NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 31 March 2016
Carrying more than three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the International Space Station crew, the unpiloted ISS Progress 63 cargo craft launched at 12:23 p.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. local time in Baikonur) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying about 251 miles up over northeast Iraq.
Less than 9 minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned. The Russian cargo craft will make 34 orbits of Earth during the next two days before docking to the orbiting laboratory at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2.
Beginning at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, NASA Television will provide live coverage of Progress 63’s arrival to the space station’s aft port of the Zvezda Service Module.
Watch live on NASA TV and online at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
On-Orbit Status Report
63 Progress (63P) Launch: 63P launched at 11:23AM CDT today. Orbital insertion was nominal, and the vehicle is performing well. Docking is scheduled to occur this Saturday at 1:00PM CDT.
Thermolab De-instrumentation for Circadian Rhythms: Peake removed the double sensors and the Thermolab Unit before cleaning and stowing the equipment after completing the measurement process of the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Circadian Rhythm experiment. The measurement process takes 36 hours, over a three day period to complete. The objective of the experiment is to get a better understanding of alterations in circadian rhythms in humans during long-term space flights. Such knowledge will not only provide important insights into the adaptations of the human autonomic nervous system in space over time, but also has significant practical implications by helping to improve physical exercise, rest- and work shifts as well as fostering adequate workplace illumination in the sense of occupational healthcare in future space missions.
Energy Experiment: Peake set up the Armband Activity Monitor and took a water sample from the Potable Water Device (PWD) in support of ESA’s Energy experiment. The Pulmonary Function System (PFS) instrument setup and other planned activities will be scheduled during the experiment session expected the week of April 18.
Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Reconfiguration and Removal: In support of the Mouse Epigenetics experiment, Williams reconfigured video cables between the CBEF and the Video compression and Recording Unit 2 (VRU2) as well as between the CBEF and Image Processing Unit (IPU) from single channel to multiple channel, and attached video transformers. The CBEF is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) sub-rack facility located in the Saibo Experiment Rack and is used in various life science experiments such as cultivating cells and plants in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The CBEF consists of an incubator and control equipment and is used to control temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration for cultivation of cells and plants.
Sprint Ultrasound 2 Operations: Kopra and Williams completed operational phases of Sprint VO2, including video setup, exercise preparation and instrument calibrations, exercise protocol, cessation, and data downlink. Peake assisted with placing reference marks on the thigh and calf of the right leg, and with donning the Sprint Thigh and Calf Guides. Sprint VO2 is a test that measures oxygen uptake, ventilatory threshold, and other physiological parameters for evaluation of Sprint exercise prescription. It uses the Portable Pulmonary Function System (PFS), CEVIS, PFS Gas Cylinders, Mixing Bag System (MBS), and multiple other pieces of hardware. Ultrasound scans are used to evaluate spaceflight-induced changes in the muscle volume.
Strata-1 Payload Install: Peake installed the Strata hardware into an EXPRESS Rack in the US Lab. The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) sensor enclosure will be moved from the JEM to the Strata payload for activation and checkout activities tomorrow. Strata-1 investigates the properties and behavior of regolith on small, airless bodies. Regolith is the impact-shattered “soil” found on asteroids, comets, the Moon, and other airless worlds, but it is different from soil here on Earth in that it contains no living material. Strata-1’s goal is to provide answers about how regolith behaves and moves in microgravity, how easy or difficult it is to anchor a spacecraft in regolith, how it interacts with spacecraft and spacesuit materials, and other properties. It is important to NASA to know how to set anchors in regolith, how to safely move and process large volumes of regolith, and predict and prevent risk to spacecraft and astronauts visiting these small bodies.
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Operations: Kopra bundled and stowed EMUs 3003 and 3010 in the Crewlock, then unbundled EMU 3005 and EMU 3008 and installed EMU Don/Doff Assemblies (EDDAs) in those suits for tomorrow’s loop scrub activities. He also cycled the Secondary Oxygen Package Checkout Fixture (SCOF) relief valves on 3005 and 3008. The SCOF allows pressurization of the ventilation loop of the EMU without completely assembling the full suit and should be physically cycled once per year.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
USND2 – Hardware Activation
SPRINT – Hardware Power Up
ISS crew and ???? (RSA Flight Control Management Team) weekly conference r/g 1792
SPRINT Experiment Ops
GREAT START. Video Script Review r/g 1817
CRHYT – Hardware Removal
SPRINT – Donning Equipment (assistance)
IMS Tagup (S-band) / r/g 1813
Study of cardiovascular system under graded physical load on VELO (Operator)
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position / Pressure Control & Atmosphere Monitoring System
Study of Cardiovascular System Under Graded Physical Load on VELO.
SPRINT – Equipment Stowage
STRATA – Payload Installation in EXPRESS Rack
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
On MCC Go ??1? Remove and Replace with ??1? / r/g 1801
STRATA – Hardware Relocate [Deferred]
CIR – Equipment Removal
USND2 – Equipment Deactivation and Stowage
CBEF – Cable Reconfig
24-hour ECG Monitoring (termination) / r/g 1798
Crew Prep for PAO / r/g 1819
PAO Hardware Setup
24-hour BP Monitoring (end) r/g 1799
TV Conference with Voskhod recreation camp. / r/g 1819
IDENTIFICATION. Copy ???-? micro-accelerometer data to laptop / r/g 1589
24-hour ECG Monitoring (start) / r/g 1798
24-hour BP Monitoring (start) r/g 1799
EMU backpack replacement
ESA Weekly Crew Conference
ALGOMETRIA. Experiment Ops / r/g 1815
Transfer of Thermal Protection Jackets [???] from Soyuz 719 to ISS / r/g 1814
ENERGY – Monitor Installation
ISS Crew Handover / Handover Recommendations (???)
Water separation to EDV through Separation Assembly / r/g 1820
ENERGY – Water Sampling
EMU Secondary Oxygen Package (SOP) Check-Out Fixture SCOF Positive Pressure Relief Valve cycling
CBEF – Cable Removal
ISS Crew Handover / Handover Recommendations (???)
CBEF – Cable Reconfig
ARED Exercise Video Equipment Stowage
ENERGY – PFS Setup [Deferred]
ALGOMETRIA. Experiment Ops / r/g 1816
GREAT START. Preparation for the Experiment / r/g 1817
GREAT START. EPO session and video recording of Regeneratsiya experiment / r/g 1817
GREAT START. Closeout Ops / r/g 1817
STRATA – Hardware Activation [Deferred]
MERLIN Desiccant Replacement
Water separation to EDV through Separation Assembly [??] / Closeout Ops / r/g 1820
Onboard Training (OBT) – Dragon Rendezvous Procedures Review
OBT – Dragon Rendezvous and Berthing Procedures Review
Replacement of FGB Dust Collector ??1, ??2 Filters
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops r/g 1818
??? Maintenance
SPRINT – Closeout Ops
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
SPRINT Ultrasound support
Nominal ground commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 04/01: ENERGY ops, SPRINT VO2 ops, EVA loop scrub
Saturday, 04/02: 63P dock, ENERGY ops, crew off duty, weekly housekeeping
Sunday, 04/03: Crew off duty
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 – 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
