NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 March 2016

The three orbiting residents on the International Space Station worked on commercial crew vehicle equipment and lab maintenance today. The crew members also worked on life science and physics research to improve life for citizens on Earth and future space crews.
British astronaut Tim Peake started installing and routing cables that will enable communications with future commercial crew vehicles. The Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles, or C2V2, consists of both radio frequency and hardline connections that will be used during rendezvous, docking and mated activities at the space station.

Commander Tim Kopra installed and tested acoustic equipment in the U.S. Destiny lab module that will listen for air and pressure leaks. The tests will contribute to the development of a system that can differentiate between harmless background noise and potential leaks. Kopra also checked out gear that will support research on biological samples such as small plants, animal cells and microorganisms.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko explored methods to detect and locate micrometeoroid impacts outside the station. The veteran cosmonaut also photographed areas on Earth impacted by natural or man-made disasters for the long-running Uragan experiment.

On-Orbit Status Report

Ultrasonic Background Noise Test (UBNT): Kopra replaced an AA battery pack behind LAB racks followed by a data download. UBNT detects high-frequency sounds generated by hardware on the U.S.-built portions of the International Space Station. Identifying sources of noise will aid in development of a leak locating system, which would detect the high-pitched sound of air leaking through a pressurized wall. To detect leaks, the system would have to tell the difference between harmless background sounds and potentially dangerous air leakage.

Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands in Space (OASIS): Kopra reviewed reference material for OASIS and gathered Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) and OASIS hardware to support the setup of OASIS inside MSG. OASIS studies the unique behavior of liquid crystals in microgravity, including their overall motion and the merging of crystal layers known as smectic islands. Liquid crystals are used for display screens in televisions and clocks and they occur in soaps and in cell membranes. The experiment allows detailed studies of the behavior of these structures and how microgravity affects their unique ability to act like both a liquid and a solid crystal.

Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL): Kopra performed troubleshooting on SABL1 and found slight damage to the intake vent. He took photos of the area and downlinked for ground review. SABL1 will be left unpowered until teams can work a forward plan. SABL was to undergo a two week checkout of the new facility in the Lab but the SABL hardware was powered off after the hardware temperature rose beyond the nominal range. SABL is required for use with the Micro-10 investigation that has hardware arriving on SpX-8. It is an upgrade to the ISS incubator, Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA). SABL supports a wide variety of experiments in the life, physical and material sciences with a focus on supporting research of biological systems and processes. It is capable of supporting life science research on microorganisms, small organisms, animal cells, tissue cultures and small plants.

Common Communications For Visiting Vehicles (C2V2): Peake gathered hardware, then with assistance from Kopra, began this week’s C2V2 installation. Today they routed C2V2 1553, Joint Station Lab (JSL) and Ethernet cables in the Lab. C2V2 will integrate a communications system for the ISS to be used specifically for communicating with future visiting vehicles. This system will utilize both an S-Band based Radio Frequency (RF) system, and hard-line connections to visiting vehicles so secure, reliable communications will be available for all phases of rendezvous, docking, and mated operations. The system will consist of elements that will be permanently installed on the ISS as well as a corresponding element that will be made available to visiting vehicles.

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Status: Over the weekend ground teams directed the crew to initiate a 24-hour dryout period. The ground attempted 2 restarts of the UPA Distillate Assembly (DA) this morning without success. A cool down is currently in process prior to a 3rd restart attempt planned for this evening. If the attempt is unsuccessful, a DA Remove & Replace (R&R) will be scheduled tomorrow.

ISS Reboost With 61 Progress (61P): A reboost was performed last Friday at 10:15 PM CST using 61P thrusters. The reboost was to set up conditions for 46S 4-orbit rendezvous on March 19.

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

METERON – Laptop Activation
Daily Planning Conference (S-band)
Gather Common Communications Equipment for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) to be Installed in the Lab
UBNT – Locate Ultrasonic Background Noise Test Battery (UBNT)
URAGAN. Photo Spectrum System Battery Charge (start) / r/g 1616
C2V2 general information and procedure review
End of EMU Metal Oxide (METOX) regeneration process
OTKLIK. Hardware Monitoring / r/g 1588
Routing C2V2 Cables in the Lab
Common Communications Equipment for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) – Assistance – Part 1
Draining water from EDV2M No.1238 / r/g 1607
Common Communications Equipment for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) – Assistance – Part 2
??? Maintenance
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
WRS – tank fill for processing from EDV
WRS Water Sample Analysis
HABIT – Data Recording to iPad
UBNT – Battery Replacement
Routing C2V2 Cables in the Lab
Multi Omics (MO) – Kit Setup for the Test
UBNT – Data Downlink 1
Multi Omics (MO) – Equipment Stowage
URAGAN. Recovery of Photo Spectrum System (???) Hardware r/g 1614
OASIS – Overview
Multi Omics (MO) – Sample Collection [Deferred]
Multi Omics (MO) – Sample Insertion into MELFI [Deferred]
OASIS – Equipment Gathering
Multi Omics (MO) – Equipment Stowage [Deferred]
HMS. WinSCAT psychological assessment
TOCA – data recording
Changeout of Batteries for Ultrasonic Background Noise Test AA
Removing bubble bags and moisture
Restow Common Communication Equipment for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2)
SM Ventilation System Preventive Maintenance. Group ? / Thermal Mode Control System [????]
UBNT – Data Downlink 2

Completed Task List Items
IFM build EDV
PMM cleanup part 1
WHC EDV-Y R&R

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Nominal ground commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 03/08: OASIS h/w setup, JEM Stowage Frame Install Part 3, Cognition, IV-TEPC relocation, DA R&R
Wednesday, 03/09: OASIS experiment, OBT 45S Emergency Drill, Neuromapping
Thursday, 03/10: C2V2 h/w install. LAB1P5 RPCM R&R, SPRINT Ultrasound

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – Off
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