NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 15 September 2015

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko clocked in for their 171st day aboard the International Space Station since arriving on March 27.
The pair, set to come home March 3, 2016, are spending 342 days in space to help researchers better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long duration spaceflight. Read more about the One-Year Crew’s midway point.

Meanwhile, a pair of first-time astronauts transferred gear to Japan’s “Kounotori” HTV-5 cargo craft. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui conducted robotics work inserting an experiment platform into the side of the HTV-5 after the research it had delivered was installed on the outside of the Kibo lab module. The HTV-5 resupply mission will end Sept. 28 and the cargo craft will be released for a destructive entry over the Pacific Ocean.

On-Orbit Status Report

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Yesterday afternoon, the Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the MSS and maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) into position to survey the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Earth Sensor Assembly (ESA) unit B, which had experienced an anomaly on GMT 234. Afterwards, the SSRMS was moved back to its original position.

Today, Robotic Ground Controllers maneuvered the SSRMS into position to receive a hand off of the Exposed Pallet (EP) from the JEM Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS). Once the handoff was completed, the Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the EP to H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-5 where ISS Crew Members Lindgren and Yui inserted it into the HTV-5 Unpressurized Logistics Carrier (ULC). HTV-5 is scheduled to unberth from ISS on September 28th.

Russian Pilot-T Experiment: Kelly performed his third session for Pilot-T. The goal of the Pilot-T experiment is to improve methods and develop equipment to assess and predict crewmember performance reliability during the execution of complex operator tasks (piloting a space vehicle and controlling transport and robotic equipment on the surface of a spacecraft) during various stages of long-term spaceflight.

Fine Motor Skills Experiment: Kornienko completed a session of the Fine Motor Skills experiment. During the experiment he performed a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. This investigation 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. The goal of Fine Motor Skills for Kornienko is to identify trends or variations in fine motor performance in microgravity over the duration of a year-long space mission; how fine motor performance on orbit compares with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance changes before and after gravitational transitions, such as during early flight adaptation and after return to Earth.

Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS) Glycerol/Water Fill: Kononenko filled the inkjet droplet device with glycerol and water in preparation for the final experiment protocol on each sample container.

Kubik 5 Temperature and Centrifuge Data Transfer: Yui transfered data from ESA’s KUBIK 5 hardware to a Station Support Computer (SSC) for downlink to the ground. He then disconnected and stowed KUBIK 5 hardware.

Initial Preparations for Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (JSSOD) #4 Launch: In preparation for the deploy of JSSOD satellites this Thursday, September 17th, Yui set up the Robotic Work Station (RWS) in the Cupola.

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Urine Receptacle (UR) Routine Maintenance: Lindgren performed a change out of the WHC UR and insert filter. Following the change out, a WHC functionality test was succesfully performed.

On-board Training (OBT) ISS Emergency Hardware Familiarization: Volkov and Kelly reviewed where emergency hardware is located on the ISS. Among the items covered were the US Portable Breathing Apparatus (PBAs), US and Russian fire extinguishers, emergency masks, fire/ammonia cartridges and ammonia measurement kits.

HTV Cargo / Galley Rack Transfer Status: All three USOS crew members performed HTV-5 Cargo transfer operations today. Among the items being transferred was the new Galley Rack. Interference was encountered during installation of the rack in Node 1. Bungies and zip ties were used to temporarily hold the rack in place. Meanwhile ground teams assess photographs taken by the crew. Hardware needed for Galley Rack activation will arrive on a later flight. Approximately 10 hours remain to complete HTV-5 cargo operations.

SSC Donut 2 Service Pack Deploy: Overnight Friday, the SSC service pack named Donut 2 was installed successfully on all SSCs. Donut 2 contains upgrades for OPTIMIS (Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer replacement), International Procedure Viewer (IPV), and the Crew Webpage. Donut 1 was previously deployed on GMT 230. This completes the Donut Service Pack deploy.

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

On MCC Go ??? ?1 absorption cartridge cycling (start)
Check & report the results of [???] laptop anti-virus scan
PILOT-T. Science ops setup. Tagup with specialists
[???] consumables set R&R
JEMRMS – RLT2 activation
Fine Motor Skills – subject
FINEMOTR – photography
Water Recovery System (WRS). WPA Waste Tank Offload to CWC (start).
HMS – mood change profile questionnaire.
PILOT-T. Experiment session.
MAGVEC – data copy from the memory stick
BAR. Experiment session.
JEM thermal control system’s LTL & MTL refill procedure review
COL- Laptop Power Down
JEM NeST clean-up
Water Recovery System (WRS). WPA Waste Tank Offload to CWC (end).
FSS water container collection
WRS – water sampling
iPad stow following ISS 9 crew stage
RWS – activation
WHC urine receptacle and insert replacement
Daily electrocardiogram recording
FS – USOS hardware gather
HMS – AED inspection
[??] Blood Pressure daily recording
HTV – cargo transfer
PILOT-T. Experiment Session. Tagup with specialists
HTV – cargo transfer conference
SSRMS – external platform transfer from JEMRMS and its installation on HTV
TOCA – data copying
SDM – hardware stow
ENDO – data copying
Post-HTV-5 arrival emergency training
OASIS – container fill-up with water and glycerol for the experiment’s final stage
OBT – ISS emergency equipment review
FS – hardware transfer to ISS RS
FLUID SHIFTS. Ultrasound hardware and camcorder setup in SM
IMS update OBT – ISS emergency equipment review
FLUID SHIFTS. Ultrasound equipment connection to [???]
PILOT-T. Experiment Session.
PILOT-T. Photography during the experiment session
Node 1 Table removal
ZSR microgravity stowage rack breakdown
ISS Crew Orientation
Galley rack transfer from HTV5S1 to NOD1P4
PILOT-T. Closeout ops. Tagup with specialistsNode 1 Table installation
Separation (fill) of EDV ([???]) 1192 (00065120R, ???1???_1_106) from EDV 1197 (00065944R, ???1???_1_109) or EDV-SV for ELEKTRON
WRS – WSTA fill
SPRINT – closeout ops
VZAIMODEYSTVIYE-2. Experiment session
TEPC hardware relocation
??? maintenance
JRNL – log entry
RWS deactivation
PAO hardware setup
PAO – Crew choice event
On MCC Go ??? ?1 absorption cartridge cycling
Preparation of materials for Roscosmos website
EKON-M. Observation and photography.
OPTIMIS Viewer Familiarization

Completed Task List Items
OPTIMUS Training FE-6 (Completed 14 September)
HTV-5 CD Transfer (Completed 14 September)

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

SSRMS and JEMRMS Operations

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 09/16: Fluid Shifts, JEM ITCS Refill, HTV Cargo Ops, RSP Rack Transfer, CIR Manifold Bottle Replace JEMAL Depress,
Thursday, 09/17: Fluid Shifts, HTV Cargo Ops, Sprint Ultrasound, LAB1P5 Cleanout, JSSOD #4 deploy
Friday, 09/18: Fluid Shifts, HTV Cargo Ops, C2V2 Locker Remove, WRS Recycle Tank Changeout

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
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 – Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Norm
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up