NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 May, 2021 – Biology and Physics Experiments
The work week is wrapping up with biology and physics aboard the International Space Station.
The Expedition 65 residents also maintained the upkeep of plumbing, computer, and power systems.
NASA and its international partners take advantage of the weightless environment of the orbiting lab to gain new insights unattainable due to Earth’s gravity. They use the knowledge from the long-term microgravity research to improve conditions for humans on and off the planet.
A new study recently delivered to the station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour is exploring how the immune system adapts to microgravity. NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur set up hardware and samples for the Celestial Immunity investigation inside the Life Science Glovebox today. Results may provide new vaccines and medicines for diseases on Earth and increase the potential for commercialization of space.
McArthur also joined fellow NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei logging their meals on a computer to help researchers understand the nutritional requirements for astronauts. Vande Hei spent most of Friday on maintenance replacing life support system components and swapping fuel tanks in the Combustion Integrated Rack.
Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) partnered with Vande Hei for some of the life support work on Friday. Pesquet also transferred the AstroPi science computer to the Columbus laboratory module after joining NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough for orbital plumbing work in the Tranquility module. Additionally, Kimbrough spent a few hours installing power equipment and routing cables inside Tranquility before collecting and stowing his urine samples for later analysis.
Station Commander Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency started Friday in the Kibo laboratory module retrieving sample cartridges from the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The three-time space traveler finally wrapped up the workday turning off the Astrobee robotic free-flyers and consolidating crew provisions.
Cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, also a three-time space visitor, worked on Russian communications gear and power tools before exchanging samples for a semiconductor crystal study. Roscosmos Flight Engineer and first-time space flyer Pyotr Dubrov spent the day on plumbing and ventilation tasks in the station’s Russian segment.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads
AC Touch: Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests is an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space for approximately six months, and then return to Earth for analysis.
Celestial Immunity: The crew continued the Celestial Immunity investigation operations by gathering samples and inserting them into MELFI for preservation. This project seeks to gain a broad understanding of how gravity affects overall human immune function and potentially uncover novel pathways of immune function that can be exploited to develop better vaccines and immunobiologics for human use. The project will build on earlier studies that evaluated lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) function in microgravity. The project will also evaluate whether gravity-regulated immune pathways are affected by age by examining cells from young adult and elderly donors in parallel.
CIR/ACME (Combustion Integrated Rack/Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments): The crew replaced the 40% O2/60% N2 manifold bottle with a new bottle of the same composition. They also replaced the 30% butane/70% N2 bottle with a new bottle of the same composition. This was performed in support of the CFI-G (Cool Flames Investigation with Gases) experiment. Cool diffusion flames were discovered during droplet combustion experiments aboard the ISS in 2012, and this initiated a rapidly growing field of combustion research. A cool flame is one that burns at about 600 degrees Celsius. A typical candle is about three-and-a-half times hotter, burning at around 1,400 degrees Celsius. Most internal combustion engines are designed using computer models that neglect cool flame chemistry, but ignition and flame propagation in engines depend on cool flame chemistry. Cool flame chemistry also has a significant impact on fuel octane and cetane numbers, whose understanding has large economic consequences.
ELF (Electrostatic Levitation Furnace): The crew performed the steps necessary to gain access to the experiment volume, removed any samples not attached to the sample holder, and exchanged the sample holder 2 within the sample cartridge. JAXA’s ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt and solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the electrostatic levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved. ELF typically processes oxide samples, but is also capable of processing semiconductors, alloys, and metals.
ISS HAM pass: The crew participated in an ISS HAM pass with Green Bank Elementary Middle School, Green Bank, WV. Some of the questions asked included how often oxygen tanks from Earth are replenished, how trash is handled in space, and if it’s possible for an animal to be pregnant in space. ISS Ham Radio provides opportunities to engage and educate students, teachers, parents and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering and math by providing a means to communicate between astronauts and the ground HAM radio units.
HRF2 troubleshooting deconfiguration: Following the successful software load and recovery of HRF rack 2 last week, this week the crew removed the setup used for the troubleshooting. Human Research Facility-2 (HRF-2) provides an on-orbit laboratory that enables human life science researchers to study and evaluate the physiological, behavioral, and chemical changes induced by spaceflight. Research performed using HRF-2 provides data to help scientists understand how the human body adapts to long-duration spaceflight.
Skinsuit audit: The crew verified the status of the Stadiometer for broken parts, applied kapton tape on suspected broken ends, photo documented the hardware, and bubble wrapped it before restow. Floating in space, astronauts’ bodies adapt to weightlessness in ways that are not always wanted. Bone and muscle waste away as they have less work to do without gravity. The Skinsuit is a tailor-made overall with a bi-directional weave specially designed to counteract the lack of gravity by squeezing the body from the shoulders, to the feet, with a similar force to that felt on Earth.
Story Time From Space-8: The crew performed the first part of the STFS-8 using the white sphere to demonstrate heat flow. Next week, crew will continue the investigation with the black sphere installed so the differences in heat transfer can be compared. Story Time From Space (STFS) combines literacy and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects with basic science demonstrations. The Story Time From Space-8 Heat Transfer Demo uses a Sun-Earth-Space model to demonstrate concepts of radiative heat transfer. It is performed on the International Space Station by an astronaut and videotaped, along with a reading of the book Give Me Some Space, and the videos and educational materials are made available on the STFS website.
Systems
Node 3 Utility Outlet Panel (UOP) 5 Installation: The crew installed a new UOP in Node 3 at NOD3AD5 and routed the power to the new UOP unit from NOD3O4. UOPs are panels aboard ISS that are used to provide power and data connectivity to portable equipment. The UOP provides 120 VDC power and connections to the 1553 bus to a wide variety of payloads, systems hardware, and gadgets on ISS. They can be thought of as the ISS version of an electrical outlet.
Stall Mounting Bracket Remove & Replace (R&R): The crew performed R&Rs of the Stall Mounting Brackets for the top, middle, bottom middle, and bottom starboard Node 3 Stall Panels. The panel removal is based on crew preference for access to the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) and Toilet.
Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion Products (CSA-CP) Extended Maintenance: The crew replaced battery packs in all six deployed CSA-CPs and zero calibrated all units. The CSA-CPs provide real-time readings following a combustion event and subsequent clean-up efforts. The CSA-CP is also used for continuous monitoring of carbon monoxide levels in the ISS.
Node 3 Fluid Systems Servicer (FSS) Teardown: Crew tore down and stowed the Fluid System Servicer (FSS) that had been used throughout the week for the various operations that occurred inside of Node 3. This teardown also included teardown of the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) and the Fluid Control and Pump Assembly (FCPA).
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Fluid System Servicer (FSS) Refill Support
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Activation
Reconfiguration of ETHOS Systems after NODE 3-1 MDM Repower
Look Ahead Plan
Saturday, May 8 (GMT 128)
Payloads:
AWP Doff
Celestial Immunity
Standard Measures
Systems
Weekly Cleaning
Sunday, May 9 (GMT 129)
Payloads:
AWP Doff
HRF urine setup
Systems
Crew Off-Duty DayMonday, May 10 (GMT 130)
Payloads:
Celestial Immunity
Repository (urine collection)
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Antimicrobial Coatings Touch
AstroPi transfer from Node 2 to Columbus
Caution and Warning (C&W) Hardware Panel Verification
Celestial Immunity MELFI Sample Insertion
Celestial Immunity Plate First Sampling
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #4 Bottle Replacement
Combustion Integrated Rack Upper Rack Doors Close and Open
Comm reconfigure for nominal ops
Crew Dragon Tablet Stow
Crew Dragon Tablet Sync
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Item Gathering
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) sample Holder Change
Environmental Health System (EHS) – Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion Products (CSA-CP) Extended Maintenance
EPO message recording [Aborted]
Fluid System Servicer (FSS) Restow
Food Physiology Crew Diet Briefing
Health Maintenance System (HMS) – ESA Nutritional Assessment
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Conclude And Stow
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Configuration
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Operator
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Spin Conclude
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Setup And Frozen Blood Collection Subject
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
HRF Generic Saliva Collection Stow
HRF Generic Urine Collection Male
HRF Generic Urine Collection Stow
HRF Rack 2 Troubleshooting Disconnect
IMS conference (S-band)
In-Flight Maintenance Starboard Stall Mounting Bracket Remove & Replace
Install Node 3 Utility Operations Panel (UOP) 5
ISS Crew Orientation
ISS HAM Columbus Pass Kenwood
Joint Station Local Area Network (LAN) (JSL) Network Information for JSL Administration (NINJA) Swap
LSG Primary Crew Restraint Fold
LSG Primary Crew Restraint Unfold
MRM1 comm config
NanoRacks Platform-2 Module Removal
Node 1 Camera Teardown from N3 view for UOP Install
Node 1 Camera View of Node 3 for UOP Install
Node 3 Fluid System Servicer (FSS) Teardown
Node Three Utility Outlet Panel Post Install
PLDR Sensor Tool Fit Check activity
Progress 445 (DC1) Cargo Transfers and IMS Ops
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) in Columbus
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config Columbus Setup
Questionnaire on Multi-use Bracket, Flexible Bracket, and Laptop Desks
REAL. Solidification Using Baffles in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) samples exchange
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Activation QD Connection
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain Part 2 [Aborted]
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Fill Part 3 [Aborted]
Remove portions of the Stall in support of Node 3 CCAA Access
Replace Stall following Node 3 CCAA Maintenance
SkinSuit Stadiometer Audit
Station Support Computer (SSC) Power On
Story Time 8 Thermal Balance Power Shutdown
Story Time 8 Thermal Balance White Light On
Story Time 8 Thermal Balance White Sphere Setup
Systems Operations Data File (SODF) Update
XF305 Camcorder Setup
