NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 January 2016

The Expedition 46 crew brought out a pair of tiny satellites today so students can compete for the best algorithm in an ongoing competition. The crew also checked spacesuits, transferred cargo and worked on lab maintenance.
One-Year Crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko set up a pair of bowling ball-sized satellites in Japan’s Kibo lab module for a student competition. Students compete to test their algorithms which operate the tiny satellites onboard the International Space Station for the SPHERES-Zero Robotics study.

Veteran cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Yuri Malenchenko checked their Russian Orlan spacesuits for leaks. The duo will exit the space station Feb. 3 for a five hour and 30 minute spacewalk to install hardware and science experiments on the orbital lab’s Russian segment. NASA TV will begin coverage at 7:30 a.m. EST with the spacewalk set to start 40 minutes later.

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra worked on space plumbing during the morning before moving on to Cygnus cargo transfers. British astronaut Tim Peake worked on the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, a device that will levitate, melt and solidify materials to study the thermophysical properties of different metals.

On-Orbit Status Report

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Zero Robotics Competition: Kelly and Kornienko set up the SPHERES hardware and executed the SPHERES Zero Robotics tests with participation from students on the ground. The SPHERES Zero Robotics investigation establishes an opportunity for high school students to design research for the ISS. As part of a competition, students write algorithms for the SPHERES satellites to accomplish tasks relevant to future space missions. The algorithms are tested by the SPHERES team and the best designs are selected for the competition to operate the SPHERES satellites on board the ISS.

Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) Switch Reconfiguration: Peake reconfigured the CIR to prepare for the resumption of FLame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)-2 which is scheduled to begin in early February. He used the EXPRESS Laptop Computer (ELC) to reconfigure the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) Input/Output (I/O) Processor Ethernet switch to increase the data transfer rate in CIR. FLEX-2 studies the rate and manner in which fuel is burned, the conditions that are necessary for soot to form, and the way in which a mixture of fuels evaporate before burning. The results from these experiments will give scientists a better understanding how fires behave in space and will provide important information that will be useful in increasing the fuel efficiency of engines using liquid fuels.

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Setup Troubleshooting: On Friday, Kelly was only able to connect one of two Quick Disconnects (QDs) to mate the Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) supply and return lines due to inadequate accessibility. Today Peake performed steps to increase the accessibility but was unable to provide enough additional room for crewmembers to connect the remaining QD. The JAXA ground team is evaluating today’s results. The ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt and solidify materials employing containerless processing techniques that use the electrostatic levitation method with charged samples and electrodes. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved.

Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) Fill Drain Valve Modification Kit Installation: Kopra replaced the existing Water Recovery System (WRS)-2 Access Panels with new modified panels that will allow the Recycle Tank to be filled and drained in place.

Orbital ATK (OA)-4 Cargo Operations: Peake and Kopra continued transferring Cygnus cargo to ISS today. There are approximately 26 hours of Cygnus cargo ops remaining to be completed.

Cygnus Cabin Fan Anomaly: Overnight, the Cygnus cabin fan performance degraded significantly and was subsequently powered off. Delta pressure (DP) had been slowly decreasing through the OA-4 berthed duration and initial trending was predicting that the DP would remain within operational limits through a February 19 departure. However, in recent days the downward DP trend has increased more rapidly. Portable fans are available for the crew to use in order to ingress Cygnus in support of today’s cargo operations. Ground teams are looking into possible troubleshooting plans.

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

RSS1,2 Reboot
SEISMOPROGNOZ. Downlink data from Control and Data Acquisition Module (????) HDD (start)
CIR – Familiarization with Experiment Plan
Activation and Inspection of Orlan suits No. 4, No. 6
Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) – Gathering assembly equipment from the kit for the drain valve
SPHERES – Crew Conference
Cygnus Cargo Operations
SPHERES – Hardware Setup and Checkout
Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) – Installation of equipment from the kit for the drain valve
DAN. Experiment Ops
WRS Sample Collection
???????? ??? ? ??1
RS still cameras date and time synchronization to the station time
SAMS Adapter Setup in Columbus Procedure Review
??? ??? checkout.
SPHERES Greeting Students
SPHERES Camera Setup and Test Ops
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
Scrubbing water system by using ??? in ???
Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) – Equipment Stowage
SEISMOPROGNOZ. Download data from Control and Data Acquisition Module (????) HDD (end) and start backup
RGN – Initiate drain into EDV
Multi purpose Small Payload Rack 2 (MSPR2) Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) QD Troubleshoot
SPHERES Hardware power off, battery replacement, and stowage
Ops with Orlan ORU
24-hour ECG Monitoring (start)
RGN – Terminate water drain into EDV
Water Processing using MCD
24-hour BP monitoring (start)
Columbus GFI Test Preparation
GFI test of all twelve COLUMBUS SUPs 120V DC power outlets
TOCA Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Analysis
CIR ELC Install
Install battery packs on Orlan No.4 and No.6 Telemetry Unit (????)
Cygnus Cargo Operations Conference
HABIT – Adjusting camcorder and conducting conference
Preparing for replacement of microintegrators ????-3 (?507, ?607, ?707). Gather new ????-3 S/N 10395332 (008746R, ???1???_4_420_1), 10343135 (00043325R, ???1???_4_418_1), 10343136 (00056396R, ???1???_2_219_1)
??-3? Oxygen bottle pressure check in DC1
??-3? oxygen bottle pressure check in ???
Columbus GFI Test Post Reconfiguration
CIR – Switching Device Reconfiguration
IMS Delta File Prep Journals Nominal Entry Subject
CIR ELC Install
TOCA Data Recording
ER4 – Laptop network interface config

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Nominal System Commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 01/26: SPRINT, BASS Hardware Setup, LLB Charge Term, Cargo Ops, JPM PDH A R&R
Wednesday, 01/27: Cyclops Install, BASS M, Water Mist PFE Deploy, Cargo Ops
Thursday, 01/28: Cygnus Cargo Transfer, PS120 J Install, JPM Int Port Camera Relocation, Vertigo S/W Load

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – On
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Override
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 Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Off