NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 March 2018 – Expedition 55 Gets to Work

Three Expedition 55 crew members are back to work today on the International Space Station, having taken a day off Wednesday following the landing of the three Expedition 54 crew members on Tuesday. The departing space residents are back on Earth, having returned to their homes less than a day after landing.
Now on board the station, Expedition 55 Commander Anton Shkaplerov is leading Flight Engineers Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The three crewmates have been onboard the orbital laboratory since Dec. 19 and are due to return to Earth June 3. They will greet a new set of Expedition 55-56 crew members on March 23.

Those new residents, Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos and NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel are in Star City, Russia completing training for their mission and will soon head to Kazakhstan for final launch preparations. They will blast off March 21 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome inside the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft for a two-day ride to their new home in space.

On-Orbit Status Report

Plant Gravity Perception (PGP): Today the crew removed the Plant Gravity Perception seed cassettes from Experiment Containers (ECs) on the two European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) rotors and stowed them in a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). They also replaced the ECs on the rotors with ECs for the next Plant Gravity Perception experiment run. For this investigation, normal and mutated forms of thale cress, a model research plant, are germinated to support the study of the plants’ gravity and light perception. Results provide insight into the plants’ adaptation to a microgravity environment and supports efforts to grow plants for food on future space missions.

Veg-03: The crew took photographs to document plant growth for the VEG-03 investigation. Photos of the plants are taken about every 3 days. The crew also watered the plants. Veg-03 supports the proof-of concept for the Veggie plant growth chamber and planting pillows. Future long duration space missions, including those to Mars, will require a fresh food supply grown in space to supplement crew diets.

Earth Imagery from ISS Target (EIISS): Today the crew captured images of the Australian desert. EIISS supports creation of videos showcasing Earth views taken from space. The videos are taken with high resolution cameras on the ISS. The pictures are also integrated into videos for screensavers for public enjoyment, exploration, and engagement.

Node 3 Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Verification Gas Assembly (VGA) Remove and Replace (R&R): Today the crew replaced the MCA VGA, a life-limited component requiring periodic replacement. The MCA is a mass spectrometer based system that measures the major atmospheric constituents on board the ISS. Following the maintenance, the MCA was pumped down to vacuum and the crew and ground teams reconfigured the MCA for nominal operations.

Systems Operations Data File (SODF) Emergency Book Replacement: Today the crew replaced the hard copy Emergency-1c books which included updated Ammonia (NH3) response procedures. Tomorrow the crew will review the new procedures during an On-Board Training (OBT) session.

Latching End Effectors A (LEE A) Survey – Yesterday, ground teams performed an Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) walkoff to Mobile Base System (MBS) Power Data Grapple Fixture -4 (PDGF-4) and performed a high definition camera survey of the LEE A snare cables. Once the survey had been completed, they performed a checkout of the LEE A mechanisms. MSS performance was nominal during yesterday’s activities.

Latching End Effectors B (LEE B) Survey – Ground teams are currently performing a SSRMS walkoff to MBS PDGF-3 and will perform a LEE B survey with high definition cameras later today.

Channel 1A Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity Test – Yesterday, ground teams began a capacity test on the power channel 1A Li-Ion batteries. During this three-day capacity test, each of the three Li-Ion batteries in channel 1A will be discharged until the first cell is less than or equal to 3.0 V to acquire capacity data. This data provides insight into the actual battery amp hours available and is part of nominal maintenance.

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

Node 1 Starboard Hatch Close
Regen UPA Recycle Tank QD Inspection
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain
ISS HAM Radio Power Up
Activation of Windows 7 OS after SW Version 5.0 installation on Laptop RSS1.
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain Part 2
Filling ??? from Progress 437 (DC1) Rodnik H2O Tank 2. Progress 437 H2O Tank 2 bladder compression
Node 3 Major Constituent Analyzer Verification Gas Assembly Remove and Replace
Replacement of RJ45 connectors on network cables
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Experiment Container Removal from Rotor A
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Rotor A Sample Processing
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System MELFI Sample Insertion
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Experiment Container Removal from Rotor B
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Rotor B Sample Processing
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System MELFI Sample Insertion
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position
In Flight Maintenance MBSU & Stanchion Cover Teardown & Stow
ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) [Aborted]
Filling (separation) of ??? (???) for Elektron or ???-??
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Cleanup after each run
Formaldehyde Monitoring Kit (FMK) Stow Operation
Crew Handover Conference
??? maintenance
JEM System Laptop Terminal Reboot
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Experiment Container Installation
Progress 437 (DC1) H2O Tank 2 Bladder Compression, Closeout Ops
Systems Operations Data File (SODF) Deploy
Checking ??-2 treadmill carriage position.
Earth Imagery from ISS Nikon Target Operations
Recycle Tank Fill Part 3
VEG-03E Plant Photo
VEG-03F Plant Photo
VEG-03 Dual Facility Watering for each Plant Pillow
Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
PAO Preparation
PAO Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) [Aborted]
Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference

Completed Task List Activities
EVA Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Pull Tab extension [Completed GMT 59]

Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Standard Commanding
N3 MCA Activation and Checkout.
SSRMS Walk-Off and LEE Survey [LEE Walk-Off In-Progress]

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 03/02: NH3 Response OBT, SUPVIS-JUSTIN Ops, Rock Candy imagery, Water Balance, EDU Imagery Recording, 69P Trash Gather & Xfer
Saturday, 03/03: Weekly Housekeeping, EIISS, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 03/04: Crew Off Duty

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – Off
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