NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 November 2016
The Expedition 50 trio orbiting on the International Space Station is conducting maintenance while getting ready for Earth observations and radiation exposure studies today. In Kazakhstan, three new crew members are waiting as their Soyuz rocket is prepared for launch.
Commander Shane Kimbrough started work on the U.S. segment’s Oxygen Generation System (OGS), which will undergo maintenance throughout the week. Today, Kimbrough tagged up with ground specialists and replaced a hydrogen sensor and will continue to work on OGS through Wednesday. The system is currently shut down due to a low voltage signature within the Hydrogen Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) that contains the electrolyzing cell stack. The Russian Elektron system is providing oxygen for the crew at this time.
The two flight engineers, new cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov and veteran station commander Andrey Borisenko, are handing over a set of radiation detectors to Kimbrough. The NASA astronaut, who is on his second trip in space, will install the Radi-N2 detectors in the Destiny laboratory for a week to help doctors understand the radiation risk to crew health and develop protective measures.
Ryzhikov is also setting up a camera that will allow middle school students to photograph targets on Earth and downlink the imagery. The Sally Ride EarthKAM gear will be set up in the Harmony module’s Earth-facing hatch window and use internet-based tools to promote the learning process.
Another trio of Expedition 50 members is counting down to its Nov. 17 launch and two-day trip to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Veteran station residents Peggy Whitson of NASA and Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, along with first-time space flyer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, are in final training before they liftoff aboard the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft. This will be Whitson’s third station mission and Novitskiy’s second.
On-Orbit Status Report
Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM): The crew configured the camera, laptop and associated Sally Ride EarthKAM software at the Node 2 Nadir hatch window. Once configured, the EarthKAM team, in association with middle school students around the world, selected image targets which will be downlinked and used in the study of physics, computers, geography, math, earth science, biology, art, history, and cultural studies. The objective of Sally Ride EarthKAM is to integrate Earth images with inquiry-based learning to enhance curricula in support of national and state education standards; to provide students and educators the opportunity to participate in a space mission and to develop teamwork, communication, and problem solving skills; to engage teams of students, educators, and researchers in collaborative investigations using remotely-sensed data; and to incorporate the active use of Web-based tools and resources in support of the learning process.
Culture, Values, and Environmental Adaptation in Space (At Home in Space): The crew answered the first of two At Home in Space questionnaires, the second to be scheduled at roughly Return-30 days (R-30). The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) experiment, At Home in Space, assesses culture, values, and psychosocial adaptation of astronauts to a space environment shared by multinational crews on long-duration missions. It is hypothesized that astronauts develop a shared space culture that is an adaptive strategy for handling cultural differences and they deal with the isolated confined environment of the space craft by creating a home in space. At Home In Space uses a questionnaire battery to investigate individual and culturally related differences, family functioning, values, coping with stress, and post-experience growth.
Radi-N2: The Russian crew collected the Radi-N2 detectors from their locations in the Russian Segment and handed them over to the US crew who deployed the eight detectors in the US Lab, then took photographs of their locations. The detectors will remain in the Lab location for one week. Radi-N2 Neutron Field Study (Radi-N2) is a follow on investigation designed to characterize the neutron radiation environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Eight neutron “bubble detectors” produced by the Canadian company Bubble Technology Industries are attached to fixed locations inside the ISS, including one carried by a crew member. The objective of this investigation is to better characterize the ISS neutron environment and define the risk posed to the crew members’ health and provide the data necessary to develop advanced protective measures for future spaceflight.
Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Maintenance: The OGS Hydrogen On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) has an ailing electrolysis cell that no longer makes it desirable to run. Today the prepared for the significant maintenance scheduled on OGS later this week. Today’s task included a procedure review followed by a conference with ground specialist and the H2 sensor replacement. The work to recover the OGS will include replacing the Deionizing Bed ORU (planned to be performed on Tuesday) and Hydrogen ORU (planned to be performed on Wednesday), as well as a flush of the OGS Recirculation Loop to clear out the build-up of chemical species which have accumulated over years of operation that are potentially harmful to OGS.
Orbital ATK (OA)-5 Cargo Operations: As of the last report the crew had completed 16 hours of cargo transfer with an estimated 10 hours remaining.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
ECLSS Recycle Tank Drain Initiation
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
VIBROLAB. Hardware status check
Vacuuming [???4]’s [??-7] screen behind FGB panel 108
Nikon camera matrix pollution check
Regenerative ECLSS Recycle Tank Drain Termination
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cylinder Flywheel Evacuation
Onboard clock and 6 ROS still camera clocks date and time sync
FGB’s [??? 1, 2, 3] removable screen cleaning
Auxiliary Computer System [???] Laptop Computer System Virus Definition File Update
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
[??-2] control panel software update. Specialist conference
Treadmill 2 System (T2) Monthly Inspection
At Home In Space Questionnaire
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout
Regenerative ECLSS Oxygen Regeneration System (OGS) O2 3 Way QD Demate
VIBROLAB. Copy & downlink
Pre-Soyuz docking Ku-Band MPEG-2 TV test.
Regenerative ECLSSOxygen Regeneration System (OGS) Hydrogen Sensor R&R
Soyuz 433 (DC1) unstow w/IMS updates
MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE dosimeter setup and activation. Specialist conference when required
Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Big Picture Words Review
Oxygen Generation Assembly-H2 Orbital Replacement Unit Remove and Replace – Conference
Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons Hardware Handover
MATRYOSHKA-R. Hand over BUBBLE dosimeters to ROS
Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons
MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE dosimeter initialization and deployment; specialist conference when required
FSL MPCC1 USB Stick move from MPCC Laptop to SSC11 Laptop
Crew Medical Officer (CMO) Proficiency Training
EarthKAM Node 2 Setup and Activation-Russian
??? maintenance
Connects and powers on the TREK Laptop.
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Completed Task List Items
Oxygen Generation System Equipment Gather
USB Adapter Transfer
Glacier 1 Desiccant Pack Swap
Glacier 4 Desiccant Pack Swap
Build 2 spare ???’s for future use in Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC)
ISA Labeling
ARED SSC Swap
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Battery 4B3 reconditioning
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 11/09: OGA H2 Dome R&R
Thursday, 11/10: FSL, OGA Tool Stow, Cygnus Cargo Ops
Friday, 11/11: MSPR Combustion Chamber Leak Check, USOS Crew Off Duty
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 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Idle
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Shutdown
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Reprocess
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up
