NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 13 May, 2021
The International Space Station hummed with activity on Thursday as the Expedition 65 crew gets ready for the next SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission and continues immune system research.
All seven crew members also joined together and practiced their emergency response skills.
Commander Akihiko Hoshide teamed up with ESA Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet during the morning, gathering and organizing items for return to Earth on the next resupply mission from SpaceX. The upgraded Cargo Dragon vehicle is targeted for launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket on June 3 from Kennedy Space Center. It will deliver the first two of six new solar arrays, a kidney disease therapy study, plant and microbe experiments and more, about two days after liftoff.
The Kibo laboratory module’s Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) once again was the center of activity for NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Megan McArthur. The duo continued servicing donor cell samples inside the LSG, which are being compared to cells on Earth, as scientists document the significant differences in microgravity. The Celestial Immunity study’s results may provide insights into new vaccines and drugs and advance the commercialization of space.
At the end of the day, Vande Hei had his veins scanned with an ultrasound device operated by NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough. Kimbrough earlier joined Pesquet and inspected tethers to be used during a pair of upcoming spacewalks. The spacewalks are planned for June and will see the installation of the soon-to-be delivered solar arrays on the station’s Port 6 truss structure.
Finally, cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov joined their five crewmates and simulated an emergency aboard the station in conjunction with mission controllers on the ground. The drill consisted of locating emergency gear, practicing procedures and decision-making, and coordinating communications with controllers in Houston and Moscow.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads:
Celestial Immunity: The crew gathered the appropriate hardware and performed the second sampling for the gamma experiment wells, and the first sampling for the delta experiment wells. The samples were transferred to the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MEFLI) to be preserved for return to the ground for analysis. 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 both young adult and elderly donors in parallel.
HRP blood setup: The crew set up the appropriate hardware in preparation for Friday’s Repository and Standard Measures blood collections. Repository supports scientific discovery that contributes to our fundamental knowledge in the area of human physiological changes and adaptation to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities to study longitudinal changes in human physiology spanning many missions. The goal of Standard Measures is to ensure consistent capture of an optimized, minimal set of measures from crewmembers until the end of the ISS Program in order to characterize the adaptive responses to and risks of living in space. Among other things, the ground teams perform analyses for metabolic and chemistry panels, immune function, microbiome, etc.
Ryutai: The crew replaced the current IPU cable with a new cable and the ground was subsequently able to complete a checkout. The Ryutai Experiment Rack (Ryutai), which means “fluid,” is a multipurpose payload rack system that includes a Fluid Physics Experiment Facility, Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, Protein Crystallization Research Facility, and image processing.
Systems:
Training for Emergency Response On-board ISS: Today Crew practiced an ISS Emergency Response As part of this simulation, Crew physically translated through the ISS to the appropriate response locations to visualize the use of station equipment and interfaces. They also practiced procedure, execution, and associated decision making based on cues provided by simulator. Finally, Crew practiced communication and coordination with both MCC-H and MCC-M, as required for a given emergency scenario.
SpaceX CRS-22 Prepack: In preparation for SpX-22 Dragon launch planned for June 3rd and arrival to ISS on June 5th, the crew began to pack items that will be returning to the ground when SpX-22 undocks from station later in the summer.
US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tether Inspection: Crew inspected the Load Alleviating Strap on Safety Tethers, Waist Tethers, and the soft strap on D-Ring Extenders. Prior to each series of EVAs, crew inspects all Tethers planned for use during the series. Between each EVA, only those Tethers used during the previous EVA and planned for further use during that series of EVAs require inspection.
Resupply Air Tank (RST) Venting: Today, two Resupply Air Tanks were vented in the Cygnus Vehicle. Twelve Resupply Air Tanks arrived on NG-15. Six tanks remain to be vented after today’s operation. Another venting activity for two tanks is planned for Friday GMT 134.
Environmental Health System (EHS) Acoustic Monitoring: Crew-held acoustic monitors were used to take acoustic measurements at specified locations on ISS after the venting of several RSTs. The acoustic monitoring sessions gather data to characterize any changes to the acoustic environment throughout the station.
Node 2 Water Separator Replacement Preparation: Today the Node 2 and Lab Low Temperature Loop (LTL) coolant temperatures are being adjusted to manage the dew point in Node 2 and promote dry out of the Node 2 water separator. R&R is planned for tomorrow to address the vibration noticed by the crew in their Crew Quarters.
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer High Beta Power Operations and Commanding
Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) Configuration Controller Database (CCDB) Attitude Update
JEM Airlock Pressurization
Look Ahead Plan:
Friday, May 14 (GMT 134)
Payloads:
AC Touch
Celestial Immunity
ESA EPO
Food Acceptability
Food Physiology
MISSE MSC pack
Repository
Standard Measures
Systems:
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Node 2 Smoke Detector Relocate
In-Flight Maintenance Node 2 Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Water Separator R&R
Treadmill 2 (T2) Yearly Maintenance
Saturday, May 15 (GMT 135)
Payloads:
Repository
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Weekly Cleaning
Sunday, May 16 (GMT 136)
Payloads:
Celestial Immunity
Repository
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Resupply Air Tank Setup & Initiation
Celestial Immunity MELFI Sample Insertion
Celestial Immunity Plate First Sampling
Celestial Immunity Plate Second Sampling
CEVIS S/N 1001 High Level Inspection
T2 Maintenance Gather
Acoustic Monitor Data Transfer and Stow
Environmental Health System (EHS) Acoustic Monitor Setup
ESA Weekly crew conference
US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tether Inspection
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
On-orbit Hearing Assessment (OOHA) with Kuduwave Software Setup and Test
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan Prep
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Post Exam
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan performed by a Crew Medical Officer (CMO)
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Scan Prep
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test
HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection Hardware Setup
ISPR and IPU HRDL Adapter Cable Setting between Ryutai Rack and iAPS
Crew Assessment for 20-Port Network Switches in Lab, Node 1, and Node 3
LSG Primary Crew Restraint Fold
LSG Work Volume Stow
On-board Training (OBT) ISS Emergency Drill Conference
Training for Emergency Response On-board ISS
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
Temperature and Humidity Control Keep-Out-Zone Clear
Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 1 Setup and Power On Alternate
Urine Transfer System Backup EDV Swap
XF305 Camcorder Setup
Dragon 22 Prepack
