NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 17 August, 2020 – Japan’s HTV Spacecraft Ready for Departure
Canada’s robotic arm is poised to remove Japan’s ninth and final H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-9) from the International Space Station on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Russia are preparing for the launch of their respective crew ships to the orbiting lab in October.
Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA will be at the robotics workstation on Tuesday and direct the 57.7-foot-long Canadarm2 to release the HTV-9 from its grip at 1:35 p.m. EDT. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner will back up Cassidy and monitor the release of the HTV-9 as it completes its 85-day cargo mission. NASA TV will cover the activities live starting at 1:15 p.m.
The HTV-9 will spend two more days orbiting Earth before a fiery, atmospheric demise over the South Pacific. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is developing an upgraded fleet of HTV-X space station suppliers, replacing the HTV series of spaceships, targeted for their first launch in 2022.
The Expedition 63 and 64 crews are due to trade places at the orbiting lab beginning in mid-October. The Soyuz MS-17 crew ship is slated to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 14 and dock to the station’s Rassvet module. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will then begin a six-month space research mission.
One week later on Oct. 21, Cassidy will wrap up his mission with crewmates Vagner and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin. The trio will enter the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship, undock from the Poisk module and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan ending a 195-day expedition in space.
NASA and SpaceX have announced the launch of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the station for no earlier than Oct. 23. Mike Hopkins of NASA will command the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft piloted by first-time NASA astronaut Victor Glover. They will be joined by Mission Specialists Shannon Walker of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA, both previous station residents.
On-Orbit Status Report
Systems
H-II Transfer Vehicle 9 (HTV9) Departure Operations: The crew closed the HTV hatch and configured the vestibule for unberthing by removing the Intramodular Ventilation (IMV) supply jumper and power/data jumpers. They installed the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Controller Panel Assemblies (CPAs) and partially installed a hatch thermal blanket. The crew also worked ahead of today’s timeline and mounted the Pressure Management Device (PMD) and connected associated power and data cables. The PMD setup was originally scheduled on the timeline tomorrow. HTV9 is scheduled for unberth and release tomorrow.
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis & Data Record: Crew performed an analysis of the water processing assembly (WPA) using the TOCA. The TOCA unit oxidizes organic carbon species present in the water to carbon dioxide gas and measures the concentration using nondispersive infrared spectroscopy. Analysis of the potable water using the TOCA occurs on a weekly basis. The crew also replaced the TOCA Waste Water Bag (WWB) to preclude overfill.
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain/Fill: Today the crew set up the recycle tank to drain to a ???-?. Following the setup the ground performed the tank drain using the Urine Transfer System (UTS). Once the ground specialists completed the transfer, the crew verified the recycle tank was empty, terminated the drain, and repositioned the fill/drain valve to fill.
Completed Task List Activities:
Photo/TV D5 Camera Configuration for isolation
Hatch Contingency Audit
JEM Network Storage (NeST) Mesh Cleaning
Node 3 Overhead Aft Alcove Assessment
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS Grapple of HTV9
Ground Ops for HTV9 Egress
Look Ahead Plan
Tuesday, 8/18 (GMT 231)
Payloads:
LSG S/W Update (NASA)
Astrobee On & JEM Cargo Temp Stow (NASA)
Systems:
ECLSS PEPS Inspect
HTV Unberth/Release
Wednesday, 8/19 (GMT 232)
Payloads:
JPM Handheld Exp Adapter Plate & MPEP Removal (JAXA)
Systems:
Recycle Tank R&R
TOCA PFU3 Cycle
Thursday, 8/20 (GMT 233)
Payloads:
Myotones Ops (ESA)
Astrobee Off and JEM Cargo Replacement (NASA)
Systems:
ISS EMER Sim OBT
Isolation Prep/Gather
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
TBU (Universal Bioengineering Thermostat) (???)
Replacement of urine receptacle, filter insert, [?-?], [????] and pipe 5182-03 in [???] toilet. ACY activation post R&R
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain/Fill
Filling EDV from Progress 444 [??1] Rodnik ?V1
JEM Temporary Stowage Relocate
Robotic Workstation (RWS) Setup
Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor MCA Plug Installation
Countermeasures System (CMS) Treadmill 2 System (T2) Monthly Inspection
Treadmill 2 (T2) Series Bungee System Assemblies (SBS) Swap
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis & Data Record
Urine Transfer System Offload EDV Swap
On-board Training (OBT) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBot) Release
Auxiliary Computer System [???] Laptops Antivirus Scan Prep and Update
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout
PROBOY. RS?1 ops
Node 2 Nadir Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK) Gather
Node2 HD Camera Activation
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Smoke Detector Scavenge
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Egress
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Vestibule Configure for Demate – Part 1
Node 2 Nadir CBM Control Panel Assembly (CPA) Installation
Pressure Management Device (PMD) Equipment Setup Part 1
