NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 August 2019 – New Commercial Crew Dock

Robotics controllers are preparing a new commercial crew docking port for installation during a spacewalk on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Expedition 60 crew is researching life science and physics while packing a cargo ship for return to Earth next week.
The Canadarm2 robotic arm will extract the International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3) from the trunk of the Space Dragon cargo craft during the crew’s sleep shift tonight. Ground controllers will remotely position the IDA-3 on top of the Harmony module where it will soon become a permanent part of the orbiting lab.

Spacewalkers Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan will exit the station Wednesday about 8:20 a.m. EDT to finish the IDA-3 installation job. The duo will work outside Harmony for about six and a half hours routing cables and configuring the IDA-3 in preparation for the arrival of future SpaceX and Boeing crew vehicles. See an animation of their planned activities.

Hague had time on Monday afternoon to research ways to improve tire manufacturing and performance on Earth. Morgan and NASA astronaut Christina Koch were packing Dragon and readying the space freighter for its return to Earth on Aug. 27.

Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) spent the day on a variety of life science studies. He first collected his blood and urine samples for analysis, and then he tested his blood sugar for the Vascular Aging study observing cardiovascular health and insulin resistance in space. Finally, he spun cell culture samples in a centrifuge for the Micro-15 study investigating cell differentiation.

The two cosmonauts, Alexey Ovchinin and Alexander Skvortsov, kept up the Russian segment of the orbiting lab today. Commander Ovchinin checked out a treadmill in the Zvezda service module before gathering items for return to Earth on a Soyuz spaceship. Flight Engineer Skvortsov is recording his heart activity for the next 24 hours while also maintaining Russian life support hardware.

Russia’s Soyuz MS-14 crew ship has rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today. It will launch Wednesday with no crew onboard at 11:38 p.m. EDT to test its 2.1a booster segment during ascent. The unpiloted Soyuz spacecraft will automatically dock Saturday at 1:30 a.m. to the station’s Poisk module.

On-Orbit Status Report

Vascular Aging: The crew performed glucose tests and blood draws in support of the Vascular Aging study. Emerging data indicates links among cardiovascular health risk, carotid artery aging, bone metabolism and blood biomarkers, insulin resistance, and radiation. Data indicate that aging-like changes are accelerated in many ISS crew members, particularly with respect to their arteries. As part of the Vascular Aging investigation, ultrasounds of the arteries, blood samples, oral glucose tolerance, and wearable sensors from ISS crew members are analyzed.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Education Payload Observation (EPO): The crew recorded an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the JEM module. JAXA EPO activities demonstrate artistic activities on board the ISS/JEM to enlighten the general public about microgravity research and human space flight.

TangoLab Mission 13: The crew removed card cube samples for TangoLab 1 and 2. Space Tango MultiLab Lockers are reconfigurable general research facilities designed for microgravity research and development and pilot manufacturing aboard the ISS. Experiments for Mission 13 include: Microbial Nitrogen Fixation, Quest NextGen Lab-2, Space Tango-Human Brain Organoid, and Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Micro-15: The crew performed the first set of Micro-15 fixation operations. The goal of this investigation is to better understand the effects of gravity on the differentiation of mammalian cells using 3-D cultures of induced pluripotent stem cells. Past flight experiments and ground-based simulations have demonstrated that microgravity influences gene expression, cell proliferation, and differentiation in stem cells but the mechanism behind these observations is not clearly understood. This study investigates how exposure to microgravity fundamentally alters cell regulation and how these changes can affect the timing, progression, and outcomes of cell differentiation.

Goodyear Tire: The crew performed sample activation. Pushing the Limits of Silica Fillers for Tire Applications (Goodyear Tire) evaluates creation of novel silica forms and structures, or morphologies, using traditional techniques to form silica fillers in microgravity. The space environment may yield results not possible in ground-based environments. Better understanding of silica morphology and the relationship between silica structure and properties may improve the silica design process as well as silica rubber formulation and tire manufacturing and performance on the ground.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: On Friday afternoon, Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the MSS and performed a Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)3 sealing surface survey. They then reconfigured the system for today’s International Docking Adapter (IDA)3 extraction from the Dragon trunk in preparation for Wednesday’s IDA3 Extravehicular Activity (EVA).

Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) LAD62B-A Remote Power Controller (RPC) 4: On Saturday, this RPC that provides power to the Lab Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) tripped. Loss of the MCA results in loss of redundancy for atmospheric monitoring. Following the RPC trip, then experienced a Power On Reset (POR) which caused the Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA), Smoke Detector, and Avionics Air Assembly (AAA) to turn off. Ground teams downlinked and analyzed the 50Hz and 1kHz data and determined that the RPCM failure was most likely a Field Effect Transistor (FET) Controller Hybrid (FCH) issue. RPC 04 was commanded closed as part of RPCM FCH troubleshooting, however, the RPC remained open. Teams confirmed this is a case of a failed open RPC. The Lab rack equipment was quickly recovered with the exception of the MCA. Node 3 MCA is operating nominally. Teams are discussing a forward plan for recovering RPC 4.

Dragon Cargo Operations: FE-9 spent a major portion of his day transferring cargo from the ISS to the Dragon vehicle. SpX-18 is scheduled to depart the ISS on August 27.

Completed Task List Activities:
EVA SAFER checkout
IDA3 EVA procedure review
Thermal Amine blower removal
MSRR Z-Book battery replace
Vacuum cleaner return to service
Micro-15 sample fixation
ISS Experience Z-Cam setup at MWA

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Dragon cargo ops
Payloads ops support

Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 8/20 (GMT 232)

Payloads:
BioRocks deinstallations from Kubik 5 and 6 and photo ops (ESA)
Micro-15 Drug Injections Session C (NASA)
ISS Experience Hardware Stow (NASA)

Systems:
EVA prep

Wednesday, 8/22 (GMT 233)

Payloads:
Micro-15 Sample Fixation (NASA)
GoodYear Sample removal and MELFI Insert (NASA)
LSG Front Glove Swap (NASA)
ISS HAM (NASA)
HRF Repository Urine (NASA)
Standard Measures Saliva Collect (NASA)

Systems:
IDA3 EVA

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

LSG Crew Restraint Installation Subsequent (Primary)
On MCC Go Mating [??-?] telemetry connector
On MCC GO Regeneration of ??? ?1 Micropurification Cartridge (start)
ISPYTATEL (TEST OPERATOR) MRM2 and SM config for the experiment
TangoLab-1 Card Cube Locker Remove
Checking ??-2 treadmill carriage position and photography
Goodyear Tire Operations Overview
P/L Glacier Sample Insertion
TangoLab-1 Glacier Sample Insertion
TangoLab-2 Card Cube Replace
TangoLab-2 MELFI Sample Insertion
NeuroMapping Experiment Neurocognitive Test (partial)
LSG-Front Glove-Swap
ISS Portable Glove Bag (IPGB) Setup
Pre-pack cargo items for return or disposal on ?? 743
Goodyear Tire Sample Activation
PAO Preparation
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config Columbus Setup
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) in Columbus
Cargo Transfer to Dragon
URISYS Hardware Setup
Dragon Cargo Operations Conference
PHOTOBIOREACTOR. Visual Inspection with imagery
ISS Portable Glove Bag (IPGB) Teardown
ECLSS Recycle Tank Leak Check
Evening Preparation Work
Environmental Health System (EHS) Grab Sample Container (GSC) Sampling Operations
LSG-Front Glove-Swap
On MCC GO Micropurification Unit (???) ?1 Absorption Cartridge Regeneration (end)