NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 8 July 2015
The Expedition 44 trio continued more science Wednesday looking at plants, fluids and other ongoing advanced space research. Back on Earth, another crew is getting ready for its July 22 launch to the International Space Station.
One-Year crew member Scott Kelly worked throughout the day on botany science preparing samples collected for the Plant Gravity Sensing 2 study and installing gear for the Veggie-01 experiment. Kelly then moved on to the Capillary Beverage experiment which uses specially designed Space Cups that use fluid dynamics to mimic the effect of gravity. Results of this experiment will in turn be used to design advanced fluid systems for spacecraft with significantly increased reliability
Kelly’s One-Year crew partner Mikhail Kornienko worked on Russian life support maintenance and transferred cargo from the new ISS Progress 60 resupply ship. Station Commander Gennady Padalka spent the majority of his day collecting and photographing samples swabbed for the Aseptik hardware sterilization study.
Meanwhile in Russia three new crew members conducted a news conference, toured the Gagarin Museum and laid flowers at the statue of Yuri Gagarin ahead of their Friday departure to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. From there they will launch July 22 at 5:02 p.m. EDT aboard a Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft for a six-hour ride to their new home in orbit.
On-Orbit Status Report
Plant Gravity Sensing 2 (PGS2): After Kelly removed a seed paper kit from a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) he noted mold on the growth media. He discontinued the PGS2 activities and reported his observations to ground experts. This investigation supports the study of cellular formation of the gravity sensors and the molecular mechanism for gravity sensing in plants grown in microgravity conditions.
Capillary Effects of Drinking in the Microgravity Environment (Capillary Beverage): Kelly drank water from a specially designed Space Cup to demonstrate how a fluid reacts to the cup’s design. High definition video was used to capture images that will be analyzed on the ground. Since microgravity affects fluid dynamics, in the past crew members have drunk from special sealed bags instead of using straws or normal cups. The Capillary Beverage investigation studies the process of drinking from Space Cups with different design configurations that mimic the gravitational flow of a liquid through capillary forces.
VEG-01 Investigation: Kelly reviewed on-board training for VEG-01 and installed root mats and plant pillows to initiate the VEG-01 experiment in the Veggie facility. Veggie provides the necessary lighting and nutrient delivery for efficient plant growth in space. The Veg-01 investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of ‘Outredgeous’ Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seedlings in the spaceflight environment. It is also used to determine the effects of the spaceflight environment on composition of microbial flora on the plants and the Veggie facility.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
ASEPTIC. Photography of Medium before the experiment r/g 9284
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor r/g 9277
PGS2 – Item Gathering
Fine Motor Skills – Experiment Ops
VEG – Onboard Training
ASEPTIC. Setup in the Glovebox r/g 9284
VEG – Onboard Training
Installation of SW Version 4.1 on station RSE-Med Laptop. r/g 9282
ASEPTIC. Activation of Bench Cleaning. r/g 9284
ASEPTIC. Photo Edit and Downlink / r/g 9284
TOCA Calibration
PGS2 – Sample Retrieval
PGS2 – Sample Setup [Aborted]
On-orbit hearing assessment using EARQ
PGS2 – Sample Installation [Aborted]
??? 428 (DC1) Early Unstow, Priority, and US Cargo Transfers and IMS Ops r/g 9239, 9246, 9253
Set up video equipment to record ARED exercise
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification for ARED Exercise Video
ASEPTIC. Equipment Repositioning in the Box / r/g 9284
ASEPTIC. Disable Glove Box Sterilization r/g 9284
ASEPTIC. Surface and Air Samples Collection after Sterilization r/g 9284
Checkout of Vozdukh Atmosphere Purification System [???] assemblies r/g 9268
On-orbit hearing assessment using EARQ
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification for ARED Exercise Video
TOCA Calibration
VEG – Experiment start
ASEPTIC. Monitoring Pump Automatic Shut off r/g 9284
Filling (separation) of EDV (KOV) from SM Rodnik ??2 for Elektron and EDV-SV r/g 9161
VEG – MELFI Water Sample Insertion
ASEPTIC. Preparation and Start of Air Sampling. r/g 9284
??? Maintenance
JRNL – Journal Entry
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification for ARED Exercise Video
IMS Delta File Prep
CAPBEV. Hardware and Camcorder Setup
CONTENT. Experiment Ops / r/g 9278
MICROBS1. Gathering Samples 1
ASEPTIC. Monitoring Pump Automatic Shut off. r/g 9284
ASEPTIC. Retrieving samples from box and placing in thermostat. r/g 9284
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 9277
CAPBEV. Transfer Video and Closeout Ops
ARED Exercise Video Equipment Stowage
ASEPTIC. Glovebox Closeout Ops r/g 9279
Completed Task List Items
None
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Nominal commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 07/09: NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer install on MPEP and JEMAL depress, training for Emergency Response
Friday, 07/10: MELFI inspection, N3 CDRA leak check, Journals
Saturday 07/11: Crew off duty, housekeeping
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 – 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) – Standby
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up
