NASA ISS Weekly Space to Ground Report – February 14, 2018
A Russian cargo craft is on its way to the International Space Station early Thursday as two astronauts get ready for a spacewalk on Friday.
The Progress 69 (69P) cargo craft is orbiting Earth today carrying three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 54 crew. The 69P is due to complete its delivery when it docks Thursday at 5:43 a.m. EST to the Zvezda service module’s rear port. NASA TV will broadcast the rendezvous and docking live starting at 5 a.m.
Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov will be inside Zvezda monitoring tomorrow morning’s automated docking of the 69P. The cosmonauts are brushing up on their robotics skills today in the unlikely event they would need to use the station’s telerobotically operated rendezvous unit to manually dock the resupply ship.
Astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Norishige Kanai are checking their tools and procedures they will use Friday morning during a planned six-and-a-half hour spacewalk. The spacewalkers will complete the transfer of a pair of older robotic hands, or Latching End Effectors (LEEs), that were once attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm. One LEE will be transferred inside the Quest airlock while the other will be attached to the mobile base system.
Vande Hei and Kanai are scheduled to set their spacesuit batteries to internal power at 7:10 a.m. signifying the official start of the U.S. spacewalk. NASA TV will start its live coverage of the spacewalk activities beginning at 5:30 a.m.
On-Orbit Status Report
Lighting Effects: Upon wakeup, a 53S subject provided a daily sleep log entry to track his sleep patterns and wakefulness. The Lighting Effects experiment hopes to better quantify and qualify how lighting can effect habitability of spacecraft. The light bulbs on the ISS are being replaced with a new system designed for improved crew health and wellness. The Lighting Effects investigation studies the impact of the change from fluorescent light bulbs to solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with adjustable intensity and color and aims to determine if the new lights can improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance. Results from this investigation also have major implications for people on Earth who use electric lights.
Plant Gravity Perception Operations European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS): The crew replaced the EMCS Thermal Control System (TCS) cold spot sponge before replacing the Experiment Containers (ECs) on the EMCS rotors with new ECs to begin the next Plant Gravity Perception experiment run. The Plant Gravity Perception investigation germinates normal and mutated forms of thale cress, a model research plant, to study the plants’ gravity and light perception. Results provide new information about plants’ ability to detect gravity and how they adapt to an environment without it, which benefits efforts to grow plants for food on future missions. The EMCS is an experiment facility that is dedicated to studying plant biology in a reduced gravity environment. It supports the cultivation, stimulation, and crew-assisted operation of biological experiments under controlled conditions. The facility has performed multi-generation (seed-to-seed) experiments and studies the effects of gravity and light on early development and growth, signal perception and transduction in plant tropisms.
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement: The crew removed and replaced a CIR manifold #2 bottle on the front of the optics bench. CIR provides sustained, systematic microgravity combustion research and it houses hardware capable of performing combustion experiments to further research of combustion in microgravity. This is for the ACME investigation which is a set of five independent studies of gaseous flames to be conducted in the CIR. ACME’s primary goal is to improved fuel efficiency and reduced pollutant production in practical combustion on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.
NanoRacks DreamUp Xtronaut Crystal Growth (DreamXCG): The crew continued to track the progression of the DreamXCG formation that was initiated two weeks ago, by taking photo and video images of each pouch to show any visible sugar crystal growth. This investigation teaches students about the effects of microgravity on crystal formations using near-identical flight kits flown and operated aboard the International Space Station (ISS). With access to crew member videos and data on the same experiment, students are able compare crystal formations in space to those in their classrooms. The investigation aims to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields to the next generation of students.
Tropical Cyclone: The crew configured the camera settings in the Cupola to take untended images of the Category 3 Typhoon Gita, near the South Pacific island nation of Tonga. The Tropical Cyclone investigation is used to capture images of tropical cyclones and hurricanes that are rated at Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A pseudo-stereoscopic method is used to determine the altitudes of the cloud tops near the center (eye) of a cyclone by precisely tracking the apparent positions of cloud features with respect to the Earth and how those positions change over time as an observer (the ISS in this case) passes over the storm. The photographic images will be used to demonstrate that pseudo-spectroscopy can be used to measure the cloud altitudes to sufficient precision so that, when combined with other remote-sensing data, an accurate determination of the intensity of hurricane or cyclone can be made.
Earth Imagery from ISS Target (EIISS): Using the RED camera, the crew captured images of the Amazon River, the Gulf of Thailand, and the Baja Peninsula. EIISS is used to support creation of a series of videos showcasing Earth views taken from space. The videos are taken with cameras on the ISS in 6K hi-resolution and are integrated into videos for screensavers for public enjoyment, exploration, and engagement.
Columbus Mass Memory Unit (MMU) Memory Card Replacement: Today, the crew replaced one of the Memory Cards to restore internal redundancy in MMU2. To gain access to MMU2, the crew rotated the Human Research Facility 1 (HRF-1) rack and performed the memory card replacement.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Lighting Effects Sleep Log Entry – Subject
MORZE. Evaluation using SPRUT-2.
MORZE. Psycho-physiological Evaluation: Tsentrovka, SENSOR Tests
European Modular Cultivation System Gas Valve Open
European Modular Cultivation System Thermal Control System Sponge Replace
Weekly Cleaning
ISS CREW/SSIPC CONFERENCE
VEG-03E Plant Pillow Water
Cleanup HRF-1 rotation path.
Sampling condensate water [???] upstream of ???-?2? Gas-liquid mixture filter (???) to drink bags, end
Columbus MMU Memory Card pre-gather
MOTOCARD. Charging GoPro Camcorder Battery
Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 1 Stow Alternate
MORZE. Psycho-physiological Evaluation: SUPOS Test
HRF-1 Rack Tilt Down at COL1F4
Sampling condensate water [???] upstream of ???-?2? ??? (Water Purification Column Unit) – configuration set up, installing sampler
MORZE. Closeout Ops
Conference on specifics of Progress 438 docking.
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
MMU2 Single Memory Card Remove and Replacement
NanoRacks Rock Candy Imagery
Biolab Incubator Cold Spot Sponge Removal
CO2 manual valve closing
Collecting condensate water samples [???] to [???-?2?] ???, sampler replacement
Orthostatic Stability Evaluation with LBNP.
Evaluation of Orthostatic Stability with LBNP (assistance)
RED Camera Setup.
Earth Imagery from ISS RED Target Operations
Rodent Research Sample Relocation
Rodent Research MELFI Remove
Replacement of urine receptacle (??) and filter-insert (?-?) in ???. [???] Activation after Replacement
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
HRF-1 Rack Tilt Up at COL1F4
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Experiment Container Replace
Columbus MSD Restow
??? maintenance
Columbus Bay4 Restore
Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill
ISS Crew departure preparation
???-?? water sampling to Russian drink bags
Sampling condensate water [???] to ??? [???-?2?], removing sampler, equipment disassembly
MELFI 3 Ice Brick Insert 4
MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 7
MOTOCARD. Experiment Ops
Combustion Integrated Rack Upper Rack Doors Open
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement
RED Camera Deactivation.
Combustion Integrated Rack Upper Rack Doors Close
Tropical Cyclone Untended Check
Checking ??-2 treadmill carriage position.
Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Oxygen Transfer to Low Pressure O2 Tank
Extravehicular Activity Station Support Computer Relocate
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
Evening work prep, ???- ? No.5 Current Temperature Check
Tropical Cyclone Hardware Closeout
Completed Task List Activities
None
Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Standard Commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 02/15: 69P docking, EVA prep
Friday, 02/16: USOS EVA #48 (swap POA LEE with ESP2 degraded LEE, return POA LEE to airlock, CLA swap, FMS grounding strap install)
Saturday, 02/17: VEG-03, post-EVA activities, MT-2, ISS-HAM, 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”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off
