NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 March 2017 – Station Orbit Boosted

The International Space Station will boost its orbit Wednesday night to get ready for a crew swap next month. Three Expedition 50 crew members will complete their mission and a new two-person crew will launch to the station in April.
Commander Shane Kimbrough and his crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko will end their mission April 10 after 173 days in space. The trio will undock from the Poisk mini-research module in their Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft officially ending the Expedition 50 mission.

The reboost also readies the station for the arrival of two new crew members who will arrive April 20. Veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, a first-time space flyer, will take a short four-orbit ride aboard the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft and dock to Poisk. The new Expedition 51 trio is scheduled to stay in space for 136 days.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will become Expedition 51 commander after Kimbrough and his crew undock. She is staying behind with fellow crewmates Thomas Pesquet from France and Oleg Novitskiy from Russia. They will stay in space until June 2 ending their mission after 195 days when they return home in their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft.

Engineers on the ground switched from one pump to another in the thermal cooling system for one of the particle detectors on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), an experiment to study cosmic ray particle physics from the outside of the International Space Station. The silicon tracker is one of several detectors that collect data on cosmic particles and is equipped with four redundant pumps used to circulate carbon dioxide to maintain the required temperature in the changing thermal environment outside the station. A pump stopped functioning on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, and was the second to stop after a different pump experienced a similar issue in March, 2014. Only one pump is required to operate at a given time, and long-term planning is underway to potentially bypass the pumps and associated equipment with an upgraded system put in place during a series of spacewalks. AMS launched in 2011, and results have already contributed to science showing potential indirect evidence of dark matter and other new cosmic ray particle physics discoveries.

On-Orbit Status Report

Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Maintenance: Yesterday the crew removed Lab CDRA from the rack, and disassemble it by removing all of the valves and ducting to access the beds. They also removed the old beds. Today, the crew installed the newer generation beds, like those in Node 3 CDRA, mated Hydraflow Couplings, and electrical connectors. The crew is scheduled to reinstall the Lab CDRA on Thursday.

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Microbe Sensor Installation: The crew installed the JEM Microbe Sensor at the Deck 7 location in the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM). They connected the power cable to the JEM Power Supply-120 (PS-120) Junction Box, and connected the Ethernet Cable JEM Ethernet Hub. Microbe Sensor visualizes airborne microbe of JPM. The Microbe Sensor will monitor the JPM cabin environment real time, instead of sample collect and return to ground, which will allow quick feedback on the quality of the cabin environment.

JEM Local Area Network (LAN) Monitor Installation: Today, the crew installed three JEM LAN Monitors and connected the JEM LAN Monitor Pwr Cable, LAN Cables (one each) and two Universal Serial Bus (USB) Memories. The JEM LAN Monitor will serve as an ethernet packet capture device on the JEM PL LAN. This device will introduce new capabilities to monitor, analyze, troubleshoot network issues over the JEM PL LAN. Once the JEM LAN Monitor is installed, crew time for the troubleshooting is expected to be saved.

JAXA Freezer-Refrigerator Of STirling cycle (FROST) 2 Installation: The crew installed the second FROST in the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM). FROST was delivered over two flights, SpaceX-10 and HTV-6 and will deliver conditioned stowage capability. The next planned use of FROST2 is for the Moderate Temperature Protein Crystal Growth (MT PCG) experiment scheduled to fly on SpX-11.

Rodent Research (RR) Habitat Restock: The crew restocked the four habitats today. The habitats were emptied, cleaned, and new food bars installed. The rodents were then transferred back into the habitats and then secured the habitats back into their individual stowage locations. The Tissue Regeneration-Bone Defect (RR-4) investigation studies what prevents vertebrates such as rodents and humans from regrowing lost bone and tissue, and how the microgravity extraterrestrial condition impacts the process. Results could lead to tissue regeneration efforts in space and a better understanding of limitations of limb regrowth at wound sites.

Astronaut Energy Requirements for Long-Term Space Flight (Energy): The crew started Energy Day 0 today. The subject donned an armband monitor, set up the Pulmonary Function System (PFS) hardware, and started to eat a controlled diet. For this part of the investigation, additionally, a control subject participated as well, with both crewmembers collecting urine samples at approximately the same time over the next 11 days (Day 0 through Day 10). Energy measures change in energy balance in crewmembers following long term space flight. Energy also measures adaptations in the components of total energy expenditure of crewmembers, so that an equation to determine the energy requirements of crewmembers during space flight may be derived. Such knowledge of energy requirements is of a great importance to ensure health, good performance and the overall success of a mission, and also contributes to ensure adequate exercise load and cargo allotments for food during space flight.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Last night the Robotics Ground Controllers translated the Mobile Transporter (MT) from Worksite 7 (WS7) to WS6. The MSS was subsequently powered up and the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) were maneuvered to stow the SPDM on the Lab Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF). The SSRMS was then walked off Mobile Base System (MBS) PDGF4 onto the Node 2 PDGF and the SSRMS was maneuvered to unstow the SPDM. Finally SPDM Arm2 rotated the SPDM Enhanced Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) Temporary Platform (EOTP) thus completing the MSS reconfiguration required for the start of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) Instrument Panel (IP) extraction from the SpX-10 Dragon Trunk on 02 Mar 17. MSS performance was nominal.

ISS Reboost: Overnight the ISS is scheduled to perform a reboost using the SM main engines at 3:10 GMT (21:10 CST). The purpose of the reboost is to set up the planned conditions for the upcoming landing of 48S on April 10th and launch of 50S on April 20th.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Photo/TV JEM MPEG Activation
KONYUGATSIYA. Rekomb-K retrieval from Thermostat (+4C) and installation in Thermostat +29C.
Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test – Subject
БД-2 Treadmill Belt R&R (r/g review, hardware pre-gather).
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Rodent Research Node 2 Camcorder Video Setup
In-flight Maintenance (IFM) Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Bed Installation
Soyuz 732 Samsung Tablet Recharge (if charge level is below 80%)
KONJUGATSIYA. Activation, location in termostat on +29 degrees C
PRODUTSENT. Removal from Thermostat ТБУ-В # 2 (+29 °С) and transfer to Thermostat ТБУ-В # 4 (+4°С)
MICROVIR. Photography of Lower Cell Condition Кассеты-М # 2-3, 2-4. Closeout Ops
Nikon Camera Time Sync
Crew Medical Officer (CMO) Proficiency Training
JEM Freezer-Refrigerator Of STirling cycle 2 (FROST2) Installation
KONYUGATSIYA. Activation process termination, insertion in Thermostat (+29 °С).
KONYUGATSIYA. Photography during deactivation.
Crew Prep for PAO Event
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
BIOPLENKA. Removal of samples from thermostat, Fixation of Constanta No.1-4 cassette biofilm.
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Pin Kit Gather
APEX-04 Petri Plate Photo
Environmental Health System (EHS) – Rad Detector Relocate
KONYUGATSIYA. Removal from Thermostat (+29 °С) and перенос в термостат (+4 °С).
KONYUGATSIYA. ТБУ-В Thermostat No.2 deactivation
JEM Microbe Sensor Installation
TV-session with students of the City Pedagogical University of Moscow (Ku+S-band)
Soyuz 732 Samsung Tablet Battery Recharge End (if needed)
EDV (KOV) separation for ELEKTRON or EVD-SV Separate EDV(КОВ) №1201 (ФГБ1ПГО_1_108), using EDV №1239 (ФГБ1ПГО_1_109)
Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Component Group Install
JEM LAN Monitor Installation
СОЖ maintenance
Preventive Maintenance of FS1 Laptop
RS БРИ maintenance. Network standart mode checkout
Fluid Shifts DPOAE Clean
Safety Valve replacement in [УС] matching unit. Test separation of EDV.
Armband Activity Monitor Setup
Photo/TV JEM Mpeg Deactivation
USOS Window Shutter Close
Photo/TV JEM SSC Video Tear Down
NAPOR-mini RSA. Cleaning Onboard Memory Storage БЗУ-М vents
ENERGY Water Sample
Testing comm between modules.
Dose Tracker Data Entry Subject
Energy PFS Setup
ISS HAM Video Power Down
Delta file prep
Crew Medical Officer (CMO) Proficiency Training
Closing Window Shutters # 6,8,9,12,13,14. Note 6
ESA ACTIVE DOSIMETER MOBILE UNIT SWAP
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
BIOPLENKA. Removal of samples from thermostat, Fixation of Constanta No.1-5 cassette biofilm. Tagup with specialists

Completed Task List Items
KTO Replace
Station Support Computer (SSC) Server 2 Power On
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Swap and Checkout
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Food Intake Tracker (FIT) Install
CDM Battery install and deploy

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
1A3 Battery Capacity Test
N3 MCA Full Calibration
Reboost

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 03/02: CDRA R&R, EVA Loop Scrub/H2O Conductivity Test, EMU Swap, PM3 H/W Gather, N3 Endcone Cleanout
Friday, 03/03: Node 2 Power Cable (HMU 220) Rerouting, PMA3 Ingress, ESA Energy, Node 3 IMV Valve Scavenge
Saturday, 03/04: Weekly Housekeeping, MESC

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Startup
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up