NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 November 2015

Crews and cargo shipments will be coming and going at the International Space Station during a busy December in space. Two resupply ships will arrive, one cargo craft will leave and an Expedition 45 trio will head home before an Expedition 46 trio replaces it.
Commander Scott Kelly teamed up with Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren for more robotics training before the Dec. 3 launch and Dec. 6 arrival of the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft. When Cygnus arrives it will be captured with the Canadarm2 robotic arm and berthed to the Unity module.

Meanwhile, Lindgren along with Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko are preparing for their Dec. 11 landing. On the ground in Russia, their Expedition 46 replacements Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineers Timothy Kopra and Timothy Peake are counting down to their Dec. 15 launch. A docked Progress 61 resupply ship will fire its engines Wednesday raising the station’s orbit to accommodate the mid-December crew swap.

The Cygnus cargo craft is in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center being processed before its early December launch atop an Atlas V rocket. Russia’s Progress 60 (60P) cargo craft will undock from the Pirs docking compartment Dec. 19. A new Progress 62 resupply ship will replace the 60P when it arrives at Pirs Dec. 23.

On-Orbit Status Report

Sprint Ultrasound: Kelly performed his Flight Day 240 thigh and calf ultrasound scans today with assistance from Lindgren and 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. Upon completion of this study, investigators expect to provide an integrated resistance and aerobic exercise training protocol capable of maintaining muscle, bone and cardiovascular health while reducing total exercise time over the course of a long-duration space flight. This will provide valuable information in support of the long term goal of protecting human fitness for even longer space exploration missions.

Fine Motor Skills: 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. Fine Motor Skills sessions completed by Kelly and Kornienko will provide data for identification of trends or variations in fine motor performance in microgravity over the duration of their year-long space mission and upon their return to earth.

EXPRESS (EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station) Rack 6 Laptop Software Load: Yui supported the ongoing software updates to ISS EXPRESS Rack laptops by copying a software load to the EXPRESS Rack 6 laptop. These software updates include enhanced security with the Windows 7 operating system, new features and support for new capabilities.

Crew Handover Conference: Kelly, Volkov, and Kornienko conducted a video conference with Soyuz 45 Crew (Malenchenko, Kopra, and Peake) in order to pass along lessons learned. The purpose was to begin the handover process prior to the arrival on orbit through video conferences and data exchanges between the current crew and the upcoming crew. Soyuz 45 is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 15 December 2015.

Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session 1: Kelly, Lindgren, and Yui utilized a Robotic Trainer in order to practice nominal and off nominal Cygnus rendezvous and capture scenarios. Orbital ATK (OA)-4 is scheduled to launch on December 3rd with rendezvous and berthing occurring December 6th.

Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS): Today robotic ground controllers commanded the SSRMS to grapple the PMM Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF) using Latching End Effector (LEE) B in support of the investigation into the rigidize mechanism anomaly that occurred during HTV-5 release. Unloaded checkouts were performed on October 23rd. Loaded checkouts were successfully performed today and the data gathered will be assessed by the team. Then controllers performed LEE-B diagnostics on the prime string and SSRMS brake and joint diagnostics on both strings, in preparation for OA-4 capture and berthing in December.

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

HMS – Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Setup
Virus Definition File Update on Auxiliary Computer System (???) Laptops
USND2 – Hardware Activation
Fluid Integrated Rack (FIR) – Review
SPRINT – Scanning Ops
Fine Motor Skills
Eye Examination [Deferred]
On MCC Go ??-2 Test
SPRINT – Operator Assistance
Photography of SM window 02, 12, and EV2 hatch glass in MRM2
FIR – ELC Hardware Setup
HMS – OCT Equipment Stowage
Removal of Video Equipment Used to capture ??-2 Exercise and Downlink the file
Soyuz 717 Samsung Tablet Charge – start
Evaluation of Orthostatic Stability with LBNP
ER6 – Closeout Ops
Clean Bench (CB) Checkout
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill [Deferred]
JRNL – Journal Entry [Unmarked]
Crew handover conference
USND2 – Hardware Deactivation
Disassembly of ??? Unit (#10?=?805), S/N 004/???
Health Maintenance System (HMS) – Blood Pressure Cuff Troubleshooting
Fluid Integrated Rack (FIR) – Hardware Reconfiguration
Symbolic Activity / r/g 0645
Express Rack Label Updates
Filling (separation) EDV (KOV) No.1106 (00063570R, ???1???_1_111) from EDV No.1169 (00068247R, ???1???_1_107) for Elektron system
Date and Time Synchronization on 6 RS photo cameras to the station time
Repairs of SM Interior Panel 326 by Installing Overlay Panel – Day 2
Closing Lab window shutter within 3 meters of SSRMS operation
ROBoT OBT Session 1
Soyuz 717 Samsung tablet charging – end
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops
ER6 – DVD insertion and SW load
Unlatching N2 Nadir Hatch Hard Stops
IMS Delta File Prep
Fundoscope Exam Setup (instilling eye drops for a pupil dilation)
??? Maintenance
WRS – Recycle Tank Fill
HABIT – Experiment Ops [Unmarked]
Fundoscope Setup for exam
Disassembly of ??? Unit (#10?=?805), S/N 004/??? (FM)
Fundoscope – Eye Exam
Symbolic Activity
Equipment stowage after Fundoscope Eye Imaging
BLR48 – starting measurement
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire
FIR – Reconfig for nominal ops
ER6 – DVD Removal from the Laptop
Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media
ECON-M. Observation and Photography
URAGAN Observations and Photography
Installation of inserts to ease opening of SM interior panel locks (Unstow Structural Elements kit)

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS LEE-B Grapple of PMM FRGF and Data Gather
NORS Heater Test

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 11/25: Cygnus Robotics OBT, 44S Emergency OBT, HAPTICS-1 Ops, Port TRRJ Survey, ISS Reboost
Thursday, 11/26: Crew Holiday
Friday, 11/27: RRM Transfer Cage Install, HAPTICS-1 Ops, Crew Departure Prep, Stbd CQ Cleaning, IMAX File D/L

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”) – Off
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 – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off