NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 18 August 2015

The six-member Expedition 44 crew participated in a wide array of science today as Japan counts down to Wednesday morning’s launch of its fifth resupply mission. Meanwhile, three new Soyuz taxi crew members flew to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to finalize their mission preparations.
The majority of the station crew members had their blood pressure and vision checked today for the long-running Ocular Health study. Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui had his legs scanned with an ultrasound for the SPRINT exercise study. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren explored fluid physics and surface tension for the Capillary Beverage experiment.

Back on Earth, veteran station cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and first time Soyuz Flight Engineers Andreas Mogensen and Aidyn Aimbetov are getting ready for their 10-day mission to the International Space Station. The trio will launch Sept. 2 inside the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Volkov will stay in space until next year. Mogensen and Aimbetov will return Sept. 11 with Gennady Padalka who has been in space since March.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is getting ready to roll out its H-IIB rocket this afternoon at the Tanegashima Space Center. JAXA is scheduled to launch the “Kounotori” HTV-5 cargo craft at 7:50 a.m. EDT (11:50 a.m. UTC) Wednesday for a five day trip to the space station. The HTV-5 will deliver more than 4.5 tons of research and supplies, including water, spare parts and experiment hardware.

On-Orbit Status Report

Human Research Program (HRP) Operations: Kelly and Kornienko performed day two of their Flight Day (FD) 150 Ocular Health session. Kelly completed his Video Walk Through #4 and Observation #11 for Habitability and his second of three weekly Journal activities. Lindgren completed his FD 27 Cognition and Yui completed FD 30 Sprint Ultrasound.

– Ocular Health: OCT is used to measure retinal thickness, volume, and retinal nerve fiber layer, and the fundoscope is used to obtain images of the retinal surface.

– Journals obtains information on behavioral and human issues that are relevant to the design of equipment and procedures and sustained human performance during extended-duration missions.

– Individualized Real-Time Neurocognitive Assessment Toolkit for Space Flight Fatigue (Cognition) is a battery of tests that measures how spaceflight-related physical changes, such as microgravity and lack of sleep, can affect cognitive performance.

– 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.

– Yui configured video, Ultrasound 2 machine, and donned the calf and thigh reference guides. He then performed thigh and calf scans with 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.

– 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, Lindgren used Lemon-Lime drink 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.

NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) #5 Imagery: Kelly retracted the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) Slide Table (ST) into the cabin and took pictures of the NRCSD doors and latch configurations. The images were downlinked for specialists to evaluate prior to NRCSD #6 activities and the ST was extended back into the JEMAL.

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Vertigo: Kelly performed a procedure review and conference with the ground team prior to the SPHERES Vertigo run scheduled for Wednesday. This investigation uses SPHERES free-flying satellites and is designed to demonstrate and test enhanced technologies and techniques related to visual inspection and navigation. This effort incorporates hardware and software that enables multiple SPHERES to construct 3D models of a target object. Additionally, this investigation explores how well the SPHERES free-flyers then perform relative navigation solely by reference to these 3D models.

On-Board Training (OBT) Robotics On-Board Trainer (ROBoT): In preparation for capture and berthing of HTV5 currently planned for next Monday, August 24, the crew completed a session of this training where they practiced a 30 meter approach and two Capture Point (CP) hold runs.

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

Hematocrit. Test
Hematocrit Hardware Stowage
Verification of anti-virus scan results on Auxiliary Computer System (???) laptops
SPHERES – Battery Replacement
USND2 – activation of Ultrasound Hardware and Camcorder
Swap NINJA password document with new one
BLR48 – starting measurement
Camcorder Setup to View LAB RWS Monitor 3
SPRINT – Hardware prep and installation
Transfer water from Progress 428 (DC1) Rodnik Water Tank ??2 to SM Rodnik Water Tank 2
SPRINT – Operator
HMS – Vision Test
ECLSS Recycle Tank Remove and Replace
Test activation of Vozdukh Atmosphere Purification System Emergency Vacuum Valves [??? ???]
SEISMOPROGNOZ. Downlink data from Control and Data Acquisition Module (????) HDD (start)
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position
HMS – Vision Questionnaire
Transfer water from Progress 428 (DC1) Rodnik Tank ??2 to SM Rodnik Tank ??2 – compressor restart
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Setup
VIBROLAB. Monitoring hardware activation
EML – Opening Gas Valves
SSIPC Management / ISS Crew Tagup
Transfer water from Progress 428 (DC1) Rodnik Tank ??2 to SM Rodnik Tank ??2 – compressor restart
Health Management System (HMS) – Optical Coherence Tomography (???)
USND2 – Hardware Deactivation and Closeout Ops
Filling (separation) of EDV (KOV) for Elektron or EDV-SV
SPHERES – File Transfers from USB drive
??? 428 (DC1) Rodnik Water Tank Shell Compression
??? maintenance
SPHERES – Battery Replacement
HAM Radio session from Columbus
?? 716 IRIDIUM Phone Charging – Battery Status Check
?? 716 IRIDIUM Phone Charging – Terminate Charge
JEM Airlock Slide Table Retraction
Laptop RS3 Commanding.
Robotic Workstation (RWS) Teardown
?? 717 IRIDIUM Phone Charging – Initiate Charge
NRCSD-5 Deployer 2, Photography
OCT Exam
Charging ?? 717 IRIDIUM Phone – Battery Charge Status
Health Management System (HMS) – Optical Coherence Tomography (???) – Operator
RS3 Laptop-???2-???-??? Path Command & Data Test.
24-hour ECG Monitoring (termination)
Charging ?? 717 IRIDIUM Phone – terminate charge, tear down the setup, closeout ops
JEM Airlock Slide Table Retraction
24-hour BP Monitoring (end)
CONTUR-2. Hardware Installation on panel 418
Laptop RS3 Commanding.
SPHERES – Battery Replacement
Swap condensation collection from the Lab Condensate Tank to the Water Processing Assembly (WPA) Waste Water Tank (WW tank) while the Sabatier Jumper is installed
WRM. Condensate Pumping Initiation
CONTUR-2. Experiment Session Ops.
24-hour ECG Monitoring (start)
CAPBEV – Preparation Ops
IDENTIFIKATSIYA. Copy ???-? micro-accelerometer data to laptop
Rodent Research (RR) – Samples Retrieval from MELFI
OCT Hardware Stowage
SPHERES – Review
24-hour BP Monitoring (start)
CIR – Inspection and Removal
WRM. Condensate Pumping Terminate
SEISMOPROGNOZ. Download data from Control and Data Acquisition Module (????) HDD (end) and start backup.
CAPBEV – Configuration Setup
DAN. Experiment Ops.
Swap condensation collection from the Lab Condensate Tank to the Water Processing Assembly (WPA) Waste Water Tank (WW tank) while the Sabatier Jumper is installed
SPHERES – Payload Conference
CAPBEV – Photography
CAPBEV – hardware testing
VIBROLAB. Copy and Downlink Data
IMS Delta File Prep
Fundoscope Ops – Dilation Drops
CAPBEV – Stowage
Progress 428 (DC1) Rodnik Water Tank2 Shell Compression – Closeout Ops
HABIT – Video Recording
HMS – Fundoscope Prep
HABIT – Experiment Ops
Fundoscope – OCT Exam
JRNL – Journal Entry
CONTUR-2. Experiment Session Ops.
SPHERES – Stowage of batteries
OBT – HTV Robotics Session
Eye Prep for Fundoscopic Exam
CONTUR-2. Hardware Disassembly from panel 418
Fundoscope – Vision Test
Fundoscope Removal and Stowage
COGN – Experiment Ops and Filling Questionnaire
Completed Task List Items

WHC-KTO/Seat-Replace
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

DONUT Service Pack update
SPRINT Ultrasound ops
Capillary Beverage ops
Three-Day Look Ahead:

Wednesday, 08/19: HTV5 launch, SPHERES Vertigo ops, MDCA h/w replace prep, Radin handover, OH
Thursday, 08/20: Neuro Mapping, OH, MDCA hardware replace, N3 RPCM R&R, COL ITCS sample
Friday, 08/21: OH cardiac ops, HMS Fundoscope, HTV OBT, HTV Transfer Conf, EVA PGT TAL Cal, JAXA Try Zero-G
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) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up