NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 February 2018 – Russian Spacewalk Tomorrow

A pair of cosmonauts have wrapped up preparations for Friday morning’s spacewalk to work on the Russian segment of the International Space Station. The other four Expedition 54 crew members continued more eye exams throughout the day on Thursday.
Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov completed a spacewalk procedures review today, finished collecting tools and readied their Orlan spacesuits. The veteran cosmonauts will exit the Pirs airlock around 10:30 a.m. EST Friday for 6.5 hour spacewalk. NASA TV begins its live coverage of the second spacewalk of the year at 9:45 a.m.

The duo will work outside the Zvezda service module to swap out a high gain communications antenna electronics system. If time permits the spacewalkers may also retrieve experiments, photograph the back of Zvezda, reposition a foot restraint and jettison old experiment gear.

The rest of the crew continued working with doctors in real time on the ground today to get a look at their eyes and understand how microgravity affects vision. Astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Scott Tingle and Joe Acaba participated in eye scans using an ultrasound device this morning. Tingle then partnered up with Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai.

On-orbit Status Report

NanoRacks DreamUp Xtronaut Crystal Growth (DreamXCG): The crew used hot water from the PWD to dissolve sugar crystals in two pouches and later transfer sugar water into the pouches with seeded dowels. 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.

Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Configuration for Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME): The crew removed and replaced 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.

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) loop scrub and conductivity test: As part of the deconfiguration from the EVA activities over the past two weeks, the crew performed EMU water loop scrubs and then acquired and tested water samples for conductivity. These activities are required for long term health monitoring and maintenance of the EMUs.

Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Water Sampling: Today the crew continued to sample fluid from the ITCS for return and analysis on the ground. Today’s samples were taken from the US Lab module. This is regularly scheduled preventive maintenance to verify health of the ITCS.

Eye Exams: The crew completed routine Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Fundoscope eye exams today. Eye exams are performed regularly onboard in order to monitor crewmembers eye health. Eyesight is one of the many aspects of the human body that is affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Cupola Window Shutter 4 Open
Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 1 Power On
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub Initiation
Tropical Cyclone Hardware Closeout
Revised EVA Timeline Review
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan performed by a Crew Medical Officer (CMO)
Photo/TV EVA GoPro Stow
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Glacier Desiccant Swap
Faulty AQM Sieve Cartridge Remove and Replace
Staging EVA equipment in DC1
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Post Scrub Cooling Loop Water (H2O) Sample
Lab Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Sample Collection
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Iodination
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Post Exam
Environmental Health System (EHS) – Rad Detector Relocate
AstroPi PR video
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Conductivity Test
TV Conference with the participants of the 12th S.P. Korolev Russian National Youth Readings
Microbial Tracking-2 Saliva Setup
Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Setup
Collecting PILLE dosimeter data and their deployment prior to RS EVA-44
Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Exam
EVA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Scrub Deconfiguration
Fuel Oxidizer Reaction Products (FORP) KIT Prep
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Sample Stow
Orlan-MKS No.4 Drink Bag Refill and Install
Orlan-MK No.6 Drink Bag Refill and Install
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Fill Part 3
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill
Purging Elektron-VM Liquid Unit (??) after Shutdown
??? maintenance
NanoRacks Rock Candy Experiment Start
Vacuum cleaning of ??? and ??? valve screens before EVA
Combustion Integrated Rack Upper Rack Doors Open
Stow Syringes used in H2O Conductivity Test
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Fundoscope Setup
MELFI 3 Ice Brick Insert 2
Combustion Integrated Rack Upper Rack Doors Close
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Fundoscope Prep
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Eye Exam – Fundoscope
Flight Director/ISS CREW CONFERENCE
Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference

Completed Task List Activities
None

Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Standard commanding.

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 02/02: JPM rack swap, Russian EVA
Saturday, 02/03: Housekeeping, crew off duty
Sunday, 02/04: Off duty

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 – 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