NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 July, 2021 – Russian Progress 78 Spacecraft Arrives
An uncrewed Russian Progress 78 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Russian segment at 8:59 p.m. EDT, two days after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Sunday, Tuesday June 29 at 7:27 p.m. (4:27 a.m. Wednesday, June 30, Baikonur time).
The spacecraft were flying over southeast Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile at the time of docking.
Carrying more than 3,600 pounds of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 65 crew, the Progress 78 resupply spacecraft will spend almost five months at the station. The cargo craft is scheduled to perform an automated undocking and relocation to the new “Nauka” Multipurpose Laboratory Module in late October. Named for the Russian word for “science,” Nauka is planned to launch to the space station in July.
NASA Flight Engineers Megan McArthur, Shane Kimbrough and Mark Vande Hei joined Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) on Thursday and continued readying the Cargo Dragon for its undocking on July 6 at 11:05 a.m. EDT. The quartet is packing and organizing Dragon before final loading of critical research samples begins on Monday for analysis back on Earth.
Microgravity research has been proceeding apace as always with the astronauts exploring an array of space phenomena today. Commander Akihiko Hoshide worked on the Plant Habitat Facility throughout the day preparing for upcoming botany research. McArthur peered at protein crystals through a microscope before investigating how microgravity affects bacteria.
Kimbrough conducted operations inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox exploring ways to harness nanoparticles to fabricate and manufacture new materials. Vande Hei serviced the Cold Atom Lab, a research device that explores the physics of temperatures near absolute zero, preparing some components for return to Earth aboard Dragon next week.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads
Cold Atom Lab (CAL): The crew attached CAL science module 2 to a battery and packed it for return to the ground. The CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero, much colder than the average temperature of deep space. At these low temperatures, atoms have almost no motion allowing scientists to study fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics that are difficult or impossible to probe at higher temperatures. In microgravity, researchers may be able to achieve even colder temperatures than what is possible on the ground and observe these cold atom clouds for longer periods of time.
Dreams: Following the multi-night experiment data collection, the crew removed the hardware, transferred the data, and stowed the hardware. Sleep plays a major role in human health and well-being. Insufficient sleep, or sleep disorders can increase the risk of developing medical conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, and can impair task performance. The Sleep Monitoring in Space with Dry- Electroencephalography (EEG) Headband (Dreams) is a technology demonstration investigation that utilizes the Dry-EEG Headband: an effective, affordable, and comfortable solution to monitor astronaut sleep quality during long-duration spaceflight aboard the ISS.
Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Ellipsoids (InSPACE-4) Experiment Runs 4 & 5: The crew continued the science runs for InSPACE-4. Due to oscillation of the Field of View (FOV) in previous science runs, today the crew installed the backup sample vial. InSPACE-4 studies the assembly of tiny structures from colloids using magnetic fields. These structures change the properties of the assembled material, such as its mechanical response to or interaction with light and heat. Microgravity allows observation of these assembly processes free of confining sample walls and sedimentation and during timescales not possible using simulated microgravity. Results could provide insight into how to harness nanoparticles to fabricate and manufacture new materials.
Microbial Tracking-3 (MT-3): The crew continued with the week-long sampling operations for MT-3. The Quantifying Selection for Pathogenicity and Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and Fungi on the ISS, a Microbial Tracking Study (Microbial Tracking-3 or MT-3) investigation, continues a series of investigations focused on ongoing monitoring of pathogenicity (ability to cause disease) and antibiotic resistance in potentially disease-causing bacteria and fungi present on the ISS. The investigation aims to identify, analyze, and characterize pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance, and genomics to augment the NASA GeneLab with the statistical confidence to characterize microbes associated with closed habitation and predict those that may pose a threat to crew health.
NanoRacks Module-9: Continuing the science compliment of Nanoracks Module-9, the crew performed the 4th set of periodic operations. In these operations the crew removed two tubes from container 1052, opened the blue clamps to deactivate the experiments, and shook them to mix the contents. The experiments in these tubes look at the effects of microgravity on brewer’s yeast and radish seeds. NanoRacks Module-9 consists of multiple student experiments housed within a NanoRacks Module container in individual Mixture Tubes. Some experiments require crew interaction to remove clamps in order to mix materials to activate and/or deactivate the experiments. The experiments within the module are returned to the ground for analysis.
Oral Biofilms in Space (OBiS) Day 3 for Session Packs 21-25: The crew performed day-3 of the experiment session by configuring the fluid flow control valves. Effect of Environmental Stressors on Oral Biofilm Growth and Treatment (Oral Biofilms in Space) studies the effect of gravity on the behavior of oral bacteria, including the structure of the bacterial community, and changes in bacterial response to common oral care agents. The findings could support development of novel treatments to fight oral diseases such as caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis. The investigation also could provide insights into how microgravity affects the microbiome of other mucosal surfaces in the body.
Plant Habitat-04 Preparation: In preparation for upcoming plant growth experiment activities, the crew replaced CO2 bottles, filters, ethylene scrubbers, etc. Microgravity Growth of New Mexico Hatch Green Chile as a Technical Display of Advanced Plant Habitat’s Capabilities (Plant Habitat-04) demonstrates using the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) by growing peppers in space for the first time. An excellent source of Vitamin C, peppers are more difficult to cultivate than many possible space crops because they take longer to germinate, grow, and develop fruit. The investigation includes microbial analysis to improve understanding of plant-microbe interactions in space and assessment of flavor and texture, which vary based on the growth environment and care such as amount of watering.
Phase II Real-time Protein Crystal Growth (RTPCG-2) Plate 2C1/7: The crew set up the appropriate microscope hardware, observed and took photos of the crystal growth screening plate S/N 2C1/7. Crystals were observed in 4 of the 7 wells and the ground team was happy with the results. RTPCG-2 demonstrates new methods for producing high-quality protein crystals in microgravity. Previous work has shown that microgravity can sometimes produce high-quality protein crystals that can be analyzed to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease. RTPCG-2 tests high-quality proteins crystals for detailed analysis back on Earth.
Systems
Cargo Dragon Cargo Operations: Last night, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) stowed the empty ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) Flight Support Equipment (FSE) in the unpressurized Trunk of Cargo Dragon SpaceX-22 (SpX-22) for disposal. Today, the crew performed cargo transfer operations for SpX-22 and completed packing the Dragon basement. SpX-22 undock is scheduled for July 6th to return cargo and payloads to the ground.
Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Flow Measurement: As part of system health monitoring, the crew used a Velocicalc tool to measure the amount of airflow through selected ventilation inlets and outlets. Today’s measurements were taken in Node 1, 2, and 3, Airlock, Cupola, LAB, International Docking Adapter (IDA) Forward, IDA Zenith, Bigelow Expandable Aerospace Module (BEAM), and the NanoRack Airlock (NRAL).
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Attitude Control System (ACS) Optimized Propellant Maneuver (OPM) to -XVV
CMG Maneuver to -XVV Torque Equilibrium Attitude (TEA)
OPM Safing & Recovery Commanding
78P Docking Preparation Commanding
Look Ahead Plan
Friday, July 2 (GMT 183)
Payloads:
AC Stow, CIR/ACME Reconfigure to CFI-G Part 2
ELF
Food Acceptability
Food Physiology
GLACIER Sample Transfer
ICF
InSPACE-4
Microbial Tracking-3
POLAR CS Transfers
PWM 3 and 4 Preparation
RTPCG-2
Wanted Poster for W302 Cable
Systems:
SpX-22 Cargo Operations
Saturday, July 3 (GMT 184)
Payloads:
Food Physiology
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty
Sunday, July 4 (GMT 185)
Payloads:
Food Physiology
MERLIN Sample Pouch Transfer
NanoRacks Mod-9 Operations 5
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Dreams Dry-EEG Headband doffing after recording
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion
EXPRESS Rack 7 Laptop Computer Power Cycle
Cell Biology Experiment Facility Left (CBEF-L) Measurement Experiment Unit A Attachment
HRF Generic Urine Collection
Dreams Questionnaire Filling
Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Microscopy Plate S/N 2
Dragon Cargo Transfer
IMV Flow Measurement Survey
OBiS MERLIN OBiS Assemblies Removal
OBiS Flow Reconfiguration
OBiS MERLIN OBiS Assemblies Insertion
ISS Portable Glove Bag (IPGB) Setup
CBEF-L Measurement Experiment Unit A Detachment
USOS Window Shutter Close
OBiS Fluid Chamber Removal
OBiS MELFI OBiS Biofilms Session Pack Insertion
Nanoracks Module-9 Ops Session 4
Plant Habitat Dual MWA Preparation
Microbial Tracking-3 Environmental Sample Collection
Plant Habitat Facility Prep A
Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill
PCS Laptop Relocate
Microbial Tracking-3 Sample Polar Insert
CAL Science Module 2 Pack
InSPACE-4 Runs
Experiment Run Ops
Dreams Dry-EEG Headband Doff and Stow
Plant Habitat Facility Prep B
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations
ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus
ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Inspection
HMS ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
APEX-07 Hardware Deactivation
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
