NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 2 November 2016

The new Expedition 50 crew is in its first week aboard the International Space Station after a trio of Expedition 49 crew members left for Earth Saturday night. Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko are the sole occupants of the station right now awaiting three more crewmates due to launch in mid-November.
Kimbrough is tending a new garden of red romaine lettuce due to be harvested at the end of November. He is continuing the validation of greenhouse hardware to enable a fresh food supply for future crews venturing further and longer into space.

Cosmonauts Ryzhikov and Borisenko spent their time working on Russian life support systems and space research. The cosmonauts explored controlling rovers on a planetary surface from a spacecraft and also researched how microgravity affects pain sensitivity.

Back on Earth in Kazakhstan, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy are preparing for their mission to the space station. The Expedition 50-51 crew members are due to launch Nov. 17 to begin a six-month mission aboard the orbital laboratory.

On-Orbit Status Report

Group Combustion Leak Check: CDR retrieved the Combustion Chamber from the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Work Volume and installed a top plate on the Combustion Chamber. The crew then installed a gas bottles and air supply lines to configure for a leak check. Ground specialists are focusing the leak check on the Group Combustion quick disconnect and seals. The Group Combustion investigation tests a theory that fuel sprays change from partial to group combustion as flames spread across a cloud of droplets. In the Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack in the Kibo module, droplets of decane, a component of gasoline or kerosene, are arranged randomly on thin-fiber lattice points, and the flame and droplet positions and temperature distribution are measured as the flame spreads. Microgravity blocks convection, which on Earth would quickly disperse the droplets and combustion products before such measurements could be made.

Veg-03 Operations: Today, CDR thinned out the plants in the Veggie facility to promote growth of the larger plants. The crew then watered the plant pillows. The overall goal of Veg-03 is to further demonstrate proof-of concept for the Veggie plant growth chamber and the planting pillows using ‘Outregous’ Red Romaine lettuce. Future long-duration missions into the solar system, will require a fresh food supply to supplement crew diets, which means growing crops in space. Previous investigations focused on improving productivity in controlled environments, but the limited quarters of the space shuttle and ISS made it difficult to conduct large-scale crop production tests. Veg-03 expands on previous validation tests of the new Veggie hardware, which crew members will soon use to grow cabbage, lettuce and other fresh vegetables in space. Tests determine which types of microorganisms are present in space-grown cabbage, providing baseline data for future crop-growing efforts. Behavioral health surveys assess the impact of growing plants on crew morale and mood.

Meteor Operations: CDR changed out the hard drive and diffraction grating on the Meteor camera located in the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF). The Meteor payload is a visible spectroscopy instrument with the primary purpose of observing meteors in Earth orbit. Meteor uses image analysis to provide information on the physical and chemical properties of the meteoroid dust, such as size, density, and chemical composition. Since the parent comets or asteroids for most of the meteor showers are identified, the study of the meteoroid dust on orbit provides information about the parent comets and asteroids.

Reboost: Last night the ISS performed a reboost using the SM main engines. The purpose of the reboost was to finalize the planned conditions for the upcoming launches of 49S on 17-November 17 and 65P on 01-December.

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

Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Removal
ALGOMETRIYA. Pressure and Thermal Algometry preparation for and measurement session
Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) ?1 Cartridge (start)
Meteor Shutter Open
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
XF305 Camcorder Setup
Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) Retrieval.
Crew Prep for PAO
TV-Conference with the Participants of the Russian Engineering Festival
OTKLIK. Hardware Monitoring
On-orbit hearing assessment using EARQ
24-hour ECG Recording (start)
Combustion Chamber (CC) Top Plate Attachment
Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) Installation
CONTURE-2. Installation of SW on RSK2 Laptop for Conture-2 Experiment on the RS.
24-hour Blood Pressure Recording (start)
CONTURE-2. Experiment (Session 1).
Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) Leak Trouble Shoot part 2
On-Orbit Hearing Assessment (O-OHA) with EarQ Software Setup and Test
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
CONTURE-2 Experiment (Session 2).
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS)
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
VEG-03 Plant Thin
VEG-03 Plant Pillow Prime.
CONTURE-2. De-installation of master arm with adapter from panel 418
ISS Crew Orientation
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
ALGOMETRIYA. Pressure Algometry Measurement Ops
Familiarization with Auxiliary Computer System
Manufacturing Device Print Removal, Clean and Stow
Crew time for ISS adaptation and orientation
Filling (separation) of ??? (???) for Elektron or ???-??. Fill ??? (???) No.1242 from ??? No.1233
METEOR Grating Configuration
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
??? maintenance
PAO Preparation
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops.
Video Footage of Greetings
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Exercise Video Stow
ALGOMETRIYA. Pressure and Thermal Algometry Measurement Session. Closeout Ops
Regeneration Micropurification Unit (???) ?1 Absorption Cartridge (end)

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS Power Up and Maneuver to Park Position
P4 IEA Survey

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 11/04: Cygnus cargo transfer, HRF blood collection setup,
Friday, 11/05: HRF centrifuge setup & blood collection/stow, Recycle tank drain to EDV, Cygnus cargo transfer
Saturday, 11/06: Weekly Housekeeping

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 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Idle
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Shutdown
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up