NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 14 April 2015
The Dragon spacecraft has separated from its second stage and achieved its preliminary orbit. Dragon’s solar arrays have deployed and will provide 5 kilowatts of power to the spacecraft as it begins a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the International Space Station.
At 7 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 17, the Dragon spacecraft will catch up to the orbiting laboratory, and Flight Engineer and European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts will use the station’s 57.7-foot (17.6-meter) robotic arm to reach out and capture it as they operate from the station’s cupola.
On-Orbit Status Report
SpaceX (SpX-6) Launch: Dragon successfully launched today at 3:10 PM CDT. Capture is planned for Friday April 17th at ~6:00 AM CDT.
European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) Rotor Based Life Support System (RBLSS) and Water Reservoir Removal: Cristoforetti successfully removed all four EMCS RBLSS Modules and two Water Reservoirs and packed them for return on SpaceX-6 (SpX-6). The next planned use of EMCS is either the NASA experiment Plant RNA Regulation on SpX-8 or the ESA experiment Seedling Growth-3, currently manifested for SpX-9. The RBLSS and Water Reservoir removal activities are routine maintenance and will be refurbished once returned to the ground.
Kubik 6 Data Download: Following the successful completion of the Stem Cell Differentiation experiment, Cristoforetti copied the data from Kubik 6 to the European Drawer Rack (EDR) Laptop and then transferred the data to a Station Support Computer (SSC) for subsequent downloading to the ground for evaluation. Stem Cells play a major role in the maintenance of bone mass, being the main source of osteoblasts during the bone remodeling and repair. The recruitment of an adequate number of osteoblasts is dependent on the availability of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) and their proper response to growth, differentiation, and chemotactic signals in the microenvironment. This investigation aims at understanding how human mesenchymal stem cells react to a two week exposure to microgravity in terms of growth, senescence and differentiation towards osteoblasts when treated with Vitamin D3.
Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity, and Neural Bases (Neuromapping): Kelly performed his first inflight session of Neuromapping. He configured the workstation and executed the Mental Rotation I Test, the Sensorimotor Adaptation Test, and the Dual Task Test while tethered, and the Mental Rotation II Test while free-floating. NeuroMapping studies whether long-duration spaceflight causes any changes to the brain, including brain structure and function, motor control, and multi-tasking; as well as measuring how long it takes for the brain and body to recover from those possible changes. Previous research and anecdotal evidence from crewmembers returning from a long-duration spaceflight suggests that movement control and cognition are affected in microgravity. The NeuroMapping investigation utilizes structural and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (MRI and FMRI) to assess any changes to crewmembers after a six-month mission on the International Space Station.
Payload On-orbit Still Shots for Utilization and Maintenance (POSSUM) Photography: Virts photographed the payload racks. The images were downlinked and will be used for crew training and rack configuration confirmation.
Habitability Video Walk-Through: Kelly recorded a video, documenting observations using the iSHORT application, providing insights related to human factors and habitability. Today’s video was of the hygiene areas onboard the ISS. Habitability assesses the relationship between crew members and their environment in order to better prepare for future long-duration spaceflights to destinations, such as Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) and Mars. The ultimate goal is to understand how much habitable volume is required for vehicle internal design and layout, and if mission duration impacts the volume needed. Observations during the 1-year mission, as well as 6-month missions, can help spacecraft designers understand how much habitable volume is required, and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need. The iShort application will enable ground support teams and human factor engineers to study and evaluate the design of the ISS and use these results for future spacecraft.
Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) Fuel Oxidizer Management Assembly (FOMA) Calibration Part 1: Kelly started the first part of the CIR FOMA calibration today. He open the upper rack door, closed the bottle valves, relived the pressure in the manifolds, and closed the upper rack door. The Flight Calibration Unit (FCU) was used to collect pressure transducer data with the bottle pressure transducers at ambient pressure. The FOMA calibration is part of CIR nominal maintenance. The next use of CIR will be the FLame Extinguishment Experiment-2 JAXA (FLEX-2J) experiment.
Node 3 (N3) Forward Midbay Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Reconfiguration: Cristoferetti reviewed procedures for reconfiguration of N3 forward IMV hardware to provide IMV to the N3 forward berthing port in preparation for Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) relocation. She also gathered equipment for the reconfig task scheduled for tomorrow.
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Swap Preparation: Virts and Kelly moved EMU 3011 from the Forward EMU Don/Doff Assembly (EDDA) to the Crewlock, then moved EMU 3005 from the Crewlock to the Forward EDDA. This activity was in preparation for tomorrow’s HUT swap between Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) 3005 (size XL) and EMU 3010. This will result in EMUs 3003 (size L) and 3010 (size XL) as primary EMUs with 3005 as backup. A new EMU 3017 (size M) is scheduled to arrive on SpX-7.
Node 1 (N1) 1553 Portable Computer System (PCS) Jumper Checkout: The crew performed a successful checkout of the N1 1553 PCS jumpers which connect to the primary Node 1 Multiplexer Demultiplexer (MDM) via the UB-ORB-N1 buses, this jumper would be used in the event all 3 Command & Control (C&C) MDMs failed or were unavailable. The checkout included a connectivity check to ensure the PCS would connect to the N1 MDM, as well as functionality checkout of the PCS connected to the Node Control Software (NCS).
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
TOCA Calibration
Replacement of ???? Cables and Adapters.r/g 8512
MRM2 comm config to support the P/L Ops [Aborted]
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 8358
NEMATODE – Sample Preparation Familiarization
Kulonovskiy Kristall Experiment Run. / r/g 8506
EMCS – RBLSS Modules Removal
OBSTANOVKA. r/g 8382
WRM Condensate Pumping Start
MRM2 Comm Reconfig for Nominal Ops [Aborted]
Identification of the Root Cause of unusual noise during SM SA operation r/g 8505
Psychological Evaluation Program (WinSCAT)
DAN. Experiment Ops / r/g 8514
WRM Condensate Pumping Terminate
Filling EDV-SV No.1002 r/g 8430
WHC Fill
KULONOVSKIY KRISTALL. r/g 8506
BLR48 – Preparing and starting measurements
CBCS/VOK – Equipment Gathering
Cleaning ??1 and ??2 Air Ducts in MRM2 r/g 8393
OTKLIK. Hardware Check / r/g 8408
HABIT – Video Recording
Terminate charge and install the 2nd camcorder battery to charge
RPOP Setup for SpX6 Rendezvous and Final Approach
Centerline Berthing Camera System (CBCS) Installation and Checkout
?3 Fan Screen Cleaning in MRM2 r/g 8393
GLACIER 2 Interior Cleaning
TOCA Calibration
RGN REC-TNK – Remove depress hose for nominal operations
EDR – Data Copy
Termination of Battery 2 Charging
Replacement of Command Generator (???) devices ?10 and ?13 in SM / r/g 8510
TOCA Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Analysis
JRNL – Journal Entry
Video Footage for Nauka 2.0 TV Channel / r/g 8516
CIR – Closing Manifold Valve
Monthly Inspection of T2 Treadmill System
OBT – Dragon Rendezvous and Berthing Procedures Review – Session 2
Video Footage of Greetings / r/g 8517
IMS Delta File Prep
CALCIUM. Experiment session 5. / r/g 8513
CIR – Opening Calibration Valve
CONTENT. Experiment Ops / r/g 8507
JRNL – Journal Entry
CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 8358
Camcorder Setup to View LAB RWS Monitor 3
Completed Task List Items
HRF2 refrigerated centrifuge circuit breaker off
PCS Battery Swap
Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
UPA PCPA pumpdown
Lab CDRA to standby
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 04/15: N3 Fwd. IMV reconfig, EMU HUT swap
Thursday, 04/16: Crew half off duty, CBCS setup, SpX capture Robotics OBT
Friday, 04/17: Dragon capture/berthing
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – Off
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Startup in Progress
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Shutdown
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up
