NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 15 August 2017 – Waiting on a Dragon

The SpaceX Dragon is hauling advanced space research for delivery Wednesday morning to the International Space Station. Two cosmonauts are also gearing up for the seventh station spacewalk this year set to begin Thursday morning.
Dragon is less than 24 hours from its approach and rendezvous with the space station for SpaceX’s third resupply mission this year. Astronauts Jack Fischer and Paolo Nespoli will be in the Cupola commanding the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple Dragon at 7 a.m. EDT Wednesday. NASA TV will begin live coverage of Dragon’s arrival at 5:30 a.m.

Dragon will stay open at the station’s Harmony module for a month of cargo swaps. The astronauts will offload new life science studies to improve therapies against Parkinson’s disease and explore ways to grow lung tissue as well as other research. A new pair of external experiments will also be deployed including a cosmic ray study to be installed outside of the Kibo lab module and a nanosatellite technology demonstration.

Two cosmonauts are trying on their Orlan spacesuits today to ensure they are ready for Thursday morning’s spacewalk. Veteran spacewalkers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy will exit the Pirs airlock at 10:45 a.m. for about six hours of science and maintenance work. Thursday’s spacewalk highlight will be when Ryazanskiy manually deploys five nanosatellites, including the first 3D printed CubeSat, into Earth orbit.

On-Orbit Status Report

Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI): The crew took front and profile view pictures to check for facial edema, then completed a conference with ground experts. The IPVI investigation studies changes to crewmembers’ eyes and optic nerves by analyzing arterial blood pressure and blood flow to the brain before and after spaceflight. The IPVI investigation uses non-invasive methods as compared to current invasive methods (e.g., spinal tap) to measure intracranial pressure.

MagVector: The crew performed closeout and cleanup activities for the 7-day MagVector Run 11. The European Space Agency (ESA) MagVector investigation studies how the Earth’s magnetic field interacts with an electrical conductor. Using extremely sensitive magnetic sensors placed around and above a conductor, researchers can gain insight into ways that the magnetic field influences how conductors work. This research not only helps improve future International Space Station experiments and electrical experiments, but it could offer insights into how magnetic fields influence electrical conductors in general – the backbone of our technology.

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Camera Robot: The crew set up the JEM Camera Robot and the ground took video and photos of several scenes in the JEM module. This device is a free-flying camera robot that provides real time video downlink and photographs. It is expected to reduce the crew time requirements to support video recording of activities, especially at the blind spot of existing JEM internal cameras.

Multi-Omics-Mouse: The crew refilled water containers in Mouse Habitat Cage Units for the JAXA Multi-Omics-Mouse investigation. Several studies have reported space flight effects on the human immune system but the relationship between microbiota and immune dysfunction during flight remains unclear. In Multi-Omics-Mouse, food with and without fructooligosaccharides (FOS) will be used as prebiotics, which could improve the gut environment and immune function. After the flight, researchers will analyze the gut environment (microbiota and metabolites) and immune system of the mice by multi-omics analysis, and evaluate the effect of FOS during flight.

Kubik: The crew unstowed and set up the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) Kubik 5 facility in the Columbus module. They then performed a functional check and preheating of Kubik 5 to prepare for support of upcoming ASI Biomission investigations that will utilize the Kubik facility. Kubik is a small controlled-temperature incubator or cooler used to study biological samples in a microgravity environment. It is equipped with removable inserts designed for self-contained, automatic experiments using seeds, cells, and small animals.

At Home in Space: The crew completed an At Home in Space questionnaire. This Canadian Space Agency experiment assesses culture, values, and psychosocial adaptation of astronauts to a space environment shared by multinational crews on long-duration missions. It is hypothesized that astronauts develop a shared space culture that is an adaptive strategy for handling cultural differences and they deal with the isolated confined environment of the spacecraft by creating a home in space. At Home in Space uses a questionnaire to investigate individual and culturally related differences, family functioning, values, coping with stress, and post-experience growth.

Dragon Robotics On-Board Trainer: In preparation for tomorrow’s SpX-12 capture and berthing, the crew completed 3 Capture Point Hold runs which allows the crew to practice free drift timing. They also practiced malfunction response, nominal rate approaches and 2 meter approaches.

Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) P12B_B Status: Following successful closure of RPCM P12B_B RPC10 late Sunday evening, the RPC tripped this morning. This RPC powers the S-Band transponder for String 2. The trip signature continues to indicate a Field Effect Transistor (FET) Hybrid failure. Ground teams will continue to attempt to reclose the RPC. This is an external RPCM that can be Removed and Replaced (R&Rd) by the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM).

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

At Home In Space Questionnaire
KUBIK Functional check
KUBIK 5 preheat and functional check
KUBIK 5 Setup
Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Install
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold Bottle Replacement
Combustion Integrated Rack Upper Rack Doors Open/Close
CEVIS Portable PFS Conclude
CEVIS Portable PFS Partial Stow
Max CEVIS Portable PFS Power Up
CEVIS Portable PFS Subject
Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Route and Checkout
Dragon Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK) Gather
CDM and MCA Comparison
Acoustic Dosimeter Setup Day 2
EXPRESS Rack 8 Locker Removal
Health Maintenance System (HMS) – ESA Nutritional Assessment
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test
HRF Generic Urine Collection Stow
Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI) Face Photo-taking
JEM Camera Robot Activation/Deactivation
JEM Camera Robot Shooting
Video recording for KOROLYOV TV channel
USB Jumpdrive Return and PPS2 Reconfiguration
Mouse Habitat Unit Cage Water Refill
Dragon Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session 2
Ghost camera setup in Cupola
Robotic Workstation (RWS) High Definition (HD) Monitor Downlink/Deactivation
Polar Hardware Express Rack Transfer
Recycle Tank Drain Parts 1-3
Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
XF305 Camcorder Setup
Dragon Cargo Operations Conference
Replacement of Onboard Oxygen Tanks ??-3?
Installation of Orlan #6 ORUs prior to EVA
Installation of Orlan #4 ORUs prior to EVA
Comm Check and Media Parameters Control.
Comm Setup for Orlan OBT
Resuming Nominal Comm Config after Orlan OBT
Spacesuit Onboard Interface Unit in DC1 (??? ??1) Checkout.
Removal of Air Ducts in DC1 prior to the OBT (Do Not Disconnect the Air Ducts)
Post-OBT Installation of Air Ducts in DC1
Systems Check in Orlan-MKS Spacesuit #6 Before OBT.
Systems Check in Orlan-MKS Spacesuit #4 Before OBT.
Post-OBT Ops
Doffing Orlan.
Donning Orlans #4 and 6, Closing Backpacks.
Verification of Orlan Sizing at Orlan Pressure=0.4.
Translation Training in Orlan-MKS #4 and Orlan-MK #6.
Control of the Initial Condition of Orlan and Spacesuit Onboard Interface Unit (???) during the OBT
Preliminary Orlan and ??? Leak Check
Donning Gear.
Orlan and ??? Control Units Check
Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos web site and social media
URAGAN. Observation and Photography
ECON-M. Observation and photography

Completed Task List Activities
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Max CEVIS support
Dragon RoBOT OBT
Dragon capture and cargo transfer reviews

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 08/16: SpX-12 Capture, Mouse Habitat, Environmental Health System (EHS) Operations
Thursday, 08/17: SpX-12 Cargo Operations, Mouse Habitat, NanoRacks, RS EVA 43, POLAR Transfer
Friday, 08/18: Rodent Research-9 transfer, Vascular Ultrasound, Mouse Habitat, RS EVA Cleanup

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 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 – 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