Waste Water Tank, terminate
USND2 Hardware Activation
WRS Recycle Tank Fill from EDV
SPRINT Experiment Ops
SPRINT Assistance for the test
Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Route and Checkout
ALBEDO. Photo Spectral System (???) Prep, Imagery, Closeout Ops / r/g 2201
Camcorder Setup to View LAB RWS Monitor 3
???? comm assets switchover to a backup set
Configure Robotic Workstation (RWS) for Dragon Release
SSRMS Dragon Release from Node 2 Nadir
Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Dragon release and departure monitoring
Symbolic Activity / r/g 2183
USND2 Hardware Deactivation
Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Routing
Symbolic Activity / r/g 2183
SPHEROIDS Copy Data to Laptop
DRGN Restow Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK)
C2V2 Setting up video equipment
Centrifuge Insert (CI) KUBIK 6 Ops
CGBA4 Hardware Deactivation.
Symbolic Activity / r/g 2183
RADIOSKAF. Closeout Ops r/g 2185
KUBIK6 Data Downlink and Centrifuge deinstallation
Symbolic Activity / r/g 2183
KUB6 KUBIK 6 Ops
KUB Centrifuge Installation
RWS Power Down
Scheduled monthly maintenance of Central Post Laptop Transfer log-files to ??? r/g 1888
Video stowage
Symbolic Activity / r/g 2183
MIRT-3 Micro-integrator Changeout (4) – Preparation steps
CUCU Deactivation
C2V2-VIDEO Testing
IMS Delta File Prep
ISS HAM Activation of ISS HAM Radio and Video
VHF2d test from SM (using redundant ???? sets )
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Dragon departure
Sprint Ultrasound ops
Nominal ground commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 05/12: JSSOD M removal/Cubesat deployer insert, Rodent Research, Neuro Mapping
Friday, 05/13: USOS crew off duty as payback for working Russian Victory Day holiday on Monday, May 9
Saturday, 05/14: Crew off duty
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 – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up
