NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 17 March 2016
The Soyuz rocket that will carry three new crew members to the International Space Station Friday evening stands ready for launch in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, the orbiting trio awaiting reinforcements is busy with medical science and preparations for upcoming cargo missions.
High winds at the Baikonur Cosmodrome delayed the raising of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft into vertical position a few hours after its roll out Wednesday. Launch is scheduled for 5:26 p.m. EDT/9:26 p.m. UTC Friday. Expedition 47-48 crew members Jeff Williams, Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka will arrive at their new home in space less than six hours later.
The three current residents onboard the orbital laboratory, Commander Tim Kopra and Flight Engineers Tim Peake and Yuri Malenchenko, continued their medical research to help scientists understand how living off the Earth affects the human body. The crew is also getting ready for a pair of cargo deliveries due soon from Orbital ATK and SpaceX.
Kopra and Peake were back at work today on the Ocular Health study scanning their eyes with an ultrasound and checking their blood pressure. Kopra also explored how microbes affect the human immune system in space and practiced the robotic capture of the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft. Peake is helping engineers validate the technology that will control rovers on another planet from a spacecraft. Malenchenko researched how the digestive system adapts to microgravity and packed trash into the 61P resupply ship due to undock at the end of the month.
Orbital ATK will launch its Cygnus space freighter Tuesday at 11 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center on a four-day trip to the space station. Cygnus will deliver almost 7,500 pounds of research gear, spacewalk hardware and crew supplies to the Expedition 47 crew.
On-Orbit Status Report
Ocular Health (OH) Cardiac Operations: With operator assistance and remote guidance from the OH ground team, Kopra and Peake administered blood pressure measurements and ultrasound scanning activities which support the Health Maintenance System (HMS) eye ultrasound exam. Crew members’ bodies change in a variety of ways during space flight, and some experience impaired vision. Tests monitor microgravity-induced visual impairment as well as changes believed to arise from elevated intracranial pressure to characterize how living in microgravity can affect the visual, vascular and central nervous systems. The investigation also measures how long it takes for crew members to return to normal after they return to Earth.
Microbiome: Kopra completed a Flight Day (FD) 90 body sample collection and stowed the samples into a box module in a Minus Eight-degree Freezer for ISS (MELFI). Microbiome investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individual’s Microbiome (the collection of microbes that live in and on the human body at any given time).
Multi-Purpose End-To-End Robotics Operations Network (METERON) and SUPerVISory control of the Eurobot (SUPVIS-E) Control Test: Peake relocated and set up the METERON laptops and Video Camera Assembly (VCA)1 prior to executing the METERON test. He used the Rover Control software on the ISS and the Eurobot Ground Prototype (EGP) on the ground to execute the investigation. During execution of METERON-SUPVISE-TST1 the rover did not respond to ground commands due to a connectivity issue. A software reset and EGP reboots did not resolve the problem. Operations were deferred while ground teams review the data. METERON tele-operates robots on Earth from the ISS to validate technology for future exploration missions where astronauts can operate surface robots from their spacecraft with ground support. SUPVIS-E is the third step of the METERON project, continuing to use the Delay Tolerant Network (DTN) technology that automates store-and-forward techniques to compensate for the intermittent connectivity typical of space missions.
Cygnus Robotics On-Board Trainer (RoBOT) On-Board Training (OBT) and Self Study: Kopra completed another session of this training in preparation for OA-6 arrival currently scheduled for March 26. The procedure included a 30 meter approach, two Capture Point hold runs and 2 meter runs.
Hatch Seal Inspection: Peake completed the second of two sessions of this scheduled maintenance to clean the USOS hatch seals in Node 2, Node 3, PMM, COL and JEM. He inspected the sealing surface and hatch handle mechanisms for Foreign Object Debris (FOD) or damage. He took photos during the inspection which he downlinked to the ground for review.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
HRF Saliva Sample Collection
Biochemical Urine Test r/g 1673
HRF – Sample Insertion into MELFI
URISYS Hardware Stowage
USND2 – Hardware Activation
Ultrasound – Scanning Prep
Daily Planning Conference (S-band)
Ultrasound2 – Scan performed by a Crew Medical Officer (CMO)
Ocular Health Experiment – Ultrasound 2 – Scan
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position / SM Pressure Control & Atmosphere Monitoring System
Ultrasound Data Export
Ops with ???-3 Smoke Detectors No.1 and No.3 in DC1 / r/g 1681
Ocular Health Experiment – Ultrasound 2 – Scan
Ultrasound2 – Scan performed by a Crew Medical Officer (CMO)
Health Maintenance System (HMS) – Ultrasound2 Scan – Post-exam ops
METERON – Overview
Ultrasound Data Export
METERON – Laptop setup
METERON -Equipment testing
OBT – Dragon Rendezvous and Berthing Procedures Review
Log File Dump / r/g 1671
OH – Ocular Health Cardiac Operations
Ocular Health (OH) – Operator Assistance with the Experiment
OH – Ocular Health Cardiac Operations
Ocular Health (OH) – Operator Assistance with the Experiment
On MCC GO ISS N2 Repress from Progress 429 (Aft) ???? Section 2 (start)
iPad Restow
On MCC GO ISS N2 Repress from Progress 429 (?ft) ???? Section 2 (terminate)
Replacement of ???2 loop 4???2 panel H1 replaceable pump assembly r/g 1683
USND2 – Equipment Deactivation and Stowage
ECLSS – Tank Drain
Water Recovery and Management (WRM): Condensate Pumping Initiation
Hatch Seal Inspection
RGN – Initiate drain into EDV
CSL5 – Laptop relocation from SM and loading
Water Recovery and Management (WRM): Condensate Pumping Termination
ARED Cylinder Flywheel Evacuation
??? Maintenance
SPLANH. Preparation for Experiment / r/g 1672
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Cygnus RoBOT OBT support
Nominal ground commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 03/18: 46S launch/dock (crew sleep shift), docking prep/arrival tasks
Saturday, 03/19: Crew sleep day following 46S docking activities
Sunday, 03/20: 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 – Override
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
