NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 June 2017 – ROSA Roll Out

Robotics controllers completed the unloading and set up of the third and final external experiment delivered last week aboard the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. Inside the International Space Station, the Expedition 52 crew studied a variety of life science including plant growth, bone loss and cardiac biology.
Over the weekend, engineers on the ground remotely operated the Canadarm2 to extract the Roll Out Solar Array from Dragon. The experiment, also known as ROSA, will remain attached to the Canadarm2 over seven days to test the effectiveness of the advanced, flexible solar array that rolls out like a tape measure.

Flight Engineer Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson set up the Seedling Growth-3 botany study today that is researching how plant cells respond to lighting conditions in microgravity. Fischer also installed samples in a NanoRacks facility for an educational research project that is studying the effects of radiation damage on synthetic DNA.

Whitson measured bone loss in mice for the Rodent Research-5 study. Results may improve the health of astronauts living in space and humans on Earth with bone diseases. Whitson later moved onto the Cardiac Stem Cells experiment that seeks to understand the accelerated aging process that takes place in space.

On-Orbit Status Report

Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) External Payload: Over the weekend, Robotic ground controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) to remove the ROSA payload from the Dragon Trunk and position it at the ROSA Nominal Dynamics Operations position. When at this position, the controllers mated the Orbital Replaceable Unit Tool Changeout Mechanism 2 umbilicals to the ROSA payload, applied power to it and performed the initial ROSA checkouts. They then commanded the ROSA wing to fully deploy and began the planned dynamics experiments. ROSA is a new type of solar panel that is more compact than current rigid panel designs. The ROSA investigation tests deployment and retraction, array shape changes when the Earth blocks the sun, and other physical challenges to determine the array’s strength and durability.

NanoRacks Module 9: The crew activated mixture tubes in support of the NanoRacks-National Center for Earth and Space Science-Casper (NanoRacks-NCESSE-Casper) investigation. NCESSE supports various schools and student-designed experiments that address challenges of living and working in space. The program is also a key initiative for U.S. science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) that strives to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to work on the space program. The specific investigations supported today include Growth and Development of Fathead Minnows in Microgravity, Does the structure of a fairy shrimp change in microgravity? and Soybean Germination in Microgravity.

Microbial Tracking-2: The crew collected body samples in support of the Microbial Tracking-2 investigation. Microbial Tracking-2 monitors the different types of microbes that are present on ISS over a 1 year period through surface and air sampling. After the samplings are returned to Earth, a molecular analysis of the RNA and DNA will be conducted to identify the specific microbes that are present on ISS to understand the microbial flora diversity and how it changes over time.

Rodent Research-5 (RR-5) Systemic Therapy of NELL-1 for Osteoporosis: In support of upcoming Bone Densitometer measurements for the RR-5 investigation, the crew changed out the Imaging unit on the Bone Densitometer and calibrated the hardware. The Bone Densitometer device measures the density of minerals in bone. Quantitative measures of bone loss in mice during orbital space flight provide data for the development of countermeasures for human crewmembers, as well as for bone-loss syndromes on Earth.

Cardiac Stem Cells: The crew changed out the media in one of the BioCell Habitats. Cardiac Stem Cells investigates how microgravity affects stem cells and the factors that govern their activity to clarify the role of stem cells in cardiac biology and tissue regeneration. This investigation also supports research into the possible acceleration of the aging process in microgravity.

NanoRacks Module-70: The crew removed NanoRacks Module-70 sample from a General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) and installed it in the Nanoracks Platform-2 in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). Module-70 is an educational research project designed to study the effects of radiation damage to synthetic DNA for gene regions that code for a human antibody. The experiment will make copies of the synthetic DNA samples at certain time-points during the mission using a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The DNA will be returned for study of strand break analysis. The experiment is from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) School of Life Science in Beijing, China.

Seedling Growth 3: The first of two six-day growth sessions were completed today. The crew removed Experiment Containers from the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS), processed the samples, and stowed them in the Minus Eighty degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for return to the ground. One of the samples could not be processed nominally but was also placed in the MELFI for return. Seedling Growth-3 is the third part of the Seedling Growth Experiment series, using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate the effects of gravity on the cellular signaling mechanisms of light sensing in plants (phototropism), and to investigate cell growth and proliferation responses to light stimulation under microgravity conditions.

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

Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media
Microbial Tracking-2 Body Sample Collection
Microbial Tracking-2 Saliva Sample MELFI Insert
Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Configuration Change 1
Rodent Research Node 2 Camcorder Video Setup
On MCC Go SM Rodnik ??2 Water Tank Bladder Compression
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Microbial Tracking-2 Body Sample Collection
Preventive Maintenance of Sealing Mechanisms of ??? Hatch in the SM and [A??] Hatch in Progress 436
Glacier # Sample Remove
Microbial Tracking-2 Body Sample MELFI Insert
Unpacking of First Priority and USOS Cargo Items from Progress 436 (SM Aft) and IMS Update
Seedling Growth-3 Maintenance Work Area Preparation.
Seedling Growth-3 Maintenance Work Area Configuration.
Seedling Growth 3 TCU removal
Group Combustion Module (GCM) Gas Bottle Unit Air (GBU) Change
NanoRacks Module-70 Removal from Glacier
NanoRacks Platform-2 Module-70 Install 2
Cardiac Stem Cells SABL Insertion
Group Combustion Module (GCM) Gas Bottle Unit Air (GBU) Leak Check
??? maintenance
Seedling Growth-3 Camcorder Setup
Seedling Growth-3 Run 1 EC Removal from EMCS Rotor B
Seedling Growth-3 Sample Processing of ECs from Rotor B Run 1
Seedling Growth-3 Sample Processing with FixBox Rotor B Run 1
On MCC Go Closeout Operations with SM Rodnik ??2 Water Tank Bladder Compression
BIOPOLYMER. Photography
Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit (????) Position on MRM2 from SM Window #13 (Preparation)
Rodent Research Habitat 2 Water Check
Seedling Growth-3 Run 1 EC Removal from EMCS Rotor A
Seedling Growth-3 Sample Processing of ECs for Rotor A Run1
Seedling Growth-3 Sample Processing with FixBox Rotor A Run 1
Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit (????) Position on MRM2 from SM Window #13
Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit (????) Position on MRM2 from SM Window #13. Closeout Operations
??-1 Sensors Installation Monitoring
Seedling Growth-3 Experiment Container Install
Cardiac Stem Cells Media Change 1 BioCell Habitat
Seedling Growth 3 TCU insertion
Seedling Growth-3 Post-Sample Processing Cleanup
Increment 50 Plaque Hanging

Completed Task List Items
ESA Active Dosimeter Area Monitoring [Completed GMT 168]
Extravehicular Activity Extravehicular Mobility Unit Television Install [GMT169]
EVA Wire Tie Audit [GMT169]
Housekeeping Procedure Print [GMT169]
Bogen Arm Repair [GMT169]
ESA Active Dosimeter Area Monitoring [GMT169]
Extravehicular Activity Extravehicular Mobility Unit Television Install [GMT169]

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Bone Densitometer ORU changeout
ROSA Ops

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

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 06/21: CBEF cleaning/Rodent Research ops, NanoRacks Module 52 status check, Microbial air sampling
Thursday, 06/22: METEOR hard drive swap, Rodent Research ops, Tangolab Card 1 removal
Friday, 06/23: Microbial Tracking 2 ops, StemCell media change, SPHERES Halo run