Space Stations

NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 January 2018 – Space Station Orbits Earth for 7000th Day

By Marc Boucher
Status Report
January 23, 2018
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NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 January 2018 – Space Station Orbits Earth for 7000th Day
Clockwise from top left: The first station module, Zarya from Russia, is pictured December 1998 from Space Shuttle Endeavour; the first station crew, Expedition 1, was onboard the station in February of 2001; a growing station was pictured in June of 2007; the station in its near final configuration in February 2010. Credit: NASA.
NASA

The International Space Station has been orbiting Earth for 7,000 days as of today Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. The first module, the Russian Zarya cargo module, launched to space in November of 1998. The first crew arrived at the young three-module orbital laboratory in November of 2000.
54 crews and 205 spacewalks later, the current six-member Expedition 54 crew is gearing up for a pair of spacewalks on Jan. 23 and 29. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will lead both spacewalks with Flight Engineer Scott Tingle joining him on the first spacewalk. Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai will join Vande Hei for the second spacewalk.

All three astronauts were joined today by Flight Engineer Acaba for a spacewalk procedures review with specialists on the ground. The spacewalking trio will be swapping and stowing robotics parts to maintain the upkeep of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Both spacewalks will start each day at 7:10 a.m. EST with live NASA Television coverage beginning at 5:30 a.m.

The two cosmonauts aboard the space station, Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov, conducted regularly scheduled eye checks today. The veteran orbital residents worked with doctors on the ground using a fundoscope to view the interior of the eye. Crew members aboard the station participate in regular eye exams to understand how living in space affects vision.

On-Orbit Status Report

Vascular Echo: After completing the Cardiolab (CDL) blood pressure measurement earlier this week, today the 53S subject performed the Vascular Echo Exercise Portable Doppler (PDOP) measurement with ground team assistance. Using the CDL PDOP, the crewmember donned the PDOP femoral probe and performed a 1-minute exercise followed by a resting period during which data was collected. The 1-minute exercise and data collection was repeated once more before the subject deactivated and stowed the hardware to conclude the activity. The Vascular Echo investigation examines changes in blood vessels and the heart, while the crew members are in space, and then follows their recovery on return to Earth. The results could provide insight into potential countermeasures to help maintain crew member health, and quality of life for everyone.

Rodent Research 6 (RR-6): Following the rodent habitat water supply refill earlier this week, today the crew checked for obvious signs of water leakage from the rodent habitat water boxes and confirmed that the lights are functioning. The crew stow both habitats for return. The Rodent Research-6 (RR-6) mission uses mice flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and maintained on Earth to test drug delivery systems for combatting muscular breakdown in space or during disuse conditions. RR-6 includes several groups of mice selectively treated with a placebo or implanted with a nanochannel drug delivery chip that administers compounds meant to maintain muscle in low gravity/disuse conditions.

Space Headaches: The crew completed the weekly questionnaires for the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Headaches investigation. The Space Headaches investigation collects information that may help in the development of methods to alleviate associated symptoms and bring improvement to the well-being and performance of crewmembers in space. Headaches during space flight can negatively affect mental and physical capacities of crewmembers that can influence performance during a space mission.

Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Walkoff: Later today, ground robotics controllers will command the SSRMS to perform three walkoff maneuvers to configure the SSRMS in preparation for the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) planned for this coming Tuesday. A walkoff maneuver is one in which the SSRMS moves across the ISS like an inchworm, switching end over end. The upcoming EVA has a primary goal of swapping Latching End Effector (LEE) B, so the SSRMS needs to be based on LEE A, and positioned where the crew can access it. This set of triple walkoff maneuvers will position it accordingly.

EVA tool configuration and procedure reviews: Today the crew configured tools and reviewed procedures for the EVA planned for next Tuesday. They also participated in a conference with ground teams to address any questions and prepare for the EVA operations.

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

Compound Specific Analyzer-Combustion Products (CSA-CP) Extended Maintenance
Extravehicular Activity Station Support Computer Relocate
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position
???? Configuration for MRM2
UDOD. Experiment Ops with DYKNANIYE-1 and SPRUT-2 Sets
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill
PILOT-T. Experiment Ops
Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software Review
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
AQM Sieve Cartridge Remove and Replace
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedures Print
UDOD. Photography of the Experiment Session
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
??? maintenance
MRM2 Comm Reconfig for Nominal Ops
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
??? and DC1 config for EVA No.44
Replacement of RSS1 Laptop Main Hard Drive with RSS1 SW v.4.0 installation
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Installation
Rodent Research Water Box and Light Check
Vascular Echo Exercise PDOP Measurement – Subject
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout
Miniature Particle Telescope USB Reseat
Rodent Research Locker Preperation
Rodent Research Habitat Stow
Photo/TV Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Configuration
??? and DC1 config for EVA 44
SODF cue card verification and update
Photo TV GoPro Setup
Photo/TV Camcorder Battery Charger Troubleshooting
Space Headaches – Weekly Questionnaire
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPS) Inspection
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Eye Exam – Fundoscope
European Modular Cultivation System Gas Valve Close
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Fundoscope Tear Down and Stow

Completed Task List Activities
None

Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS walkoff
Standard commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 01/20: Weekly Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty, Petri Plate, Circadian Rhythms
Sunday, 01/21: Crew Off Duty
Monday, 01/22: EVA Preps (Tool Config, Proc Review, Eq Lock Prep), Plant Habitat, RR-6, Neuromapping, LMM Target Oil, Pretreat Tank R&R

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 – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off

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