NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 15 July, 2020 – Spacewalk Prep Work Completed
Two NASA astronauts finalized their preparations today, ahead of Thursday’s spacewalk, to complete battery swaps on the outside of the International Space Station.
NASA Flight Engineer Bob Behnken and Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy organized their tools and readied the Quest airlock for the spacewalk set to begin tomorrow at 7:35 a.m.
NASA astronaut Doug Hurley joined the duo Wednesday afternoon for a spacewalk review and conference with specialists on the ground. Hurley will assist the astronauts in and out of their U.S. spacesuits and monitor their spacewalk activities.
The trio will stay in readiness mode for a second spacewalk scheduled to begin at the same time on Tuesday, July 21. They will finish swapping the aging nickel-hydrogen batteries with new lithium-ion batteries on the station’s truss structure that began 3.5 years ago. The veteran spacewalkers will then set up the Tranquility module for the upcoming installation of a NanoRacks airlock. The new commercial airlock will support public and private experiments exposed to the space environment.
All three astronauts started the day with standard health checks ahead of their spacewalk. Hurley took on the crew medical officer role and briefly examined his crewmates similar to a doctor conducting a checkup on Earth.
Meanwhile, cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner were back on human research duty this morning. The Russian duo collected and stowed blood and saliva samples for a pair of studies looking into bone loss and the immune system. The pair then split up as Ivanishin checked out communications gear and Vagner worked on Progress 75 resupply ship cargo transfers.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads
EarthKAM (Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools): The crew switched out the D2X camera lens to an 85mm lens. EarthKAM allows thousands of students to photograph and examine Earth from a space crew’s perspective. Using the Internet, the students control a special digital camera mounted on-board the ISS. This enables them to photograph the Earth’s coastlines, mountain ranges and other geographic items of interest from the unique vantage point of space. The EarthKAM team then posts these photographs on the Internet for viewing by the public and participating classrooms around the world.
Systems
S6 Battery Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: Today, the crew continued preparing for the S6 channel 3B battery upgrade EVA #3 by performing their equipment lock preps for Extravehicular Activity Mobility Units (EMU) 3004 and 3006. The crew also completed their EVA tool audit, installed batteries into the pistol grip tool (PGT) and performed the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) / Robotic Workstation (RWS) setup. Finally, the crew completed their EVA procedure reviews and participated in a pre-EVA procedure review conference. The first of the two planned S6 channel 3B battery EVAs is set for tomorrow, Thursday, July 16, 2020. The crew is scheduled to egress the Quest Joint Airlock shortly after 6:40 am CT.
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Channel 3B Battery Discharge (Prep for EVA #3)
Lab MCA rapid sample of Airlock for POM accuracy check
Primary Power System High Beta Reconfiguration
Airlock MTL flow rate increase for EVA depress pump ops
Look Ahead Plan
Thursday, 7/16 (GMT 198)
Payloads:
No Payload Activities
Systems:
US EVA #67 (Prep and EVA)
Friday, 7/17 (GMT 199)
Payloads:
Food Physiology Brief (NASA)
Systems:
Post-EVA PHS Exams
EMU Water Recharge
EVA Procedure Review/Debrief Conference
Recycle Tank Drain/Fill
UPA Brine Filter Gather/R&R
Saturday, 7/18 (GMT 200)
Payloads:
Off Duty Day
Systems:
USOS Shutter Close
EVA Camera Port 3 Bag Prep
EVA METOX Ops
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
NEUROIMMUNITET. KORREKTSIYA. Blood Collection & Sample Process in Plasma-03 centrifuge
Insertion of Russian experiments blood samples into MELFI
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examinations
Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) ?1 Cartridge, initiate
Preventive Maintenance of SM Ventilation Subsystem Group ?2. Inspection of Air Conditioning System [???1, ???2]
NEUROIMMUNITET. Pamyat (Memory) Test, Saliva Sample, Stress Test. Hair Samples Collection. Questionnaire
EVA Pistol Grip Battery
Acoustic Monitor Data Transfer and Stow
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Audit
VHF-2 Emergency Communication Check Out from Soyuz over US Ground Sites
Photography of ???-91 Fan Shutoff Unit (S/N 10319576) in DC1
Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation
PILLE sensors gathering and setup for USOS EVA
??-2 semi-annual maintenance: Work prep and procedure review
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) iPad Contingency Procedures preparation
Russian Video Recording of Greetings
Station Support Computer 16 and Portable Computer System Data Acquisition System Setup
Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Setup
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review & Conference
URAGAN. SOVA PL log-file downlink
Intermodular TORU test with attached Progress
Progress 448 (SM Aft) Transfers and IMS Ops
Crew Dragon Tablet Sync & Stow
In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) LAB1P6 Gas Trap Plug Installation
Place Stowage Back Onto The LAB1P6 Rackfront
EarthKAM Node 1 85MM Lens Change
