NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 14 March 2019 – Crew Expands to Six

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos joined NASA astronaut Anne McClain, Expedition 59 commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency aboard the International Space Station when the hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the orbiting laboratory officially opened at 11:07 p.m. EDT.
The trio’s arrival returns the orbiting laboratory’s population to six, including three NASA astronauts. McClain, Saint-Jacques and Kononenko are scheduled to remain aboard the station until June, while Hague, Koch and Ovchinin are set to return to Earth early this fall.

McClain, Saint-Jacques, Hague and Koch also are all scheduled for the first spacewalks of their careers to continue upgrades to the orbital laboratory. McClain and Hague are scheduled to begin work to upgrade the power system March 22, and McClain and Koch will complete the upgrades to two station power channels during a March 29 spacewalk. This will be the first-ever spacewalk with all-female spacewalkers. Hague and Saint-Jacques will install hardware for a future science platform during an April 8 spacewalk.

Three resupply spacecraft – a Russian Progress, Northrop Grumman Cygnus and SpaceX Dragon – are scheduled to arrive with additional supplies for the crew and various science investigations. The crew also is scheduled to be onboard during test flights of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches for space station missions to U.S. soil.

For more than 18 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space, including the Moon and Mars. A global endeavor, 236 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 2,500 investigations from researchers in 106 countries. Investigations conducted on the International Space Station impact the daily lives of people on Earth and prepare the way for humans to venture farther into space.

On-Orbit Status

58 Soyuz (58S) Launch and Docking: The 58S Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome this afternoon at 2:14 PM CT and completed a nominal 4 orbit rendezvous and docking to the ISS MRM1 Port at 8:01 PM CT. The 58S crew Aleksey Ovchinin, Nick Hague, and Christina Koch returned ISS to 6-crew operations after hatch opening at 10:09 PM CT. This evening, the entire ISS crew will conduct a Safety Briefing to familiarize the new Soyuz crew with potential hazards and available safety measures on-board ISS. Each crewmember will practice their emergency egress routes and familiarize themselves with emergency equipment locations.

ISS Experience Node 1 Setup: The crew set up Space Station Computer (SSC) 25 and the ISS Experience Z-Cam in order to capture a recording session. The ISS Experience creates a virtual reality film documenting daily life aboard the space station. The 8 to 10 minute videos created from footage taken during the six-month investigation cover different aspects of crew life, execution of science aboard the station, and the international partnerships involved. The ISS Experience uses a Z-CAM V1 Pro Cinematic Virtual Reality (VR) 360-degree camera with nine 190° fisheye lenses.

Time Perception: Using a head-mounted Oculus Rift display, headphones, finger trackball and laptop computer, the crew performed the Time Perception science sessions. A program on the laptop induces visual and audio stimuli to measure a subject’s response to spatial and time perception in a microgravity environment. The accurate perception of objects in the environment is a prerequisite for spatial orientation and reliable performance of motor tasks. Time is fundamental to motion perception, sound localization, speech, and fine motor coordination.

Common Video Interface Unit (CVIU)-8 Replacement: In January, the Remote Power Controller (RPC) for CVIU-8 tripped open. After several troubleshooting efforts by crew and ground teams, the problem was isolated to CVIU-8. Today, the crew replaced CVIU-8 with a new unit. Flight Controllers then successfully activated the CVIU. CVIUs provide an interface between camcorders and the ISS Video System fiber-optic lines. In addition to video signal conversion, the CVIU also supplies electrical power to the camcorders.

Completed Task List Activities:
None

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
ISS commanding in support of 58S rendezvous and dock

Look Ahead:
Friday, 03/15 (GMT 074): (Crew Off-Duty)

Payloads:
None

Systems:
None

Saturday, 03/16 (GMT 075):

Payloads:
ISS experience stow
Veg-03H plant thin and pillow prime

Systems:
EVA Preparation
EVA Procedure Reviews
LCVG Water Fill
EMU Water Recharge

Sunday, 03/17 (GMT 076):

Payloads:
None

Systems:
EVA prep
ARED crew handover

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

Space Acceleration Measurement System Control Unit Activation
Robot Startup
Team Task Switching Experiment Survey
Acoustic Monitor Data Transfer and Stow
TIME experiment combined session (Setup + Science)
СОЖ maintenance
Team Task Switching Experiment Survey
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Fill Part 3
Installing Waste Water Filter Assembly on LSR Rack.
TIME experiment combined session (Science + Stowage)
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
USOS Window Shutter Close
Perfect Crystals Hardware Restow
On Board Training (OBT) ROBoT T&C Self Study
Soyuz 742 ODF Ops. Start drying two space suits
ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Columbus
ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module
Actiwatch Spectrum HRF Rack 1 Setup
Troubleshooting for EDV 1258
HRF Rack 2 Supply Kit Resupply
Pressurization of Elektron-VM Liquid Unit before Activation
СОЖ maintenance
Actiwatch Spectrum HRF Rack 1 Stow
In Flight Maintenance Common Video Interface Unit (CVIU 8) R&R LAB1D7
ISS Experience Node 1 Setup
Monitoring shutter closure on windows 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14. Note 7.
Gas Analyzer Activation in Soyuz 741
Review TV Coverage procedures Hatch Opening from MRM1 and Arrival of Expedition 59″
Preparation for Soyuz 742 Docking
USOS Window Shutter Close
MPEG-2 Downlink Test via Ku-band (Activation/Deactivation of TV Data Monitoring and MPEG2 Multicast hardware)
СТТС configuration for Soyuz 742 docking to MRM1. Comm check with Soyuz 742 in RSA-S/G2
Monitoring Soyuz 742 Rendezvous with ISS (MRM1)
Activation of TV Data and MPEG2 Multicast Monitoring Equipment
On MCC Go Activation of mpeg2 multicast video recording mode
On MCC Go Moding MRM1-SOYUZ PEV to ELECTR CONTR position
Closing Applications and Downlink of MPEG2 Multicast Video via OCA
ISS Experience Astronaut Log Recording
Comm reconfig after Soyuz 742 docking
On MCC Go Soyuz 742 – MRM1 Interface Leak Check
Hardware Setup in SM for Expedition 59 Arrival TV PAO Coverage from SM
ISS Experience Recording Stop
Disconnecting КЛ-153М TV Camera from MRM1 TV System
Hardware Setup in MRM1 for Hatch Opening TV Coverage from MRM1
ISS Experience Recording Start
Soyuz-MRM1 Transfer Hatch Opening
ТПК-58S hatches open and PAO-TV-rep. Hatches open
Handover of the 3rd space suit and gloves for drying in Soyuz 741
Start drying the third space suit (Soyuz 741)